Dean of agriculture candidate Alan Bennett revealed his strategies for the College of Agriculture Tuesday in open forum.

Bennett is currently the associate dean of the College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences at the University of California, Davis.

“I think we’re in a period where there are great opportunities for the College of Agriculture driven by scientific and technological fields,” Bennett said.

As plant science dean at the University of California, Davis, Bennett said his strengths have been enhancing the undergraduate instruction, increasing the research impact through facilities and strengthening commodity-specific research and extension.

“He has built programs and buildings,” said Tony Pometto, professor in food science and human nutrition. “I’m sure those were qualities the committee reviewed for choosing him as a candidate.”

Bennett said the college should make a concerted effort to attract the best faculty, train the best students and post doctorals and educate future leaders in agriculture.

“My vision is to be recognized as the pre-eminent College of Agriculture by exemplifying the balance of excellence in educational fundamental research and application of real problems to address the primary constituents,” he said.

As dean, Bennett said his first step would be to learn about the college itself, as well as its clientele.

One of his strategies as dean would be to create research centers of high-specific activity, such the Plant Sciences Institute.

“It is important to have centers with very recognizable strength, targeted faculty recruitment and college and university commitment,” he said.

He also wants to ensure that these facilities are state-of-the-art teaching and research centers, and that they focus on productivity.

Bennett said his most controversial strategy would be to enhance private-sector partnership, saying that the forerunners in agriculture are in the private sector and not the public.

“We’d have to be interactive through research initiatives, student internships and technological transfers,” he said.

Pometto said Bennett’s ideas were about par for the goals of the college. “His strategies were reasonable and realistic,” he said.

Bennett described his management style to be interactive with the faculty and departments.

“I see a style that seeks advice from the faculty,” he said. “My goal is to build a consensus, agreeing early on objectives and developing strategies.”

Bennett will speak today in a student forum at 1 p.m. to 2 p.m. in Room 142 of Curtiss Hall, and on diversity at 3 p.m. in Room 142 of Curtiss Hall.