Colleagues,
As many of you may already know, Dr. David Ragsdale, Associate Director and Chief Scientific Officer for Texas A&M AgriLife Research, recently announced his plans to retire August 31. While we are sad to see Dr. Ragsdale go, we celebrate his distinguished career and wish him well in retirement.
I’m also happy to write to you today to share that we have extended an offer to Dr. Henry Fadamiro, who will serve as Associate Director and Chief Scientific Officer for AgriLife Research, and as Associate Dean for the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, effective July 1.
Fadamiro is a world-class academic and administrator whose work at three land-grant universities instilled a deep knowledge of agriculture research administration, international program management and Extension service. He is a Rhodes Scholar, an inductee into the National Academy of Inventors and a Fellow of the Royal Entomological Society.
Fadamiro most recently served as Associate Dean for Research for the College of Agriculture at Auburn University and as Associate Director of Alabama Agricultural Experiment Station, since 2017. In these roles, he advanced faculty and student research and initiated several professional development programs. Under his direction, the college’s extramural awards increased by almost 90 percent.
Previously, Fadamiro served in other leadership roles at Auburn University. As Assistant Dean and Director of Global Programs for Auburn’s College of Agriculture, he led efforts to establish partnerships with academic institutions in Africa, Asia, Central/South America and Europe. Since 2003, he has also been a faculty member in Auburn’s Department of Entomology and Plant Pathology.
Before joining Auburn University, Fadamiro had served as a postdoctoral research associate at the University of Minnesota and at Iowa State University, and as research scientist at the Minnesota Department of Agriculture. Fadamiro earned his doctorate in entomology and pest management from the University of Oxford in England in 1995. Prior to that, he earned his bachelor’s and master’s degrees from the Federal University of Technology in Akure, Nigeria.
Please join me in welcoming Dr. Fadamiro to our leadership team, and in expressing appreciation and well wishes to Dr. Ragsdale upon his retirement from a rich career serving agriculture and the life sciences.
Thank you,
Patrick J. Stover, Ph.D.
Vice Chancellor, Texas A&M AgriLife
Dean, College of Agriculture and Life Sciences
Director, Texas A&M AgriLife Research
