News Release
June 5, 2007

 UW Powell Research and Extension Center director retires

Alan Gray, director of the University of Wyoming Powell Research and Extension (R&E) Center and a professor in the Department of Plant Sciences, retired May 18.

Gray sustained serious injuries during an accident at the center July 27, 2005, and has been recuperating.

“The time has finally come to say good-bye,” he stated in a letter to friends and colleagues. “There is so much to be thankful for and really not enough words to express my appreciation to all of you who have made my tenure at the Powell R&E Center so fulfilling and successful. Be assured, my job would have been impossible if not for you.”

Gray received his bachelor’s degree in botany from Fort Hays State University in 1969, his master’s in range science from Utah State University in 1975, and his doctorate in agronomy from the University of Nebraska in 1980. Gray became the Powell R&E Center director in 1997 and had been a forage extension specialist in the College of Agriculture’s Department of Plant Sciences. He had worked in Riverton.

Gray was struck down and knocked unconscious while mowing an alfalfa test plot at the R&E center north of town. He was operating a flail harvester when the rotating head of the machine caught a 3-inch piece of wire. The rusty wire shot through his left nostril, traveled at an upward angle, and passed into his brain. Because of his dramatic survival, Gray was the subject of a television documentary on medical marvels that aired on the Discovery Health Channel last summer.

Gray’s wife, Beth, stated one of her husband’s doctors referred to him as a “class act.”  She also said, “Alan will start his new life with the same courage and fortitude that he has exhibited in the past 22 months of recovery.  We welcome visits or calls from all of his friends at UW.” 

Gray individually thanked several individuals for their help. He also expressed appreciation to the Powell R&E Advisory Board.

“Your unflagging support of the station’s many projects and programs allowed the center and me to attain a measure of success,” he stated. “Your guidance made us relevant and responsive to the needs of the agriculture community. We grew and became stronger because of your tutelage.”

On the Web: http://uwadmnweb.uwyo.edu/uwexpstn/Powell.asp

Story Contact: Steven L. Miller, Senior Editor
Phone: (307) 766-6342
E-mail: slmiller@uwyo.edu

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