G. Dale Wesson, has been appointed interim dean for the College of Agriculture and Food Sciences. He will replace Dean Robert Taylor, who will return to the faculty this fall. Taylor, a professor of soil and environmental chemistry, had served as Dean of the College since 2012. Prior to coming to FAMU, Taylor had served as Dean of the School of Agriculture and Environmental Science at Alabama A&M University. Wesson previously served as Provost and Sr. VP at Clark Atlanta University, VP for Research at Virginia State University, VP for Research at University of Maryland Eastern Shore, VP for Research at SC State, and Interim VP for Research at FAMU. He returned to FAMU this past November to serve Associate VP for Research, a role he will continue to hold while serving as interim dean. Under Taylor’s leadership the College of Ag underwent a name change from the College of Engineering Sciences, Technology and Agriculture (CESTA) to the College of Agriculture and Food Sciences and streamlined its focused to agriculture and food sciences/safety, and expanded its reach into central Florida when the USDA transferred 3,800 acres of farm land to the university in Brooksville. In the past three years, the College has brought in more than $36 million in new grants, and federal scholarship funding designed to increase the number of Black students pursuing careers in agriculture.
