David Acker

Dr. Acker is Associate Dean, Global Engagement; Director, Center for Sustainable Rural Livelihoods; Professor, Agricultural Education; and Raymond and Mary Baker Chair in Global Agriculture. Dr. Acker began work with CSRL during the country selection process in 2004 and has been a member of the management team since that time. He has over 30 years of experience in agriculture and education and has served on the faculty for 25 years. He has spent 8 years working at agricultural education institutions in Greece and Tanzania. Acker completed a Ph.D. from Oregon State University, two degrees from the University of California, Davis (M.Ed. and M.S.), and undergraduate degrees from Wilmington College and Alice Lloyd College. He has directed agricultural and natural resource programs in Tanzania, Malawi and Senegal, and has been a Fulbright fellow in Greece. Dr. Acker has lectured in Austria, China, Costa Rica, Ethiopia, Greece, Guinea, India, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Korea, Saudi Arabia, Thailand, Uganda, and Ukraine. He has assisted the UN Food and Agriculture Organization with efforts to promote education as a key to rural prosperity as elaborated in a book he co-authored (with Lavinia Gasperini) that was published by FAO in 2009 entitled Education for Rural People. He was part of a team that wrote a book entitled Tapping Philanthropy for Development published in February 2015.