UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — Troy Ott, interim director of the Huck Institutes of the Life Sciences, has been named dean of the Penn State College of Agricultural Sciences, effective July 1.
Ott succeeds Laszlo Kulcsar, professor of rural sociology and demography, who served as interim dean of the college for nine months, following the retirement of Rick Roush.
As dean, Ott will oversee all aspects of Penn State’s oldest college, which awarded the nation’s first baccalaureate degrees in agriculture in 1861. Today, the College of Agricultural Sciences is a world leader in agricultural research and education, with faculty, staff and students who pursue discoveries and solutions that promote the well-being of people in Pennsylvania, the nation and the world.
Ott was selected for the position following a national search.
“Dr. Ott’s deep connection to Penn State, gained through his tenure as an administrator, faculty member and former undergraduate student, has enabled him to develop a strong vision for the future of the College of Agricultural Sciences as the cornerstone of the University’s land-grant mission,” said Tracy Langkilde, interim executive vice president and provost. “His ability to communicate his passion and vision will allow him to engage broad audiences, including Pennsylvania’s legislature, which is essential to Penn State’s success. I am delighted that Dr. Ott has accepted the role of dean, and I am confident that the college will thrive under his leadership.”
Langkilde also thanked Laszlo Kulcsar for his leadership as interim dean.
“Dr. Kulcsar has provided strong leadership during a period of change for the college and will continue to be an important contributor to its continued success,” said Langkilde. “I know I am joined by all of his colleagues in the college and across the University in expressing my gratitude for his service.”
Also beginning July 1, Patrick Drew, professor of engineering science and mechanics, neurosurgery, biomedical engineering and biology, will assume the role of interim director of the Huck Institutes of the Life Sciences, while a national search for a permanent director is conducted. Currently an associate director for Huck, Drew joined the faculty of Penn State in 2010 and conducts research on how blood flow to the brain is regulated and its role in neurodegenerative disease.
In his new role as dean, Ott will oversee the college’s administrative employees, nine academic departments and Penn State Extension, which delivers science-based information to people, businesses and communities.
“The College of Agricultural Sciences is at the core of Penn State’s land-grant mission to serve the citizens of the commonwealth,” Ott said. “Having grown up in a rural community in upper Bucks County, Pennsylvania, where I participated in 4-H and was employed in production agriculture from a young age, I experienced firsthand how the college can transform the lives of Pennsylvanians and how this impact radiates out across the country and around the world. The opportunity to work with such an accomplished team of faculty, staff and students to build upon that legacy is both humbling and energizing.”
Ott said that among the college’s strengths are the scope, scale and quality of the research, teaching and Extension work.
“From basic science that is the foundation for future impacts, to translational, field and clinical research that moves discoveries to real-world applications, to Extension programming that provides solutions and supports communities throughout Pennsylvania, the College of Agricultural Sciences maintains a portfolio of activities that matches the diversity and needs of our stakeholders,” he said. “To maintain our relevance, we will need to invest in our most impactful programs, while staying at the forefront of advanced and emerging technologies. The college must continue to match the pace of change in Pennsylvania, and indeed the world, if we are going to remain an innovation engine for the commonwealth.”
Importantly, he said, the college’s success ultimately depends on the quality of the education it provides to its students, who are the next generation of leaders in agriculture, natural resource management and the bioeconomy, among other areas.
“As a student at Penn State, outstanding faculty members helped point me toward opportunities that matched my interests, challenged me, and provided me with the transformational experience of working in a research lab,” Ott said. “This put me on the path that led to my wonderfully fulfilling career. Now I can give back to the college that gave me so much, to ensure that other students are provided with this same opportunity.”
In June 2023, Ott assumed the position of interim director of the Huck Institutes of the Life Sciences, where he helped to facilitate substantial investments in new equipment for the shared instrumentation facilities, recruit nearly a dozen faculty members and recognize a similar number with chair positions and lead a process of strategic realignment to better address emerging challenges.
Prior to serving as the interim director, Ott was an associate director at Huck for nine years. In that role, he oversaw graduate education at Huck, which enrolls 250 doctoral students advised by 330 faculty members from across the University. He also played a role in innovating graduate training in the six intercollege graduate degree programs managed by Huck and increased the institutes’ portfolio of predoctoral training grants from the National Science Foundation, U.S. Department of agriculture and National Institutes of Health.
A faculty member in Penn State’s Department of Animal Science since 2006, Ott’s research focuses on issues related to animal food production, fertility regulation, immunology, and the physiology of early pregnancy, with a primary focus on the signaling between the embryo, uterus and circulating immune cells. He is the inventor or co-inventor on five U.S. patents and one pending patent, and he is actively engaged in efforts to commercialize novel diagnostic technologies to aid in managing reproduction and animal health.
Ott has published more than 100 scientific papers and review articles, 10 book chapters, and is co-editor of the textbook “Reproductive Genomics in Domestic Animals.” In addition, he developed and mentored the “Let’s Eat!” Distinguished Honors Faculty program, designed to engage Penn State Schreyer Honors Scholars in issues related to food production and feeding the growing world population sustainably. He gives numerous public seminars each year on the role of biotechnologies in sustainable food and fiber production. For these activities he was awarded the Distinguished Service Award from the PennAg Industries Association in 2020. He is also past president of the Society for the Study of Reproduction.
Ott received his bachelor’s degree in animal production from Penn State, followed by a master’s degree in reproductive physiology at Auburn University and a doctoral degree in reproductive physiology from the University of Florida. Following graduation, he spent six years as a research scientist in the Center for Animal Biotechnology at Texas A&M University before joining the faculty at the University of Idaho’s Department of Animal and Veterinary Science. Ott returned to Penn State to join the Department of Animal Science in 2006.