Purdue Agriculture dean appoints new agricultural sciences education and communications department head

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. — Karen Plaut, Purdue University’s Glenn W. Sample Dean of the College of Agriculture, has appointed Rama Radhakrishna as head of the Department of Agricultural Sciences Education and Communications.

“Rama brings impressive strengths to Purdue Agriculture and ASEC,” Plaut said. “His commitment to all aspects of the mission and evaluating their impact will ensure that ASEC’s Agricultural Education and Agricultural Communication programs continue to grow and the department builds its partnerships across the college and state.”

After completing his doctorate in agricultural and Extension education from Pennsylvania State University, Radhakrishna worked on a three-year research study at the university focusing on the effects of smoking among children. Following the study, Radhakrishna held a faculty position at Clemson University and, most recently, in the Department of Agricultural Economics, Sociology and Education at Penn State. He also served as assistant dean for graduate education in the College of Agricultural Sciences.

With Radhakrishna’s area of expertise being Extension program development and evaluation, he looks forward to identifying areas of collaboration and integration in the College of Agriculture. He wants to tackle issues across the state and at the same time identify opportunities for cutting-edge research and teaching within Purdue’s College of Agriculture.

“Integration has been a theme throughout my career, and we have tremendous opportunity to do that here at Purdue,” Radhakrishna said. “I am very driven by results and outcomes. One thing I believe is that when we think about discovery and innovation, it happens at the intersection of disciplines. For us to address critical issues facing society and to produce positive outcomes, we must make that happen.”

During the fall semester, Radhakrishna said he plans to do some extensive listening to better learn about the college. He emphasized the need to understand departmental strengths and opportunities for improvement, which are key to accomplishing the goals to be set for ASEC’s success.

Writer: Jillian Ellison, 765-494-0948, ellison1@purdue.edu 

Source: Rama Radhakrishna, rbradhak@purdue.edu 

Agricultural Communications: 765-494-8415;

Maureen Manier, Department Head, mmanier@purdue.edu

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