Heartfelt thanks to Prof. Guanming Shi, who recently completed her term as department chair and a warm welcome to incoming chair Prof. Paul Mitchell.
The first woman to serve as department chair of AAE, Shi is also the Renk Agribusiness chair, the director of the professional master’s program (MSPO), a co-founder and co-director of the Pan Asia Pacific Sustainability Initiative, and a core Member of the Initiative for Studies in Transformational Entrepreneurship (INSITE) in the UW Madison School of Business. Prof. Shi will be returning to her research and teaching and maintaining her leadership roles within the department and across campus.
Mitchell brings 20 years of experience to his role, starting in AAE 2004 as an assistant professor and extension state specialist in agricultural systems and environmental management. In addition to research, teaching and serving on department committees, he maintains an active extension program, is a highly sought speaker and a prolific publisher, and is director of the Renk Agribusiness Institute. He has received numerous awards on campus, regionally and nationally. Within the College of Agricultural and Life Sciences (CALS) he has served on a variety of committees, and most recently was the interim associate Dean for Academic Affairs.