Anna Katharine Mansfield, an enologist known for her work in elevating the success of New York state’s craft beverage industry, has been appointed associate director of Cornell AgriTech, effective July 1.
As an associate professor of food science, Mansfield has led craft beverage research, extension and education programming for producers across the state since 2009. She will join Director Jan Nyrop in leading the Geneva campus while the current associate director, Larry Smart, will return full-time to his role as professor of horticulture.
Nyrop praised Smart’s accomplishments over the past three years which include the renewal and engagement of Cornell AgriTech’s advisory council, completion of the campus strategic plan, and review of federal capacity and research fund proposals. He also played an important role in building Cornell AgriTech’s summer scholars program and facilitating discussions on diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) initiatives.
Nyrop said Mansfield would be a valuable addition to the leadership team.
“Anna Katharine brings a wealth of experience in building industries through extension and education,” he said. “Her keen interest in making the Geneva campus more diverse, inclusive and equitable will also be an asset in this role.”
In her new role, Mansfield will focus on expanding campus DEI initiatives, strengthening education and extension programming, overseeing commodity grants and allocating discretionary research funding.
For 12 years at Cornell AgriTech, Mansfield has focused research efforts on applied projects designed to help regional and small-scale wineries fine-tune wine quality and enhance production efficiency. Her extension strategy has been to form collaborative programming to help educate, inform and support New York’s craft beverage industry through targeted research, technology transfer and communication.
In 2019, Mansfield launched the Cornell Craft Beverage Institute (CCBI) — a resource center that provides services to more than 1,100 craft beverage producers across the state. CCBI’s roles include analyzing industry and research samples, performing research-scale production runs, as well as educating and training craft beverage professionals to excel at every level of their business.
Mansfield also currently serves as chair of a newly formed DEI committee at Cornell AgriTech, which launched in August 2020.
“I am excited to merge our DEI values with our research and extension mission to strengthen the AgriTech community and the industries we serve,” she said.
Mansfield earned a B.A. from Salem College, M.S. from Virginia Tech and Ph.D. from the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities. She joined the Cornell faculty in 2009 and has more than 20 years of experience in extension and outreach.
Erin Rodger is senior manager of marketing and communications for Cornell AgriTech.
