UK names new College of Agriculture, Food and Environment dean, vice president
The University of Kentucky has named Laura Stephenson, a long-time higher education and agriculture leader, as the next dean of the Martin-Gatton College of Agriculture, Food and Environment, the university announced last week.
In her role, Stephenson will also be the vice president for land-grant engagement, overseeing UK’s role as a land-grant university in teaching, research and service focused on agriculture. Her role includes working with UK’s Cooperative Extension programs in each of Kentucky’s 120 counties.
“I am incredibly excited to assume these important leadership positions on behalf of UK and the Martin-Gatton College of Agriculture, Food and Environment,” Stephenson said in a statement. “The legacy of leadership and service created by Dean (Nancy) Cox and those who preceded her will guide us as we grow our footprint as a college, our presence in the state and expand our mission to do and be more for the Commonwealth we serve.”
Stephenson is currently the associate vice president for land-grant engagement and associate dean and director of extension. Earlier this year Nancy Cox, who has been the dean of the college for more than a decade and also served as vice president, announced her plans to retire when a replacement was selected.
“Dean Stephenson knows Kentucky. She knows Kentucky agriculture and she is firmly committed to our land-grant mission as exemplified by the statewide presence and deep roots of UK’s Cooperative Extension Service,” UK President Eli Capilouto said. “As we seek to embed this land-grant commitment to Kentucky in everything we do as part of our mission to advance this state, Laura’s leadership, understanding of our state and her deep roots here will be essential to our work and our mission.”
Stephenson returned to UK in 2018 after six years in similar positions at the University of Tennessee. Prior to working at UT, she had worked at UK in Cooperative Extension Service for more than 20 years. Laura Stephenson
“Dean Stephenson is highly regarded within the college as well as the entire agriculture community in this state and throughout the country,” Provost Robert DiPaola said. “She will build and expand upon the strong foundation that Dean and Vice President Cox established in leading one of the country’s premier colleges of agriculture for the last decade.”