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Dr. Ron Walcott serves as the inaugural Vice Provost for Graduate Education and Dean of the Graduate School. In this role, he works with schools and colleges across campus to enhance the recruitment, support, and success of graduate students.

Walcott has served in several administrative roles on campus, including as interim Dean of the Graduate School. Walcott served on the graduate education committee of the Provost’s Task Force on Academic Excellence and currently serves on the Student Affairs Academic Advisory Board, the university’s Aspire Alliance IChange team, and represents UGA on the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools, Commission on Colleges reaffirmation compliance team.

Walcott is a professor of plant pathology in the College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences. His research focuses on pathogens that affect commercially important vegetables and has been funded by more than $5 million in external grants from agencies such as the USDA, as well as industry partners. He is the co-author of two books in the field of plant pathology, nearly 70 peer-reviewed journal articles, and numerous book chapters. He has delivered invited seminars and presentations in nine countries on four continents and is the vice president of the American Phytopathological Society.

Walcott has garnered nearly $1 million in additional grant funding to enhance educational experiences for underrepresented students through career awareness programs for high school and undergraduate students. He has mentored or served as an advisory committee member for more than 40 master’s and Ph.D. students. He also has mentored several UGA undergraduate students, as well as high school students through the CAES Young Scholars Internship Program.

Walcott’s honors include receiving the CAES D.W. Brooks Diversity Award for Faculty and being named a UGA Senior Teaching Fellow and a Teaching Academy Member. He earned his Ph.D. in plant pathology from UGA and his bachelor’s and master’s degrees, also in plant pathology, from Iowa State University.