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February 2021
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From the Dean
Looking to the Future
 As
a College, it is important that we work towards the future even as we continue
to stay vigilant against COVID-19 and its impacts. Over the last year, we have
been developing our 2021-2026 strategic plan. Many faculty, staff and
stakeholders worked with us to provide content and critical review of the plan,
and I am happy to report the plan is now available on our website at ag.purdue.edu/strategic_plan/.
Let me articulate a few highlights of the plan that will help our College move forward over the next five years starting with our vision: Achieve worldwide leadership in growing a sustainable future addressing challenges in food, life and natural resource sciences while working across disciplines.
The theme of the plan is “Growing a Sustainable Future” because sustainability must underpin much of what we do, including:
- In undergraduate education, sustainability means we prepare our students for the jobs of the future so they have careers that are impactful long past their days in the classroom.
- In Extension, sustainability means supporting rural communities and helping them to determine their future.
- For research, sustainability means being on the cutting edge and answering questions that are important for the future and have impact.
In all areas of our college, we must build a future that is sustainable and allows Purdue Agriculture to continue to be a global leader. Our strategic plan is built around four foundational themes – Inclusive Excellence, Teaching, Discovery and Engagement. Inclusive Excellence, which focuses on diversity, equity and inclusion, is about building a culture and climate that enables everyone to succeed. This foundation allows us to excel in teaching, discovery and engagement by creating an environment where opinions and ideas are valued and integrated into our mission.
Just like inclusive excellence, we incorporate global leadership into everything we do. In today’s society, the role of agriculture, food and natural resource sciences is important across the world and we have to apply that global lens in all that we do as a College.
We believe in a world where everyone has access to innovative education, cutting-edge research, and Extension resources to help provide impactful answers to challenges in their community whether local or global.
Periodically, I will use this column to describe the various aspects of the strategic plan and some benchmarks we have developed to track our progress. Right now, we are focusing on melting snow, getting through the semester safely and starting to make progress on our plan. 
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Purdue Ag People |
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Graduate Ag Research Spotlight: Ranjeeta Adhikari
The Graduate Research Spotlight highlights graduate students and their work. The February spotlight is on Ranjeeta Adhikari, PhD student, Horticulture and Landscape Architecture. |
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Behind the Research: Kirby Kalbaugh
Many
people are involved in the remarkable range of programs, services and
facilities that undergird research in the College of Agriculture. Collectively
they are integral to the college fulfilling its research mission. This month’s
spotlight is on Kirby Kalbaugh, applications and systems administrator,
Horticulture and Landscape Architecture.
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Purdue welcomes back former professor as endowed chair
Barry
Pittendrigh is the new Osmun Endowed Chair in Urban Entomology and will focus
much of his efforts on using his knowledge of insect genomics and evolution of
resistance to pesticides. |
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Faculty ambassador program aims to support ag innovators
Christian
Butzke, Food Science, has been named the first innovation and entrepreneurship
fellow as part of a new campus wide program to help connect Purdue University
innovators with novel paths for entrepreneurship and commercialization. |
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New Animal Sciences department head joins Purdue Agriculture
John
Blanton began his new role as Department Head of Animal Sciences on Feb. 1.
Blanton comes to Purdue Agriculture from Mississippi State University where he
served as professor and department head since 2013. |
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College names 2021 Distinguished Agriculture Alumni
Four
individuals have been chosen to receive 2021 Distinguished Agriculture Alumni
Awards. The Distinguished Agriculture Alumni Award was created in 1992 to
recognize mid-career alumni of the College of Agriculture.
W. Kess Berg,
Chief Technical Officer, Advanced Agrilytics (MS ’02, PhD ’04, Agronomy)
Rachel Cumberbatch,
Director of International and Regulatory Affairs, Animal Health Institute (BS
’07, DVM ’11, Animal Sciences)
Jing-Ke Weng,
Associate Professor of Biology, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (PhD ’09,
Biochemistry)
Amanda Wuestefeld,
Director, Division of Fish and Wildlife, Indiana Department of Natural
Resources (BS ’96, Forestry & Natural Resources)
Recipients from both 2020 and 2021 will be recognized in a virtual ceremony on
Friday, March 19. |
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Don’t forget to track
Civil Rights and Diversity Training
All Purdue Agriculture faculty and staff members are required to receive training in civil rights (the regulations), diversity awareness or sexual harassment each year. Rather than mandate a specific training, we ask that you attend any training that fits your needs and interests and enhances your knowledge and understanding of diversity, civil rights or sexual harassment. Please use our Qualtrics survey tool to report training activities. |
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Awards and Recognitions |
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| Brian
Dilkes, Biochemistry; Haley Oliver, Food Science; and Aaron Patton,
Horticulture and Landscape Architecture, were named University Faculty Scholars
for 2021. The University Faculty Scholars program recognizes those deemed to be
on an accelerated path for academic distinction. |
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| Andy
Oppy and Jo Thomas, both of Agricultural Economics, were recently honored by
the Purdue Academic Advising Association. Oppy received the Outstanding Advisor
Award and Thomas received the Outstanding New Advisor Award. |
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Purdue Ag in the News |
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Purdue & IU McKinney partner to offer first dual degree program in ag law
Purdue's
Department of Agricultural Economics and Indiana University's Robert H.
