1999 Walter Barnard Hill Distinguished Public Service Fellow

Beverly L. Sparks

Beverly L. Sparks joined The University of Georgia faculty as an associate professor in February of 1989. Her responsibilities include insect pest management programs for turf and ornamental plants and entomological programming for 4-H and other youth programs. In addition, since June 1996, Sparks has served as Extension program coordinator for the entomology faculty.

This past year, Sparks provided the leadership necessary to develop training materials and to implement training programs for the new Structural Pest Control Training Center on the Griffin, Georgia, campus. The training center will significantly impact will significantly impact Georgia’s $225 million pest control industry. The industry’s 1,600 certified pest control operators and many of its 6,696 employees have ongoing needs for training. Through these programs, Sparks is now taking advantage of an unprecedented opportunity to positively influence and raise the level of knowledge and professionalism of employees in an industry that touches the lives of all Georgians. She was elected vice chair of the Structural Pest Commission in 1998, an indication of her professional stature and the respect and esteem with which she is held by the leaders of the Georgia Pest Control Industry.

Sparks led the development and implementation of a computerized recordkeeping system for the insect identification service provided by all Extension entomologists located in Athens. The system provides valuable data on pest infestation and provides a history of insect problems in the state.

She was instrumental in the creation of the Homeowner Integrated Pest Management (IPM) Clinic. She is responsible for training and consulting with the diagnosticians that oversee the clinic. More than 1,500 households/structural or ornamental/turf samples are submitted in this clinic each year.

Sparks has served as an educational resource for pet control operators in the state since 1990. She also supports the entomology curriculum for the Environmental Education Program located at the 4-11 centers in Georgia. This is the largest environmental education program in the nation, involving more than 500 schools and more than 23,000 students in grades three through eight.

To address specific insect control problems, Sparks established research and demonstration projects throughout Georgia. Results of these trials are used to develop control recommendations, and they serve as the basis for educational demonstration for industry professionals and county agents (via field days). The results also provide information for articles written for trade magazines, the popular press and other mass media outlets.

Sparks has received grant funds exceeding $93,000 since 1989 in support of her applied research efforts. She is a member of the College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences Ornamental Working Group. This team has secured funding from the Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education/Agriculture in Concert with the Environment (SARE/ACE) and the U.S. Department of Agriculture/Integrated Pest Management (USDA/IPM) programs to support research and Extension activities related to IPM practices in landscapes. The SARE/ACE grant was for $36,800 and the USDA/IPM grant, for $100,000.

Her programming is characterized by thorough assessment of educational needs detailed development and coordination of project activities, development of clientele demand-based instructional materials, and utilization of effective instruction methods that meet the specific experiences and learning needs of clientele groups.

Since joining the faculty in 1989, Sparks has conducted 31 in-service training sessions for more than 850 county Extension agents. She has developed and presented 56 training sessions for some 8,500 industry professionals. Since 1990, Sparks has trained more than 1,500 Master Gardner volunteers who, in turn, have returned 8,000 hours of volunteer service to the Cooperative Extension Service annually (more than 10,000 contacts per year). Sparks’ sessions are consistently rated between 4.7 to 5.0 by participants, on a scale of 1 to 5 with 5 representing excellent.

Sparks has served as senior author of 12 Extension bulletins and as coauthor of five additional Extension bulletins and two Extension leaflets. Each of these was designed to deliver information on the identification and management if insect pests in landscape systems.

Sparks is an inspiration to students and serves on many graduate student committees. Although she has no formal teaching appointment, she coordinates and “team teaches” a course in turfgrass insect, plant pathology and crop and soil sciences department.