Michigan State official named to new IFAS communications leadership post

October 17, 2011

GAINESVILLE, Fla. — Ruth Hohl Borger, a Michigan State University communications official, has been named assistant vice president for the University of Florida’s Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences and will lead IFAS’ communication and marketing efforts.

Borger, currently communications director for MSU’s College of Agriculture and Natural Resources, will also lead the Information and Communication Services office. She’ll step into the new job Dec. 14, Jack Payne, UF senior vice president for agriculture and natural resources, announced Monday.

Borger was selected following a search that drew more than 40 applicants. Her title will be assistant vice president for IFAS Information and Communication Services.

“IFAS does so much for this state, the country and even the world that many people don’t know about,” Payne said. “Ruth is the perfect person to help us find ways to strategically tell our story.”

Payne has IFAS officials from all parts of Florida working toward a strategic plan that will incorporate the “three legs” of the IFAS mission: research, teaching and extension. Creating awareness about IFAS is among his top priorities.

Borger said the fact that she will be part of IFAS’ leadership team speaks volumes about Payne’s commitment to communications.

“IFAS is among the most respected entities in the land-grant university world,” she said. “We just need to find every way we possibly can to ensure that people outside that world are aware of that, too.”

Borger’s role with IFAS Information and Communication Services will include oversight of the IFAS bookstore, graphics, web, news and video services, the Electronic Data Information Source for extension and the Solutions for Your Life website.

“It’s going to be a huge challenge,” she said. “But I’m very excited about taking it on. The opportunity is so rich with potential.”

Before Michigan State, Borger held leadership positions with Lansing Community College, Macomb Community College and Arizona State University. She has a doctor of education degree from Arizona State, a master’s degree from George Washington University and a bachelor’s degree from the University of Notre Dame.

UF/IFAS is a federal, state and county partnership dedicated to developing knowledge about agriculture, human and natural resources, and the life sciences, and making that information accessible to the public. It has offices in every Florida county.