ISU president Steven Leath was recently elected to a three-year term on the International Fertilizer Development Center’s board of directors. 

Based in Muscle Shoals, Ala., the center is a non-profit that “focuses on increasing and sustaining food security and agricultural productivity in developing countries through the development and transfer of effective and environmentally sound crop nutrient technology and agribusiness expertise,” according to a news release.

Leath has a background in plant science, serving at various universities and publishing numerous papers on plant disease resistance and plant breeding throughout his career. Leath currently serves on the Iowa STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) Advisory Council and is a board member of the Iowa 4-H Foundation.

Leath also serves as a member of the Iowa Business Council, the American Association for the Advancement of Science, the Crop Science Society of America and the American Phytopathological Society.