CONTACT: University Relations/News
304-293-6997

The field of candidates for the new dean at West Virginia University’s Davis College of Agriculture, Natural Resources and Design and director of the West Virginia Agricultural and Forestry Experiment Station has been narrowed to three persons, search committee chair Dave Miller announced Tuesday.

Dr. Jonathan Cumming, associate provost for graduate academic affairs at WVU; Dr. Peter Kennelly, head of the Department of Biochemistry at Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University; and Dr. Soji Adelaja, director of the Land Policy Institute at Michigan State University, will each spend two days on campus for interviews and forums, beginning Feb. 1.

“We have three excellent candidates for this post,” said Miller, associate provost for extension and public service. “Each candidate has distinguished themselves as an outstanding educator, researcher and leader. We’re looking forward to getting to know the candidates and letting them see first-hand what WVU and the Davis College have to offer.”

“This is an opportunity not only for the candidate but also for WVU,” Provost Michele Wheatly said. “It will be crucial for the future of the institution as we progress toward the initiatives of our Strategic Framework for the Future. Research, engagement and globalization are part of the University’s mission and Davis’ mission and the new leadership will strengthen and broaden these areas.”

Cumming will visit campus Feb. 1 and 2, Kennelly Feb. 10 and Feb. 11 and Adelaja Feb. 21 and Feb. 22.

Cumming
Cumming joined WVU in 1995 as a faculty member in the Department of Biology and integrated teaching and research into courses in environmental biology and plant physiology. He was awarded both the Eberly College and WVU Foundation Outstanding Teacher Awards in the 2002-2003 academic year. He served as chair of the Department of Biology from 2004-2007, working to develop new instructional methods for science and education and to expand research into the field of genomics. As a research professor of biology, he investigated the complex interactions between plant roots and soils.

Cumming received his B.S. in biology from The College of William and Mary, M.S. in forest science from the University of New Hampshire, and Ph.D. in natural resources from Cornell University.

As associate provost for graduate academic affairs, Cumming leads university-wide efforts to provide professional development activities for graduate students, which now include workshops on preparing for and competing for faculty positions, a Preparing Future Faculty program, a certificate in University Teaching, and a Science and Technology Entrepreneurship Academy for science and engineering graduate students. Additionally, Cumming works on broadening participation in graduate education by fostering university-wide adoption of intensive recruiting activities, and works to support graduate student engagement within WVU. He was named a National Academies Education Fellow in 2008 in recognition of his dedication to science education.

Kennelly
Kennelly is the head of the Department of Biochemistry at Virginia Tech. He earned his B.S. degree in chemistry from the Illinois Institute of Technology in 1978 and received his Ph.D. in 1985 in biochemistry and molecular biology from Purdue University. In 1989, he joined the faculty of the Department of Biochemistry at Virginia Tech He pursued his interest in the role of protein phosphorylation in enzyme regulation as a postdoctoral fellow in the laboratory of Dr. Edwin G. Krebs, 1992 Nobel Laureate, at the University of Washington.

He has served as department head of Biochemistry for the last six years. The department is currently home to 16 full-time faculty, about 30 graduate students, more than 600 undergraduate majors, and has grants and contracts worth approximately $3.5 million annually. As chair, Kennelly has recruited eight new faculty of diverse backgrounds and has published numerous papers and chapters on the role and evolution of protein phosphorylation as a molecular regulatory mechanism.

He currently serves on the editorial boards of the Journal of Biological Chemistry, Archives of Biochemistry and Biophysics, and Analytical Biochemistry. He frequently serves on grant and fellowship review panels for the NSF and NIH and is coauthor of Harper’s Illustrated Biochemistry, an internationally known medical biochemistry text. In 2010, he began a three-year term as chair of the Education and Professional Development Committee of the American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology.

Adelaja
Adelaja is the John A. Hannah Distinguished Professor in Land Policy and director of the Land Policy Institute at Michigan State University. In Michigan, he also co-directs the Michigan Higher Education Land Policy Consortium, a network of university researchers involved in metropolitan policy research and outreach, and People and Land, a $20 million W.K. Kellogg Foundation-funded research and outreach capacity building initiative focused on land use and regional prosperity. He holds joint faculty appointments as in the departments of Agricultural, Food & Resource Economics and of Community, Agricultural & Recreational Resource Studies; and the School of Planning Design & Construction.

Prior to coming to MSU in 2004, Adelaja served as the executive dean of Agriculture and Natural Resources, dean of Cook College, executive director of the New Jersey Agricultural Experiment Station and director of Rutgers Cooperative Extension at Rutgers University, where he was on the faculty for 18 years. His research and outreach programs span a variety of areas, including land use policy and renewable energy policy

Previously, he served as department chair of Agricultural Food and Resource Economics and dean and director of research for Cook College and the NJAES at Rutgers. Adelaja has a bachelor’s degree in agricultural mechanization from the Pennsylvania State University, dual master’s degrees in agricultural economics and economics from WVU, and a Ph.D. in economics. He has received numerous awards over the course of his career, including the 2010 Michigan State-wide Tribute for Outstanding Contributions to Renewable Energy Policy and Economic Development (from governor and lieutenant governor) and the2011 Distinguished Faculty Award from Michigan State University.

Students, faculty and staff are invited to meet the candidates at open forums. During these sessions, the candidates will introduce themselves and audience members will have the opportunity to ask questions.

Open sessions are scheduled as follows:

Cumming
Tuesday, Feb. 1
10:15 a.m. – 11 a.m.: Staff, 335 Percival Hall
Noon – 1 p.m.: Lunch with Students, 1007 Agricultural Sciences
3:30 p.m. – 5 p.m.: Faculty, 1021 South Agricultural Sciences

Kennelly
Thursday, Feb. 10
10:15 a.m. – 11 a.m.: Staff, 335 Percival Hall
Noon – 1p.m.: Lunch with Students, 1007 Agricultural Sciences
3:30 p.m. – 5 p.m.: Faculty, 1021 South Agricultural Sciences

Adelaja
Monday, Feb. 21
10:15 a.m. – 11 a.m.: Staff, 335 Percival Hall
Noon – 1 p.m.: Lunch with Students, 1007 Agricultural Sciences
3:30 p.m. – 5 p.m.: Faculty, 1001 Agricultural Sciences

Evaluation forms will be available in each forum as well as online at http://davis.wvu.edu/deancandidates

Each candidate will meet with President James P. Clements, Provost Wheatly along with the University’s associate provosts, campus leaders, Davis dean’s office administrators, University deans and the search committee. Curriculum vitae and additional information will be posted online at http://davis.wvu.edu/deancandidates

The Davis College of Agriculture, Natural Resources, and Design has 108 faculty and 150 full-time staff and has an enrollment of 1,700 undergraduate and 280 graduate students. It has a full spectrum of degree programs housed in five academic divisions.
The West Virginia Agricultural and Forestry Experiment Station manages the research facilities of the college, including farms and forests.

The new dean, who should be in place by July 1, succeeds Cameron Hackney, dean of the College since 2000.

-WVU-

tl-ds 01/25/11

Check http://wvutoday.wvu.edudaily for the latest news from the University.
Follow @WVUToday on Twitter.