McKinney School of Law have joined forces to create the first MJ-MS ag
economics and law program in the nation. |
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Virtual alumni pitching event opens doors for Purdue startups
The Purdue
Ag Alumni Association hosted Fish Tank, a virtual pitching event held during
its Gone Fishin' event, the virtual alternative to its annual Fish Fry. Twelve
Purdue startups pitched their innovations to ag leaders, alumni and business
executives. |
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Purdue Extension shares impactful stories from 2020
Purdue
Extension has released its 2020 annual impact report sharing the many ways
Extension served Hoosiers as an educational partner during the past year. |
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Purdue scientists develop methods to improve molecular identification in plants
Uncovering
the complex associations among genes, proteins and the molecules they produce
in a living organism can be a monumental task. Some scientists may devote
entire careers to one particular protein and spend decades tracking a handful
of metabolic pathways. |
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Scientists use doppler to peer inside cells
Doppler
radar improves lives by peeking inside air masses to predict the weather. A
Purdue team is using similar technology to look inside living cells,
introducing a method to detect pathogens and treat infections in ways that
scientists never have before. |
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Pigs can be taught how to use joysticks, experiment finds
The
intelligence of pigs has long been renowned -- and scientists in the U.S. - including Candace Croney, Animal Sciences and College of Veterinary Medicine - have
now found that they are clever enough to be able to use computer joysticks. |
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Ag-Analytics and agronomy professor announce research partnership
Ag-Analytics
and Davide Cammarano, Agronomy, have announced a recently established research
partnership. Using precision agriculture data, Cammarano’s research team will
develop farm management strategies that optimize economic outcomes for
businesses and individuals. |
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Purdue-developed dashboards offer timely food supply info during crises
Jayson Lusk, Agricultural Economics, leads
a partnership among Purdue University, the Foundation for Food &
Agriculture Research and Microsoft to create open-access online dashboards that
can track and report the factors that could lead to food supply disruptions
during national and global emergencies. |
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2020 grain dust explosions result in zero fatalities
Kingsly
Ambrose, Agricultural & Biological Engineering, recently released the 2020
annual grain dust explosions report that catalogues the number of deaths and
injuries nationwide. |
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Indiana 4-Her leads nationally
Madelyn
Zimmerman, Milford, Ind., began her 4-H story in the third grade with a limited
agriculture background. Now, 12 years later, Zimmerman is the 2021 4-H Youth in
Action Pillar Award for Agriculture winner, Indiana’s first, and a passionate
advocate for agriculture education and inclusion. |
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Ag Data Services: Turning data sets into data assets
Ag
Data Services (ADS) is a new team within the College of Agriculture supporting
researchers through the important steps between collecting data and applying it
to discovery. |
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COVID pandemic can lead to better food safety
The
COVID-19 pandemic has led to many people practicing better hand-washing and
sanitation practices in their homes to stop the spread of the virus. A team of
food scientists led by Purdue University believes that poses an opportunity to
thwart foodborne illnesses. |
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Dates and Deadlines |
March 2: Global Agriculture Innovation Forum
March 19: College
of Agriculture Distinguished Ag Alumni Ceremony - Virtual
April 22: College
of Agriculture Spring Awards Banquet - Virtual
May 8: Semester
Ends
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University News |
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New mix could double concrete's carbon intake
Purdue
University engineers have discovered a way to make concrete more sustainable.
Their new recipe for concrete has the potential to cut carbon emissions
dramatically, creating building blocks for a better world.
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Purdue testing lab able to detect UK variant of COVID-19 virus
Innovators
at Purdue’s Animal Disease Diagnostic Laboratory (ADDL) have used their
expertise to make the on-campus testing facility one of the only labs in
Indiana actively looking for and able to detect the UK variant of the COVID-19
virus.
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Report Hate and Bias
Purdue University is a community where diversity is valued and incidents of hate and bias are not tolerated. Students, faculty, staff, and campus visitors who feel that they have been the victim of a bias related incident (or who have witnessed a bias related incident) are encouraged to report it online at www.purdue.edu/report-hate or to contact the Office of Student Rights and Responsibilities at 765-494-1250. Your report can remain anonymous if you wish. Remember, if it is an emergency situation that requires immediate medical or emergency services attention, please call the Purdue University Police Department at 911 or 765-494-8221. |
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Purdue Agriculture InFocus
Editor: Megan Kuhn
Email: mmkuhn@purdue.edu |
West Lafayette, IN 47907-2053
765-494-8392
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Purdue University is an equal opportunity employer.
If you are having trouble accessing this page because of a disability, please contact the Webmaster at AgWeb@purdue.edu |
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