Dear colleagues,
As 2014 begins to draw to a close and we turn to the coming year, I am pleased to announce three transitions in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences leadership team. I am sharing this news early so that we can support these individuals in our work over the coming months as they step into their new roles.
As many of you already know, Susan Brown, currently Associate Director of the New York State Agricultural Experiment Station in Geneva and Herman M. Cohn Professor of Agriculture and Life Sciences, will become an associate dean in CALS and the Goichman Family Director of NYSAES on January 2, 2015. Dr. Brown has served as associate director of NYAES since July 1, 2013. Among her responsibilities in that role has been stewarding the NYSAES strategic planning process, in concert with a faculty committee and community input. As a faculty member in the section of Horticulture in the School of Integrative Plant Science, she runs one of the largest tree fruit breeding programs in the world. She has released four apple varieties—Fortune, Autumncrisp, SnapDragon™, and RubyFrost™—and is the co-inventor of ten sweet cherries and one tart cherry. Her research combines breeding and genetics to improve apple quality, disease resistance, nutritional qualities and tree architecture. Her professional achievements have been recognized with a 2013 SUNY Chancellor’s Award for Excellence in Faculty Service, a 2012 CALS Alumni Association Outstanding Faculty Award, and her selection for the 2013 Leading Cornell program. She was named a Woman of Distinction by the New York State Senate in 2014. Susan received a B.S. from the University of Connecticut, an M.S. from Rutgers University, and a Ph.D. from the University of California-Davis. She joined the Cornell faculty in 1985.
The other two transitions are related: On July 1, 2015, Beth Ahner will become a Senior Associate Dean in CALS, and on September 1, 2015, Jan Nyrop will become Director of the Cornell University Agricultural Experiment Station.
Dr. Ahner is currently chair of the Department of Biological and Environmental Engineering. Her professional objectives have been to explore basic science in pursuit of better engineering solutions. In particular, she seeks to understand how organisms adapt to trace metal stress in the environment and in turn, how they influence the form of metals in the environment. Discoveries in this area lead to better strategies to remediate metal contamination in the environment and to a better understanding of natural ecosystems. She is also working on the improved use of plants and algae for biofuel production. In her courses, she teaches students to recognize the complexity of environmental problems and to implement efficient and environmentally sound solutions to them. Beth received her B.S. and her Ph.D. from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. She joined the faculty in 1996.
Dr. Nyrop has served as a CALS Senior Associate Dean since January, 2007. In that role, his responsibilities have included faculty affairs, department and program reviews, sponsored research oversight, management of core research funds, and academic aspects of facilities and human resources. Dr. Nyrop’s academic appointment is in the Department of Entomology with responsibilities for research, teaching and extension. The goal of his research is to develop concepts and tools that support biologically-based management of arthropod pests. Jan received his B.S. from the University of Maine and conducted his graduate studies at Michigan State University where he received an M.S. in Entomology, an M.S. in Systems Engineering, and a Ph.D. in Entomology. He joined Cornell as an Extension Associate in the IPM program in 1982 and joined the faculty in 1985.
I look forward to the perspectives, knowledge, and enthusiasm for our work as a college that Susan, Beth, and Jan will bring into their new roles, and I am grateful to Tom Burr, outgoing director of NYSAES, Mike Hoffmann, outgoing director of CUAES, and Jan as a Senior Associate Dean, for their leadership and achievements on behalf of CALS. Tom will be returning to the faculty in the section of Plant Pathology and Plant-Microbe Biology in the School of Integrative Plant Science, and Mike will be returning to the faculty in Entomology while also continuing to build the Cornell Institute for Climate Change and Agriculture. I want to also extend my appreciation to Mike Walter, who will be stepping into the role of chair for BEE.
Please join me in wishing all of the above well in their transitions.
Sincerely,
Kathryn Boor
