Daniel J. Robison has been announced as the next endowed dean of Iowa State’s College of Agriculture and Life Sciences and the director of the Iowa Agricultural and Home Economics Experiment Station. 

“It’s a great honor to be selected to lead the college, and I look forward to working with the talented team here to address the local and global challenges of agricultural production, food safety, security and nutrition, natural resources management, and underlying life sciences,” Robison said in a press release. 

Robison, who is currently the dean of West Virginia’s College of Agriculture, Natural Resources and Design and the director of the West Virginia Agriculture and Forestry Experiment Station, will begin his tenure by March 31, 2019, according to a press release.

“Dr. Robison has the vision, leadership experience and land-grant spirit to further strengthen the college’s international reputation for excellence in teaching, research and extension,” said Iowa State President Wendy Wintersteen, in a press release.

In Robison’s open forum held on Sept. 4, he had three ideas in his vision for Iowa State. Those ideas included the importance of education, training students for the future and that solutions start with students.

Robison also highlighted the importance of education in his forum. He said that all education should be supported by state and federal governments.

“It’s a regretful reflection of society that higher education is viewed as a burden,” Robison said. 

Training students is also an important part in his vision for Iowa State. He emphasized in his forum that the core of universities is to bring students to campus through teaching and learning.

The last key idea of Robison’s vision is that students have solutions for the future. Robison said that the solutions are in the mind of the students, which are inspired by a great faculty. He believes that “students are the future.”

Robison holds a bachelor’s degree in forestry, master’s in silviculture and forest influences from the State University of New York–College of Environmental Science and Forestry, Syracuse and a doctorate in entomology from the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

He joined West Virginia in 2012 after serving as associate dean for research in the North Carolina State University College of Natural Resources.

According to a press release, Senior Vice President and Provost Jonathan Wickert thanked interim Dean Joe Colletti for his leadership of the college in making the announcement.