The couple have two grown daughters, Heather and Stephanie. Britt succeeded Dr. D. M. Gossett, who retired last June. Buddy Mitchell, associate vice president for agricultural development, was appointed by UT President Dr. Joe Johnson to serve as acting vice president until Britt arrived on campus in mid-September. A native of Glasgow, Kentucky, Britt was formerly associate dean for research and graduate programs at the North Carolina State College of Veterinary Medicine and assistant director of the North Carolina Agricultural Research Service. From 1970 to 1977, he was on the faculty in the Department of Dairy Science at Michigan State University.
Britt is no stranger to the rigors of farm life.
He and his identical twin brother, Jenks, and his sister, Suzanne, grew up on a 400-acre dairy and crop farm in Warren County, Kentucky. While studying for his undergraduate degree, he worked on the family farm and was a relief artificial-insemination technician on weekends and holidays. We need to become more competitive in seeking nonappropriated funds from all types of sources for all our teaching, research, and Extension programs. That means we must provide faculty with better grant-writing skills and encourage them to write more proposals. Second, we must look beyond traditional sources of funding.