Dean’s Office
Meet Dean James Pritchett
Dr. James Pritchett
Dean, College of Agricultural Sciences
Director, Agricultural Experiment Station
james.pritchett@colostate.edu
Dr. Pritchett serves as the Dean of the College of Agricultural Sciences and the Director of the Agricultural Experiment Station at Colorado State University. His passion is serving Colorado agriculture and implementing the shared strategic vision of CAS. On a day-to-day basis, Pritchett directs operations and administration for the College’s activities. He is a land grant economist who enjoys working in a wide range of teaching, research and engagement activities including agribusiness management, water resource economics, community development and interdisciplinary land management strategies. Originally from southeastern Colorado, Pritchett is a two-time alumnus of CSU, and he received his Ph.D. from the University of Minnesota in Agriculture and Applied Economics.
Dean’s Leadership Team
DR. JAN LEACH
Associate Dean for Research
(970) 491-2924
jan.leach@colostate.edu
Dr. Jan Leach is the Associate Dean for Research in the College of Agriculture and a University Distinguished Professor at Colorado State University. In her role as Associate Dean for Research, she provides strategic vision for research within the College, and works with faculty to build collaborative research teams. Her research group studies the molecular basis of durable plant disease resistance. Other projects in her laboratory are related to bioenergy (genetics of biomass production) and understanding the interactions of bacteria-insects-plants in plant health.
DR. EUGENE KELLY
Deputy Director – Ag Experiment Station, Associate Dean for Extension
(970) 491-6881
eugene.kelly@colostate.edu
Dr. Kelly, in close collaboration with the Associate Dean for Research, evaluates and develops the framework, principles and processes will ensure that AES, college, and Extension services are aligned and serving our existing and evolving constituents. He also serves as the Associate Dean for Extension.
Paula Mills
Chief of Staff & Operations
(970) 491-3883
paula.mills@colostate.edu
As Chief of Staff and Operations for the College of Agricultural Sciences at CSU, Paula Mills oversees the operational needs of the college while ensuring effective strategy development, implementation, and investment. She guides efforts in information technology, communications, and strategic partnerships in alignment with the college mission.
Paula joined CSU in 2014 as a Project Manager with the Office of Engagement and Extension, where she led the university’s work as an Innovation & Economic Prosperity (IEP) University with the Association of Public and Land-Grant Universities and guided the formation and development of the Provost’s Council for Engagement. Since joining the college in 2016, she has led strategic engaged initiatives including the annual CSU AgInnovation Summit series and CAS efforts at Spur at the National Western Center.
Paula earned an Honors B.A. in Business Administration from the Richard Ivey School of Business at the University of Western Ontario and Master’s in Business Administration from Colorado State University.
Matt Camper
Assistant Dean for Teaching Practice and Academic Programs
(970) 491-0713
matt.camper@colostate.edu
Matt Camper is the Assistant Dean for Teaching Practice and Academic Programs in the College of Agriculture and a holds a Senior Teaching Appointment in the Department of Bioagricultural Sciences and Pest Management. His scope of work includes coordinating curriculum development and new program development in CAS, as well as assisting departments in adopting high impact teaching practices and evaluating teaching effectiveness. He is a passionate champion of the continuum of care for CSU students and on an inclusive and affirming environment for our students, faculty, and staff especially as it relates to the classroom and curriculum. Camper is an entomologist, current director of The CSU Bug Zoo is a live arthropod collection that meets with over 10,000 students and community members from nearly 50 different schools and multiple other events across the state. He is also the faculty sponsor for the CSU CSU Entomology club (the oldest continuously run student club at Colorado State University).
Addy Elliot
Assistant Dean of Academic Advising and Student Success
(970) 491-6984
adriane.elliott@colostate.edu
Addy Elliott serves as the Assistant Dean of Academic Advising and Student Success in the College of Agriculture at CSU. Her passion for supporting, empowering and encouraging students throughout their journey at CSU aligns with her responsibilities. In this role, Addy coordinates and elevates the College of Agricultural Science academic advisors to best serve our students. She also develops initiatives focused around student success in the College. Addy has a M.S. in Soil Science from CSU and maintains a teaching appointment in the Department of Soil and Crop Sciences. Several of the courses Addy teaches include Environmental Issues in Agriculture, Topics in Organic Agriculture, and Composting Principles and Practices.
