John Westra has been selected as the new director of the University of Nebraska-Lincoln’s Panhandle Research, Extension and Education Center in Scottsbluff. His appointment will take effect on Sept. 1.

Westra joined UNL in 2017 as the associate director for the southeast research and extension district and since then, has served in a variety of roles, including program leader for two interdisciplinary teams and professor of agricultural economics. In those roles Westra was able to see firsthand the importance of the university’s facilities and offices across the state.

“The research,...