Two Women Scholars Appointed to Dean Posts at State Universities

Karen Plaut was named the Glenn W. Sample Dean of the College of Agriculture at Purdue University in West Lafayette, Indiana. She has served as interim dean for the past year. Dr. Plaut joined the faculty at Purdue University in 2010 as a professor of animal science and was appointed senior associate dean of research and faculty affairs in 2013.

Professor Plaut is a graduate of the University of Vermont, where she majored in animal science. She holds a master’s degree in animal nutrition from Pennsylvania State University and a Ph.D. in animal science from Cornell University.

Annette Ranft was named the eighth dean of the Harbert College of Business at Auburn University in Alabama. She will take office on August 1. Since 2016, she has been dean of the Poole College of Management at North Carolina State University. Earlier, she served as associate and senior associate dean at the University of Tennessee’s Haslam College of Business and as chair of the department of management at Florida State University.

Dr. Ranft is a graduate of Appalachian State University in Boone, North Carolina, where she majored in mathematics. She holds a master’s degree in management from the Georgia Institute of Technology and a doctorate in business administration from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.