Second NCTA dean candidate visit is March 16

March 9, 2020

By NCTA News

The second of three candidates being considered for the position of dean at the Nebraska College of Technical Agriculture in Curtis will present a public seminar on Monday.

The public is invited to attend the 3:45 p.m. seminar to be presented on March 16 by Dr. Clyde Cranwell of Hays, Kansas.

The seminar will be in the auditorium of the Nebraska Agriculture Industry Education Center, followed by a public reception at 5:30 p.m., said Tiffany Heng-Moss, who leads the 12-member NCTA Dean Search Committee.

Dr. Heng-Moss is the dean of the College of Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources (CASNR) at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln.

Cranwell is chair of the Department of Agriculture and University Farm Superintendent at Fort Hays State University.

From 1999 to 2006, Cranwell was chair of Agriculture Production Systems (APS) and coached the Aggie Livestock Judging Team at NCTA in Curtis.

He also has been a faculty member working with equine and thoroughbred racing programs at Morrisville State College in Morrisville, New York; and in animal science and livestock judging programs at Oklahoma Panhandle State University in Goodwell, Oklahoma.

Cranwell's family roots are in grain and livestock production in Northeastern Colorado and Southeastern Wyoming. His research interests are in beef cattle nutrition and management, as well as biomechanics of movement in horses and cattle.

More information and his curriculum vitae is available at https://ncta.unl.edu/meet-dean-candidates.

On Wednesday (March 11), students, faculty, staff, alumni and the campus community will meet Dr. Larry Gossen, the first candidate to present a campus seminar. Gossen is a State FFA advisor with the Nebraska Department of Education and is based in Lincoln.

NCTA is a part of the University of Nebraska system, and was established in 1967 as a post-secondary institution. It was established by the Nebraska Legislature in 1912 to serve as a residential high school.

Currently, the NCTA campus has 20 faculty, 40 staff, 240 college students at campus plus 92 online students with high school dual credit classes.

A 550-acre teaching farm with commercial crops and production livestock creates a hub for hands-on, experiential courses for NCTA students as well as many Nebraska partners in agricultural and veterinary health industries, Nebraska Extension, and 4-H and FFA programming.

A national search for the NCTA dean was launched in December, following the retirement of Dr. Ron Rosati in August. He left NCTA to become a senior advisor in developing a new agricultural college, Rwanda Institute for Conservation Agriculture in Kigali, Rwanda, which opened in September.

Dr. Kelly Bruns has been serving in the capacity of interim dean.  Bruns also is director of UNL’s West Central Research and Extension Center based in North Platte where he oversees a 24-county region in southwest Nebraska.

NCTA emphasizes workforce development in agriculture, agribusiness and veterinary technology.  Students can earn associate degrees, certificates and other credentials.

A third dean candidate, Dr. Darrel Sandall, will visit campus on March 19.