[2007 Leadership Profiles] Dan Suiter

In some ways, Dan Suiter is just a big kid. A sixth-generation Floridian, Suiter recalls a childhood full of outdoor adventures, hunting and fishing. “I used to kick over logs to see what was underneath,” he says. “I guess I never grew out of that.”

Suiter’s interest in the life beneath logs was the first inkling of what has become a lifetime of study in the field of entomology. Now an associate professor at the University of Georgia College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, Suiter is a recipient of the 2007 Crown Leadership Award, which recognizes pest management professionals who have made significant contributions to the growth and development of the structural pest control industry, as well as to their communities.

News of the award was not surprising to Suiter’s colleagues. Praise abounds for the 44-year-old academic and industry leader: “Dan’s outstanding — personable, approachable and outgoing,” says Gary Bennett, professor of urban/industrial pest management at Purdue University. Suiter left his position as director of the industrial affiliates program for Purdue’s Department of Entomology in 2000 when he took his current faculty position in Georgia. “I lost my best employee when he went to the University of Georgia,” Bennett laments.

MORE THAN BUGS

Suiter’s first introduction to the educational aspects of insect life was during a zoology course at Palm Beach Junior College. His instructor noticed Dan’s interest in entomology and suggested he look into the program at the University of Florida. “That’s when I made the decision to become an entomologist,” Suiter says.

Suiter studied at the University of Florida from 1985 to 1994, earning a bachelor’s degree in entomology, a master’s degree in urban entomology, and a doctorate in urban entomology and statistics. Yet his decision to pursue entomology had a broader effect on his life than merely creating a professional focus. It was in an early entomology class at UF that he met his future wife, Lisa. Now married for 13 years, the couple work near one another on the University of Georgia’s Griffin campus.

One of Suiter’s University of Florida heroes is Dr. Phil Koehler, professor of entomology. “I was Dan’s academic advisor throughout his entire educational experience here,” Koehler says. “He’s very competent and calm — he doesn’t get rattled. The other students called him ‘Mr. Steady.’”

Suiter’s work for Purdue University included initial development of the urban pest management undergraduate degree option. He helped revise the curriculum for the existing undergraduate program in urban pest management to incorporate experiences with business as well as traditional biology, chemistry and entomology. Suiter’s revised curriculum, based on data he obtained via a survey of the pest management industry as to educational needs for the industry and its professionals, was adopted and implemented in 2004.

“I fell in love with West Lafayette (Ind.),” he recalls. “I kind of like snow. But after a couple of big snowfalls, my wife had had enough. When the job opened at the University of Georgia, it was an opportunity to get back into the Sun Belt.”

Suiter focuses his work at the UGA Griffin campus, which was established in 1888 as the Georgia Experiment Station for agricultural research, on extending knowledge through the College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences’ cooperative extension service. Programming is geared toward the pest control industry, homeowners and county extension agents.

“I get five or six calls a week from pest control professionals who want to bounce around ideas,” Suiter says. “I also hear from extension agents who have received calls from homeowners who need help diagnosing a pest problem. We talk through the problems and come up with possible solutions.”

PROBLEM SOLVER

In addition to his role as an answer man for the state’s 1,200 pest control businesses, which employ almost 10,000 people, Suiter works with industry leaders to research new products or find new ways to use existing products. In working with large chemical manufacturers, he assists in generating data that support Environmental Protection Agency registration or that confirm field observations. He also consults with product manufacturers that have experienced insect problems in their plants or warehouses. For instance, when insects were getting crushed in large rolls of paper at a Georgia paper mill, the Taiwanese buyer began refusing shipments. Suiter, working with company leaders, solved the problem, allowing the paper to again reach its intended destination. Other adventures in commercial pest management requiring

Suiter’s involvement included helping Kellogg’s develop a Pharaoh ant control program in one of its Georgia food plants; solving a fruit fly problem in a north Georgia winery’s bottling plant; and helping the Georgia Outdoor News select a new site for its offices.

“Solving problems is my favorite part of my work,” he says. “It’s rewarding to work with people to help them solve problems that impact their business.”

A CLASS ACT

Yet a faculty position, even one that is charged primarily with extension work, requires some teaching. Suiter is an accomplished lecturer, speaking to undergraduate and graduate classes about ant biology, integrated pest management in urban environments, and structural insect pests. He also works one-on-one with a number of graduate students, advising them on research, experimental design and career options.

His dedication to young people entering the field of entomology is not limited to college students. Suiter recently advised a high school student from Douglas, Ga., with his science fair project. The student won his district fair, taking top honors out of 500 entries and winning a two-year scholarship to South Georgia College. The student then advanced to the State Science Fair where he placed in the top 12 of 50 projects in his category.

WIDE-RANGING RESEARCH

Research is another important component of graduate faculty work. While Suiter does not have an official research appointment, he does contribute to the body of knowledge through a research program that is applied, problem-solving, and focused on ants, termites and other peridomestic pest species.

Goals of his research include “the advancement of entomological and ecological sciences; the generation of objective, science-based information upon which to base pest management recommendations for urban entomology practitioners and clientele; and the reduction of chemical inputs into the home and institutional environment.”

Suiter’s research projects, which are funded by industry and governmental grants, relate to specific needs of the pest control industry and Georgians in general. He keeps up-to-date on trends and new industry needs by communicating regularly with academic colleagues across the country, university extension agents, pest control professionals and homeowners. This anecdotal information is supported by data from statistical surveys that identify emerging and persistent concerns.

