WEST VIRGINIA AGRICULTURE COMMISSIONER GUS R. DOUGLASS HAS APPOINTED DR. ROBERT E. PITTS DIRECTOR OF THE MEAT AND POULTRY INSPECTION DIVISION
News Date March 11, 2008
Dr. Robert E. Pitts assumed the position of director of the Meat and Poultry Inspection Division of the West Virginia Agriculture Department on February 15, 2008, after being appointed acting director upon the retirement of Dr. W. Jan Charminski on November 1, 2007. Pitts previously served as veterinary supervisor for Circuit I of the Meat and Poultry Inspection Division.
Pitts first joined the Meat and Poultry Inspection Division in 1989 as veterinary supervisor after leaving private practice. He left the department in 2000 and served as assistant clinical professor at West Virginia University's Davis College of Agriculture and Forestry for four years. Pitts then accepted a position with the Virginia Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services (VDACS) as staff veterinarian with Veterinary Services. He had been promoted to the position of program manager for Veterinary Services for VDACS before deciding to return to his position as veterinary supervisor with the West Virginia Department of Agriculture to be closer to family.