New Director Appointed
Issued 9th January 2002
The Board of Teagasc at its meeting today decided, subject to finalisation of details, to appoint Jim Flanagan, as Director of the organisation. Mr Flanagan, who is Chief Inspector in the Department of Agriculture, Food and Rural Development will succeed Dr Liam Downey, who is retiring. He will take over as Director on May 13th.
From a farming background in Roscommon, Mr Flanagan is a graduate in agricultural science from the National University of Ireland (NUI) and holds a M.Agr.Sc. from NUI and M.Sc.(Mgmt) from TCD. He spent his early career as a research scientist and lecturer in Michigan State University and West Virginia University.
He has worked in the Department of Agriculture since 1972 and was appointed Chief Inspector in 1995, with responsibility for managing the Department's agricultural technical/professional structure. He was also responsible for promoting and co-ordinating research, science and technology and acting as chief adviser to the Minister and the Department on agri-food science matters.
As Director of Teagasc, he will be responsible for the management and development of the organisation's comprehensive research, advisory and training activities. Teagasc operates nine research centres, 10 colleges and runs a nationwide advisory service for farmers. It employs over 1,500 staff.
