Glen Ritchie, the chair of Texas Tech’s Department of Plant & Soil Science and the J.A. Love Endowed Chair in Sustainable Agriculture, has been hired to lead Iowa State University’s Department of Agronomy. Ritchie will continue his leadership role within the Davis College of Agricultural Sciences & Natural Resource through Jun. 30, and take the helm of the Ames, Iowa-based academic unit in mid-July.
“During his 14 years at Texas Tech, Dr. Ritchie has been sharply focused on the success of the plant and soil science faculty, staff and students, and he has shaped the department in important ways during his tenure," said Davis College Dean Clint Krehbiel. “I’m grateful for his service, and wish him well in his next endeavor.”
Under Ritchie’s tenure the Department of Plant & Soil Science has adopted a strategic framework, grown graduate enrollment, hired talented new faculty members, increased research and expenditures and worked closely with industry and other partners across Texas, Krehbiel said.
In addition, he said, Ritchie was instrumental to the growth of the college’s Institute for Genomics of Abiotic Stress Tolerance. Launched in 2020, the high-profile IGCAST research group uses state-of-the art-functional genomics to study processes involved in the tolerance to different types of abiotic stress and in the use of synthetic biology for the improvement of crop abiotic stress tolerance.
“The Department of Plant & Soil Science, Davis College, and Texas Tech University have blessed my life and will always feel like home to me,” Ritchie said. “Working with colleagues as both a researcher and as department chair for the past five years has been rewarding, and I cannot say enough about our faculty, staff, and supporters’ professionalism, desire for success, and care for our students.”
“We are also privileged to have talented, caring students who see the vision of our department and college and who benefit our department long after they graduate,” he said. “I am excited to join the Iowa State University Department of Agronomy and begin the next chapter of my career, but I will always appreciate the experiences I have had and the relationships I have developed at Texas Tech. The Department of Plant and Soil Science is special, and I look forward to seeing great things moving forward.”
An expert on the environmental factors affecting cotton yield and quality, Ritchie’s research broadly focuses on developing effective and economical water management strategies for crop production in the Southern High Plains. Recent projects include research on cultivar selection, irrigation management, and the effects of persistent and episodic drought on crop growth, morphology, yield and quality.
The Idaho native received his bachelor’s and master’s degrees in crop science and crop physiology from Utah State University. His doctorate in agronomy is from the University of Georgia. Honors include the Davis College Student Advising Award (2016) and being named Outstanding Young Physiologist at the national Beltwide Cotton Conferences (2011).
Ritchie serves as editor for Crop Science, and he is a member of the American Society of Agronomy, Crop Science Society of America, and the Soil Science Society of America. Prior to joining the Davis College faculty in 2011, he served as an assistant professor at the University of Georgia.
CONTACT: Clint Krehbiel, Dean, Davis College of Agricultural Sciences & Natural Resources, Texas Tech University at (806) 742-2808 or Clint.Krehbiel@ttu.edu
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