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Dr. Robert Easter `70
- ALEC Advisory Board Member
Professional Summary
Dr. Bob Easter `70 (Agricultural Education) completed a BS in Agricultural Education at Texas A&M followed by an MS in Animal Nutrition, then moved to the University of Illinois for a PhD program in Swine Nutrition and Production. Easter served as a faculty member with the UI Animal Science department from 1976-2001. While at UI, he served as Head of Animal Sciences (1996-2001), Dean of Agriculture, Consumer and Environmental Sciences (2001-2009), Interim Chancellor of the Urbana-Champaign campus (2009-2011) and President of the University of Illinois System (2012-2015). Easter served for 20 years as an officer in the Army Reserve and was appointed by President George W. Bush to Chair the USAID Board on International Food and Agricultural Development. Since retirement in 2015, he has served as a board member of Agrible and on the board of First Farm Credit Services. Currently, he is an advisor to the Serra Ventures Agricultural Fund and Sivananthan Labs and serves on the boards of several NGO’s.