A nationwide search for the next dean of the Purdue College of Agriculture ended where it began — at Purdue. Bernie Engel was introduced on June 12 as the man who will lead the college into its next chapter.

Engel most recently served as associate dean of ag research and graduate education while Karen Plaut was ag dean. She resigned in January to become Purdue’s executive vice president for research. Ken Foster, former head of Purdue ag economics, became interim dean and will serve until Engel assumes his new duties on July 15.

“Professor Engel is exactly the right leader to take our strong College of Agriculture to even greater heights of research and academic excellence, while also serving our state’s 92 counties better than ever before through Purdue Extension,” Patrick Wolfe says in introducing Engel as the next dean. Wolfe followed Jay Akridge as Purdue provost and vice president for academic affairs and diversity.

Engel previously led the Department of Agricultural and Biological Engineering from 2005 to 2019. Akridge was dean of the College of Agriculture for many of those years before becoming provost.

Under Engel’s leadership, the ABE undergraduate and graduate programs at Purdue were repeatedly ranked as the country’s No. 1 biological and ag engineering programs by U.S. News and World Report. During his tenure as head of the department, the number of undergraduate and graduate students doubled. Research expenditures more than tripled. Engel was instrumental in laying the groundwork that led to new ABE facilities, which opened for students in the 2021-22 academic year.

Engel earned his undergraduate and master’s degrees at the University of Illinois. He earned a doctorate in ag engineering at Purdue and joined the faculty at Purdue in 1988. He has garnered numerous awards, including being honored as the Purdue College of Agriculture Outstanding Researcher and Outstanding Graduate Educator.

Engel’s research helped him become a global expert in developing and applying water quality models to address land use in mixed-use watersheds. He led development of GIS technology which enables FieldWatch to work. FieldWatch is a nonprofit registry operating in 24 states that helps farmers and crop producers minimize pesticide drift threats within the environment.

For his part, after being introduced as the next dean of Purdue agriculture, Engel says, “As dean, I will be dedicated to fostering excellence and driving impactful initiatives that align with our mission as a leading public research university and land-grant institution.”

Information supplied by the Purdue Ag Communications contributed to this article.