Following up on the previous post.
Iowa State University released a Friday press release on the matter with a considerably different slant.
KIRSCHENMANN NAMED DISTINGUISHED FELLOW; DEWITT TO BECOME INTERIM DIRECTOR OF LEOPOLD CENTER
Fred Kirschenmann, director of the Leopold Center for Sustainable Agriculture at Iowa State University, has accepted a new leadership role as a distinguished fellow of the center.
Jerry DeWitt, coordinator of ISU Extension’s sustainable agriculture program and its Pest Management and Environment Program, has been named interim director of the Leopold Center, effective Nov. 1.
As a Leopold Center Distinguished Fellow, Kirschenmann will devote his time to national sustainable agriculture priorities affecting broad segments of U.S. agriculture. He will lead Iowa State’s participation in a multistate project to address the diminishing number of mid-sized farms, many of which are family farms.
“Dr. Kirschenmann’s service to the center has greatly enhanced Iowa State’s reputation in sustainable agriculture,” said Wendy Wintersteen, interim dean of the College of Agriculture. “His emphasis on marketing and food systems, ecology and policy will continue to guide the center’s programs.”
“We look forward to his continued leadership on critical national issues,” Wintersteen said. “We are committed to continuing the excellence in research and education that the Leopold Center has demonstrated for the past 18 years.”
Kirschenmann, who was named center director in 2000, is a longtime leader in national and international sustainable agriculture. He was the second director of the center and the first farmer to hold the position. He is a professor in ISU’s Department of Philosophy and Religious Studies.
I used google news and did individual checks on all the likely news outlets, and it appears that no one has carried this story yet.
Update: I have confirmed that the IA State press release was a late-Friday-afternoon dump.
I contacted the Iowa State Daily with your post. They might do something on it.
Neither of these explanations sounds very convincing to me. It is hard to imagine that anyone feels threatened enough by Leopold Center programs to demand the removal of its director. But it is also hard to see this as anything but the proverbial case of being kicked upstairs. A “new leadership role” my foot! So why would they want to kick Kirschenmann upstairs? Such a likable guy! I notice Wintersteen did not regret his departure from the more public role of Leopold Center director.