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Acting Chair Appointed for Department of Plant Agriculture

September 17, 2009

Dr. David Wolyn, an OAC faculty member since 1988, has been appointed to the role of acting chair for the department of Plant Agriculture, effective immediately.  Wolyn’s appointment is the result of the departure of chair Dr. Rene Van Acker, who recently assumed the role of associate dean (external relations) for the college.

Wolyn holds a BS degree from Rutgers University as well as MS and PhD degrees from the University of Wisconsin-Madison.  He leads an extensive research program for asparagus breeding and production that has resulted in the development and improvement of Guelph Millennium, one of Ontario’s most popular asparagus varieties.  

He has served as associate chair of Plant Agriculture since 2003.

The department of Plant Agriculture within OAC is among the largest of its kind in North America, with 37 faculty located across southern Ontario at campuses and research facilities at Simcoe, Ridgetown, Vineland and Guelph. The department provides students with broad interdisciplinary training in the agricultural sciences, including basic and applied plant biology.  

A formal search for a new chair of the department will be launched in the coming months.  

For more information, contact OAC Communications: Brenda Cassidy at 519-824-4120, ext 56832 or bcassidy@uoguelph.ca