Released: July 07, 2008           e-Mail the story

MANHATTAN, Kan. – Kansas State University’s College of Agriculture has selected Christine Wilson as its assistant dean for academic programs, effective Aug. 1, 2008. For Wilson, the move to Kansas will be a homecoming.

A native of Jetmore, Kan., Wilson has been on the faculty of Purdue University since 2001. She earned a bachelor’s degree in agribusiness, and master’s and Ph.D. degrees in agricultural economics – all at K-State.  

“With her professional experiences including teaching, research and extension positions, Christine will be an asset in helping K-State maintain a balanced approach to fulfilling the land grant mission. Plus, her experience and passion for working with students will help students achieve success in their academic and career pursuits,” said Fred Cholick, K-State dean of the College of Agriculture and director of K-State Research and Extension.  

“We feel fortunate to have someone of Christine’s caliber fill this role at Kansas State,” said Don Boggs, K-State College of Agriculture associate dean. “Through her work at Purdue, she has demonstrated a commitment to students and teaching and that makes her an excellent fit for this position.”

As the assistant dean for academic programs, Wilson will be responsible for oversight of K-State’s College of Agriculture student records, for the college’s course and curriculum committee, for coordinating the College General Scholarship Committee, and advising the College of Agriculture Student Council. She will also be responsible for the instruction of Ag Orientation and will teach courses in the University Honors and College Scholars programs, among other duties.

Prior to joining the Purdue faculty, Wilson worked as a senior grains and oilseeds market analyst for Koch Agriculture Co., a division of Koch Industries, Inc. in Wichita, Kan., and as an associate extension agricultural economist at K-State, while completing her Ph.D. At Purdue, she was an assistant professor and more recently, an associate professor in agricultural economics.

In addition to routinely teaching five to six undergraduate classes a year at Purdue, Wilson served as director of its agricultural economics honors program – taking it from two students to a current total of 13 students.

She has served as an academic advisor to students, as well as advisor to Purdue’s Agricultural Economics Academic Bowl Competition Team, the National Agri-Marketing Association (NAMA) Competitive Team and the Agribusiness/NAMA Club.

Wilson has also taught courses in China, The Netherlands, Russia, and Ireland.

In addition, she served as co-chair of the Teaching, Learning, and Communications section of the American Agricultural Economics Association (AAEA) and co-chair for its Young Professional Teaching Academy.

She has been recognized professionally with 13 awards at the department, college, university and national levels – most notably the AAEA Distinguished Teaching Award – Less than Ten Years’ Experience in 2006.

Wilson will succeed Kevin Donnelly, who has moved to a position in the university’s Department of Agronomy to follow his passion for teaching, Boggs said.

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K-State Research and Extension is a short name for the Kansas State University Agricultural Experiment Station and Cooperative Extension Service, a program designed to generate and distribute useful knowledge for the well-being of Kansans. Supported by county, state, federal and private funds, the program has county Extension offices, experiment fields, area Extension offices and regional research centers statewide. Its headquarters is on the K-State campus, Manhattan.

Story by: Mary Lou Peter
mlpeter@ksu.edu
K-State Research & Extension News

Fred Cholick is at 785-532-6147 or fcholick@ksu.edu; Don Boggs is at 785-532-6151 or dboggs@ksu.edu