August 3, 2005
Joe Colletti, professor and interim chair of the Department of Natural Resource Ecology and Management, has been named interim senior associate dean of the College of Agriculture at Iowa State University.
"Dr. Colletti has been a dedicated teacher, researcher and administrator for more than 25 years. I look forward to working with him as we implement the goals of the college," said Wendy Wintersteen, interim dean of agriculture.
Wintersteen served as the senior associate dean until being named interim dean last month. Catherine Woteki, who was dean for three and a half years, resigned to take a position with Mars Inc. A search committee has been formed to begin the process of hiring a new dean.
As interim senior associate dean, Colletti will be responsible for daily administration of college programs, including overseeing budgets and personnel issues. His responsibilities also include serving as interim associate director of the Iowa Agriculture and Home Economics Experiment Station, the research program that has addressed Iowans' needs for more than 117 years.
"I'm proud to be associated with the College of Agriculture and the Experiment Station because of the faculty and administration's commitment to the success of our students and our strong basic and applied research program," said Colletti.
Colletti joined the Iowa State faculty in 1978. In 2004, he was named interim chair of the natural resource ecology and management department. A new chair for the department, David Engle of Oklahoma State University, has been hired and will begin Aug. 15.
Colletti is a member of the College of Agriculture's air quality team and currently has a U.S. Department of Agriculture grant to study the use of trees, shrubs and other perennial plants to enhance air quality protection around poultry and egg production facilities. He has played an instrumental role in the research and demonstration of the Bear Creek riparian buffer project near Roland, which has been designated by the USDA as a national model for managing erosion and protecting water quality. Colletti's research and teaching responsibilities have focused on forest and natural resource economics, system analysis related to complex resource issues and forest ecosystem management.
Colletti earned master's and doctorate degrees in forest economics from the University of Wisconsin at Madison and a bachelor's degree in forestry from Humboldt State University.