New Dean Named For UF’s College Of Agricultural And Life Sciences
May 19, 2011 
Balser said as the new CALS dean, she will continue the exceptional and personalized learning experience the college offers as well as expand upon the opportunities for students to discover the ways agricultural and life sciences are critical to improving the quality of life for everyone.
Balser will oversee all aspects of the college’s undergraduate and graduate education programs, which involve about 5,100 students and 760 faculty members on the UF main campus in Gainesville as well as 13 research and education centers throughout the state.
The college includes 24 undergraduate majors, more than 50 areas of specialization and 23 graduate majors.
Since 2008, Balser has directed the UW-Madison Institute for Cross-college Biology Education, a campuswide institute focused on undergraduate education and public outreach. She has been a faculty member in UW-Madison’s department of soil science since 2001.
Her other recent positions at UW-Madison include faculty associate with the Office of Human Resource Development and faculty affiliate with several academic programs. She is currently a leadership development coordinator with the American Society of Agronomy.
In 2010, Balser was named U.S. Professor of the Year by the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching in the Outstanding Doctoral and Research Universities Professor category. She is also the recipient of the National Excellence in College and University Teaching Award from the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences in 2009.
She was awarded a doctorate in soil microbiology from the University of California at Berkeley in 2000 and bachelor’s degrees in biology and earth sciences from Dartmouth College in 1992.
Balser is the first woman appointed to lead the UF college; she succeeds Mark Rieger, CALS interim dean since September 2010.
Source: UF/IFAS news release