The College of Agriculture and Life Sciences announced the appointment of professor Sue Blodgett as chairwoman of the departments of entomology and natural resource ecology and management earlier this month, though she won’t formally begin chairing them until Monday. She will be the first permanent chairwoman to oversee the two departments since budget cuts impelled Iowa State to place them under the administrative oversight of a single chairperson.

Before being hired at Iowa State, Blodgett headed the plant science department at the South Dakota State University.

The Daily reached her by phone to discuss her career and her plans for the newly reorganized departments.

Q: What attracted you to Iowa State?

A: What first attracted me to the position is twofold. One [attraction] is that it included a very robust, very well-run entomology department. There’s not too many of those left. Many of those have been combined, as they are at South Dakota State. And the second thing is just the very high regard that Iowa State University is held in. So those two things were the main factors.

Q: You mentioned that many entomology departments have been merged with others. That’s also the case here. In that respect, it wouldn’t really be an alternative to a lot of programs, would it?

A: Although they are going to be managed in a business model by a single chair and a single support office, the two departments … are still going to retain their individual identities.

Q: Can you tell me what your research specialty has been to date?

A: I’m really trained as a field-crop entomologist, working with producers primarily. I’ve always had a shared position between research and extension, although I’ve done a little bit of teaching both at South Dakota State and Montana State [University-Boseman]. So again, I’d like to get engaged in some teaching and some extension, because it helps me to learn Iowa — learn what needs are there in terms of agriculture and natural resources … I’ve worked in a variety of different crops — primarily small grains, [as well as] forage crops, including alfalfa … I’ve worked on a variety of minor crops as well, including barley and sugar beets.

Q: Do you have anything you’re working on at the moment?

A: We have the wheat pest that’s actually present in Montana, the wheat stem sawfly, which has moved into and is kind of increasing operations in the western part of South Dakota. I’ve been working with wheat breeders here in South Dakota and working with researchers in Montana [in an earlier position], looking at trying to answer the question of why it’s expanding and what are perhaps some of the unique resistance attributes in wheat that would provide another source of resistance to sawfly … It’s a pest for which there are no pesticides that provide control. So [we] really have to work closely with the breeders to try to identify some plant sources of resistance that we can look at.

Q: According to a College of Agriculture and Life Sciences news release, programs were merged in response to “budget pressures.” When you came on board, did they give you an impression of what specific budget pressures were acting on them?

A: My understanding was that by creating a new business model for the new departments, there are some efficiencies — for example, only having one chair. And maybe there’s a way to do some future combining of the business offices … I just don’t have the detailed information, so I really can’t probably give you a good answer. You’ll have to come back and ask me in six months. 

Q: You’ll have oversight over a broad range of disciplines. The entomology department is merging with a department [natural resource ecology and management] that’s already been merged with others. How does the prospect of overseeing such a broad department strike you?

A: That’s what I’ve been doing for the last five years at South Dakota State. There is an entomology unit within the plant science department [at South Dakota State]. But it’s a very broad department. So some of the things I’ve done here to enable me to become acquainted with disciplines I’m not trained in [are] that I participate in professional meetings: I get to know the other units in the region and in the nation, and so I learn what the current issues and topics are in those fields … There is some overlap between entomology and the natural resource [ecology and management] as well. So I think that it does have some similarities.

Q: Are there any projects or programs in the department that you’re aware of that excite you or interest you?

A: Both departments … are nationally and internationally known. So each of those departments have extremely well-known individuals that conduct research and teaching and extension. So it’s a very exciting opportunity. I was traveling to visit my dad recently, and on the plane I opened the Wall Street Journal and there’s an article about [assistant professor of entomology] Aaron Gassman … That just shows me the interest that kind of goes on in both those departments.

Q: Do you have goals for your time as chairwoman?

A: I really think it’s important, especially coming from the outside as I am, to really get to know the department, especially because the [natural resource ecology and management] part of the department — you know, I’m not as familiar with those disciplines. And so I think it’s real important to come in and understand the department and the culture and what’s going on before trying to establish a strategic plan. I’d like to come in very open-minded.

Q: What will be your first act as chairwoman?

A: The first thing that I’d like to do is meet with faculty individually and get familiar with their programs and issues in the department … That will take me a bit of time. The two departments together are quite large. [I plan to] meet with the two faculties as a group and then meet with staff … As I understand, the forestry program is scheduled for an accreditation review in early ’12, so that’s a very important item, and that’s one of the first things that I’ll probably be actively working on.