UF's Connelly to Lead American Mosquito Control Association

Roxanne Connelly, right, accepts the presidential gavel from Tom Wilmot, outgoing president of the AMCA.

GAINESVILLE, Fla. - Roxanne Connelly, entomologist with the University of Florida (UF), has been selected as president of the American Mosquito Control Association (AMCA). She will serve a one-year term.

Connelly is an associate professor with UF's Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences, and was inducted as president during the association's annual meeting earlier this year. 

"I'm very pleased about it," Connelly said. "Holding this position is really an honor for me because I was elected to it."

The election happened at the 2010 AMCA annual meeting, where members voted Connelly to a four-year leadership stint. In 2011, she began by serving a one-year term as vice president, then another year as president-elect, and now president. 

As president, Connelly will appear at state mosquito control association meetings, give presentations, recruit members and preside over board meetings. She also said she wants to encourage talented young scientists from every background to consider mosquito control as a career option.

"Right before I took over as president, I formed a task force on recruiting the next generation of mosquito control professionals," she said. "My job is to come up with ideas for high school students, to introduce them to the profession."