Graduation

Fellows Honored at APLU Meeting

The Food Systems Leadership Institute Fellows Honored by Association of Public and Land-grant Universities (APLU)

Twenty-one Fellows of the Food Systems Leadership Institute (FSLI) were honored during a ceremony at the Association of Public and Land-grant Universities (APLU) annual meeting. The Fellows were recognized for their accomplishments in completing the FSLI executive leadership development program and for contributions they have made to their organizations and the broader higher education and food systems.

The FSLI is a 2-year program designed for experienced leaders in academia, government, and industry. Through a dynamic curriculum that includes three executive-style residential sessions, individual coaching, mentoring, and personal projects, the FSLI seeks to enhance personal leadership ability, develop skills and knowledge for organizational change, and broaden perspectives on integrated food systems.

Fellows report that the FSLI experience has significantly impacted their leadership abilities. Leadership growth can be measured in many different ways, and more than forty percent of the FSLI Fellow Alumni have experienced promotions, selection to lead high-profile initiatives, election to university-wide leadership posts, and other recognitions. Other Fellows are using their enhanced leadership and broader food systems perspectives to lead change from their current positions.

The FSLI is a program of the Association of Public and Land Grant Universities. It was created with financial support from the W.K. Kellogg Foundation. It is operated in a partnership between North Carolina State University, The Ohio State University, and California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo. More information on the FSLI is available at www.fsli.org.

David Anderson

Associate Dean for Research and Graduate Studies, College of Veterinary Medicine, University of Tennessee

Mike Castellano

Professor and William T. Frankenberger, Professor of Soil Science, College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, Department of Agronomy, Iowa State University

Shana Forster

Center Director / North Central Research Extension Center District Director/ NDSU Extension, North Dakota State University

James Henderson

Professor and Head, Coastal Research and Extension Center, Mississippi State University

Jennifer Hunter

Assistant Extension Director – Family and Consumer Sciences, College of Agriculture, Food, and Environment; University of Kentucky

Andra Johnson

Dean for Extension & Director of the Florida Cooperative Extension Service, University of Florida – Institute of Food & Agricultural Services

Sherri Jones

Dean, College of Education and Human Sciences, University of Nebraska Lincoln

Amy Kaleita

Professor and Chair, Agricultural & Biosystems Engineering, Iowa State University

Dean Kopsell

Professor and Chair, Environmental Horticulture Department, The University of Florida

Kelley Lowe

Director of Product Development, Abbott Nutrition

Linda Prokopy

Professor and Department Head, Horticulture and Landscape Architecture, Purdue University

Jason Ross

Department Chair, Lloyd Anderson Endowed Professor in Physiology, Department of Animal Science, Iowa State University

Tracy Rutherford

Department Head, Professor, College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, Agricultural, Leadership and Community Education, Virginia Tech

Scott Senseman

Associate Vice President of Ag Research, Oklahoma Agricultural Experiment Station, Oklahoma State University

Melanie Simpson

Professor and Department Head, Molecular and Structural Biochemistry, North Carolina State University

Manpreet Singh

Department Head and Professor Food Science & Technology, College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, University of Georgia

Ami Smith

Vice President and Dean, Director for Agricultural Research and Extension, West Virginia State University

George Smith

DirectorAgBioResearch, CANR Senior Associate Dean for Research, College of Agriculture and Natural Resources, Michigan State University

Puneet Srivastava

Associate Dean for Research and Associate Director of MAES

Maryland Agricultural Experiment Station (MAES), University of Maryland – College Park

Lee Anne Thompson

Interim Dean, Professor, and Associate Director, Provost Scholars Program, College of Arts and Sciences, Case Western Reserve University

Janine Woods

Associate Extension Administrator, Virginia Cooperative Extension, Virginia State University