New agriculture deans for two UC campuses

Abstract

Basic biology is the keystone to progressive, environmentally sound production agriculture. On September 1,1990, John E. Kinsella will succeed Charles E. Hess as Dean of the College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences at UC Davis. As Dean, Kinsella will also direct the Davis-based programs of the university-wide Division of Agriculture and Natural Resources. Dean Hess had held the position for 14 years when he was appointed last May as assistant secretary for science and education at the USDA. Professor Robert K. Webster of the UC Davis Department of Plant Pathology has served as Acting Dean, and will continue in that capacity through August. Davis Chancellor Theodore Hullar recently praised Kinsella as very distinguished scientist with an exceptionally strong record of research in both basic and applied science. Kinsella is eager to take his post at a time when, as he sees it, the college is entering a period of exponential growth and innovation to meet the needs of a changing society. a public lecture at UC Davis earlier this year, Kinsella expressed his views on the changing societal roles of agriculture and the College. Kinsella's view, the agricultural industry's focus is fast changing a preoccupation with commodity production toward a more comprehensive strategy that includes social and environmental aspects and the challenges and opportunities of a global economy. There are any number of agency priority lists, such as the National Initiative for Research in Agriculture, and I'm sure the various [California] commodity groups have their priority lists, too. What they all have in common, though, is a shift away from a pure commodity mentality to include more specific aspects of utilization and marketing.. .increasing productivity and competitiveness while reconciling production agriculture with the environment. Kinsella believes that the public's traditional expectation for the college to create new knowledge and transmit useful technology now has an additional aspect: environmental stewardship. remarkable advances emanating from the application of biotechnology play an important role in this, he says, citing new plant cultivars that require less water or resist pests and diseases. Basic biology is the keystone to progressive, environmentally sound production agriculture and Davis must continue to be a leader in this area. Kinsella said he also sees opportunity for industry beyond the farm gate. valueadded impact of agricultural products is profound, representing an enormous economic enterprise based on science, engineering, and technology, he says. In this context, we need to be working to improve the efficiency, safety, and nutritional value of food. Consumer criteria like this -quality, nutrient content, safety, and price are becoming increasingly important factors in production protocol. The new dean also sees biomaterial science as an opportunity area for the college. There is an emerging capacity to design molecules with the appropriate physical composition to create starches, proteins, polymers, and polysaccharides, he says, and UC Davis has an important place in the effort. The industry's growing demand for ingredients, rather than commodities, with specific physical properties will provide the College with new research opportunities. As ever, the College will have an easier time finding research opportunities than finding the funds to support that research. Identifying funding sources and deciding which projects are most worthy of those funds will be among Kinsella's most difficult jobs as dean. future of the College of Agricultural and Environmental Resources presents challenges, but the prospects are excellent, according to Kinsella. Few other areas of academic endeavor are so relevant to so many pertinent aspects of society. The College is a unique and highly relevant program to the UC system.