Brandt may be at least partially responsible for the career path Whittaker
has taken to arrive back at Purdue.
Whittaker received a USDA National Needs Fellowship that allowed him
to work toward his PhD in 1984. Brandt was instrumental in establishing
the fellowship program at Purdue.
"Had it not been for Karl Brandt, I'm not sure I would have pursued
a PhD at that time," Whittaker says.
Whittaker would like to make a Purdue Agriculture education more accessible
to all Indiana residents, not just to those enrolled at the West Lafayette
campus.
"That may be through forming partnerships with other schools,
including junior colleges, as well as through distance education, and
through non-degree programs with a focus on broader access to Indiana
residents," says Whittaker. But first things first.
"The first thing I want to do is to listen carefully to people
to get the pulse and understand what the strategic desires and wishes
of the faculty are and then put programs in place that move in that
direction."
Whittaker has taught agricultural engineering at Texas A&M since
1987 but because of the increasing demands of his new job, he will not
teach at Purdue.
"The role of the associate dean and director of academic programs
is an important and demanding job that requires someone who understands
the many facets of a university, of agriculture and of student life,"
Lechtenberg says.
"We are excited to have Dale Whittaker as the new head of Academic
Programs. He has tremendous enthusiasm and vision for the future of
academics at Purdue Agriculture, and the future of our program is in
good hands."
Whittaker, his wife, Mary, and two children, Dane, 12, and Erin, 10,
will move to West Lafayette from Bryan, Texas, this summer.
Contact Whittaker at dwhittak@purdue.edu.
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