California Ag Network

Tag: University of Tennessee

  • New Dean Named for the UC Davis College of Ag & Environmental Sciences

    Ashley Stokes, professor and dean emeritus at the University of Tennessee, will join UC Davis as its new dean of the College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences on July 1.

    Stokes, a professor of veterinary large animal clinical sciences, served as dean of the University of Tennessee Institute of Agriculture’s UT Extension from 2021 to 2024, overseeing a budget of $100 million and 1,000 faculty and staff. She also has held leadership roles at Colorado State University and the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa and has more than 30 years of experience in higher education.

    “Ashley is an innovative leader committed to furthering our mission and will be an outstanding advocate, especially in rural communities and with stakeholders,” said Mary Croughan, provost and executive vice chancellor. “Her collaborative and empathetic approach to advancing educational and research opportunities beautifully aligns with the transdisciplinary culture we have at UC Davis. We look forward to welcoming her to campus and to seeing her vision unfold as the leader of this highly respected college and all of its programs.”

    During her time as dean of UT Extension, Stokes helped diversify the division’s funding streams and more than doubled grant and contract awards over its pre-COVID-19 levels. Her direction and partnership led Tennessee’s governor to include $46 million in the state budget to build new hands-on learning STEM and outdoor education centers. Stokes helped secure $16.5 million to endow a new 4-H center, the largest endowment of any 4-H & Youth Development Center in Tennessee’s history. With her team, they transformed and developed new programs for employees, earning them the prestigious “Employer of the Year” in 2023 from a prominent international administrative organization across numerous industry sectors.

    “I am excited to join the incredible faculty and staff in CA&ES and foster an environment where they can succeed and thrive,” Stokes said. “It is an honor to have the opportunity to bring my experience, energy, and endurance to UC Davis to lead this high performing, outstanding college. I look forward to working together to determine how we best serve our students, the community, our industry partners, California and beyond.”

    During her six years at Colorado State University, Stokes held several leadership roles, including associate vice president for engagement and extension, assistant dean for admissions and student success and interim senior director of CSU Online. She earned a Bachelor of Science degree in physiological psychology from the University of Alabama, a Doctor of Veterinary Medicine and a Ph.D. in cardiovascular physiology and pharmacology from Louisiana State University and an MBA from Colorado State University.

    Stokes succeeds Helene Dillard, who has served as dean of CA&ES for 11 years and announced her retirement in 2023. Dillard has led numerous key initiatives and helped elevate and maintain the college’s ranking as No. 1 in agriculture in the nation and No. 2 in the world. As the chief academic and administrative officer of the college, Dillard currently oversees 14 departments, 29 centers and institutes, and manages programmatic responsibilities for the college’s Agricultural Experiment Stations and Cooperative Extension. During her tenure as dean, she has led several infrastructure projects, enhanced relationships with public agencies and industry to leverage research into real-world solutions, and engaged with alumni and donors who have invested more than $500 million in private support in the college. This includes the largest gift ever to UC Davis from an individual donor, Lynda and Stewart Resnick, who gave $50 million to help shape the future of sustainability and innovation in agriculture.

    “Helene has devoted her career to the betterment of society through research, teaching, mentorship and service, and CA&ES is highly respected and world renowned thanks to her hard work and sound leadership,” said Croughan. “Her commitment to excellence has greatly benefitted UC Davis and helped us attract Ashley, an outstanding new dean, to lead us into the future.” — By Cindy Brown, UC Davis

  • Is the Gut Biome a Heritable Trait in Angus Cattle?

    While it’s long been said “you are what you eat,” a team of animal scientists in the University of Tennessee Institute of Agriculture is taking an in-depth look at how what you are is influenced by your ability to eat, at least in cattle.

    Phillip Myer, an assistant professor and microbiologist in the Department of Animal Science, is leading a new study to determine how the rumen, the largest compartment of the cattle stomach, and the microbes that inhabit it affect the conversion of low-quality feedstuffs into usable energy for ruminants. Funded by the USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture, the $500,000 study seeks to identify whether the genetics of a particular cow influences the rumen microbiome and whether that influence can be passed on to future generations. “The overarching hypothesis of this project,” says Myer, “is that host beef cattle genetics are associated with the variation of microbes in the rumen, producing an individualized rumen microbiota among animals.”

    Myer believes that if certain microbes are significant for feed efficiency, disease resistance, and other desirable production traits in cattle, then ruminal microbes represent the greatest opportunity to rapidly improve beef cattle nutrition and influence growth to help producers meet future global protein demands.

    Specifically, the three-year project seeks to determine the microbes and microbial interactions in the rumen of Angus cattle as well as the microbes’ relation to feed efficiency. The scientists—including Jonathan Beever, director of the UTIA Genomics Center for Advancement of Agriculture; Brynn Voy, also a professor in the UT Department of Animal Science; and Larry Kuehn and James Wells, both with the USDA U.S. Meat Animal Research Center—also seek to estimate the heritability of the rumen microbes and microbial features and to identify host genomic markers that ensure heritability.

    The goal is microbiome manipulation to enhance agricultural production. Says Myer, “This project will ultimately provide a means to increase food availability while lowering environmental impacts, develop more sustainable cow-calf production systems, and enhance Angus breeding programs.”

    The project will dramatically advance the field of beef production agriculture to sustainably meet the protein requirements of an ever-increasing global population.

    The award is one of 23 that NIFA announced last month that should lead to better management strategies for animal production systems, enhance production efficiency, and further develop high quality animal products for human use. Each of the grants is part of NIFA’s Agriculture and Food Research Initiative.

    Through its land-grant mission of research, teaching and extension, the University of Tennessee Institute of Agriculture touches lives and provides Real. Life. Solutions. utia.tennessee.edu.