Dr. Mark Cochran was appointed vice president for agriculture of the University of Arkansas Division of Agriculture on January 4, 2011.  He is responsible for leading the university’s coordinated agriculture program including the Cooperative Extension Service and the Agriculture Experiment Station.

From 2006 to 2011, Cochran served as associate vice president for research of the UA Division of Agriculture and director of the Arkansas Agricultural Experiment Station. Cochran came to Arkansas as an agricultural economist in 1982 after receiving his Ph.D. and M.S. degrees from Michigan State University. He received his bachelor’s degree from New Mexico State University. He was head of the UA Department of Agricultural Economics and Agribusiness from 1996 to 2006.

Cochran was a leader in an interdisciplinary team that developed and implemented the COTMAN cotton management system that has since been widely adopted throughout the MidSouth. He co-chaired the division’s Environmental Task Force and has been instrumental in coordinating research and extension programs to address water quality issues affecting Arkansas and surrounding states. He also has co-chaired the Division’s Biofuels Working Group for research and extension programs.

Cochran’s accomplishments as a scientist and administrator were cited in the Arkansas Cotton Achievement Award from the Arkansas Cotton Group and the John W. White Outstanding Team Award from the Division of Agriculture for his role in developing COTMAN.