An interim dean for the West Virginia University Davis College of Agriculture, Natural Resources and Design will be appointed with the next few weeks, Provost Joyce McConnell said today (Oct. 25), following the announcement of current dean Daniel Robison as dean of Iowa State University’s College of Agriculture and Life Sciences.

“Dan is a visionary thinker and a dynamic leader who shepherded our oldest academic unit through some exciting times, including the Davis College’s 150th birthday,” McConnell said. “We’re delighted that he will have the opportunity to bring his tremendous energy to a new constituency at Iowa State.”

Robison will also serve as director of the Iowa Agricultural and Home Economics Experiment Station, effective March 31, 2019. Read ISU’s full announcement.

Since his appointment to the Davis College in 2012, Robison has overseen the development of several of the college’s new facilities, including the Evansdale Greenhouse, the Agricultural Sciences Building and the J.W. Ruby Research Farm at Reedsville. Additionally, during Robison’s tenure, the college has achieved record enrollment and retention while adding new discipline-specific and interdisciplinary curricula.

Established in 1867, the Davis College is currently home to more than 2,000 students. The college boasts the first certified organic university farm in the US and maintains more than 11,000 acres of farmland and forest throughout West Virginia.