LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — A former director of the Panhandle Research and Extension Center will become dean and director of University of Nebraska-Lincoln Extension.

Charles “Chuck” Hibberd has been director of Extension and associate dean of agriculture at Purdue University in West Lafayette, Ind., since 2007. Hibberd was director of the Panhandle center at Scottsbluff for 13 years.

UNL officials say Hibberd will take over the Extension leadership post on Oct. 1. Hibberd replaces Elbert Dickey, who retired this summer.

Hibberd earned his bachelor’s degree in agriculture at UNL and his master’s and doctorate degrees from Oklahoma State University. He was a faculty member at OSU from 1982 to 1994.

UNL Extension is part of the Institute of Agriculture and Natural Resources.