Dean Glenda Gillaspy appointed Heather White as the next associate dean for faculty affairs. White will assume the role on Aug. 1, replacing Irwin Goldman who has been serving in the position on an interim basis since last summer. The associate dean for faculty affairs is responsible for faculty personnel issues including hiring, promotion, tenure, post-tenure activities, compensation, retention and the faculty annual performance evaluation process.

“Heather has not only built a competitive, internationally recognized research program supported by federal, foundation and industry funding, but also has an excellent reputation for teaching in the classroom and in outreach settings,” says Gillaspy. “Her experience with the Dairy Innovation Hub exposed her to administrative processes across the Universities of Wisconsin and with state leaders. She has a strong commitment to mentorship and the mission of land-grant universities that makes her an excellent leader.”

Heather White joined the Department of Dairy Science (now Department of Animal and Dairy Sciences) in 2013, leading a research program that strives to improve feed efficiency and metabolic health in dairy cattle. She is a nationally and internationally recognized leader in dairy science, receiving the American Dairy Science Association Foundation Scholar Award in 2019 in honor of her leadership in education and research and her ability to identify critical issues affecting the future of the dairy industry. 

In 2019, she became the first faculty director of the Dairy Innovation Hub, working closely with industry partners and coordinating with deans, faculty and other researchers at UW–Madison, UW-Platteville and UW-River Falls to implement the state’s annual $7.8M investment in dairy research, teaching and outreach efforts. Since then, the Dairy Innovation Hub has funded and coordinated 18 faculty hires and more than 220 research projects across the three campuses. At UW–Madison, this includes 11 faculty hires and research awards supporting 12 different academic departments and centers.

“Having impact beyond my own research and teaching programs has been the most fulfilling part of my service and mentoring roles,” says White. “I look forward to partnering with faculty and department chairs to aid the college in fulfilling the research, teaching and outreach  missions of the college.” 

Before joining UW–Madison, White was an assistant professor in the Department of Animal Sciences at the University of Connecticut and a postdoc in the Department of Medicine at Indiana University. She received doctoral and master’s degrees from the Department of Animal Sciences at Purdue University and a bachelor’s from Saint Mary’s College in Indiana.