Rodney Brown was appointed deputy under secretary for research, education, and economics.

From 1979 until his appointment to this position Brown served in a number of capacities at Utah State University. He was the dean of agriculture and a professor of food chemistry from 1991 until joining USDA, and from 1993-94 he served in those two positions as well as acting vice president for research. He was head of the Department of Nutrition and Food Sciences from 1985-91, while also working in that Department as a professor from 1987-91, an associate professor from 1983-87, and an assistant professor from 1979-83. During that time, from 1984-85 he was on sabbatical leave in Wheldrake, Yorkshire, England, developing biological testing procedures for foods. He worked as a research associate in the Department of Biophysics at the Weizmann Institute of Science in Rehovot, Israel, from 1977-79.

From 1998-99 Brown chaired the Board on Agriculture of the National Association of State Universities and Land Grant Colleges (NASULGC), during which time he established formal links with the Interuniversity Council on Agriculture in Europe. During 2001 he served as senior program liaison between the Earth Science Enterprise of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) and USDA’s Cooperative State Research, Education, and Extension Service, where he facilitated linkages between those two agencies.

A native of Coalville, Utah, where he was raised on a dairy farm, Brown holds a B.S. degree in food science and nutrition from Brigham Young University in Provo, Utah, an M.S. degree in nutrition and food sciences from Utah State University, and a Ph.D. degree in food science from North Carolina State University.

Eileen Kennedy, the previous deputy under secretary for research, education, and economics, held that position from March 1998 until January 2001, and is now the first global executive director of the Washington, DC-based International Life Sciences Institute, a nonprofit organization which focuses on such public health issues as nutrition, food safety, and biotechnology. •