March 17, 2008
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact: David Wehner
805-756-2161

Cal Poly Dean Named to State Agriculture Board

SAN LUIS OBISPO – Cal Poly College of Agriculture, Food and Environmental Sciences Dean David Wehner has been appointed to the California State Board of Food and Agriculture.

Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger made the appointment Feb. 29. Wehner, 58, of San Luis Obispo, joined the Cal Poly faculty in 1994 as the head of the Environmental Horticultural Science Department and professor of turfgrass science.

He was named dean of the College of Agriculture, Food and Environmental sciences in 2002 after serving as interim dean from 2001 to 2002 and associate dean from 1997 to 2001.

Before coming to Cal Poly, Wehner was a faculty member in the department of horticulture at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

He is a member of the Crop Science Society of America, American Society of Agronomy, North American Colleges and Teachers of Agriculture and the Golf Course Superintendents Association of America.  At the request of then USDA Secretary of Agriculture Ann Veneman, he served a term on the National Agriculture Research, Extension, Education, and Economics Advisory Board. That group provided advice to the Research, Economics and Education division of the USDA.

The State Board of Food and Agriculture is a 15-member advisory body appointed by the Governor to represent a broad range of agricultural commodities and geographic regions and both the University of California and California State University academic systems.

The State Board of Food and Agriculture is responsible for advising the Governor and the Secretary of CDFA on agricultural issues and consumer needs. The Board often acts as a host to bring together local, state, and federal government officials, agricultural representatives and citizens to discuss current issues of concern to California agriculture. 

Wehner will serve on the state board through the end of his term in 2011.

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