CFAES Leadership Appointments Announced

The Ohio State University College of Food, Agricultural, and Environmental Sciences (CFAES) has announced leadership positions for three departments within the college: food science and technology, plant pathology, and food, agricultural and biological engineering.

Martha Belury has been appointed chair of the CFAES Department of Food Science and Technology effective July 1, 2023 to June 30, 2027.

Belury earned her bachelor’s in nutrition in 1987 and her Ph.D. in biological sciences in 1992 from the University of Texas, Austin. She joined Ohio State as the Carol S. Kennedy Professor of Nutrition in the College of Education and Human Ecology in 2002. Belury has served as interim chair of the Department of Food Science and Technology since July 1, 2022.

Pierce Paul has been appointed professor and chair of the CFAES Department of Plant Pathology effective July 1, 2023 through June 30, 2027.

He earned a diploma of agriculture science from the Guyana School of Agriculture in Guyana, a bachelor’s in agronomy and a master’s in plant pathology from the Universidade Federal de Vicosa in Brazil, and a Ph.D. in plant pathology from Iowa State University. Paul has served as interim chair of the CFAES Department of Plant Pathology since February of 2023. Prior to this appointment, he served as professor and associate chair of the department.

Scott A. Shearer has been reappointed as chair of the CFAES Department of Food, Agricultural and Biological Engineering effective June 1, 2023 through June 30, 2027. He received his bachelor’s, master’s and Ph.D. in agricultural engineering from The Ohio State University. He joined CFAES as chair of the department in 2011. This will be his fourth four-year term in the role. Prior to 2011, he was chair of biosystems and agricultural engineering at the University of Kentucky.  

“Join us in congratulating Drs. Belury, Paul, and Shearer,” said CFAES Dean Cathann A. Kress. “Their roles are vital to the important work of our college.”

All three positions are subject to approval of the Ohio State Office of Academic Affairs and the Board of Trustees.