New Dean for the College of Agriculture

To:        Executive Vice Presidents, Chancellors, Vice Presidents, Vice Chancellors, Vice Provosts, Deans, Directors, and Heads of Schools, Divisions, Departments and Offices

From:   Jay Akridge
             Provost and Executive Vice President for Academic Affairs and Diversity

RE:       New Dean for the College of Agriculture

Date:    May 17, 2018

I am pleased to inform you that Karen Plaut, interim dean of the College of Agriculture, has accepted our offer to become the Glenn W. Sample Dean of the College of Agriculture, effective May 21.

Karen brings a tremendous amount of leadership experience to the dean position and will draw from her previous roles as senior associate dean of research and faculty affairs and director of agricultural research for Purdue; chair of the Department of Animal Sciences at both Michigan State University and the University of Vermont; and lead scientist for the NASA International Space Station Biological Research Project.

As dean, Karen will be responsible for administering academic programs in the College of Agriculture, the Indiana Agricultural Experiment Station, the Purdue Cooperative Extension Service, and a number of state regulatory services.  In addition to her role as an administrator, she also has an active research program in mammary gland biology.

I want to thank Willie Reed, dean of the College of Veterinary Medicine, for the great work he and his committee did in conducting the national search for this important position.  Our outstanding faculty and staff have made Purdue’s College of Agriculture one of the best in the world.  With Karen at the helm, I have no doubt the college will advance to even higher levels of excellence and impact.

 Please join me in congratulating Dean Karen Plaut on her new role.