March 20, 2012
Forums set for Agriculture dean candidates
CARBONDALE, ILL. -- Four candidates for the position of dean in the College of Agricultural Sciences at Southern Illinois University Carbondale will meet with constituents during a series of forums beginning Wednesday, March 21.
The candidates are: Mickey A. Latour, associate dean and director of distance learning at Purdue University; Jerzy Nowak, professor emeritus, Department of Horticulture, College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, Blacksburg, Va; Lalit Verma, professor and head of the Department of Biological and Agricultural Engineering at the University of Arkansas; and Todd Winters, current interim dean of the College of Agricultural Sciences.
The dean is the chief academic and administrative officer for the college and is responsible for its academic programs, fiscal management, personnel, external relations, recruitment and retention, among other areas. All candidates must have a strong record of academic leadership and administrative experience
The forums, which will include a presentation by the candidates, will give University students, staff and faculty an opportunity to meet with the candidates and ask questions about their proposed approaches to the position and will be done in conjunction with their interview for the position.
Full curriculum vitas for the four candidates are available at http://pvcaa.siuc.edu/searches.html .
Here is the schedule of forums:
• Winters will hold his forum 1:15-2:15 p.m. Wednesday, March 21, at the John C. Guyon Auditorium at Morris Library.
• Verma will hold his forum 9-10 a.m. Tuesday, March 27, at the John C. Guyon Auditorium at Morris Library.
• Nowak will hold his forum 2-3 p.m. Thursday, March 29, at the John C. Guyon Auditorium at Morris Library.
• Latour will hold his forum 11 a.m. to noon Tuesday, April 3, at the John C. Guyon Auditorium at Morris Library.
Mickey A. Latour earned his doctorate in animal physiology in 1995 at Mississippi State University, where he also earned his Master of Science in physiology in 1992. He earned his Bachelor of Science degree in animal science in 1990 at Southeastern Louisiana State University.
He joined the Purdue faculty as an assistant professor in 1997, earning promotion to associate professor in 2002 and full professor in 2010.
Latour has served as associate dean for Purdue Extended Campus and chief director for Distance Learning since 2010. He also holds a quarter-time appointment in the College of Agriculture with an active research program in the area of lipid metabolism.
As associate dean, Latour provides oversight to online degree programs, individual courses, certificate programs, correspondence programs, and launching strategic initiatives in online education.
Among awards and honors, Latour received the Outstanding Teaching Award in Purdue’s Department of Animal Science in 2001, 2004 and 2007. He received a Certificate of Excellence in the Classroom from the U.S. Department of Agriculture in 2004, and was named a National Teaching Fellow, North American Colleges and Teaching in Agriculture, in 2007. In 2008, Latour was elected a Teaching Academy Fellow at Purdue.
Jerzy Nowak earned his doctorate in agricultural sciences in 1973 at the Plant Biology Institute, Agricultural-Technical University, in Olsztyn-Kortowo, Poland. He earned his bachelor’s and master’s degrees in agriculture in 1968 from the Department of Food Biochemistry, Faculty of Agriculture, Agricultural-Technical University, in Olsztyn-Kortowo, Poland.
Nowak served as a professor in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences’ Department of Horticulture at Virginia Tech from 2000 to 2011. From 2008 to 2011, he also held appointment as an adjunct professor in the Department of Sociology at Virginia Tech.
Prior to Virginia Tech, Nowak was an associate professor in the Department of Plant Science at Nova Scotia Agricultural College from 1984 to 1987. He served as a professor in that department from 1988 to 2000. Previous experience includes serving as a visiting senior lecturer in the Department of Biological Sciences at the University of Lagos, Nigeria, from 1980 to 1982.
Professional memberships include American Society for Microbiology, 2005-present; International Society for Horticultural Science, 2004-present; Sigma Xi, 2001-2009; American Society for Horticultural Science, 2000-2009; International Society for Food, Agriculture and Environment, 2003-2007.
Lalit Verma earned his doctorate in engineering in 1976 at the University of Nebraska. He earned his Master’s of Science in agricultural engineering in 1973 at Montana State University and his Bachelor of Technology degree in agricultural engineering in 1972 at J.N. Agricultural University in India.
Verma previously served as interim dean and associate vice president for academic programs of the Dale Bumpers College of Agricultural, Food and Life Sciences at the University of Arkansas (2008-2010) and professor and department head of the Division of Agriculture from 2000 to 2008 and again from July 2010 to the present day. He also previously held various teaching and administrative positions at Louisiana State University Agricultural Center (1979-2000) and South Dakota State University (1977-1979).
Verma served as president (2004-2005) and was a charter member of The Institute of Biological Engineering. He is a member of the board of directors for the Accreditation Board of Engineering and Technology Inc. and received the President’s Citation from the American Society of Agricultural and Biological Engineers Inc. He is a fellow of the American Society of Agricultural and Biological Engineers, the American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering and the Institute of Biological Engineering, among other awards and honors.
Todd Winters earned his doctorate in endocrinology/reproductive physiology (biochemistry) in 1992 at the University of Wisconsin Madison. He earned his Master of Science degree in animal science in 1986 at Purdue University and his Bachelor of Science degree in animal sciences in 1983 at Washington State University. He also conducted post-doctoral research in molecular reproductive endocrinology as a National Institutes of Health fellow at the University of Virginia Health Sciences Center from 1992 to 1994.
Winters has served as interim dean of the College of Agricultural Sciences since March 2010. He previously served as associate dean for research and personnel in the college (2008-2010) and chair of the Department of Animal Science, Food and Nutrition (2005-2008). He is a professor in that department since 2007 after joining the SIU Carbondale faculty in 1994. He also previously worked in various teaching and research positions at Purdue University, the University of Wisconsin Madison and the University of Virginia Health Sciences Center.
Winters is the recipient of the Brothers of the Century Award, Alpha Gamma Rho Fraternity (2004); the Wise and Helen Boroughs Lectureship, Iowa State University (1999); and the Faculty Service Award from the college (1998), among others. He is a member of the chancellor’s 2011 Leadership Committee for University Strategic Planning; co-chair of the provost’s 2011 Program Changes Review Committee; and a member of the chancellor’s Planning and Budget Advisory Committee, among other university committees.
Winters is a member of professional organizations including Alpha Gamma Rho Fraternity, Alpha Zeta Honorary Fraternity, the American Association of State Colleges of Agriculture and Renewable Resources, the, American Society of Animal Science and the Illinois Council on Food and Agricultural Research, among others.