PANDAS AND PEOPLE - Key Persons


Ajit Srivastava

Job Titles:
  • Professor

Aluel Go

Job Titles:
  • Faculty Member and Specialist

AnnMarie Guldner

Job Titles:
  • Assistant to the Department Chairperson

Audree Baxter

Job Titles:
  • Director
  • Director of Budget and Financ
  • Director of Budget and Finance
Audree Baxter is the director of budget and finance in the the College of Agriculture and Natural Resources (CANR). She previously served as the budget officer in CANR. Before coming to CANR in 2016, Baxter had worked at Michigan State University for 20 years. She served eight years as budget officer in the Broad College of Business. Prior to that, she served in a human resources capacity in the Broad College of Business. Additionally, Baxter spent three years working on MSU's Enterprise Business System and started her tenure at MSU as a senior financial analyst in the Controllers Office.

Bailey Scholars

Job Titles:
  • Director
  • Program Director

Brad Day

Job Titles:
  • Associate Chair for Research

Bradley Marks

Job Titles:
  • Department of Biosystems & Agricultural Engineering / Professor and Chairperson
  • Professor and Chairperson

Brian Horgan - Chairman

Job Titles:
  • Chairman
  • Professor and Chair of the Department of Plant
  • Professor and Chairperson
Brian Horgan is a Professor and Chair of the Department of Plant, Soil and Microbial Sciences at Michigan State University. Previously, he spent 18 years on the faculty in the Department of Horticultural Science at the University of Minnesota. He holds degrees from Michigan State University, North Carolina State University and the University of Illinois. Horgan's research interests focus on developing and integrating sustainability metrics for golf facilities. Specifically, his research seeks to position golf courses as urban greenspaces that provide economic and community value through ecosystems services. He lectures around the world on these topics.

Catherine Ernst

Job Titles:
  • Department of Animal Science / Professor and Chairperson

Christiina Donley

Job Titles:
  • Administrative Assistant

Dana Infante

Job Titles:
  • AgBioResearch Director
  • Department of Fisheries and Wildlife

Dana Kirk

Job Titles:
  • Associate Professor

Daniel Guyer

Job Titles:
  • Professor

Dawn Dechand

Job Titles:
  • Assistant Professor

Dorcia Chaison

Job Titles:
  • Member of the Academic Department Chairs & School Directors Team
  • Assistant Dean for Academic Advising and Student Success
  • Interim Director - Interim Dorcia Chaison
Dorcia Chaison, Ph.D., was named assistant dean for academic advising and student success in the College of Agriculture and Natural Resources (CANR), effective Feb. 1, 2018. This role in the Office of Academic and Student Affairs supports students across the college. Chaison is also serving as the interim director of the Institute of Agricultural Technology. Chaison has served has the associate director, and more recently director, of the academic advising and undergraduate programs in CANR since 2008. Chaison also serves as an advising fellow in the Office of the Associate Provost for Undergraduate Education. Chaison is a member of: College Curriculum Committee (ex officio) Teaching and Academic Policy Committee "Dr. Chaison is deeply dedicated to student success and ensuring we are providing our students, and our advisors, with all possible opportunities and services to be successful" said Kelly Millenbah, associate dean and director for CANR Academic and Student Affairs. "I look forward to continuing to work with Dorcia in this critical role and am excited to have her continued leadership in the college." In 2007, Chaison created a program (and accompanying guidebook for students) called Retention, Engagement, Academic and Performance to enhance the success of students in CANR. She also provides support and training for the CANR academic advisors. Most recently Chaison led the onboarding of CANR units with MSU's adoption of the Student Success Dashboard. Chaison is also passionate about empowering youth to take a more active role in what foods are offered in their communities, the promotion of healthy eating, cooking, and lifestyle changes, as well as recruitment of youth into MSU-ANR majors. She links the applied research element of the center to her desire to make a difference with the population of youth who gravitate towards expanding their possibilities by gaining knowledge about the multiple components of the food system that are directly connected to their quality of life. Dorcia Chaison named the 2019 CANR Outstanding Academic Advisor, April 23, 2019

Dr. Cheryl Eschbach

Job Titles:
  • Director of MSU Extension 's Health
Dr. Cheryl Eschbach serves as Director of MSU Extension's Health and Nutrition Institute. Trained as a gerontologist, she is experienced in program implementation, evaluation and research dissemination. In her former role as an Extension Specialist, she provided evaluation leadership on a variety of community-based education topics, including climate variability and agriculture, new farmer leadership development, homeownership and financial capability, anger management, parenting, health self-management, and food safety. Cheryl is P.I. and Project Director of the SAMHSA-funded MSU Extension MiSUPER project. She is also P.I. of MSU Extension's rural youth and family immunization education project which includes funding for three years from MDHHS/CDC to inform Michigan's residents about COVID-19 vaccines and other childhood and adult vaccinations.

