View the list of stakeholders who contributed ideas, participated in discussions, and provided critical feedback.
* Note: The titles included below reflect the position of the contributor at the time of the committee meetings. Those with an asterisk indicate the title has since changed.
Executive Committee
The Executive Committee met three times in person for facilitated discussions led by Franklin Solutions.
Office for Research and Graduate Education
Blair Siegfried
Associate Dean for Research and Graduate Education
Director of the Pennsylvania Agricultural Experiment Station
Beth Gugino
Assistant Dean for Graduate Education
Associate Director of the Pennsylvania Agricultural Experiment Station
Jennifer McLaughlin
*Administrative Support Assistant
Gretta Tritch Roman
Director of Research Development and Initiatives
Rachel Unger
*Coordinator for Financial and Administrative Operations
Kaiyi Chan
Administrative Support Assistant
Department Heads
David Abler
*Interim Department Head, Ag Economics, Sociology, and Education
Bradley Cardinale
*Department Head, Ecosystem Science and Management
Erin Connolly
Professor and Department Head, Plant Science
Suat Irmak
Professor and Department Head, Agricultural and Biological Engineering
Heather Preisendanz (served as proxy for Irmak at two meetings)
*Associate Professor, Agricultural and Biological Engineering, Natural Resource Engineering
*Associate Director of Research Programs, Institute for Sustainable Agricultural, Food, and Environmental Science (SAFES)
María del Mar Jiménez Gasco
Interim Department Head, Plant Pathology and Environmental Microbiology
Sandeep Prabhu
Department Head, Veterinary and Biomedical Sciences, and Professor, Immunology and Molecular Toxicology
Gary Perdew (served as proxy for Prabhu at one meeting)
Thomas and Dorothy Willits Hallowell Chair in Agricultural Sciences
Robert Roberts
Professor and Department Head, Food Science
Gary Felton
Ralph O. Mumma Professor of Entomology, and Department Head, Entomology
Andrew Deans (served as proxy for Felton at one meeting)
Professor of Entomology and Director of the Frost Entomological Museum
Adele Turzillo
*Professor and Department Head, Animal Science
College Stakeholders
Daniel Azzara
Alan R. Warehime Faculty Chair in Agribusiness
Director, College of Agricultural Sciences Entrepreneurship & Innovation
College representation at the University Patent Review Committee meetings
Member, Penn State Research Foundation (PSRF)
Maria Spencer (served as proxy at one meeting)
Assistant Clinical Professor and John and Patty Warehime Entrepreneur in Residence
John Coupland
Professor of Food Science
*Chair, College of Agricultural Sciences Faculty Organization
Dan Eichenlaub
Stakeholder Representative, College of Agricultural Sciences Ag Council
Advisory Board Member, College of Agricultural Sciences Entrepreneurship & Innovation
Delegate to US Congress, Council on Agricultural Research, Extension, and Teaching (CARET)
Karen Fisher-Vanden
Distinguished Professor of Environmental and Resource Economics and Public Policy
*Director, Institute for Sustainable Agricultural, Food, and Environmental Science (SAFES)
Girish Kirimanjeswara
Associate Professor of Veterinary and Biomedical Sciences
*Chair, College of Agricultural Science Research Advisory Committee (RAC)
Focus Groups
Research and Extension Centers (RECs) and affiliated applied research groups
The RECs are structured under the Office for Research and Graduate Education and the Pennsylvania Agricultural Experiment Station. These are located in the regions specific to the representative crops of the state. The other centers and units listed here all do applied research with faculty across the college.
- Alyssa Collins (Southeast Agricultural Research and Extension Center)
- Jayson Harper (Fruit Research and Extension Center)
- Michael Campbell (Lake Erie Regional Grape Research and Extension Center)
- Matt Royer (Agriculture and Environment Center)
- Carrie Laboski (USDA Agricultural Research Service, Pasture Systems & Watershed Management Research)
- Duane Diefenbach (USGS Pennsylvania Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit)
- Ernest Hovingh (Animal Diagnostic Laboratory)
- John Spargo (Agricultural Analytical Services Lab)
Research Advisory Committee (Faculty Representatives)
This committee was formed in 2021 as an advisory and consultative body to inform the Associate Dean for Research and Graduate Education (ADR) on decisions regarding policy implementation, allocations, and other matters related to the college research ecosystem as they arise. The committee also provides faculty-driven advice to the ADR and serves as the liaison between the college's research faculty and the Office for Research and Graduate Education, Office of Grants and Contracts, and the Agricultural Experiment Station. The representatives on this committee cover all ranks and departments in the college. (Note: Not all members were able to attend the focus group session.)
