Dean candidate seminar is online March 19

UPDATED March 17, 2020

By NCTA News

CURTIS, Neb. – A Thursday seminar and campus meetings for the Nebraska College of Technical Agriculture’s third candidate for NCTA dean, Dr. Darrel Sandall of Florida, has been moved to an online platform.

“Our No. 1 priority is the safety and health of our NCTA students, faculty and staff, as well as the safety and health of Dr. Sandall,” said Dr. Tiffany Heng-Moss, chair of the NCTA Dean Search Committee.

She is dean of the College of Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, and arranged the online format with Dr. Kelly Bruns, NCTA’s interim dean.

Dr. Darrel Sandall is among three finalist candidates being considered in the search.

He will meet Thursday with students, faculty and staff in three separate online sessions prior to presenting an online seminar at 3:45 p.m.

Dr. Sandall currently is Associate Professor Management at the Florida Institute of Technology.

He is a Rock County, Nebraska, native who graduated from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln with degrees in agriculture education and agricultural honors.

Sandall has been involved in production agriculture most of his life with beef, sheep, and beekeeping operations, and has been involved in workforce development continuously for the past 25 years.

Prior to his current position at Florida Tech, Sandall served as the chief operating officer of Xtreme Alternative Defense Systems and as the chief skills officer (CSO) for SkillsNET Corporation, one of the top 500 fastest growing companies in the United States in 2006, as recognized by Inc Magazine.

In addition to corporate executive leadership and management experience, Sandall has also been a tenure track faculty member in the Department of Technology Leadership and Innovation at Purdue University.

In 1990, he was a recipient of the American FFA degree.

Details and candidate biographies for the NCTA Dean search are available at https://ncta.unl.edu/meet-dean-candidates. NCTA is part of the University of Nebraska system.

The college emphasizes workforce development in agriculture, agribusiness and veterinary technology.  Students can earn associate degrees, certificates and other credentials.

NCTA plans to resume classes on Monday, March 30, following Spring Break.

Courses will be delivered primarily by remote platforms enabling students to complete coursework off-campus. Formats for labs and skills testing are being determined and developed within each academic division.