Dunn Named Next SDSU Ag Dean
BROOKINGS, S.D. (May 22, 2010) — Barry Dunn, an agricultural academic administrator with South Dakota ties, has been named dean of the College of Agriculture and Biological Sciences at South Dakota State University, effective May 22, 2010.
An SDSU alumnus, Dunn has been the executive director and the Kleberg Endowed Chair at the King Ranch Institute for Ranch Management at Texas A&M University-Kingsville since 2004. He is also an associate professor of agronomy and resource sciences. Prior to that, he was on the SDSU faculty.
Dunn understands the comprehensive relationship between a land-grant university and agricultural producers, according to Laurie Stenberg Nichols, provost and vice president for academic affairs.
“I am pleased Barry Dunn has agreed to return to South Dakota State as the next dean,” Nichols said. “He is a visionary leader who is grounded in South Dakota agriculture.
“He has demonstrated the ability to support faculty and students while also working cooperatively with producers and commodity groups. This is a critical position for our university and state, and I am confident that Barry Dunn is the right person to lead us into the future.”
Dunn also described his relationship with SDSU and the state as a reason for accepting the dean’s position.
“My wife, Jane, and I are thrilled to be coming home,” Dunn said. “I look forward to leading one of the great colleges of agriculture in the country as we work to train and prepare students for exciting careers and to help South Dakota’s farmers, ranchers and agriculture industry meet the challenges of these dynamic times.”
During his six years at Kingsville, Dunn helped complete a $10 million capital campaign for the King Ranch Institute for Ranch Management. He also procured funding for the Institute through three special legislative requests. He developed a master’s degree curriculum in ranch management and successfully shepherded it through the Texas A&M University System for approval. He has taught graduate-level courses in management every semester that he has been at TAMUK.
Dunn also brings a broad range of experience as a rancher, producer and researcher to the dean’s office. Before taking his current position, Dunn was an assistant professor of animal and range sciences at SDSU from August 2000 to January 2004. He worked three years previously as a range management associate with the South Dakota Cooperative Extension Service. Dunn also operated a moderate-sized grain and livestock farm near Brookings from 1996 until moving to Texas.
Dunn started his career in agriculture as biochemistry research assistant at South Dakota State University while working on his master’s degree. He worked two years as a research associate and manager of the Beef Cattle Research Unit and the North Dakota State University Carrington Research and Extension Center. He was president and general manager of the L7 Ranch Company at Mission from June 1979 to February 1996, when he moved to the Brookings area.
The new dean completed three degrees from SDSU — a Bachelor of Science in biology in 1975, a Master of Science in animal and range sciences in 1977 and his Doctor of Philosophy, also in animal and range sciences, in 2000. He has produced 169 refereed articles or presentations.
Dunn is considered an expert in beef production and ranching systems, particularly on the northern Great Plains. He is a member of several professional organizations, including the Society for Range Management since 1996, the American Society of Animal Science since 1996, the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association since 1981 and the Texas Southwestern Cattleraisers Association since 2004. He is a past member of the South Dakota Beef Industry Council, South Dakota Cattlemen’s Association, South Dakota Stockgrower’s Association and South Dakota Grasslands Coalition.
Dunn and his wife, a 1977 SDSU College of Nursing alumna, have two grown sons. Thomas, a 2005 graduate of Brookings High School, is serving in the security forces of the U.S Air Force. Michael, a 2006 graduate of Brookings High School, is a senior microbiology major at SDSU.
The dean of the College of Agriculture and Biological Sciences oversees academic programs, budgets and activities, including the South Dakota Agricultural Experiment Station and South Dakota Cooperative Extension Service. More than 2,500 students currently pursue undergraduate degrees through 17 major fields of study offered by 10 departments. An additional 300 students are pursuing graduate degrees.
The dean is responsible for a budget of $44 million in state and federal funds and more than $17 million in grants and contracts. The college has 352 faculty, supported by numerous professional, technical and clerical staff. Don Marshall has been the interim dean since fall 2008.
Founded in 1881, South Dakota State University is the state’s Morrill Act land-grant institution as well as its largest, most comprehensive school of higher education. SDSU confers degrees from seven different colleges representing more than 200 majors, minors and options. The institution also offers 23 master’s degree programs and 12 Ph.D. programs.
The work of the university is carried out on a residential campus in Brookings and at sites in Sioux Falls, Pierre and Rapid City.
Editor’s Note: This article is adapted from a news release provided by SDSU.
