VandenBosch to Step Down as CALS Dean in 2022

The dean of the University of Wisconsin-Madison's College of Agricultural and Life Sciences announced that this will be her final academic year in that position. Kate VandenBosch, who has served as the head of the agriculture school since 2012, says she will step down next spring, citing challenges like the impact of the pandemic, as her main reason for the decision.

"Being the dean of the College of Agricultural and Life Sciences at UW-Madison has been a privilege and a joy. The impact that your efforts have on advancing knowledge, providing opportunities for our students, and on the wider world is truly extraordinary," VandenBosch said. "Over the course of the next year, I hope we will see the pandemic truly vanquished and the challenges of the preceding two years solidly behind us."

She adds that the university has gone through financial challenges, but has found itself on very solid ground.

UW-Madison Chancellor Rebecca Blank called Kate a champion for the agriculture industry in Wisconsin and that her impact will be felt on campus and across the state for many years to come.

During her decade-long tenure, VandenBosch oversaw the launch of the Wisconsin Crop Innovation Center to use the latest plant biotechnology approaches to improve crop species. Her strategic planning focused on operational efficiencies and resulted in a reduction of the number of academic departments in the college from 19 to 16.

In recent years, she led the college's implementation of the $7.8 million annual investment from the State of Wisconsin in the Dairy Innovation Hub--a program focused on supporting Wisconsin's dairy industry through research conducted at UW-Madison, UW-Platteville and UW-River Falls. And she spearheaded the All Ways Forward comprehensive campaign for the college, which secured more than $166 million in private gifts and included two new building projects, including the Meat Science and Animal Biologics Discovery and Babcock Hall addition and remodeling project.

The university will conduct a national search for VandenBosch's successor.