Corn Utilization Council endows new AgBio dean
With a vision for the future, the South Dakota Corn Utilization Council (SDCUC) has taken an unprecedented move to endow the dean’s chair for South Dakota State University’s College of Agriculture and Biological Sciences. The new program was unveiled July 8.
The state’s largest commodity organization endowed $2 million toward the dean position to help the University attract the most qualified, leading applicants, bringing together excellence in the agriculture, research and academia arenas at SDSU.
“This extraordinary investment by the SDCUC will benefit every stakeholder in the state and region because it puts SDSU on a competitive footing to help recruit the nation’s best talent to our University,” said SDSU President David L. Chicoine. “The endowment elevates the College and the University because it reflects a commitment of outside resources that are necessary in today’s climate. I hope that the SDCUC’s historic investment will be replicated by other individuals and organizations wanting to partner with SDSU and make our University even stronger.”
Over the years, the SDCUC has invested millions in checkoff dollars toward cutting -edge research conducted by SDSU scientists, which has resulted in key management tools along with expanded knowledge throughout the industry, including producers and agribusiness. As scientists continue to work to anticipate what answers the agricultural industry will need in the future, advanced leadership in the College of Agriculture and Biological Sciences at SDSU has never been more important.
“The SDCUC has a long track record of supporting agricultural research, scholarships and innovation at our land-grant university and the endowment of the dean’s position is a natural next step to advance our state’s knowledge and excellence in agriculture while cultivating our industry’s future leaders,” said David Fremark, president of the SDCUC and a 1984 SDSU graduate.
On May 22, the University brought on one of the best age leaders in the world to assume the dean’s position, Dr. Barry Dunn. An SDSU alumnus, Dunn has been the executive director and the Kleberg Endowed Chair at the King Ranch Institute for Ranch Management at Texas A&M University-Kingsville since 2004. He is also an associate professor of agronomy and resource sciences. Prior to that, he was a member of the SDSU animal and range sciences faculty from August 2000 to January 2004. His relationship with SDSU includes three academic degrees: a bachelor of science in biology in 1975, a master of science in animal and range sciences in 1977, and his doctor of philosophy, also in animal and range sciences, in 2000.
“An endowment such as what the SDCUC has provided to SDSU gives me an amazing opportunity to build my team and set the direction of the College of Ag and Bio,” said Dunn. “I want to personally thank the SDCUC for their tremendous gift and their leadership for the agricultural industry.”
“The SDCUC is proud to have ties of support to such an outstanding individual as Dean Dunn,” said Fremark. “His keen and unique qualifications – pairing experience working as a farmer/rancher himself along with his top leadership in academia and hands-on grassroots involvement in rural communities – makes him a rare find and a true asset to the future of agriculture in South Dakota. The SDCUC welcomes Dean Dunn as agriculture’s voice in academia and research at SDSU.”