More About Dean Easter
Robert A. "Bob" Easter was appointed dean of the College of Agricultural, Consumer and Environmental Sciences (ACES) on July 21, 2002. He assumed the role of interim dean of ACES in August, 2001. Easter served as head of the Department of Animal Sciences from August 1996 to August 2001, and has been on the Animal Sciences faculty since 1976.
In 2006, President George W. Bush appointed Robert Easter to the Board for International Food and Agricultural Development (BIFAD), and in 2007 he was appointed as interim chair of BIFAD. Easter is also a member of the American Society of Animal Science, the British Society of Animal Science, The American Registry of Professional Animal Scientists, The Council for Agricultural Science and Technology and the Illinois Council for Food and Agricultural Research (C-FAR).
Reared on a grain and livestock farm in southwest Texas, Easter earned an undergraduate degree in agricultural education in 1970 and a Master of Science degree in animal nutrition in 1972, both from Texas A&M University. He completed a doctorate in animal science at the University of Illinois in 1976 and immediately joined the Animal Science Department as an assistant professor of swine nutrition and management. He presently holds the rank of Professor.
Easter has spoken to audiences in the U.S. and 27 foreign countries on swine nutrition. He co-authored a book on swine production and has written more than 75 peer-reviewed articles, 11 book chapters, four monographs and numerous papers for conferences and industry publications.
Along with his graduate students, he has investigated the amino acid needs of the lactating sow, the impact of post-weaning nutrition on growth composition to market and the use of various agents to alter lean growth in pigs. Nineteen students earned their doctoral degrees under his direction.
His teaching has been recognized by the Midwest Section of the American Society of Animal Science and at the departmental and college levels. In 1992 Easter received the American Feed Industry Association Award in Nonruminant Nutrition Research from the American Society of Animal Science. In 1994 the University of Illinois College of Agriculture awarded Easter with the prestigious Paul A. Funk Award for contributions to Illinois agriculture.