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New era at Purdue still steeped in land-grant history
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 When the Purdue University Board of Trustees voted unanimously May 7 to name France Córdova as Purdue’s 11th president, three of the trustees casting votes were members of the Purdue Agriculture family.
The opportunity to elect a new president was a momentous occasion for Purdue Agriculture alumni Mark Townsend and John Hardin Jr. and animal sciences major Rachel Cumberbatch, the student representative on the board. Hardin also co-chaired the 14-member presidential search committee, of which Bernard Tao, Indiana Soybean Board Professor in Soybean Utilization Research, was a member. They all did us proud in choosing a president who is an internationally renowned scientist and a visionary leader.
President Córdova comes to Purdue from a sister land-grant institution, the University of California, Riverside, where she was at the forefront of innovative research and progressive community outreach programs. During her acceptance speech, she remarked that the frontier research at Purdue today is fused with spirit of the land-grant mission, so that the university is able to reach into every community in Indiana and make a difference.
We at Purdue Agriculture welcome President Córdova and look forward to her leadership as we continue to meet the needs of communities at home and abroad through learning, discovery and engagement.
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