The campus-wide Wisconsin Research, Innovation and Scholarly Excellence Initiative (RISE) program funds new faculty hires through central resources as a match to hires funded by schools and colleges. CALS completed several college-funded hires in RISE themes in the 2023-24 academic year and received matching funds for additional hires. This spring, the college wrapped up searches for faculty members using the RISE match in the areas of RISE-AI and RISE-EARTH. 

Search and screen committees, composed of faculty from all disciplines in the college, reviewed over 700 applications from a wide variety of fields across all career stages. Each of the four search committees identified candidates in a wide variety of disciplines, and finalists were hosted by departments sponsoring them. In some cases, more than one department endorsed a finalist. At the time of offer, if the candidate had more than one department’s approval, the candidate selected their home department. These cross-disciplinary searches resulted in the hiring of eight new faculty members. CALS is excited for these new scholars to join the university community in the next year:

CALS Search Theme 2: AI to Enhance Agricultural and Natural Systems (RISE-AI and RISE-EARTH)

• Licheng Liu, Assistant Professor, Biological Systems Engineering
• Yakun Zhang, Assistant Professor, Soil and Environmental Sciences

CALS Search Theme 3: Furthering the Bioeconomy (RISE-EARTH)

• Marc Chevrette, Assistant Professor, Plant Pathology
• Rajdeep Khangura, Assistant Professor, Plant and Agroecosystem Sciences

CALS Search Theme 4: Mitigating Climate Impacts on Agroecosystems and Communities (RISE-EARTH)

• Loka Ashwood, Professor, Community and Environmental Sociology 
• Michael Belitz, Assistant Professor, Entomology
• Sarah Castle, Assistant Professor, Forest and Wildlife Ecology  
• Crystal Lu, Professor, Soil and Environmental Sciences  

“The impressive expertise of these new hires complements the college’s existing strengths and supports the significant, complex challenges identified as part of the campus-wide RISE initiative,” said Associate Dean for Faculty Affairs Heather White. “This effort provided a unique opportunity to attract early- and mid-career faculty who will make a difference in Wisconsin and around the world.”

All RISE-related CALS faculty hires are listed on the CALS RISE website under the AI, EARTH and THRIVE themes.