UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — After nine years leading the Penn State College of Agricultural Sciences, on Sept. 17 Richard Roush will step down as dean of the college and serve as a special adviser to the interim dean through the end of 2023.
László Kulcsár, head of the college’s Department of Agricultural Economics, Sociology and Education, and professor of rural sociology and demography, has been appointed interim dean until a permanent replacement is named, with Roush serving as a special adviser before retiring in December. A national search for Roush’s permanent successor will begin soon.
"We appreciate all that Rick has done in leading the College of Agricultural Sciences over the past nine years to support and grow the college’s vital teaching, research and outreach efforts,” said Justin Schwartz, executive vice president and provost. “The college’s work is not only an important part of Penn State’s land-grant mission, but also has been instrumental in tackling many of the broader issues facing the world today.”
Roush was named dean of the University’s College of Agricultural Sciences in 2014. Prior to coming to Penn State, he was the dean and a professor at the University of Melbourne’s Melbourne School of Land and Environment in Australia.
Under Roush, the college’s research enterprise continued to flourish, with annual research expenditures hitting a new record of $114.3 million for 2021-22, placing it among the top-performing academic colleges over the past decade. Its Institute for Sustainable Agricultural, Food and Environmental Science, formed in 2020, has earned more than $49.5 million in grants and now involves 150 faculty across eight academic colleges and four Commonwealth Campuses.
Penn State’s College of Agricultural Sciences continues to be recognized by the state and federal government as a research leader, including Penn State Extension’s work to promote and support water quality in Pennsylvania’s streams and rivers. In addition, Extension has been recognized by peers as a national leader in digital education, and has dramatically increased its reach across the commonwealth and the world.
The college’s state appropriations grew with Roush as dean, increasing by more than 25%, from approximately $46.2 million in 2014-15 to approximately $57.5 million in 2022-23.
Undergraduate enrollment remained at high levels and the college’s graduate enrollment expanded to a high of approximately 550 students. Its graduate students have received more USDA predoctoral fellowships than any other institution over the past five years.
Since Roush took over as dean, the percentage of tenured or tenure-track female faculty members in Agricultural Sciences has increased from 18.5% in 2015 to 35% today.
In 2015, Roush engaged the college to play a major role in the commonwealth’s efforts to limit the spread and impact of the spotted lanternfly, including leading awareness and education programs, providing prevention and mitigation advice through Penn State Extension, and conducting extensive research on the invasive insect.
The College of Agricultural Sciences has made major capital investments over the past nine years, including completing a major renovation of the historic Agricultural Engineering Building in 2018 and opening the new Animal, Veterinary and Biomedical Sciences Building in 2021, and plans to expand and update its greenhouse facilities and the Animal Diagnostic Laboratory.
During the recently concluded “A Greater Penn State for 21st Century Excellence” fundraising campaign, the college raised more than $113.5 million — exceeding the college’s target of $100 million — and received a number of major gifts, including a landmark gift from campaign vice chair Peter Tombros and his wife Ann to create the Peter and Ann Tombros Dean’s Chair in Penn State’s College of Agricultural Sciences, as well as the Harbaugh Entrepreneur and Innovation Faculty Scholar, the John and Patty Warehime Entrepreneur in Residence, the Samuel Pancoast Simon Professorship in Entomology, the Masser Family Faculty Chair in Potato Research and the Publius Vergilius Maro Professor of Entomology.
Prior to his time at the University of Melbourne, Roush served as a faculty member at the University of California, Mississippi State University, Cornell University, Texas A&M University and the University of Adelaide in Australia. Roush was CEO of Australia’s Cooperative Research Centre for Weed Management, and director of the University of California’s Statewide Integrated Pest Management Program.
He is a fellow and member of the Entomological Society of America, and a founding member of the Australian Council of Deans of Agriculture.
Roush has consulted for corporations such as Eli Lilly, DuPont, Monsanto and Dow on the management and prevention of resistance to conventional and biological pesticides, and genetically transformed plants.
He holds a bachelor of science degree in entomology from the University of California, Davis, and his doctorate in entomology from the University of California, Berkeley.