By Sarah Cato
U of A System Division of Agriculture

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – After a successful career in the poultry industry, Bill Potter has joined the University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture hoping to give back to the industry and the university that means so much to him.

GIVING BACK – Bill Potter is excited to join the Division of Agriculture as faculty and give back to the industry and university that means so much to him. (Division of Agriculture photo.)

Potter joined the Division of Agriculture Sept. 3 as associate professor and Poultry Federation chair of food safety and processing extension, based in Fayetteville. Potter, who received his Master of Science and Ph.D. in poultry science from the University of Arkansas and has worked extensively with extension specialists through his career, said he was excited to join the Division of Agriculture as faculty.

“The poultry industry has provided me so many great opportunities, and I wanted to take this next phase of my career as a chance to return the favor,” Potter said.

“We are very excited to have Dr. Potter join the faculty in Poultry Science,” said David Caldwell, director for the Center of Excellence for Poultry Science for the Division of Agriculture. "He brings three decades of very relevant industry experience to our program, and that increases our reach and relevance with our commercial stakeholders. We are already seeing the benefits of his programming and outreach with industry partners.”

During his career, Potter has worked in poultry food safety, quality assurance and research and development for several industry leaders, including Conagra, Advance Foods, George’s Inc. and Elanco Animal Health. His extensive experience has made Potter familiar with the increasing food safety risks producers face.

“In this role, I’m hoping to collaborate with our poultry science department and industry to help reduce food safety risks such as Salmonella, Campylobacter and foreign material. Also, I am looking forward to helping processing plants optimize their operations,” Potter said. “From a research standpoint, I hope to help develop innovative biotechnologies and systems to help the poultry industry meet food safety and processing objectives.”

In addition to his research and extension duties, Potter plans to use his teaching assignment as a chance to “add some real-world practical knowledge to help mentor both younger students and develop industry professionals.”

Potter can be contacted directly at bdpotter@uada.edu or bdpotter@uark.edu or 479-575-2211.

To learn more about Division of Agriculture research, visit the Arkansas Agricultural Experiment Station website: https://aaes.uada.edu. Follow on Twitter at @ArkAgResearch. To learn more about the Division of Agriculture, visit https://uada.edu/. Follow us on Twitter at @AgInArk. To learn about extension programs in Arkansas, contact your local Cooperative Extension Service agent or visit www.uaex.uada.edu.