Michelle Samuel-Foo, an assistant professor of biology at Alabama State University, was named president of the Southeastern Entomological Society of America. The society is the largest organization in the world serving the professional and scientific needs of entomologists and people in related disciplines. Today, it has more than 7,000 members affiliated with educational institutions, health agencies, private industry, and government.
Dr. Samuel-Foo joined the faculty at Alabama State University in 2018. Earlier, she taught for 10 years at the Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences at the University of Florida. There, she conducted research on specialty crop pest management and served as the regional coordinator for the United States Department of Agriculture’s National Institute of Food and Agriculture.
Dr. Samuel-Foo has served two terms as the president of the International Association of Black Entomologists. She is a graduate of Brewton Parker College in Vidalia, Georgia, where she majored in biology. Dr. Samuel-Foo holds a master’s degree in agronomy and a Ph.D. in entomology from the University of Georgia.