Jordan Lambert
Director of Agricultural Innovation and Partnerships, CSU Spur Campus
jordan.lambert@colostate.edu
Jordan has devoted her career to building a global food and ag technology economy that brings together growers, consumers, and innovators to create nourished people and an abundant planet. She has served as VP of Business Development at VAS, a company that makes health management software for 6 million of the 9 million dairy cows in the US. She has also served as Senior Director of Innovation at Indigo Ag, where she developed Indigo’s strategy for the future of IoT, data visualization, and machine learning in row crop agriculture. She worked as a strategist for the innovation consultancy, Innosight, to help Fortune 500 companies engage in disruptive innovation. In her work as a genetic engineer, she has engineered rice to be drought and salt tolerant, as well as to produce human breast milk proteins for use in pharmaceuticals. She grew up on a dairy farm in rural northeast Colorado, where her family still farms today. Jordan has a BS in plant biotechnology from UC Davis and an MBA from Harvard Business School. She lives in Fort Collins with her husband, greyhound, and a house full of plants. She enjoys gardening, garden parties, and fabulous cheeses.
Don Thorn
Manager of External Relations – Rural Colorado
College of Agricultural Sciences and Office of Engagement and Extension
don.thorn@colostate.edu
Don Thorn works to deepen relationships statewide in support of CSU’s land-grant mission. He aims to be a connector between stakeholders, Extension professionals and scientists. Consistent with his passions, Don champions opportunities at CSU for rural students, and works alongside CSU Extension to advance community development in our rural areas of Colorado.
Don is a Colorado native who grew up in Yuma on an irrigated farm, received his undergraduate and master’s degrees from CSU, taught high school agricultural education in McClave, and has most recently served as the Executive Director of the Colorado FFA Foundation. He draws on all of these experiences to be a strong advocate for CSU, agriculture, youth, and rural Coloradans.
Dean’s Office Support Staff
SHANNON WAGNER
Assistant to the Dean
Assistant to the Chief of Staff and Operations
(970) 491-0716
shannon.wagner@colostate.edu
Shannon Wagner has been a part of the CSU community for 13 years and joined the Dean’s Office in 2022. With nearly 25 years of experience in higher education, her background includes administrative support, event and project management, operations, communications, student success and stakeholder engagement. Shannon is an engaged and service-minded leader with a passion for diversity, equity and inclusion. She holds a bachelor’s degree in psychology from the University of Idaho and a master’s degree in community counseling from Truman State University. In her free time, Shannon likes to read, hike and spend time with her daughter.
AMY BIBBEY
Assistant to AES Deputy Director
Assistant to Associate Dean of Research
(970) 491-3767
amy.bibbey@colostate.edu
Amy Bibbey joined the Dean’s Office after 16 years of experience in the financial services industry and nine years of experience in education. Combining this background with her life on the family farm outside of Wellington, Amy is passionate about supporting the staff, faculty and students at the College of Agricultural Sciences and Research Centers around the state. Amy is a graduate of the Fort Collins Chamber of Commerce – Leadership Fort Collins program and holds a bachelor’s degree in business administration from Colorado State University.
CARLOTA M. PONDS
Dean’s Office Administrative Assistant
(970) 491-2968
carlota.ponds@colostate.edu
Carlota M. Ponds joined the College of Agricultural Sciences in 2022 after eight years at Hesston College in Kansas. At the front desk of the Nutrien Agricultural Sciences Building, Carlota is warm, welcoming and focused on building relationships with students, colleagues and guests, while supporting building operations and college events.
Throughout her 30-year career, Carlota has served in a variety of support roles, with experience in administrative support, event management, student engagement, project coordination and communications. She holds a bachelor’s degree in Third World Studies from the University of California, San Diego and a master’s degree from Friends University in Christian Spiritual Formation & Leadership. Carlota moved to Fort Collins in 2022 to live near her grandchildren. In her free time, she enjoys cooking, baking, needle crafting and writing.