Dr. Craig Beyrouty began his term as dean of the College of AGNR November 1st.
The College of Agriculture and Natural Resources (AGNR) officially welcomes Dr. Craig Beyrouty as dean, effective November 1st. Dean Beyrouty will also serve as director of the Maryland Agricultural Experiment Station and University of Maryland Extension.
Dean Beyrouty has been involved in teaching, research, and extension for more than 35 years. He joins the University of Maryland from Colorado State University, where he most recently served as dean of the College of Agricultural Sciences. In that role, Dr. Beyrouty was the chief administrative and academic officer for the college, leading and overseeing the college’s programs, budgets, and related activities, including resident instruction, research, outreach, and international activities.
"I am honored to join the prestigious faculty and staff in the University of Maryland's College of Agriculture and Natural Resources," says Dr. Beyrouty. "I look forward to helping shape a college that will meet the developing public needs and opportunities of the future in agriculture, families, natural resources and the environment."
Dr. Beyrouty concurrently served as director of the Agricultural Experiment Station for Colorado State University, which operates research centers in eight locations throughout Colorado and provides broad-based funding for agricultural-related research.
Previously he held positions as professor and head of Agronomy at Purdue University and professor at the University of Arkansas. He has led and participated in international research, teaching and administrative activities all across the world, in places such as Rwanda, Tokyo, Madrid, and Moscow, among many more.
Dr. Beyrouty is a fellow of the Soil Science Society of America and the American Society of Agronomy. He has served as vice chair of the International Rice Root Working Group and president of the Plant Root Environment Working Group. In 1983, he received the George Scarseth Research Award.
Dr. Beyrouty earned his Ph.D. and M.S. degrees in soil chemistry from Purdue University and a B.S. in soil science from Cal Poly State University. Prior to pursuing graduate studies, he mapped soils for the Soil Conservation Service and was a research scientist for Castle and Cooke Foods in Illinois.
Dean Beyrouty succeeds Dr. Cheng-i Wei, who served as dean of the College of AGNR for ten years before stepping into a new role as director of the college’s international programs office.
