Bob Phares is two months into his position as an interim member of the University of Nebraska Board of Regent, and some are already saying he has probably done more in his short time as interim NU Regent for District 7 than most regents do in a year.
One of Phares' first goals when he took his appointment as interim regent was to make sure professor David Baltensperger's position with the Panhandle Research and Extension Center was filled after Baltensperger decided to advance his career elsewhere.
After years of work in dry-land crops in Nebraska's panhandle, Baltensperger was offered a departmental head position at Texas A & M University.
Phares said he had heard rumors that the position at the Panhandle Research and Extension Center might not be refilled, and he was worried of what that loss would mean to western Nebraska.
"One of my early concerns that I had was to hold on to that position," Phares said.
While Phares said he was assured Baltensperger's research could be done with existing staff, he wanted to make sure the position was refilled.
Phares said he talked to J.B. Milliken, NU president and John Owens, vice chancellor at the Institute of Agriculture and Natural Resources at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, and wanted to explain to them the importance of that position to western Nebraska.
He said that after their discussion, approval was given to look for a replacement.
Chuck Hibberd, director at the Panhandle Research and Extension Center, said they have been working on finding a qualified candidate for the professorship and that they are searching nationwide.
"This position is critically important to us," he said. "(And) we're going to find the best person we can."
Hibberd said that the position in the past has generated an estimated $20 million a year in Nebraska's panhandle and that Baltensperger was directly responsible for a lot of that. He said a lot of the research is drought-based. The research also tries to discover new dry-land crops.
Hibberd said Phares did a lot to ensure the position would be filled and to make sure the university didn't forget about the needs specific to western Nebraska.
Baltensperger said Texas A & M called and asked if he was interested in an administrative position with their agricultural department, one of the largest of its kind in the country, and he said it was hard to decline.
"It's a very nice opportunity for me to explore administration," he said.
One of Baltensperger's largest contributions to the Panhandle has been his work with the birdseed industry and trying to promote some of the corresponding dry-land crops.
He said the birdseed industry is a $1 billion-a-year industry, and western Nebraska has a lot of acres going into that type of production.
Baltensperger said the university is taking a major step in refilling the position he is vacating.
"It's extremely important UNL tries to connect with the clientele of the Panhandle," he said.
Phares said he is excited about refilling the position yet sad to see Baltensperger leave.
"It's Texas A & M's gain and our loss," he said.
