MISSISSIPPI STATE – Mississippi State University named John Blanton Jr., a researcher with 20 years of experience in animal and food science, head of the Department of Animal and Dairy Sciences.

He has been as a research program manager at the Samuel Roberts Noble Foundation in Ardmore, Okla., since 2008. He gained faculty and administrative experience at Texas Tech University and the University of Groningen in the Netherlands, along with industry experience from KVS Service in Georgetown, Del., and Intervet Inc., now Schering-Plough, in Millsboro, Del.

“Dr. Blanton is coming to MSU with an outstanding record of teaching, research and service, and we are confident that under his leadership, the outstanding programs in Animal and Dairy Sciences will excel,” said George Hopper, director of the Mississippi Agricultural and Forestry Experiment Station and dean of MSU’s College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, which includes the Department of Animal and Dairy Sciences.

Blanton earned bachelor’s and master’s degrees from New Mexico State University in animal science and population genetics, respectively. He earned a doctoral degree in muscle biology from Purdue University.

“Mississippi’s livestock and dairy industries are important contributors to the state’s economy, and our ability to support these industries is vital to their stability,” said Gary Jackson, director of the MSU Extension Service. “We are pleased with the experience and expertise Dr. Blanton will bring to this department.”

Blanton will assume his duties Dec. 1, replacing Mark Crenshaw, who served as interim department head since 2011.