At CALS, we have the good fortune to be able to offer a number of college and departmental professorships and chairships. These titles, with accompanying funding, are a way to acknowledge faculty members for doing outstanding work, while encouraging and inspiring excellence across the college.

This academic year, six CALS faculty members were selected to receive CALS or department professorships/chairships. They will be honored during an investiture ceremony on Sept. 26. The recipients are listed below.

Samer Alatout, associate professor in the Department of Community and Environmental Sociology. Alatout has been appointed to the Buttel-Sewell Professorship, which provides research and scholarly activity support for three years. The professorship, established in 2005 to honor UW–Madison sociologists Frederick H. Buttel and William H. Sewell, supports the recruitment and retention of outstanding scholars. Alatout is a scholar of environmental sociology and science and technology studies. His research is currently focused on the politics of river infrastructures in Wisconsin, in particular how infrastructural technologies that enabled settler colonial dispossession could be reimagined to support decolonized environmental futures. One example involves the Menominee Indian Tribe of Wisconsin’s project to reintroduce lake sturgeon into the upper Wolf River, assessing if/how the various constituents can work together to reach an agreement that centers tribal concerns.

Julie Dawson, associate professor and extension specialist in the Department of Plant and Agroecosystem Sciences. Dawson has been appointed as the Clif Bar and Organic Valley Chair in Plant Breeding for Organic Agriculture, which provides salary and research support for seven years. The chair was established by Clif Bar & Company and Organic Valley in 2015 and first awarded in 2016. It is designed to support a CALS faculty member with an established record of developing crop cultivars under certified organic conditions and mentoring students in the discipline of organic cultivar development. Dawson’s program focuses on selecting and developing cultivars for organic systems and local food markets, with an emphasis on engaging farmers and culinary professionals.

Amanda Gevens, chair, professor and extension specialist in the Department of Plant Pathology. Gevens has been appointed as the Fritz Friday Chair in Vegetable Production Research, an appointment that includes research support for five years. The chair was established by Mr. Fritz Friday (BS’55), owner and CEO of the Friday Canning Corporation in New Richmond, Wisconsin, to support a CALS faculty member who demonstrates outstanding research and service in the area of vegetable production. Geven’s research program investigates the ecology of fungus and fungus-like plant pathogens for enhanced and integrated disease management and her extension work supports vegetable growers by providing research-based recommendations for controlling diseases during production and in storage.

Rich Hartel, professor in the Department of Food Science. Hartel has been re-appointed to the William C. Winder Professorship in Food Science, which provides research and salary support for five years. This professorship was established by William C. Winder, a CALS food science professor who retired in 1981, to support a food science faculty member whose efforts are devoted to teaching and research. Hartel studies phase transitions in foods such as ice cream and confections, and he is the director of the UW–Madison Resident Course in Confectionery Technology.

Matt Ruark, professor and extension specialist in the Department of Soil Science. Ruark has been appointed as the Wisconsin Potato and Vegetable Grower BCS Chair, an appointment that includes salary and research support for five years. The chair was established by the Wisconsin Potato and Vegetable Growers Association in honor of the contributions of UW–Madison professors Larry Binning, David Curwen, and John Schoenemann (hence “BCS” in the name). Ruark, the first appointee to this chair, focuses on optimizing nitrogen use in potato production and reducing nitrate leaching to groundwater through his research and outreach efforts.

Anita Thompson, chair and professor in the Department of Biological Systems Engineering. Thompson has been appointed to the Patrick Walsh and Noreen Warren Endowed Professorship, an appointment that includes three years of support for departmental mission and chair activities. The professorship was established in 2015 by Patrick Walsh, professor emeritus and former chair of the department, and Noreen Warren. Thompson, who became chair of the BSE department in 2023, studies the hydrologic and water quality impacts of land use and management in urban and agricultural watersheds.