Jennifer Hunter named UK associate dean for extension and director of the Kentucky Cooperative Extension Service
LEXINGTON, Ky. (Aug. 27, 2025) — The University of Kentucky Martin-Gatton College of Agriculture, Food and Environment (CAFE) has named Jennifer Hunter, Ph.D., as associate dean for extension and Kentucky Cooperative Extension Service director. Hunter will begin her new roles on Sept. 1.
Hunter brings more than two decades of service to Martin-Gatton CAFE and communities across the Commonwealth. A native Kentuckian and UK alum, she has served as a county agent, specialist, professor and administrator — including director of the School of Human Environmental Sciences and assistant extension director for Family and Consumer Sciences.
She has built a strong record of community-focused solutions, engaged scholarship and translational research, with a record that includes more than 850 extension educational programs, over 160 publications and more than $75 million in external grants and contracts.
“Dr. Hunter’s deep commitment to Kentucky communities, her track record of innovative extension programming, and her leadership experience make her uniquely suited to guide Cooperative Extension into its next chapter,” said Laura Stephenson, dean of the Martin-Gatton College of Agriculture, Food and Environment and vice president for land-grant engagement.
Hunter succeeds Stephenson, who previously held the associate dean and director position before being named dean. Craig Wood, professor of animal and food sciences and assistant director of Agriculture and Natural Resources Extension, has served as acting associate dean and director of extension since Jan. 1, 2025.
“I want to thank Dr. Craig Wood for his leadership during this transition,” Stephenson said. “His steady leadership helped ensure continuity for our agents, specialists and staff statewide.”
The UK Cooperative Extension Service is a trusted, local resource for all Kentuckians. Through hyperlocal, grassroots programming, it brings the university’s research, resources and innovative solutions into every Kentucky county.
Extension’s efforts focus on strengthening Kentucky’s farms, food systems and natural resources; building the health, well‑being and economic outcomes for individuals, families and producers; and engaging communities to build vibrant economies by connecting businesses and people.
To learn more about the UK Cooperative Extension Service in all 120 counties in Kentucky, visit https://extension.ca.uky.edu.
As the state’s flagship, land-grant institution, the University of Kentucky exists to advance the Commonwealth. We do that by preparing the next generation of leaders — placing students at the heart of everything we do — and transforming the lives of Kentuckians through education, research and creative work, service and health care. We pride ourselves on being a catalyst for breakthroughs and a force for healing, a place where ingenuity unfolds. It's all made possible by our people — visionaries, disruptors and pioneers — who make up 200 academic programs, a $476.5 million research and development enterprise and a world-class medical center, all on one campus.