AgCenter adds agronomist to federal wildlife, grasses project

Lashunda Anderson

The Southern University Agricultural Research and Extension Center has appointed Lashunda Anderson, Ph.D., agronomist on the Wildlife Habitat and Native Grasses Outreach Project.

"We are very excited to have Dr. Anderson on the project. She brings valuable experience to our project," said Adell Brown, vice chancellor for Finance and Administration at the Southern University Agricultural Research and Extension Center. "I look forward to good things from her in this new capacity."

The project, funded by USDA/Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) is a collaborative effort with East Arkansas Enterprise Community, University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff, Alcorn State University and NRCS offices in Louisiana, Arkansas, and Mississippi.

Prior to joining the Center, Anderson was a graduate student at Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge. She completed doctoral work at LSU with specializations in agronomy and environmental planning and management. She has research interests in phytoremediation and plant propagation.

A native of Mississippi, Anderson has experience in research and outreach. Anderson holds a master's degree in agronomy from Alcorn State University, where she also received a bachelor's degree in plant and soil science.

From 1997 to 2001, Anderson was a soil conservation technician at the United States Department of Agriculture/Natural Resources Conservation Service in Champaign, Illinois. In this capacity, her primary duties included digitizing county soil shape maps and conducting soil field surveys, and soil classification.

Anderson is housed at the Southern University Agricultural Research and Extension Center, Baton Rouge where she will enlist landowners to preserve natural habitats for wildlife in order to gain economic benefits accruing from tourism revenue.