Agricultural Dean to Leave in June

By Heather Posey

By HEATHER POSEY

News Editor

In a letter sent to the university community Wednesday, Provost
Thomas Morales announced that Wayne Bidlack will be leaving his
position as the dean of the College of Agriculture, effective June
11, 2007.

Bidlack, who has spent the last 12 years at the College of
Agriculture and was recently appointed to the State Board of Food
and Agriculture, will come back to Cal Poly as a professor of Human
Nutrition & Food Science as well as Animal & Veterinary
Science.

“It has been the privilege of a lifetime to lead the outstanding
team that makes up the College of Agriculture,” Bidlack said in a
Polycentric article. “I look forward to joining my colleagues in
the classroom as we work together to educate the future leaders of
our industry.”

According to Morales’ message, Bidlack’s leadership resulted in
the development of AGRIscapes and the Farm Store at Kellogg
Ranch.

“To say that Dr. Bidlack made an impact on the college would be
a huge understatement,” said Morales.

Bidlack has been a professional member of the Institute of Food
Technologists for more than 15 years and has served on the
International Life Sciences Institute Committee on Nutrition and
Food Safety.

The resignation of Bidlack’s position of dean of the College of
Agriculture is one that affects the entire college community.

“He works very hard for the faculty, staff and students,” said
Administrative Support Coordinator Sharon Roth in a previous
article.

It is not yet known who will take over as Dean of Agriculture,
but Morales plans to meet with faculty and staff to figure out
their next steps.

“We don’t know yet about who is going to be his replacement,”
said Janet Mundy, administrative analyst for the dean’s office.

Mundy has worked for Bidlack since he first started at Cal Poly
in 1995.

“He’s been a terrific person to work for,” said Mundy. “We’re
sad that he’s leaving and we are going to miss him a lot in the
office.”

Bidlack has authored more than 50 publications, is a past
recipient of the Wang Family Excellence Award and was a former
president of the Food Safety Specialty Section of the Society of
Toxicology.

Heather Posey can be reached by e-mail at news@thepolypost.com
or by phone at (909) 869-3747.