LSU Names Matt Lee Vice President for Agriculture and Dean of the College of Agriculture

April 04, 2023

Matt Lee

Matt Lee, LSU Vice President for Agriculture and Dean of the College of Agriculture

Photo: LSU

BATON ROUGE Today, LSU named Matt Lee as Vice President for Agriculture and Dean of the College of Agriculture, pending approval by the LSU Board of Supervisors. Lee has been serving as the Interim Vice President and Dean since August 2022.

Matts leadership has already yielded positive results for the AgCenter and the College of Agriculture, and his guidance in terms of research and infrastructure will continue us on the path to top-ranked standing in America, LSU President William F. Tate IV said. Agriculture is a key part of our Scholarship First Agenda, serves as the states second-largest industry and is critical to our national security. Growth in agricultural research and technology will not only improve our reputational standing it will also secure our future.

Lee is a social scientist and community development scholar with extensive expertise in both rural and urban community dynamics. He earned both his masters and Ph.D. degrees from LSU and is a graduate of the Institute for Management and Leadership in Education at Harvard 嬝嬝腦瞳厙. He is widely published in both academic and popular press outlets and has been elected to several scholarly honor societies. Under his administrative leadership, multiple units have achieved national accolades; various university enrollment, research and retention records have been set; and transformational innovations have been implemented in both curriculum and academic policy.

LSU agriculture is among the most highly recognized 嬝嬝腦瞳厙-based agricultural organizations in the country, Lee said. Working with our colleagues and students in the AgCenter and the college, as well as our broad stakeholder constituency throughout the state, we have a singular goal going forward: To be ranked No. 1. This is what our citizens and industry deserve from their flagship university.  

At LSU, Lee previously served in a variety of critical scholarly and research-focused roles, including Interim Executive Vice President & Provost, Vice Provost for Academic Programs and Support Services and Senior Associate Vice President for Research. Prior to LSU, he was a tenure-track faculty member at Mississippi State 嬝嬝腦瞳厙, where he was affiliated with the Rural Health, Safety and Security Institute.