Purdue News

May 3, 1994 Lechtenberg Appointed Dean Of Purdue Agriculture WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. – Victor L. Lechtenberg, interim dean of agriculture at Purdue University since July 1, today was named the new dean. "Purdue's School of Agriculture has a history rich in excellence, and I'm confident Vic will enhance that tradition," said Purdue President Steven C. Beering in announcing the appointment today (Tuesday, 5/3). "During his long career at Purdue, he has won the respect of faculty, staff, alumni and public officials." Lechtenberg joined the Purdue faculty in 1971 and has been executive associate dean of agriculture since 1989. He led the school as interim dean while a committee conducted a search for a successor to Robert L. Thompson, who left July 1 after six years at Purdue to become president of an international agricultural institute in Arkansas. The committee – with faculty, staff, alumni and student representation – conducted a national search to fill the position. "The search brought a number of fine candidates to our attention," Robert L. Ringel, executive vice president for academic affairs, said. "However, Vic's combination of experience in administration, teaching and research made him the clear leader to take the School of Agriculture into the next century." Lechtenberg, 49, became a professor of agronomy in 1979 and became executive associate dean of agriculture in 1989. In that position, he made recommendations to the dean about research, teaching and Cooperative Extension Service programs, and he assisted in facilities planning and budget and personnel decisions. He was associate director of the Indiana Agriculture Experiment Station (now the Office of Agricultural Research Programs) from 1982 to 1989. That job entailed serving as liaison between agricultural researchers and funding sources, as well as reviewing research proposals from academic departments. Lechtenberg is a native of Butte, Neb., where he grew up on a general livestock farm. He received his bachelor's degree from the University of Nebraska in 1967 and earned a doctorate in agronomy from Purdue in 1971. He is a member of several academic, professional and scholarly societies and has written 147 technical papers, 49 abstracts and five chapters in books. He is a fellow of the American Society of Agronomy and the Crop Science Society of America, and he was president of the crop science society in 1991. Lechtenberg has taught courses in agronomy at Purdue and has been the major professor for 14 graduate students. He also served on advisory committees for 22 other graduate students. His research has involved forage quality, forage production, quality changes in hay during storage, producing forages on marginal lands and ruminant animal nutrition. The faculty and staff of the School of Agriculture includes economists, nutritionists, consumer researchers, ecologists, policy specialists, microbiologists, foresters, biochemists and engineers. The school's curriculum prepares students for more than 250 professional careers through more than 50 different majors. The dean of agriculture administers the Purdue Cooperative Extension Service system, including the 4-H/Youth program that reached more than 265,000 young people in Indiana in 1993. The dean also administers the Office of Academic Programs, the Office of Agricultural Research Programs, and International Programs in Agriculture. Purdue Agriculture also has a one-of-a-kind relationship with state government in that several service and regulatory functions are administered at Purdue. Purdue News Service: (765) 494-2096; purduenews@purdue.edu