WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. — Paul Ebner, professor of animal sciences, has been named head of Purdue University’s Department of Animal Sciences by Bernie Engel, the Glenn W. Sample Dean of Agriculture.

In making the announcement, Engel spoke about the overwhelmingly positive feedback he has received about Ebner: “Paul was strongly endorsed for this position by his faculty and staff colleagues. Paul’s leadership and innovation have made significant impacts both at Purdue and internationally, and I know he will continue to make a tremendous difference in his new leadership role.”

After graduating from Kalamazoo College in Michigan with a degree in political science, Ebner traveled as a Peace Corps volunteer to rural Paraguay, where he worked with poultry and swine producers. He returned to the United States and completed master’s and doctoral degrees in animal sciences at the University of Tennessee and postdoctoral work in microbiology and immunology at the Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center. Ebner joined the Purdue faculty in 2006.

Among his many contributions as a professor, Ebner has developed numerous international extension programs. He has worked with universities in Pakistan to develop technologies that can reduce the need for antibiotics in Pakistani poultry production and with colleagues in Cambodia to improve the safety of vegetables sold through informal markets. In the Dominican Republic, Ebner has collaborated with numerous governmental ministries to improve food safety and expand the country’s export capacity. Ebner and Purdue colleagues also helped establish the Department of Food Technology at Herat University in Afghanistan, the first department of its kind in the country.

Describing what he hopes to accomplish as department head, Ebner said, “I am looking forward to working with everyone involved in animal agriculture across Indiana and beyond to ensure that our research solves real problems, our Extension programs address real needs, and our graduates are prepared to make an immediate impact in animal agriculture. I’ve loved Purdue since I joined the animal sciences faculty in 2006, and I am very lucky to serve as head of a great department full of great people doing great things.”