- Daniel Allen, Assistant Professor of Aquatic Ecology, Department of Ecosystem Science and Management
- Natalie Boyle, Assistant Research Professor, Department of Entomology
- Chad Dechow, Associate Professor of Dairy Cattle Genetics, Department of Animal Science
- Ali Demirci, Professor, Department of Agricultural and Biological Engineering
- Sibel Irmak, Research Professor, Department of Agricultural and Biological Engineering
- Jasna Kovac, Associate Professor of Food Science, Department of Food Science
- Yizao Liu, Associate Professor of Agricultural Economics, Department of Agricultural Economics, Sociology, and Education
- Carolyn Lowry, Assistant Professor, Department of Plant Science
- Kari Peter, Associate Research Professor of Tree Fruit Pathology, Department of Plant Pathology and Environmental Microbiology
- Jason Rasgon, Professor, Department of Entomology
Interdisciplinary Institutes Directors
Penn State's Interdisciplinary Institutes are structured under the Office of the Senior Vice President for Research. Below are the key institutes in which faculty from the college have joint appointments and/or with which our faculty regularly collaborate. The representatives below are the directors of each of the institutes able to participate.
- Troy Ott (Huck Institutes of the Life Sciences; Current CAS Dean)
- Bruce Logan (Institutes of Energy and the Environment)
- Deborah Ehrenthal (Social Science Research Institute)
- Jeffrey Peters (Cancer Institute)
- Students and Postdocs
- Sarah Burtnett, PhD candidate in Animal Science
- Tyler Chandross-Cohen, PhD candidate in Food Science
- Jagdeep Sidhu, PhD candidate in Agricultural and Environmental Plant Science
- Kaitlin Fischer, PhD candidate in Rural Sociology
- Mostafa Rohi Gal, PhD candidate in BioRenewable Systems
- Avalon Miller, PhD candidate in Plant Pathology
- Evelyn Weaver, Postdoctoral Trainee in Animal Science
- Patrick Thomas, Postdoctoral Trainee in Plant Science
- Luyi Han, Postdoctoral Trainee in Agricultural Economics, Sociology, and Education
Commodity Stakeholders
- Jim Shirk, Territory Manager, Ceva Santé Animale
- Barbara Christ, Co-Owner, Happy Valley Vineyard & Winery & Pennsylvania Winery Association
- Douglas Harbach, Schrack Farms & Second Vice Chair, Pennsylvania Dairy Promotion Program
- Matt Gabler, Executive Director, Pennsylvania Forest Products Association
- Ben Keim, Owner, Keim Orchards & Committee Chair, State Horticultural Association of Pennsylvania
- William Troxell, Executive Director, Pennsylvania Vegetable Growers Association
Industry Stakeholders
- Darryl Blakey, *Associate Director, State Government Affairs, FMC Corporation
- Bob Reiter, Head of Research and Development, Crop Science, Bayer Corporation
- Wendy Clemens, VP Early Development, Bristol-Myers Squibb
- Ozgur Tunceli, Principal Scientist, Carelon Research, Elevance Health
- Justin Comes, VP Research and Development, Mars Wrigley North America, Mars Inc.
- Jason Dabrow, President & Chief Operating Officer, Chelten House
- Maria Spencer, Assistant Clinical Professor and John and Patty Warehime Entrepreneur in Residence
Interviews
- Richard Roush, *Dean of the College of Agricultural Sciences
- Andrew Read, *Interim Senior Vice President for Research
- Katherine Cason, *Interim Director of Extension, and Tracy Hoover, Associate Dean for Undergraduate Education
- Patreese Ingram, *Assistant Dean for Multicultural Affairs, Deanna Behring, Assistant Dean for International Programs, and László Kulcsár, *Interim Senior Associate Dean
- Mary Wirth, Director of College Relations, and Lauren Steinberg, Senior Director of Development and Alumni Relations
- Michael Stefan, *Director of State Relations, University Government Relations
- Russell Redding, Pennsylvania Secretary of Agriculture, Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture
- Chris Hoffman, President of the PA Farm Bureau
- Bin Yan, Associate Vice President for Research and Director of the Office of Technology Management
Office for Research and Graduate Education
Address
217 Agricultural Administration BuildingUniversity Park, PA 16802-2600
- Email agresearch@psu.edu
- Office 814-865-3136
Office for Research and Graduate Education
Address
217 Agricultural Administration BuildingUniversity Park, PA 16802-2600
- Email agresearch@psu.edu
- Office 814-865-3136