Arkansas Alum DeLaune Returns as Head of Crop, Soil and Environmental Sciences
“This is really like coming home.” — Paul DeLaune
By Mary Hightower – Oct. 7, 2024
Paul DeLaune will take the reins as head of the crop, soil, and environmental science department. (Image courtesy Texas A&M)
FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — For Oklahoma native and University of Arkansas alumnus Paul DeLaune, returning to Arkansas to be head of Crop, Soil, and Environmental Science, is almost like coming home.
DeLaune starts his new job Nov. 25. As department head, he’ll be overseeing all three of the land-grant components: research and extension through the University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture and teaching through the Dale Bumpers College of Agricultural, Food and Life Sciences.
“I am a southeast Oklahoma native, from the McAlester area, about two-and-a-half hours from Fayetteville,” he said. “This is really like coming home.”
DeLaune earned his Bachelor of Science in agronomy from Oklahoma State University. He then obtained a master’s degree in agronomy and a Ph.D. in soil science at the University of Arkansas.
While all of his degrees are related to agriculture, he didn’t grow up on a farm.
“I was exposed to farming and ranch operations through my grandfather, who had a small operation,” he said. Agriculture provided him an opportunity to work in the outdoors.
He’s hoping to translate that experience to help bring new students into agriculture, dispelling the notion that a student had to grow up with agriculture to study agriculture.
“I’m always looking for opportunities to recruit those students who may not know as much about agriculture as others do or they think they have to have an agricultural background,” DeLaune said, noting that his own backstory “is kind of my selling point to anybody — you can find a passion and something you’re interested in.”
During the interview process, DeLaune got a deeper understanding of the Division of Agriculture’s commitment to the land-grant mission.
“The University of Arkansas Fayetteville campus and Division of Agriculture have a long history and they’re committed to securing that excellence,” he said. “Just talking through the interview process, you can hear and feel the passion they have for Arkansas agriculture and the desire for the Division of Agriculture to continue to be the agency that people come to, to find information.”
During his student days at Fayetteville, DeLaune said he did research similar to what he’s done recently related to the “Climate Smart” efforts funded by the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
“We called it something different 20 years ago, but it goes back to the foundation I built when I was a graduate student,” he said. “ I’m excited to see that work continue at the University of Arkansas and hopefully share that with the next generation of researchers.”
DeLaune comes to Arkansas having served as interim director of the Texas A&M AgriLife Research and Extension Center at San Angelo. He has a long tenure within the Texas A&M AgriLife system, having joined as assistant professor in September 2007 at Vernon, Texas, where his current research program remains headquartered.
Prior to being named interim director at San Angelo, DeLaune was named a Regents Fellow Professor and Faculty Fellow. In 2023, he was recipient of the Texas A&M AgriLife Faculty Fellow Award and was recognized as part of Texas Climate-Smart Initiative, which received the Texas A&M AgriLife Collaboration Award. He’s also been honored by the Soil & Water Conservation Society with its Conservation Research Award and the Career Professional Award from the Southern Branch — American Society of Agronomy Research. In November 2024, he will be officially recognized as a Fellow of the American Society of Agronomy.
DeLaune has been heavily involved in industry professional organizations, having held various leadership positions within the American Society of Agronomy and Cotton Beltwide. He is also a member of the Soil Science Society of America and the Soil and Water Conservation Society. He has served on editorial boards for society journals and for the Soil Security Journal and Farming Systems Journal.
When he’s not working, he’s tending to the athletic and other activities of his three teenage daughters, the eldest being a college freshman.
“We’re at that phase of following our children around,” he said. “That keeps us awful busy, but other than that I try to sneak away and do a little fishing and hunting otherwise. I look forward to getting to northwest Arkansas and reacquainting myself to some familiar waters.”
Deacue Fields, vice president-agriculture for the University of Arkansas System and head of the Division of Agriculture, said DeLaune’s leadership skill set was evident during the interview process.
“He painted a good vision for the department and will bring a unique perspective from the outside,” Fields said. “He’s someone that the faculty can rally around and he will be able to build consensus.
Jean-François Meullenet, director of the Arkansas Agricultural Experiment Station, echoed Fields’ assessment.
“Paul is a great leader with the skills needed to help our crop, soil and environmental sciences department succeed,” Meullenet, said. “With a strong background in all three land-grant mission areas, he is well-equipped to carry the department’s mission forward into the future.”
Bumpers Dean Jeff Edwards was a classmate of DeLaune’s.
“Like me, Paul is connected to the U of A through his graduate degrees, and we were actually in graduate school together,” Edwards said. “His connection to the Hill will bring with it a passion for the students we serve and a commitment to excellence in all that we do.”
Edwards said that while at Oklahoma State, he would frequently hear high praise from colleagues and stakeholders:
“Paul’s name would come up frequently as a scientist who they respected and as a professional they trusted,” he said. “I am very excited to have him back in Fayetteville as part of the Bumpers College family.”
John Anderson, head of the Cooperative Extension Service, also welcomed DeLaune.
“Dr. DeLaune has enjoyed a distinguished career within the Texas A&M University System, where he has not only served with distinction as a faculty member but has also taken on significant leadership responsibilities,” Anderson said. “He clearly understands and values the kind of applied research and stakeholder engagement that is so important to us in the Division of Agriculture.
“The breadth of his experience in a top-tier land-grant institution makes him ideally suited to take on this position in a department that is absolutely vital to the agriculture industry in the state of Arkansas,” Anderson said.
To learn more about the Division of Agriculture research, visit the Arkansas Agricultural Experiment Station website. Follow us on 𝕏 at @ArkAgResearch, subscribe to the Food, Farms and Forests podcast and sign up for our monthly newsletter, the Arkansas Agricultural Research Report. To learn more about the Division of Agriculture, visit uada.edu. Follow us on 𝕏 at @AgInArk. To learn about extension programs in Arkansas, contact your local Cooperative Extension Service agent or visit uaex.uada.edu.
About the Division of Agriculture
The University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture’s mission is to strengthen agriculture, communities, and families by connecting trusted research to the adoption of best practices. Through the Agricultural Experiment Station and the Cooperative Extension Service, the Division of Agriculture conducts research and extension work within the nation’s historic land grant education system.
The Division of Agriculture is one of 20 entities within the University of Arkansas System. It has offices in all 75 counties in Arkansas and faculty on five system campuses.
The University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture offers all its Extension and Research programs and services without regard to race, color, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, national origin, religion, age, disability, marital or veteran status, genetic information, or any other legally protected status, and is an Affirmative Action/Equal Opportunity Employer.
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