UMES’ agriculture dean chairs key land-grant institutions’ panel for 2020-21
Wednesday, July 1, 2020
Dr. Moses T. Kairo takes the reins today as national chair of the Experiment Station Committee on Organization and Policy.
Kairo, dean of the University of Maryland Eastern Shore’s School of Agricultural and Natural Sciences, was elected to the post during the organization’s fall 2019 meeting in Nashville, Tenn. He will serve a one-year term.
ESCOP is the “representative governing body of the Experiment Station Section, a unit of the Association of Public and Land-grant Universities’ (APLU) Commission on Food, Environment, and Renewable Resources, Board on Agriculture Assembly.”
As ESCOP chair and in consultation with its executive committee, Kairo will lead agricultural experiment station directors and appoint representatives among them to other committees, agencies, associations and organizations. The committee is responsible for handling the continuing business, organization and policy issues on behalf of all the land-grant universities.
Each agricultural experiment station director or research director participates in an independent regional association affiliated with APLU and that has representation on the panel chaired by Kairo.
“Research by scientists in the nation’s Agricultural Experiment Stations has transformed agriculture and food production as well as the management of both natural and managed ecosystems,” Kairo said.
“I have no doubt the solutions to many of the current challenges we face, including how we will feed 9.5 billion people in the year 2050, will be generated by these scientists,” he said.
Kairo has more than two decades of experience in senior administrative and scientific leadership, including over 15 years in the land-grant system, seven years of which have been at UMES as dean of agricultural and natural sciences.
Kairo previously has provided leadership for the 1890 Agricultural Research Directors and served in other committees of the Board on Agriculture Assembly. Prior to his academic career, Kairo worked in international development and has implemented projects in many countries.
Gail Stephens, agricultural communications and media associate, School of Agricultural & Natural Sciences, University of Maryland Eastern Shore, 410-621-3850 gcstephens@umes.edu .
