In less than two months, Jack Payne will be more than 1,200 miles away from Ames. That’s because Payne, vice president for extension and outreach with ISU Extension, has taken the position as senior vice president for agriculture and natural resources at the University of Florida.

Payne will move out of his office at 2150 Beardshear Hall into an office at 1038 McCarty Hall in Gainesville, Fla.

“I wasn’t really looking to leave Iowa State,” Payne said. “This is a great place to work, I feel that there are lots of great opportunities and there continues to be opportunities here. It’s a great university; best university I’ve been to; best job I’ve ever had.”

Payne’s new position in Florida, which begins June 1, means he’ll be in charge of the University of Florida/Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences Extension Service, the Florida Agricultural Experiment Station, 16 research centers, 67 extension offices, the College of Agricultural and Life Sciences, the College of Veterinary Medicine, the school of forestry and the school of natural resources.

Payne will be responsible for one-third of the university’s faculty, including four deans and a budget of about $350 million.

“It’s a bigger stage in order to make a difference,” Payne said.

Larry Arrington, interim senior vice president for agriculture and natural resources at the University of Florida, nominated Payne for the position but didn’t make the final hiring decision.

“I look forward to having him around,” Arrington said. He said he knew Payne through national meetings and functions.

Once Payne arrives in June, Arrington will go back to being the dean for extension, one of the positions Payne will oversee.

Payne said the current budget situation at Iowa State and the ISU Extension restructure didn’t influence his decision in taking the new job.

“In fact, all things being equal, I would stay and continue to follow that through, because I really think that, really, what we’ve done here has saved extension,” he said. “I was really looking forward to reaping some of the benefits that this new structure will bring; more money in the program-area side.”

Payne said the University of Florida is facing budget challenges, too. He said the school took a “big hit” from the state’s legislature last year.

Gerald Miller, associate dean of the ISU Agricultural Experiment Station, will serve as interim vice president for extension and outreach with ISU Extension once Payne leaves for Florida.

As the associate dean of extension programs and outreach in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences from 1998 to Jan. 31, 2010, Miller worked with Payne during the budget and extension restructure.

“He provided excellent leadership and was very supportive of the initiative in agricultural and natural resources as he could be with the budget situation, which affected all program areas, all colleges,” Miller said.

Miller had planned to retire this year, but said he plans to serve as the interim vice president until July 1, 2011, or until a new vice president is named, whichever comes first. He began working as a “special assistant” to Payne on April 1 to transition into the position.

“There’s work to be done, and there’s opportunities to move forward, and hopefully I can provide the kind of leadership that will keep moving extension forward in the trajectory that Dr. Payne has established,” Miller said.

Payne said he’ll miss Iowa State — especially the leadership and his colleagues.

“It’s been a great team and, because of who they are, they’ve made me a better administrator. It’s the best team I’ve ever worked with,” he said. “There are so many things I will miss, I can’t think of anything I won’t miss really. It’s been a great place; if this opportunity never presented itself, I would be very happy to continue doing what I’m doing.”