After 10 great years, I am no longer dean of Purdue Agriculture. All told, I worked in the College of Agriculture for more than 30 years. I now have the good fortune to continue to serve Purdue University as vice provost for engagement.

We saw tremendous growth in Purdue Agriculture over the last decade. The quality of our undergraduate experience improved with more emphasis on undergraduate research, service learning, globalization and study abroad. We accomplished this while providing a strong emphasis on meeting the needs of production agriculture.

Purdue Agriculture is committed to serving Indiana, and Purdue Extension is the catalyst for that connection. Our Extension educators and specialists work tirelessly to link research and teaching initiatives with the people in the state. That is a wonderful primer for my next role.

Purdue’s engagement mission focuses on using all of the university’s resources to serve Indiana. We want to collaborate with state officials, business and industry, and service organizations — all of our stakeholders — to help find solutions to the challenges facing our state.

Transition isn’t easy, but Purdue Agriculture is very fortunate to have a leader like Randy Woodson to serve as interim dean. He directs our agricultural research program and is an outstanding person who will do a fine job of keeping the school growing and moving forward.

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