An
inside look
n
a recent correspondence, a Perspectives reader told me that the magazine
clearly illustrated why the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences exists
and helped her to understand the interrelated functions of the 22 departments
in the College.
It is our goal with every issue of Perspectives to give our readers an inside look at the life of the College and our research, teaching and extension activities in the labs, the classrooms and the field. While we seek to bring you current news of the College, we also want to take you to sites of the action, so you can experience our day-to-day work and meet the people who do it.
One stop in this issue is
the Department of Zoology, where we give you an in-depth description of
the teaching and research in a newly created neurobiology lab. Another
stop is the Department of Agricultural and Extension Education, where
you encounter the faculty team responsible for the state’s high-school
agricultural education program.
You receive much more than
a glimpse of off-campus activities at the Peanut Belt Research Station,
no-till pumpkin-growing research fields, a mountain trout hatchery and
cooperative produce markets — all the better to learn what’s
happening with our research and extension support of traditional agriculture
programs and developing commodities. And we take you quite far afield
to observe Dr. Adrienne Crosier and Kimberly Ange of the Animal Science
Department, as they work with cheetahs and the dogs that guard livestock
against the big cats in Africa.
In these pages, you get to
know Dr. Dennis Brown and Dr. Raquel Hernandez of the Department of Molecular
and Structural Biochemistry, who have discovered a method to create a
vaccine against mosquito-borne diseases, and Dr. Wes Watson of Entomology,
who is developing a new waste management system for hog farmers. You meet
College alumna Janna Franklin, a graduate student involved in ground-breaking
poultry science research as well as teaching a timely new course in conversational
Spanish in the Agricultural Institute. And, at our Donor Recognition Gala,
you meet some of the benefactors and volunteers who help enable our work.
We take you to the settings
where the drama of the College’s daily life unfolds and where faculty,
students, scientists, extension personnel, alumni and clientele all play
important roles. Our College is a busy place, and we want you to be a
part of that business, to see and understand what’s happening.
Dean, College of Agriculture
and Life Sciences
