Special Coverage: Bobby Moser to step Down as Dean
It's the end of an era.
Vice President and Dean Bobby D. Moser announced his retirement plans in September after 20 years in the position. He will stay until a new vice president is named.
"Bobby's uniquely personal approach and visionary leadership have defined the College of Food, Agricultural, and Environmental Sciences for the past two decades.
Truly, his career has been a calling, and I am deeply grateful that he chose Ohio State as his home," said E. Gordon Gee, president of The Ohio State University.
As dean and vice president for agricultural administration, Moser oversees the college, Ohio State University Extension, the Ohio Agricultural Research and Development Center, and the Agricultural Technical Institute.
"I distinctly recall him speaking to all new CFAES first-year students in Kottman Hall before Convocation in 2006, and I love that in 2011 it was Dr. Moser who shook my hand and handed me my diploma at graduation," said Tara Milliken, recent graduate. "His individual efforts in making my time with CFAES a more personal experience is a part of what made Ohio State feel like home."
Moser has guided the college to strengthen its efforts with four underlying principles: Production Efficiency, Economic Stability, Environmental Compatibility, and Social Responsibility, with a focus on three Signature Areas: Food Security, Production, and Human Health; Environmental Quality and Sustainability; and Advanced Bioenergy and Biobased Products.
"Bobby has excelled at connecting our land- grant university to elected officials, social advocates, environmental leaders, Farm Bureau, and other agricultural organizations," said Jack Fisher, member of Ohio State's Board of Trustees and executive vice president of the Ohio Farm Bureau Federation. "The relationships he built, and his advocacy for food and farming, will leave a lasting mark on every citizen of Ohio."
Under Moser's tenure, the college experienced considerable advancement:
-- The restructuring and renaming of the college in 1994.
-- A 204 percent increase in grant awards, to $39.6 million in 2011 vs. $13 million in 1991.
-- The issuance of more than 86 patents.
-- The garnering of nearly $30 million in Ohio Third Frontier grants.
-- The donation of nearly $83 million to the college from more than 28,000 donors.
-- The establishment of the Food Innovation Center.
-- The designation of Center of Excellence in Agriculture, Food Production, and BioProducts.
-- The building of the Nationwide and Ohio Farm Bureau 4-H Center, the first certified "green" building at Ohio State.
-- The building of the Parker Food Science and Technology Building.
-- The building in Wooster of one of only two biocontainment facilities in the nation that can handle both plants and large animals at the Biosafety Level-3 Agriculture level.
-- Suzanne Steel
