Last Friday, Sonny Ramaswamy, dean of Oregon State University’s College of Agricultural Sciences was appointed director of the National Institute of Food and Agriculture by President Barack Obama. Ramaswamy started at OSU in 2009 and has made many accomplishments during his short time here. Carl Casale, an OSU graduate and president of CHS Inc., a leading energy, grains and foods company stated that “the vision and progressive thinking that Sonny has brought to the College of Agricultural Sciences has helped position Oregon State as one of the leading land grant universities in the nation.”

 Sonny will start this new position in May. The National Institute of Food and Agriculture is the lead agency within the USDA that supports research, education and extension programs in the nation’s land-grant university system. Sonny is not the first OSU faculty member to be appointed to high-ranking positions in the Obama administration. Ramaswamy will join Jane Lubchenco, who was named Director of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

-KT

On my gorgeously sunny drive to campus this morning I heard a great story on NPR about OSU Alumnus, Joshua Mater, a US Army Captain. Mater was recently wounded in Iraq when a rocket exploded near him in May.

From the Oregonian:

Capt. Joshua Mater, now stationed at Fort Bragg, has gathered about 200 engineering textbooks donated by the faculty at Oregon State.

They’re intended to help students at Dhi Qar University in southern Iraq learn how to construct roads, provide electricity and build bridges. The school has 10,000 students, one of the largest in the nation.

snip

Ron Adams, dean of the College of Engineering, said the texts were worth about $20,000, and they’re of recent vintage.

“The specific request was for 21st century textbooks,” he said.

It goes without saying that well trained engineers will make a huge difference as Iraq sets to the task of rebuilding itself. Just goes to show, that Land Grant service before self attitude, never fades! Kudos to Capt. Mater, keep up the good work.

-jm

I’ll clear out some of the news items that have been floating about here in Corvallis with the promise of a full report of the PNACAC conference and our presentation to come.

Admissions:

We have finalized a long time in coming Degree Partnership Agreement with Clackamas Community College.

ATDs for the fall are still being accepted. Remember that you must attend a START program to officially enroll and register for classes, you must pay your ATD to attend START.

Academics:

Very important findings and accomplishments by OSU faculty and students have been in the news recently. Oregon cheeses have arrived on the national cheese scene, the OSU Wind Ensemble will perform at Carnegie Hall this summer, and acidified sea water upwellings are creating a huge problem for Pacific Coast marine life.

Athletics:

A great story on CNNSI.com about new hoops coach, Craig Robinson and Saori Haruguchi has qualified for the olympics in the 200 m Individual Medley.

That’s all for now! Don’t forget to keep those great comments coming.

-jm