Lincoln, Neb. —Doug Zalesky has been reappointed as director of the University of Nebraska-Lincoln’s Eastern Nebraska Research, Extension and Education Center (ENREEC) near Mead. His five-year appointment was effective Jan. 1, 2023.
ENREEC comprises nearly 10,000 acres, which support row crops, pastures, and a commercial-scale feedlot, as well as an Extension office and educational facilities. During Zalesky’s five years at the center, he led an effort to bring high-speed connectivity across the site’s 10,000 acres, laying the foundation for highly technical research and experimentation in the realm of digital and precision ag. He was part of a team that developed a strategic framework to guide ENREEC, as well as Nebraska’s other research, extension and education centers and other research sites, into the future. This past November, the university broke ground on the new Feedlot Innovation Center, a state-of-the-art commercial-scale feedlot at ENREEC that will serve as a hub for education, outreach and research, as well as a site where private industry can test and refine emerging technologies.
“Our statewide research sites including ENREEC are critical components of our land-grant mission, and Doug has a strong vision for how these sites must evolve to serve the public into the future,” said Derek McLean, dean and director of the Agricultural Research Division within UNL’s Institute of Agriculture and Natural Resources. “I look forward to seeing ENREEC continue to evolve to meet new challenges over the next five years.”
Zalesky received his bachelor’s and master’s degrees in animal science from UNL before receiving a doctoral degree at Texas A&M University. He has worked as a beef extension specialist in Louisiana and South Dakota and as a research center director at Colorado State University and the University of Wyoming before joining UNL in 2018.