Anyone wishing to explore the details of Suiter’s research findings can locate his work in a variety of prestigious publications. He is the author of 16 scholarly publications in scientific journals (including the internationally respected Journal of Economic Entomology, Environmental Entomology, Medical and Veterinary Entomology, and Journal of Chemical Ecology), three peer-reviewed bulletins, and eight abstracts from proceedings of national and international scientific meetings. Co-authors include entomologists from Ohio State University, the University of Florida and the University of Georgia.
Suiter also writes extension bulletins targeted to general audiences. For instance, the first press run of “Termite Control Services: Information for the Georgia Property Owner” was for 5,000 copies. An additional 7,000 copies were then reprinted and distributed nationally for educational purposes, and the bulletin is being used throughout the country.

Serving the state by sharing his expertise, Suiter is an appointed member of the Georgia Structural Pest Control Commission, a seven-member board responsible for developing rules and regulations governing the Georgia pest control industry. In this role, he regularly casts votes that directly affect termite control companies and the services they provide for Georgia’s 8.2 million residents.

Those residents can thank Suiter for helping the state identify and control perhaps the most destructive wood-destroying insect in the world: the Formosan termite. As director of Georgia’s Formosan Termite Eradication Initiative, Suiter obtained state funding to detect the presence of Formosan termite infestations already established in Georgia, eliminate the termites from sites where they exist, and halt the continued introduction of infested materials into the state.

He also shares his knowledge through his leadership at the Structural Pest Control Training Center in Griffin, Ga. The facility offers workshops to PCOs several times a year. Since 1998, Suiter has organized, conducted or hosted 32 such workshops for hundreds of participants. The training facility was constructed with funds from a cooperative agreement between UGA, the EPA and the Georgia Department of Agriculture. It resembles a 3,000-square-foot, partially-built home where termite control professionals, regulatory inspectors and university extension personnel study and practice proper treatment and inspection of homes for subterranean termites. “We bring in PCOs and county extension agents and demonstrate some of the industry challenges with termites,” he says.

GO-TO GUY

Suiter notes that in his 20 years in the field, he’s always fought the “exterminator image.” When describing the certificate program he developed at UGA’s Office of Continuing Education, to school guidance counselors, for instance, he often surprises them with his descriptions of the industry’s pay, benefits and worker satisfaction. “People just don’t consider a career in pest control,” he says. “We’re working to get the word out that this is a dynamic, fun industry to be in.”

Suiter clearly enjoys his career, yet he maintains his early love of hunting, travel, photography and gardening. And he appreciates his ability to pursue his interests all the more because he experienced a frightening health scare in 2003 when a blood vessel burst in his brain. When scanning the brain to pinpoint the problem, physicians found a potentially dangerous blood clot. He immediately underwent surgery to remove the clot, probably saving his life.

Looking down the road toward his future endeavors, Gary Bennett says of Suiter, “If you need something done, ask Dan. He’s a real credit to the urban entomology community.” 

An Investment in the Industry

Last year, in cooperation with the Office of Continuing Education at the University of Georgia, Dan Suiter developed an education program (certificate) in urban pest management. The program consists of 10 three-hour lectures taught once per week. The lectures cover such issues as basic entomology and principles of insecticides, sales and technology, legal issues, principles of urban IPM, and the biology and management of a variety of structural pests. The program also encourages students to complete an internship with a pest management company.

Several of the lectures have an identification lab associated with it, thanks to Suiter’s extensive insect collection. “Through the years, I have managed to acquire a collection of nearly 800 urban insect pest specimens and their damage,” he said. “As part of these lectures, we have a lab where we put out ten or so microscopes with actual examples of the pest groups we’re discussing at the time. The lab component of my classes makes the certificate unique in Georgia, and one of a handful of similar courses in the Southeast. The lab gives students an opportunity to see the 100 or so most common pest species they’re likely to run into during their normal course of business.”

The intent of the certificate program is to provide a steady supply of new, reliable technicians to the pest control industry. “A major problem facing pest control companies is long-term employee retention,” Suiter said. “Operators have told me personally that the loss and subsequent replacement of a registered technician can cost as much as $10,000 to $30,000 in lost revenue and investment in a replacement employee. For example, it is common for off-the-street, new hires to take the state-mandated registration exam multiple times before earning a passing grade. Obviously, an employee cannot generate income for the company without having passed the registration exam. Our certificate program removes the burden of exam preparation from the hiring company, helping graduates pass the exam more quickly, and putting them to work sooner. These advantages ultimately save companies time and money.”

All too often, after the long, costly process of technician registration, many employees leave the industry within months. Reported technician turnover rates of 20 to 40 percent are not uncommon. As mentioned above, this continuous treadmill is a tremendous financial drain on pest control companies. “Another of our goals is to help stop this high rate of turnover by providing the industry with employees who are pre-committed to a career in the pest control industry,” Suiter said. “Our hope is that the internship will give students the opportunity to ‘look’ at the industry while giving the industry time to ‘look’ at each potential new employee.”

The University of Georgia continues to market the certificate to high school guidance counselors, general labor pools, and industry re-training programs. Of course, current employees of pest control companies also can enroll in the program. For additional information about the certificate program, visit www.gabugs.uga.edu.

The Suiter File:

Company: University of Georgia

Headquarters: Griffin, Ga.

Position: Associate Professor, Department of Entomology

Career highlights: Bachelor’s degree in entomology, master’s in urban entomology, doctorate in urban entomology and statistics, all from the University of Florida; developed undergraduate degree and certificate programs for urban pest management at Purdue University and Griffin Technical College, respectively; was awarded more than $1 million in grants and contracts for scientific research; served on advisory and technical panels for the EPA, U.S. Department of Agriculture, and the CDC; was elected a member of Golden Key and Phi Kappa Phi; received the Orkin Research Award.

Community: Judged Griffin High School Science Fair; gave talks on entomology to science fair participants at the UGA-CAES Griffin Campus; mentored college students; worked on Purdue’s annual Bug Bowl.

Personal: Wife, Lisa.