Directory

Biography

Dr. Ford is a northeast Tennessee native and earned a BSF (77) and MS (78) from the University of Tennessee and a PhD (82) from Virginia Tech. He has studied forest soils, productivity, and weed control for 35 years. He spent five years as an Extension Forester for the University of Arkansas at the Southwest Research and Extension. He worked the next 20 years for Westvaco and later MeadWestvaco in Kentucky, West Virginia, Alabama, and Texas as a Scientist, Research Center Leader, and Project Leader. In 2008, he became Director and Professor of the University of Arkansas Southwest Research and Extension Center. Since September 2016, he is the Associate Director for Agriculture and Natural Resources at the University of Arkansas Cooperative Extension Service in Little Rock. He was named Associate Vice President – Agriculture and Natural Resources in 2020. Dr. Ford has over 80 publications and presentations and is a wetlands consultant. He is in demand for presentations on silviculture, mushrooms, ethics in forestry, forest health, and the role of policy in agriculture. Vic has been a member of the Society of American Foresters since 1982. He was awarded Forestry Educator of the Year (2013) and Lifetime Achievement Award (2022) for the Ouachita Society of American Foresters Dr. Ford was named Fellow of the Society of American Foresters in 2014. He has held numerous positions in various state societies, served as Secretary, Vice-Chair, and Chair of the Silviculture Working Group. He served on the Ethics Committee and was chair for two years. He was co-chair of the Certification Review Board. Besides SAF, Vic belongs to the Soil Science Society of America and the Agronomy Society of America. Dr. Ford and his wife, Cindy, live in Hope and share five children and six grandchildren. They are members of Unity Baptist Church. He loves music, sports, fly-fishing, hunting, computers, ham radio, and travelling.