Arkansas State University is appointing a new dean for its College of Agriculture in Jonesboro. A-State Provost Alan Utter announced that Dr. Mickey Latour will be taking on the role.
Latour is set to begin his A-State duties at the state of the fiscal year on July 1, 2020.
A veteran agriculture researcher, Latour has served as a full professor at Purdue University and Southern Illinois University (SIU). He also served as the dean for Southern Illinois University’s College of Agricultural Sciences.
During his time at SIU, Latour oversaw the development of the university’s “Ideas to Investigation (i2i) program, allowing students to obtain funding for research projects, as well as creating a festival to exhibit the agricultural college’s research and collaborating with two other universities to develop an “Elevating Research” program for interdisciplinary partners among faculty.
“Dr. Latour brings a strong commitment to research, considerable administrative experience, and a keen understanding of the challenges facing an agriculture college at a Research 2 university of our size,” Utter said in a statement. “I’m pleased that he has accepted our offer to come to Jonesboro and lead our academic community in the College of Agriculture.”
Latour holds a master’s degree and doctorate in animal science from Mississippi State University. He worked at Purdue from 1997 to 2010 and worked served as SIU’s agricultural college dean from 2012 to 2017, when he returned to the classroom as an animal science professor.
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