Poston appointed dean of MSU College of Agriculture and Natural Resources
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EmailThe Michigan State University Board of Trustees has approved the appointment of Fred Poston as dean of the university's College of Agriculture and Natural Resources (CANR).
The Michigan State University Board of Trustees has approved the appointment of Fred Poston as dean of the university’s College of Agriculture and Natural Resources (CANR).
The appointment is effective Jan. 1, 2013. He will succeed Douglas Buhler, who has served as interim dean since January 2011.
Poston has been MSU vice president for finance and operations since 1999. During that time, he has managed the financial planning of the university, kept housing costs among the lowest of the Big 10, overseen the building of a nationally acclaimed recycling center and facilitated a new university-wide human resources management program.
Poston is returning to the college where he served as dean for eight years (1991-98).
Prior to his stint as dean, Poston guided the Revitalization of Michigan Animal Agriculture project, created Project GREEEN (Generating Research and Extension to meet Economic and Environmental Needs) and developed the Partnership for Ecosystem Research and Management with the Michigan Department of Natural Resources and the Great Lakes Fishery Commission.
Before coming to MSU, Poston was director of Washington State University's Cooperative Extension Service and associate dean of agriculture and home economics. Prior to that, he was on the entomology faculty at Kansas State University and was associate director of the Kansas Cooperative Extension Service.
A native of Florida, Poston received his bachelor's degree from West Texas State University and his graduate degrees in entomology from Iowa State University.
A decision regarding the vice president for finance and operations role will be completed in the next few months.
