Dr. Lonnie J. King appointed acting dean of College of Food, Ag, and Environmental Sciences

COLUMBUS, Ohio – On May 15, Dr. Lonnie J. King will step in as acting dean and vice president for agricultural administration for the College of Food, Agricultural, and Environmental Sciences (CFAES) at The Ohio State University. He will assume the roles presently held by Ronald L. Hendrick, who will leave Ohio State in June to become dean of the College of Agriculture and Natural Resources at Michigan State University.

King will serve in this capacity while Bruce McPheron serves as interim provost for the university.

King’s extensive leadership experience and countless scientific contributions align well with CFAES’s teaching and learning, research and innovation, and outreach and engagement missions, McPheron said.

For example, in addition to serving as dean of Ohio State’s College of Veterinary Medicine (2009-2015), King had also served as a dean at Michigan State (1996-2006). Moreover, he had served as director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s National Center for Zoonotic, Vector-Borne and Enteric Diseases and led initiatives in public health, disease prevention, policy development and research.

King also worked in global trade agreements and has testified before the U. S. Congress on issues of emerging diseases in his role as the nation’s chief veterinarian. Among his many distinctive honors, he is an elected member of the National Academy of Medicine.