Sonny Ramaswamy

Sonny Ramaswamy is president of Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities, which accredits institutions of higher education by applying evidence-informed standards and processes to support continuous improvements and promote student achievement and success. Sonny served for six years as President Barack Obama's appointee as the Director of the National Institute of Food and Agriculture in Washington, DC. He provided leadership and strategic direction in the formulation of broad, national policies needed to develop and execute cutting edge science and its application to promote profitability of the food and agricultural systems while protecting the environment and creating economic opportunities. Previously, Ramaswamy held a number of academic positions, including: dean of Oregon State's College of Agricultural Sciences; director of Purdue's Agricultural Research Programs; university distinguished professor and head of Kansas State's Entomology Department; and professor of entomology at Mississippi State. He has published over 150 journal articles, book chapters, and a book, and has a patent. Sonny is the recipient of a number of awards and honors, including Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, Fellow of the Entomological Society of America, Food Systems Leadership Award for Extraordinary Impacts on Food Systems, Agriculture Future of America's Leader in Agriculture Award, and Hutchinson Medal from the Chicago Botanic Garden. Ramaswamy received his Bachelor of Science in agriculture and Master of Science in entomology from the University of Agricultural Sciences, Bangalore, India. His doctorate is in entomology from Rutgers University.