Mohamed Khan accepted the role of assistant director, agriculture and natural resources, for North Dakota State University Extension and started in this role on Oct. 24.
“It is an honor and a privilege to provide statewide leadership for our agriculture and natural resources program conducted by our driven agents and specialists,” says Khan. “I look forward to developing, building and maintaining relationships with representatives from commodity groups and partner organizations as we work together to further improve the lives of North Dakotans and make our state a reliable, safe and economical producer of food, feed and fuel for the U.S. and worldwide.”
Khan was NDSU Extension’s interim assistant director for agriculture and natural resources for six months prior to his appointment to the permanent position. As interim assistant director, he provided leadership for agriculture and natural resources program planning, subject matter training, assessments and evaluation. He also supervised personnel within the agriculture and natural resources program area.
In his permanent role, he will continue these activities along with the management of agriculture and natural resources budgetary requests, commodity elections, the Extension federal report, and the use and enhancement of the program and evaluation reporting system used by Extension personnel to report impacts of their work.
Khan joined NDSU in 1999 as assistant professor and Extension sugarbeet specialist in the Department of Plant Pathology, a joint position with NDSU Extension and the University of Minnesota Extension. He was promoted to associate professor in 2005 and to full professor in 2011. As Extension sugarbeet specialist, he provided leadership to help identify the major agronomic problems impacting the sugarbeet industry and organized educational programs to provide solutions. These economic solutions adopted by growers resulted in a 50 percent increase in sugarbeet yields during his tenure.
“Mohamed’s commitment to Extension’s mission is evident throughout his career,” says Lynette Flage, associate director for NDSU Extension. “He is dedicated to providing lifelong education to clientele as well as ensuring our staff have the knowledge, resources and support they need to effectively serve the farmers and ranchers of North Dakota.”
Khan earned a B.Sc. in agriculture from the University of Guyana, a M.Sc. in crop protection from the University of Bath, United Kingdom, and a Ph.D. in entomology from Clemson University.