The University of Wyoming College of Agriculture and Natural resources is in the process of searching for a dean, with hopes to have the position filled by this summer.
After the previous dean left to take up the position of provost at Utah State University in Logan, Utah, last fall, the College of Agriculture and Natural Resources has been functioning with an interim dean. In the meanwhile, a committee has spearheaded a nationwide search for a permanent dean.
“Each candidate goes through a rigorous vetting process culminating in a three-day interview that includes a day on the UW plane visiting the University’s extension and research centers in Casper and Sheridan,” said Melinda Benson, chair of the selection committee. “An extensive recruitment process using a professional search firm was used to generate a nationally competitive pool of candidates.”
Recently the search committee has narrowed the search down to their top three candidates, Jeffrey Dean, Barbara Rasco and J.D. Wulfhorst. All three of these candidates are from outside Wyoming and are not currently teaching at UW. Last Wednesday they begun participating in public forums for the final rounds of the selection process.
Dean is currently a professor and head of the Department of Biochemistry, Molecular Biology, Entomology and Plant Pathology at Mississippi State University in Starkville, Mississippi.
Rasco is a current professor and director at the joint school of Food Science between Washington State University in Pullman, Washington, and the University of Idaho in Moscow, Idaho.
Wulfhorst is also from the University of Idaho, where he is currently a professor and director of the Environmental Science program.
“Once the interviews are complete the search committee will provide the provost with an unranked list of the strengths and weaknesses of each candidate,” said Benson. “Provost Miller will then make the hiring decision, which will be subject to final approval by the Board of Trustees.”
Since September the college has been under the supervision of Interim Dean Mark Stayton, a veteran UW faculty member who chose to come out of retirement to take on this leadership position within the college.
Stayton began his teaching career at UW in 1998 where he served as the head of the Department of Molecular Biology from 2007 to 2015 and the interim director of academic and student programs from 2015 until his retirement in 2017, both in the College of Agriculture and Natural Resources.
The selection committee is expected to make a decision after interviews and approval from the Board of Trustees, with hopes to have a new dean selected before the fall semester begins.
