Kessler Named Interim Dean

Lisa Kessler has been named the interim dean of the Don B. Huntley College of Agriculture by Provost Sylvia Alva.

She has served as the associate dean for the college since July 2013, managing the dean’s office and college staff, overseen personnel issues, managed facilities and space, and worked directly with enrollment, curriculum and semester conversion plans.

Kessler takes the place of Dean Mary Holz-Clause, who is departing later this month to become chancellor of the University of Minnesota-Crookston until a permanent dean is selected.

 “I feel fortunate to have this opportunity to serve the Huntley College of Agriculture in this capacity. Cal Poly Pomona is a very special place with innovative, humble, passionate students,” Kessler says. “I look forward to working with the wonderful faculty and staff in the college to fulfill our mission.”

Kessler came to Cal Poly Pomona in 2007 as an assistant professor in the Department of Human Nutrition and Food Science. She taught undergraduate courses, including two service-learning courses annually, and advised students. She was the principal investigator for the $248,000 Estudiante de Dietetica grant which created the curriculum for Dietetic students to become culturally competent to serve the Hispanic community.

In 2009, she was named the director of the Didactic Program in Dietetics, overseeing the program’s curriculum and leading the program thru successful accreditation. Kessler was promoted to associate professor in 2011. She was the College of Agriculture’s Teacher of the Year in 2010 and the Advisor of the Year for 2013.

Kessler began serving as the interim associate dean in July 2013 and appointed to the permanent post in January 2016.

Prior to coming to Cal Poly Pomona, Kessler spent 10 years overseas, teaching and consulting in the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Cyprus, and Austria. She also held positions at Chaffey College; Johns Hopkins School of Hygiene and Public Health; the University of Texas; and Morgan State University in Maryland.

Kessler earned her bachelor’s degree with a concentration in biology from Muhlenberg College; a master’s degree in public health with a concentration in nutrition from the University of North Carolina; and a doctorate in public health with a concentration in maternal and child health from the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Hygiene and Public Health.

She also is a registered dietitian.

Details regarding a search for a new dean have not yet been announced yet.