Dr. Ken White

Biography

Dr. Kenneth L. White has been a faculty member in the Department of Animal, Dairy, and Veterinary Sciences at Utah State University (USU) since 1991. Prior to this, Dr. White was a member of the faculty in the Department of Animal Science at Louisiana State University. He is currently Vice President for USU Extension, Dean of the College of Agriculture and Applied Sciences, and Director of the Utah Agricultural Experiment Station at Utah State University. He received his bachelor’s of science in animal science from Brigham Young University in 1979, and his master’s degree in animal science and PhD in physiology from the University of California, Davis in 1982 and 1986, respectively. He has been actively involved in directing a competitive research program throughout his 32-year academic career, including a new current USDA/NIFA award in 2017.

As an independent researcher, he has generated over 15.5 million dollars in extramural funding to support research in Animal Reproduction and Embryonic Development. In 2006 he was recognized as Researcher of the Year, in 2007 he was honored as Undergraduate Mentor of The Year, and in 2011 as Utah State University’s Outstanding Graduate Mentor. He has published over 100 peer-reviewed scientific articles in journals such as Science, Proceedings of the National Academy of Science, Development, Biology of Reproduction, Reproduction, Molecular Reproduction and Development, and Cloning and Stem Cells. He led the nuclear transfer (cloning) team that produced the world’s first cloned equines, which resulted in the birth of three identical mule foals. He has also been invited to speak at symposia in various countries, including China, Thailand, Singapore, New Zealand, Australia, Peru, Argentina, Brazil, and Ireland, in addition to many universities throughout the USA. As an administrator, he was one of the primary leaders responsible for establishing the USU School of Veterinary Medicine, the Utah Water Extension Initiative, and other significant new Extension and Experiment Station funding initiatives. Under his leadership, the USU College of Agriculture and Applied Sciences has experienced double-digit growth in students and is at an all-time high in total number of students and scholarships awarded. USU Extension has also experienced a record amount of extramural funding received and program expansion during his tenure as Vice President. The Utah Agricultural Experiment Station has experienced record levels of faculty research productivity, expansion of resources, and significant upgrades to infrastructure to meet future research needs during this same period and into the future.