Purdue agricultural economics professor Ken Foster has been named interim dean of the College of Agriculture, beginning Jan. 9. He succeeds Dr. Karen Plaut, who is Purdue’s new executive vice president for research.
Foster, a longtime Purdue agricultural economics professor and former head of the Purdue Agricultural Economics Department, specializes in value-added market research and is heavily involved in helping small-scale farmers in Colombia and other developing countries. Foster served as Purdue’s associate head and graduate program director at Purdue from 2004-08 before his appointment as department head in 2009.
He has been recognized by the Agricultural & Applied Economics Association for Distinguished Graduate, twice as a member of teams that received AAEA’s Group Extension Award, as Outstanding Graduate Faculty Mentor in the college, and the Purdue Agriculture Team Award on three different occasions.
A national search for the next dean of agriculture will commence in January with a search advisory committee to be named soon.
