Our Team

CSU Office of Engagement & Extension Leadership

James Pritchett | Vice President for Engagement and Extension

James Pritchett serves as Vice President for Engagement and Extension and is the Dean of the College of Agricultural Sciences at Colorado State University. Guided by the land grant mission, Pritchett catalyzes strategic planning, directs administration, and leads operations for research, learning and engagement activities.  The Office of Engagement and Extension (OEE) is the home for CSU Extension and its service to Colorado’s 64 counties. OEE also contributes to the citizens of Colorado by guiding CSU Online, the Colorado Water Center, and programming that supports learners of all ages.

Originally from southeastern Colorado, Pritchett is a two-time alumnus of CSU and received his Ph.D. from the University of Minnesota. Pritchett is trained as an agricultural economist whose work spans agricultural policy, agribusiness management, water resource economics, community development and interdisciplinary land management strategies.

Read the full announcement. 

Lindsey Shirley, Ph.D. serves as Associate Vice President of Engagement & Extension and Deputy Director of CSU Extension at Colorado State University. Whether in Wichita, Kansas, or Rome, Italy, she has shared innovations in teaching and learning implemented into secondary, post-secondary, and Extension learning environments worldwide.

As a professor, Lindsey found herself exploring innovative strategies for the land grant university and higher education to respond to the growing outdoor recreation economy. This investigation led her to develop the first-of-its-kind Bachelor of Science degree in Outdoor Product Design and Development at Utah State University. Today, Lindsey’s focus is on the intersection of the needs of Coloradans and the programs convened by CSU Extension and the Office of Engagement and Extension. In 2021, the Academy of Community Engagement Scholarship recognized her work with communities by inducting her into the Academy.

Before coming to CSU, Lindsey served as Associate Vice Provost for Extension and Engagement and Associate Director of the Extension Service at Oregon State University. During her time at OSU, she worked closely with the governor’s office to affect change on a statewide level that has been critical and transformational in fulfilling the First Gentleman of Oregon Dan Little and Governor Kate Brown’s mission to improve the mental and physical health of Oregonians.

Read the full announcement of Shirley’s appointment with CSU.

John Tracy | Director, Colorado Water Center

John Tracy serves as the director of the Colorado Water Center, joining the Center in July 2022 from Texas A&M where he served as director of the Texas Water Resources Institute.

Tracy has spent most of his career at land-grant institutions, addressing water, land and environmental resources management issues, working with a diverse range of agencies and stakeholders. He has served in leadership positions at water institutes in Texas, Idaho, and Nevada, as well as on the boards of the American Water Resources Association and the National Institutes for Water Resources.

His approach to engagement starts with research questions and activities co-created with communities and agencies to understand concerns and knowledge gaps. In his work with students, he believes the most significant outcomes result when students are prepared to address the highest priorities that society is facing.

Tracy holds a Ph.D. in Engineering and MS in Civil Engineering, both from the Univ. of California at Davis, and a BS in Civil Engineering from CSU.

Read the full announcement of Tracy’s appointment at the Colorado Water Center.

Field Contacts

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