In the face of adversity, in the trials that come with the unknown, what rings true is that we are not in control of all that happens in life, but we can control how we respond. And in this time of incredible crises on a global scale, I witnessed our entire community, overnight, do just that—respond, by rising up as one and facing challenges head on, together. We’ve not only adapted to COVID by following good public health practices, we’ve helped strike back at it with basic research and using our assets to help monitor and manage it.  I’m very proud of our staff, faculty,  students, and external community and thank them all!

Through innovation in how they work, our teams have remained steadfast in our critical missions of teaching, research, and outreach, and have dramatically increased our reach and the impacts of our efforts, despite the circumstances. Further, our passion for discovery and solving the pressing issues of our world and to educate about it compelled us to rapidly deploy our resources to combat this pandemic and its impacts, in practical and meaningful ways. Through all of this, our character, our resilience, our never-quit attitude have all illuminated who WE ARE as Penn Staters.

I am proud to be dean of the College of Agricultural Sciences, especially as I witness our faculty, staff, and students adapt and overcome. We have not wavered in providing an exceptional education to our students nor in providing the public access to our important and valued services. Thanks to so many, we are truly making a difference on campus, across the Commonwealth, throughout our country, and even around the globe. 

To everyone in Ag Sciences, I am inspired by your talents, grateful for your commitment, and humbled to be a part of our very special family. Yes, the year 2020 has been unlike any other. It has been unimaginable in many ways. Yet had I been asked to predict how our community would handle all of this, I am quite sure I know the answer—that we would respond, by rising up and facing the challenges head on, together. We’ve done just that. 

Thank you, thank you, thank you!

—Rick Roush, dean of the College of Agricultural Sciences