Neal K. Van Alfen, head of the plant pathology and microbiology department at Texas A&M University, has been named the new dean of the College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences at the University of California, Davis. The appointment, pending approval by the UC Regents, is effective Sept. 1. Van Alfen, 55, succeeds Barbara Schneeman, who has been the college dean since 1993. Schneeman will spend one year with the U.S. Department of Agriculture in Washington, D.C. She then will return to her position as a professor in the UC Davis departments of nutrition and food science and technology. Andre Lauchli, a professor of land, air and water resources and associate vice chancellor for research, will serve as interim dean from July 1 through Aug. 31. He previously was executive associate dean of the college. "Neal Van Alfen will bring fresh eyes, a broad background and a department chair's experience to one of the most important positions on the Davis campus," said UC Davis Chancellor Larry Vanderhoef. "He will serve us all -- UC Davis, California and the world -- unusually well." "Neal has broad academic training as well as a strong and varied research background," said plant pathologist George Bruening, director of the UC Davis Center for Engineering Plants for Resistance Against Pathogens. "As an administrator, he is remarkably adept at guiding people into making decisions and taking action. Furthermore, he is an excellent communicator, not only with academics, but also with people in industry and the general public." In a sense, Van Alfen is coming home to California. Born in Ogden, Utah, he was raised in Modesto, Calif. He received a bachelor's degree in chemistry and a master's degree in botany/plant physiology from Brigham Young University in 1968 and 1969, respectively. He went on to earn his doctoral degree in plant pathology from UC Davis in 1972, with the late Professor Tsune Kosuge as his adviser. He served as a plant pathologist with the Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Station from 1972-1975, then joined the faculty at Utah State University as a biology professor and Cooperative Extension plant pathologist. In 1990, he assumed his current position at Texas A&M, where he has maintained an active research program in addition to his administrative duties. His current research focuses on developing biological control strategies for diseases in natural and managed forests. He also chairs Texas A&M's Crop Biotechnology Center advisory committee. He is currently a consultant to the Texas Natural Resource Conservation Commission, presenting training programs on detection of air pollution damage to vegetation. He also served for 15 years as an environmental consultant to the Kennecott Corporation. Van Alfen is an elected fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science and of the American Phytopathological Society, and currently serves as the society's president-elect. This year he co-chaired the National Research Council's Workshop on Ecologically Based Pest Management. In 1997, he received the U.S. Department of Agriculture Secretary's Honor Award, as chair of an international group charged with the biological improvement of chestnut trees and management of chestnut blight. The same year, he received the outstanding Plant Pathology Faculty Award at Texas A&M. He is the author of numerous refereed journal articles, reviews and book chapters and the lead inventor on one patent application. "The College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences of UC Davis is considered by many to be the best in the country," Van Alfen said. "The challenge for the college is to not only maintain its international leadership status in traditional areas of strength, but also to lead in the development of new strategies of how science can be used to address issues of importance to agriculture, environmental quality and the health of all citizens of California. "I look forward to the opportunity to lead this great college in meeting these education, research and outreach challenges as we begin a new century."