By MEGGIE I. FOSTER
Assistant Editor

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. — Growing up in western Kentucky Jay Akridge, 48, had always thought he would return to his family’s farm supply business, but once he joined the faculty of Purdue University, a passion for the university and a career in administration began to take hold.

“My family owns several farm supply stores in Kentucky, so that’s where my interest in agribusiness grew, I always thought I’d go back, but that interest drew a different path once I got here (to Purdue University),” said Akridge, who for the past several years served as the director of the Center for Food and Agricultural Business and the James and Lois Ackerman Professor of Agricultural Economics at Purdue.

Since May of 2008, Akridge also filled in as interim dean of agriculture, while a search committee interviewed candidates from across the nation for the vacant position, eventually narrowing the group down to three, then one.

And on Jan. 7, Purdue officials named Akridge as “the one” to lead the university’s largest and one of the most well-respected schools in the country, the College of Agriculture.

“Jay will bring a lot of management and administrative knowledge and experience to the table,” said Randy Woodson, who recently vacated the position as the Glenn W. Sample Dean of Agriculture to take on the broader role of provost for the university. “He knows the state really well and I’m confident he will hit the ground running hard.”

“Dr. Akridge received widespread support from the university community and Purdue Agriculture’s many stakeholders,” said Willie Reed, who spearheaded the national search committee. Reed serves as the dean of the School of Veterinary Medicine. “He impressed the search committee with his vision for the future of the college.”

The Jan. 7 announcement comes after the search committee invited the top three candidates (Akridge, John Floros, of Penn State University; and Ramesh Kanwar, of Iowa State University) to the university to present a public seminar describing their ambitions for the College of Agriculture.

A new role

In his new role, Akridge will be responsible for administering academic programs in the College of Agriculture, the Indiana Agricultural Experiment Station, the Purdue Cooperative Extension Service and a number of state regulatory services, including the State Chemist’s Office, the Animal Disease Diagnostic Laboratory and the Indiana Wine Grape Council.

More specifically, Purdue Agriculture includes 11 academic and two service departments with 315 faculty, 558 research/professional staff, 281 clerical and technical staff, and 271 Purdue Extension educators located across the state. Total enrollment within the bustling college is 2,535 undergraduates and 491 graduate students.

As a word of wisdom from the veteran dean to the new dean, Woodson said that Akridge is “moving into a strong college, it always has been. Jay is inheriting a very strong college that is world-renowned and there’s no question we picked the right guy to lead it.”

Despite the college’s strength, the U.S. economy, in general, Woodson cautioned is dealing “with a very difficult economic climate. We’re dealing with tight state and county budgets so managing the college in that environment will be an insurmountable challenge.”

Woodson also encouraged Akridge to work closely with Hoosier producers to “work through those difficult times ahead. Jay is a good guy to help us through that.”

First on Akridge’s agenda is to finish the college’s strategic plan due in the spring.

“Clearly this is great timing to work on finalizing the strategic plan; and this is an ideal time for me to step into that process.
We want to think long-term, so getting insight from stakeholders to set the future direction of the college and the university is critical.”

Akridge earned his bachelor’s degree in agriculture and business administration from Murray State University and received his master’s and doctoral degrees in agricultural economics from Purdue. In 1996 he received Purdue’s highest teaching honor, the Charles B. Murphey Outstanding Undergraduate Teaching Award and was named a University Faculty Scholar in 2000. In 2003, he was added to the Purdue Book of Great Teachers.

Akridge resides in West Lafayette with his college sweetheart Michelle, daughter Samantha, a junior at West Lafayette High School and Sean, who is a freshmen in the College of Technology at Purdue.