Dean for College of Agriculture Named
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
March 27, 2006
Joe Wills
530-898-4143
Dean for College of Agriculture Named
Jennifer Ryder Fox, head of the Horticulture and Crop Science Department, California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo, has been named the new dean of California State University, Chico’s College of Agriculture.
Fox will assume her new position Aug. 1. She replaces Charles Crabb, who has been dean since 1999.
"We are pleased to announce the appointment of Dr. Jennifer Ryder Fox as the new dean of the College of Agriculture,” said Scott McNall, CSU, Chico provost and vice president for academic affairs. “We are fortunate to have attracted someone of Dr. Fox's caliber. With her energy and experience, she can take the college far. She will build on the strong foundation created by the faculty and staff of the college and Dean Crabb, who has provided extraordinary service to his colleagues, the campus and to North State agriculture. Her combination of experiences in the academy and in the world of business will serve her well, as the college continues to meet the needs of North State Agriculture. I look forward to working with her."
CSU, Chico President Paul Zingg said, "We looked for a dean who will continue the positive direction of the college and strengthen the University's ability to meet the current and future needs of agriculture in our region and state. We are confident we have found that person in Jennifer Ryder Fox. She joins an excellent faculty and staff and strong industry partners, who should be pleased with her appointment."
"I am honored to have been selected as dean of the College of Agriculture and for the confidence Drs. Zingg and McNall have placed in me,” said Fox. “I look forward to working with the excellent faculty and staff in the College of Agriculture as we build on their accomplishments and become an even stronger partner working with the community and serving the California agricultural industry, especially in the North State."
Fox has been at Cal Poly since 2002. Prior to that she was vice president of AgraQuest, a Davis-based agricultural product development company. She has also been a regional regulatory affairs manager for FMC Corp., a leading chemical company of agricultural and consumer products, and director of regulatory and environmental affairs for the Western Crop Protection Association.
Cal Poly’s Horticulture and Crop Science Department, which Fox chairs, has 300 full-time students in five majors (crop science, environmental horticultural science, fruit science, plant protection science, and wine and viticulture), and 15 tenured/tenure-track faculty members.
Fox received her Ph.D. from New Mexico State University in woody plant physiology. She did her master’s work at New Mexico State and undergraduate work at Cal Poly.
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