On July 5, 2022, the following announcement was shared with the SIPS community:
To all SIPS community members:
I am pleased to announce that after an inclusive nomination, feedback and interview process, Jocelyn Rose will become our next director of the School of Integrative Plant Science, effective Aug. 1, 2022, through July 31, 2027.
Joss is a visionary, innovative and highly productive SIPS faculty member with excellent previous experience in administration. He recently has served as chair of SIPS’ Plant Biology section and previously as director of the Cornell Institute of Biotechnology and the state-supported Center for Advanced Technology housed at the institute. He is an internationally recognized scholar whose research has revealed fundamental insights into the structure and development of plant cell walls, with important implications for production of food and other plant-based products. In 2014 Joss was elected a fellow of the AAAS, and in 2020 he was recognized as a highly cited researcher in Plant & Animal Science, ranking in the top 1% of citations in his field. He is the recipient of the U.S. Secretary of Agriculture’s Honor Award as well as the 2021 CALS award for Outstanding Accomplishments in Research.
From the perspective of CALS leadership, the director search and interview process enabled many important conversations that have provided Joss with an expanded view of all things SIPS, including the vast portfolio of extension and outreach activities as well as the school’s varied research portfolios. We are all very eager to begin working with Joss to realize the goal of enacting a new SIPS administrative structure and supporting a new collective vision for the next phase of the school’s evolution.
We thank Chris Smart for her tireless efforts as SIPS director these last five years and congratulate her on a job well done. We are proud of the many achievements accomplished with her SIPS colleagues during her tenure, including the hiring of tremendous new faculty, the bolstering of our plant and agriculture sciences majors, the combined recruiting efforts of all SIPS-affiliated graduate fields, and launching of the Plant Science Building renovation.
Please join me for some Cornell ice cream in honor of Chris’ leadership at the SIPS community celebration on Wednesday, July 20, at 1 p.m. in 135 Emerson. We wish for her a productive and restful sabbatical leave.
Sincerely,
Beth
Professor Beth Ahner
Senior Associate Dean
