WKU News

Ogden College of Science and Engineering is pleased to announce that Dr. Paul Woosley will serve as the next Chair of the Department of Agriculture and Food Science at Western Kentucky University.  A national search culminated in the selection of Dr. Woosley, who has served as the Director of the WKU Agricultural Research Education Center since 2017.  According to David Brown, Dean of Ogden College, “Paul has helped lead a true renaissance at the WKU Farm in recent years.  His dedication to the institution, and especially its students, will couple with his energy and leadership skills to continue Agriculture along its strong upward trajectory.”

Paul Woosley is a South-Central Kentucky native from Big Reedy, KY located in Edmonson County.  His wife of 20 years, Jennifer, is an elementary school teacher in the Warren County school system.  They have two sons.  Matthew, the eldest, is employed with Winners Aviation in Lexington, KY.  Alex will be attending WKU in the fall of 2023. 

Paul’s love for agriculture began at an early age growing up on his grandparents’ small family farms.  Working on the farm, he gained experience in forage, tobacco, corn, vegetable, poultry, swine, and beef cattle production.  In high school, he found his niche with Future Farmers of America (FFA) serving as his chapter’s secretary and president.  Choosing a university was easy for Paul:  both of his parents served as staff members at WKU.  Paul received his B.S. in Agriculture, focusing in soil science with a chemistry minor, from WKU in 1996. 

Paul received his M.S. in Agronomy from the University of Kentucky in 1998 and continued to a Ph.D. in Crop Science with minor in plant physiology in 2002.  Paul fulfilled his dream of returning to the classroom at WKU in 2002, accepting an assistant professor position in the Department of Agriculture and Food Science.  Over his 20-year career at WKU, he obtained the rank of professor where he has taught many different classes and conducted research in turfgrass, industrial hemp, and animal waste management. 

Brown commented further, “Paul has scholarly experience across many sub-disciplines of agriculture and leadership experience on the Farm and within the Department and College.  He will help grow the Department of Agriculture and Food Science’s footprint in education, research, and community engagement.  It’s an exciting time for WKU Agriculture!”