Skip to Main Content

Purdue Agronomy Faculty & Alumna Featured in Indy Star

The Indianapolis Star has published two articles highlighting women in agriculture. Among the women featured were Agronomy's Dr. Eileen Kladivko and alumna Betsy Bower. Both have made great achievements in the field, especially in terms of erasing stereotypes surrounding women in agriculture.

Eileen Kladivko smiling in field

Dr. Eileen Kladivko, Professor of Agronomy at Purdue University in the field.

When Dr. Kladivko joined the faculty at Purdue University in 1982, she was the first female professor in the agronomy department.

“I know I had the sense to work a little harder to prove myself as a young woman as opposed to a young man,” Kladivko said. “I don’t think I was overly focused on being a woman, it was just that I wanted to do a good job.”


Betsy Bower smiling in field

Betsy Bower, agronomist for Ceres Solutions Cooperative, in the field.

Bower, an agronomist for Ceres Solutions Cooperative, found that the path to success was about building relationships and helping farmers solve problems, from weed control and crop nutrition to when and how much to irrigate. It's a job she loves and takes seriously.

“It’s walking their fields and caring about their farm as much as they do,” Bower said. “Farmers can sniff that out.”


Read more about these and other trailblazing Indiana women in agriculture:

Women in ag are erasing the image of farmers as 'old men in overalls'

Indy Star Feature

Female agronomist proves herself to farmers through years of hard work

Indy Star Feature

Featured Stories

Dog outdoors drinking water
Keeping your pets safe during the dog days of summer

As temperatures and humidity rise across the U.S., Candace Croney, director of the Center for...

Read More
Eastern hellbender salamanders feeding on bloodworms in their raceway at the Purdue Hellbender the Hellbender lab.
Metazoa Beer to Benefit Help the Hellbender Lab

Metazoa Brewing Company and the Indiana Lakes Management Society have teamed up to collaborate on...

Read More
Sonling Fei in front of digital trees
Digital forestry can help mitigate and prevent wildfires

The National Interagency Fire Center reports that, as of this writing, 19,444 fires have burned...

Read More
tomas hook next to boat
What you can do this summer to reduce the spread of aquatic invasive species

In 2020, an alligator was captured in a lagoon of Chicago’s Humbolt Park. The reptile out...

Read More
Researcher uses pipette on parsley plant
Researchers examine nanotechnological methods for improving agriculture

Nanoscale particles could potentially help address agricultural and environmental sustainability...

Read More
Fairgoers ride a tractor, sponsored by the Indiana Soybean Alliance, and browse food tents during the 2023 Indiana State Fair. (Purdue Agricultural Communications photo)
Purdue Extension to present engaging art and nature demonstrations at Indiana State Fair

The Indiana State Fair kicks off Aug. 2 and highlights the theme “The Art & Nature of...

Read More
To Top