Mr. Donald W. Poucher
University of Florida

Biography:

Donald W. Poucher (Don) is Assistant Vice President for Marketing & Communications for the University of Florida's Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (UF/IFAS). In his role as Assistant Vice President, he is responsible for developing, implementing, and directing the UF/IFAS institutional marketing program, which includes a strong reliance on unit-by-unit internal/external attitudinal evaluations and analytically sound integrated marketing communications. He also serves as the public information officer for the University's College of Agriculture, School of Forest Resources and Conservation, College of Natural Resources and the Environment, the Florida Cooperative Extension Service, and the Florida Agricultural Experiment Stations.

Poucher's service to UF/IFAS and the University spans a 37-year period during which time he served as a tenured assistant and associate professor. He has also held University-wide posts of Assistant-to-the President and Director of Alumni Affairs. Poucher has also served as President and Chief Executive Officer of a commercial radio broadcasting company, and Vice President of Marketing for a bank holding company. He is a native Floridian and earned a Bachelor of Science degree in telecommunications in 1964 and a Master of Arts in communications and marketing in 1965, both from UF.

Poucher has published several papers on communications and has served as consultant to such diverse organizations as U.S. Agency for International Development, U.S. Department of Agriculture, the National Broadcasting Company (NBC), the U.S. Office of Civil Defense, Westinghouse Broadcasting Company, the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, International Center for Tropical Agriculture (CIAT), the Pan American School of Agriculture, the University of the West Indies and the Pacific and Caribbean Basin Agricultural Research Groups. Poucher's out-of-country assignments include projects in West Africa, Colombia, Costa Rica, Argentina, Ecuador, Honduras, Haiti, Aruba and Jamaica. He has served as chair of the University of Florida College of Journalism and Communications Telecommunications Advisory Council and as President of the Ag Institute of Florida, a consortium of information officers of agricultural industry groups. Poucher is a member of the Administrative Council and Board of Directors for the American Distance Education Consortium (ADEC) and serves as chair of its standing committee on marketing. His civic service includes membership in Rotary International, Treasurer of the United Way, President of Voluntary Action Center, and a director of the Alachua County American Cancer Society Unit.

Poucher has received numerous awards including the top international awards for excellence for communications management, marketing, television news, television programming, and television documentaries from the Agricultural Communicators in Education. He has received the Florida Public Relations Association Golden Image Judges Award and an Award of Distinction for video documentary production. Poucher also received Golden ARC Awards from the Agricultural Relations Council for excellence in television and magazine agricultural journalism. He is a recipient of a Golden Gator Award for Magazine Journalism from the University of Florida and the President's Award for outstanding television program development. (1/10/03)