Ehsan Ghane

Job Titles:
  • Assistant Professor

Emily Williams

Job Titles:
  • Fiscal Officer, Administrative Associate

Evangelyn Alocilja

Job Titles:
  • Professor

Faith Cullens-Nobis

Job Titles:
  • Director
  • Department of Animal Science / Director, South Campus Animal Farms

Frank Lupi

Job Titles:
  • Member of the CANR Graduate Committee

Fredric Janzen

Job Titles:
  • Director

Gary Roloff

Job Titles:
  • Department of Fisheries and Wildlife / Professor and Chairperson

George Smith

Job Titles:
  • Director

Gina Centeno

Job Titles:
  • Office Assistant III

Haiyan Cen

Job Titles:
  • Adjunct Associate Professor

Hannah Burrack

Job Titles:
  • Member of the Academic Department Chairs & School Directors Team
  • Department of Entomology / Professor and Chairperson

Hannah Omara

Job Titles:
  • Department Human Resources, Administrative Assistant

Homer Nowlin

Job Titles:
  • Homer Nowlin Chair in Water Research

Ilce Medina Meza

Job Titles:
  • Assistant Professor

Jade Mitchell

Job Titles:
  • Associate Professor

James Kells

Job Titles:
  • AgBioResearch Director
  • Professor MSU AgBioResearch Assistant Director Project GREEEN Coordinator

Jamie Lynn Marks

Job Titles:
  • Human Resources Coordinator

Jen Riebow

Job Titles:
  • Staff Member

Jennifer Rivera

Job Titles:
  • Director

Joan Rose

Job Titles:
  • Homer Nowlin Chair in Water Research

John Denny

Job Titles:
  • Academic Specialist and Advisor

Jonathan Althouse

Job Titles:
  • Academic Specialist

Karen Renner

Job Titles:
  • Director

Kelly Kussmaul

Job Titles:
  • Director
  • ANR Communications & Marketing Director of Communications and Marketing

Kelly Millenbah

Job Titles:
  • College of Agriculture & Natural Resources
  • Interim Dean for CANR Director of Academic and Student Affairs / College of Agriculture & Natural

Kirk D. Dolan

Job Titles:
  • Professor

Larry Walker

Job Titles:
  • Adjunct Professor

Laura Bix

Job Titles:
  • Member of the CANR Graduate Committee
  • Academic and Student Affairs Ex Officio
  • Assistant Dean for Teaching, Learning and Academic Analytics

Laura Schmitt Olabisi

Job Titles:
  • College of Agriculture & Natural Resources / Faculty Fellow

Leslie D. Bourquin

Job Titles:
  • Member of the Academic Department Chairs & School Directors Team
  • Department of Food Science and Human Nutrition / Professor and Chairperson

Lisa Bowen

Job Titles:
  • Accounting Clerk

Lisa Duffey

Job Titles:
  • Executive
  • Member of the CANR Graduate Committee
  • Staff Assistant
  • Academic and Student Affairs Staff Support

Luke Reese

Job Titles:
  • Associate Professor

Maria Rubino

Job Titles:
  • Member of the CANR Graduate Committee

Mary Weinzweig


Matthew Daum

Job Titles:
  • Professor and Director

Ming-Han Li

Job Titles:
  • Professor and School Director

MSU Extension

Job Titles:
  • Director
  • Agriculture and Agribusiness Institute Director
  • Children & Youth Institute Interim Associate Director
  • Children and Youth Institute Director
  • Health and Nutrition Institute Director
For more than 100 years, MSU Extension has helped grow Michigan's economy by equipping Michigan residents with the information that they need to do their jobs better, raise healthy and safe families, build their communities and empower our children to dream of a successful future.

Narendra Das

Job Titles:
  • Associate Professor

Patrick Cudney

Job Titles:
  • Director of Government and Stakeholder Relations

Philip Hill

Job Titles:
  • Specialist

Pouyan Nejadhashemi

Job Titles:
  • University Foundation Professor

Ray Hammerschmidt

Job Titles:
  • Director

Rebecca Jordan

Job Titles:
  • Department of Community Sustainability / Professor and Chairperson

Renee Gagnier - CHRO

Job Titles:
  • Director of Human Resources

Renfu Lu

Job Titles:
  • Adjunct Professor

Richard Kobe

Job Titles:
  • Department of Forestry / Professor and Chairperson

Rita Strakovsky

Job Titles:
  • Member of the CANR Graduate Committee

Sanghyup Jeong

Job Titles:
  • Assistant Professor

Scott Swinton

Job Titles:
  • Department of Agricultural, Food, and Resource Economics

Sibel Uludag-Demirer

Job Titles:
  • Specialist

Steven Safferman

Job Titles:
  • Associate Professor

Susan Gruber

Job Titles:
  • Agronomic Sciences Faculty Advisor

Tara Miller

Job Titles:
  • Graduate Secretary

Timothy Harrigan

Job Titles:
  • Associate Professor

Truman Surbrook

Job Titles:
  • Professor

Vance Baird

Job Titles:
  • Member of the Academic Department Chairs & School Directors Team
  • Department of Horticulture / Professor and Chairperson

W.K. Kellogg

Job Titles:
  • Director

Wei Liao

Job Titles:
  • Professor

Younsuk Dong

Job Titles:
  • Specialist