HONORED — Martha Ray Sartor, who oversees 4-H and Family and Consumer Sciences for the Arkansas Cooperative Extension Service, was honored by her alma mater as a distinguished fellow. (Mississippi State University photo)

STARKVILLE, Miss. — Martha Ray Sartor, associate vice president for both the Family and Consumer Sciences and 4-H programs in Arkansas, has been named a Distinguished Fellow for the School of Human Sciences by Mississippi State University.

MSU’s School of Agriculture and Life Sciences bestowed the honor at a ceremony last week. She is one of nine individuals selected for the honor, which recognizes alumni who have exhibited significant professional accomplishments and has also shown a personal commitment to Mississippi State University.

“This is truly an honor that I was nominated among the school’s thousands of graduates, many of whom have made industry changing contributions,” Sartor said.

“I enjoyed being able to be around people I had met over the last 40 years. It was almost like a reunion.”

Even after leaving Mississippi, Sartor continued to support MSU.

“My parents always taught me to give back,” she said.

Sartor joined the University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture’s Cooperative Extension Service in 2007, appointed as associate district director for the 25-county Delta district. She was later named director of the Delta district. In 2014 she was appointed assistant director for county operations. In 2017, she was named associate vice president, overseeing two of the four sections of the Cooperative Extension Service.

Sartor is responsible for the $15-million-dollar C.A. Vines Arkansas 4-H Center, working with the Arkansas 4-H Foundation that manages a $9.5 million portfolio, and 4-H/Family and Consumer Sciences programs that garner up to $10 million in grants and contracts annually.

After earning her bachelor's degree at MSU, she continued her education at the University of Mississippi where she received a Master of Secondary Education and a Ph.D. in Educational Administration while working for the Extension Service in the Mississippi Delta.

Her career with the Mississippi State University Extension Service spanned 26 years where she served as an agent in four Delta counties, an area financial management specialist in Greenville, 4-H specialist on campus, and as a district administrator in Hattiesburg, Mississippi.

As a youth she was a member of Mississippi’s 4-H program.

Sartor grew up in Ripley, Mississippi, where she plans to retire.

To learn more about Division of Agriculture research, visit the Arkansas Agricultural Experiment Station website: https://aaes.uark.edu. Follow on Twitter at @ArkAgResearch. To learn more about the Division of Agriculture, visit https://uada.edu/. Follow us on Twitter at @AgInArk. To learn about extension programs in Arkansas, contact your local Cooperative Extension Service agent or visit www.uaex.uada.edu. Follow us on Twitter and Instagram at @AR_Extension.

About the Division of Agriculture

The University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture’s mission is to strengthen agriculture, communities, and families by connecting trusted research to the adoption of best practices. Through the Agricultural Experiment Station and the Cooperative Extension Service, the Division of Agriculture conducts research and extension work within the nation’s historic land grant education system.

The Division of Agriculture is one of 20 entities within the University of Arkansas System. It has offices in all 75 counties in Arkansas and faculty on five system campuses. 

The University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture offers all its Extension and Research programs to all eligible persons without regard to race, color, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, national origin, religion, age, disability, marital or veteran status, genetic information, or any other legally protected status, and is an Affirmative Action/Equal Opportunity Employer.