Jerry Fankhauser has an office within the University of Florida’s McCarty Hall, but impromptu visitors are unlikely to find him there. On most days, the wheels of his work vehicle are spinning on asphalt as he zigzags across the state between UF/IFAS properties.
“In five years, I drove 150,000 miles for work,” said Fankhauser, associate director of the Florida Agricultural Experiment Station (FAES), the research arm of UF/IFAS. “So I get around.”
Fankhauser’s odometer has been working double time in recent months. In November, he accepted a second UF/IFAS role, executive director of Facilities Planning and Operations. So in addition to providing administrative support for research at 18 UF/IFAS properties from Milton to Homestead, he’s also responsible for ensuring the infrastructure on those properties is properly maintained. If there’s a farm field day, a hurricane planning meeting or a facility assessment underway somewhere in the state, chances are Fankhauser is there.
“I’m a troubleshooter and a problem solver,” he said. “My calendar’s typically full of meetings or travel to address unmet needs on the Gainesville campus and elsewhere.”
A member of the Research Center Administrators Society (RCAS), Fankhauser was recently selected as the recipient of the organization’s distinguished service award.
“This well-deserved recognition highlights Jerry’s tireless efforts to advance agriculture throughout Florida and the broader land-grant university system,” said Jim Boyer, director of research at the UF/IFAS Plant Science Research and Education Unit in Citra. “He supports UF/IFAS statewide by strengthening research programs, optimizing land and facility use and fostering partnerships with commodity groups, state agencies and research collaborators.”
Growing up in rural, northern Indiana, Fankhauser harbored two steadfast goals: attend Purdue University and help, in some way, to feed the world. He earned a bachelor’s degree in crop and soil science at the university, followed by a master’s degree in crop physiology. After graduation, he managed multiple Purdue research farms until eventually assuming the dual roles of Purdue Agricultural Centers director and agricultural research assistant director.
In 2017, Jackie Burns, former UF/IFAS dean for research and director of the FAES, recruited Fankhauser to join her leadership team. One of the first tasks he undertook was managing an industrial hemp pilot program researching potential commercialization of the crop in Florida. The project, spread across dozens of properties from the Panhandle to the Everglades Agricultural Area, included cultivation, propagation and outreach efforts. A 2021 report summarizing findings for Gov. Ron DeSantis and the Florida Legislature confirmed hemp could be a viable agricultural commodity.
“It was a wild two or three years of travel, maintaining permits and working with growers and researchers all over the state,” Fankhauser said.
In addition to facilitating research, Fankhauser is attuned to the importance of translating knowledge and making it universally accessible. Inspired by Purdue “AgriAbility” measures, he introduced the idea of using trams with wheelchair ramps at UF/IFAS sites so people with restricted mobility can view research plots.
Earlier this month, Fankhauser towed one such ADA-compliant tram from Citra to Belle Glade for the Everglades Research and Education Center Field Day – and then returned to Gainesville the next day for Flavors of Florida, a fundraiser for Florida 4-H youth.
Five hundred miles is a slog for even the most hardened traveler, but Fankhauser said the effort is negligible considering the benefits.
“It makes me feel good when researchers and staff are able to do the kind of work they want to do assisted by the facilities, funding and equipment they need to do it,” Fankhauser said. “That really makes us smile as administrators to see faculty, staff and student success. So that’s the part of my job I take great pride in, and it’s a large part of what I continue to do.”
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ABOUT UF/IFAS
The mission of the University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (UF/IFAS) is to develop knowledge relevant to agricultural, human and natural resources and to make that knowledge available to sustain and enhance the quality of human life. With more than a dozen research facilities, 67 county Extension offices, and award-winning students and faculty in the UF College of Agricultural and Life Sciences, UF/IFAS brings science-based solutions to the state’s agricultural and natural resources industries, and all Florida residents.
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