Bernie Engel, Purdue University’s Glenn W. Sample Dean of Agriculture, has appointed Paul Ebner as interim head of the Department of Animal Sciences, effective October 24. Ebner replaces John Blanton who left Purdue to become director of South Dakota State University’s Agricultural Experiment Station and associate dean for research for the College of Agriculture, Food and Environmental Sciences.
Ebner is a professor of animal sciences, and has been in the Purdue Animal Sciences Department for 17 years. He specializes in food safety, animal health and international agricultural extension. While at Purdue, Ebner received the 2022 Lowell S. Hardin Award for Excellence in International Agriculture.
Ebner graduated from Kalamazoo College with a bachelor's degree in political science. He received his master's degree and Ph.D. in animal sciences from the University of Tennessee. He completed his postdoctoral fellowship at the LSU Health Sciences Center, where he studied microbiology and immunology.
The Purdue Animal Sciences Department wishes former department head John Blanton well in his new role at South Dakota State University.