June 21, 2002

Grafton Named Experiment Station Director

Kenneth F. Grafton, associate dean of the North Dakota State University Graduate School and professor of plant sciences, has been named director of the North Dakota Agricultural Experiment Station, according to Patricia Jensen, vice president, dean and director for agricultural affairs. Grafton will begin his new duties July 1.

"Ken’s record of research, teaching and leadership ability are tried and true on the NDSU campus. He is well known and highly respected," Jensen said. "We look forward to his leadership as we carve a future mission for the Agricultural Experiment Station. He will be a strong member of the agriculture team."

Grafton described his management philosophy as "a proponent of the goals and policies of the college, the university and the state." He said an honest relationship is critical to good leadership and communication is critical to a sound administrative unit.

"I am looking forward to working with the faculty and staff of NDSU, as well as the various livestock and commodity groups in North Dakota, as we address the short-term and long-term needs of North Dakota agriculture," Grafton said. "I am also excited by the efforts being made to broaden the mission of the North Dakota Agricultural Experiment Station, which will prove to be important to the economy and well-being of the citizens of the state."

Grafton is currently the project leader for the dry edible bean breeding-genetics project, which is developing improved cultivars of pinto, navy and other market classes of dry bean for production in the northern Great Plains. He also serves as associate dean of the Graduate School.

Grafton joined NDSU as a post-doctoral research associate in 1980, after serving as a graduate researcher at the University of Missouri and Ohio State University. He became an assistant professor in the agronomy department in 1981 and was named professor in 1994. His vita lists 30 refereed publications, three book chapters and symposia and 28 abstracts. Grafton’s research accomplishments include the development and release of Norstar, a navy bean cultivar that has become the most widely grown navy bean in the North Dakota-Minnesota production area; the release of the pinto bean cultivar Maverick, which in 1999 became the most planted pinto bean in the region; and the release of pinto bean cultivars Hatton and Frontier and the navy bean cultivar Arthur. He received the 1995 Distinguished Achievement Award from the Bean Improvement Cooperative, an international association of scientists dedicated to bean improvement.

Grafton earned his bachelor’s degree in agriculture and his master’s degree in plant breeding and genetics from Ohio State University. His doctorate in plant breeding and genetics is from the University of Missouri.

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Source: Patricia Jensen, (701)231-7656
Editor: Steve Bergeson, (701) 231-6101, sbergeso@gwmail.nodak.edu