COLUMBUS, Ohio — After nearly a year of searching, The Ohio State University has named a new vice president for agricultural administration and dean of the College of Food, Agricultural and Environmental Sciences.

Bruce McPheron, an OSU alumnus and current dean of the College of Agricultural Sciences at Pennsylvania State University, will begin work in his new position on Nov. 1, subject to approval by the OSU Board of Trustees.

“It absolutely is a great appointment,” McPheron said. “I was raised in Ohio and while the position at Ohio State is a great opportunity, the icing on the cake is that it is at home.”

He began his career as a 4-H county extension educator in Ohio in the 1980s and since 1988, has worked in research and teaching at Penn State’s College of Agricultural Sciences. He has served as the college’s dean since 2009.

“I look forward to working in the OSU College of Agriculture,” McPheron said. “Everyone in the world wants access to the things done at the College of Agriculture, and I want Ohio State to be that school they look to for information with cutting-edge science to solve problems in food security, human health and food safety.”

He added OSU has a national reputation for translating research to practice, which is a necessity, as agricultural innovation is a job creator in partnership with the private sector.

“Every time someone opens the refrigerator door, agriculture is there, and I want OSU to be at the forefront of that,” said McPheron. “I want to make sure OSU is the place people look at for what is going on with agriculture and the food they eat.”

This will be done through OSU extension, which McPheron said is the front door to the university in every community throughout the state. “The resident instruction programs will ensure that we fill the pipeline with career-ready graduates who will lead the way in food, energy and environmental systems,” he explained.

OSU President E. Gordon Gee stated McPheron will bring a global view and worldwide experience to the university. A highly respected scholar, McPheron is known globally for his research in insect genetics, including the development of new genetic tools for monitoring the spread of invasive fruit fly species.

His scholarly interests also include international agriculture and agricultural biosecurity, with research conducted throughout much of Latin America, Africa and in Australia.

McPheron has testified before the U.S. House of Representatives regarding the farm bill and the importance of the programs authorized under that legislation for the integrated research, extension and higher education mission of the nation’s land-grant universities.

“We need to have an international perspective,” he said. “Agriculture is a global enterprise and we are working on global problems within the food industry.”

McPheron will succeed Bobby Moser, who has served as the college’s dean and vice president since 1991. Moser announced his retirement in September 2011.

McPheron and his wife, Marilyn, an artist and children’s book author and illustrator, have two children. Their son is a Navy rescue swimmer and antisubmarine warfare specialist, and their daughter is a senior majoring in photography at Penn State.