Koenig to head WSU extension

Rich Koenig, soil scientist and department chair, is the new director of Washington State University Extension. The former chair of the WSU Department of Crop and Soil Sciences, has been making the transition to his new position over the past month.

Randy Baldree served as interim associate director of WSU Extension between June 2011 and September 2012. WSU Extension includes more than 700 employees and 13,000 volunteers working in outreach programs in agriculture, natural resources, community and economic development and youth and family.

Koenig joined WSU in 2003 as a faculty member and soil scientist. In 2008, he became chair of the Department of Crop and Soil Sciences, one of the largest departments in the College of Agricultural, Human and Natural Resource Sciences. He led research and extension programs in soil and nutrient management for agricultural and urban systems. He holds a bachelor’s and master’s degree from the University of Alaska at Fairbanks and earned his doctorate at Washington State University.