Leslie Edgar has been named the J.R. Simplot Endowed Dean of the College of Agricultural and Life Sciences at the University of Idaho. Currently, she is the associate dean of research for the College of Agricultural, Human, and Natural Resources and director of the Agricultural Research Center at Washington State University. In her research, she studies models for effective communication management strategies, as well as human capital in agriculture.
An Idaho native, Dr. Edgar received her bachelor’s degree in animal science and a master’s degree in agricultural systems, technology, and education from Utah State University. She holds a Ph.D. in agricultural leadership, education, and communication from Texas A&M University.
Beth Belmont has been named the inaugural Parker A. Denaco ’68L Term Professor at Washington and Lee University in Lexington, Virginia. A W&L faculty member since 2001, she currently serves as a clinical professor of law, director of the community legal practice clinic, and director of experiential education for the law school. Her areas of expertise include family law, elder law, and litigation.
Professor Belmont received her bachelor’s degree from Southern Illinois University and her law degree from Loyola University of Chicago.
Amanda Thomas has been named the inaugural Louise H. Kellogg Endowed Chair in the department of earth and planetary sciences at the University of California, Davis. She previously taught at the University of Oregon prior to joining the UC Davis faculty earlier this year. As a geophysicist, she specializes in observational seismology. Her research uses vibrations of the Earth’s surface to study tectonic, volcanic, and surface processes.
Dr. Thomas holds a bachelor’s degree in civil engineering from the Georgia Institute of Technology and a Ph.D. in geophysics from the University of California, Berkeley.