Finalists for dean of the College of Agriculture to make on-campus presentations

Three finalists for the Glenn W. Sample Dean of Agriculture position will be on Purdue’s West Lafayette campus for two-day interviews in late April and early May, the search committee has announced.

Search committee co-chairs Clint Chapple, Distinguished Professor of Biochemistry, and Catherine Hill, head of the Department of Entomology, said that as part of the process, finalists will make a 40- to 45-minute public presentation and then take questions from the audience.

”I hope our faculty, staff and students will take this opportunity to hear from each of three outstanding candidates,” Hill said. 

“The committee has done a great job in identifying excellent candidates in a very short time frame,” Chapple said. “After securing feedback from stakeholders on campus and across the state of Indiana, we will make our recommendations to the provost by mid-May, with a new leader of the College of Agriculture in place no later than the beginning of the fall semester.” 

Feedback on the candidates is requested; the search website candidates page contains an online tool for providing feedback. In addition, the full curriculum vitae for each candidate can be found on the site.

Purdue’s next dean of the College of Agriculture will succeed Karen Plaut, who stepped down in January 2023 to take on the position of executive vice president for research. 

Finalists and their presentation dates are listed below.

* John Killefer, professor in the College of Agriculture, food and environmental sciences, South Dakota State University. Presentation will begin at 9 a.m. April 26 in Pfendler Hall Deans Auditorium, Room 241.                                                                                                            

* Jayson Lusk, Distinguished Professor and head of the Department of Agricultural Economics in Purdue’s College of Agriculture. Presentation will begin at 9 a.m. May 2 in Pfendler Hall Deans Auditorium, Room 241.                                                                                                     

* Bernie Engel, associate dean and director of agricultural research and graduate education in Purdue’s College of Agriculture. Presentation will begin at 9 a.m. May 4 in Pfendler Hall Deans Auditorium, Room 241.