Contact: James Carskadon

STARKVILLE, Miss.—A Mississippi State University faculty member and director of the Mississippi State Chemical Laboratory is among the newest fellows of the Association of Public and Land-Grant Universities’ Food Systems Leadership Institute.

Ashli Brown Johnson, associate professor in MSU’s Department of Biochemistry, Molecular Biology, Entomology and Plant Pathology, recently completed the two-year leadership program. The 26 new Food Systems Leadership Institute Fellows were recognized at APLU’s annual meeting in November. The institute aims to enhance personal leadership ability, develop skills and knowledge for organizational change, and broaden perspectives on integrated food systems.

“I am incredibly grateful to the MSU administration for sponsoring me to take part in such a remarkable leadership program,” Brown Johnson said. “I have learned so much about my own abilities and skills and have gained an appreciation for the complex challenges facing institutions of higher education. I know this experience has made me a better leader.”

As the State Chemist for Mississippi, Brown manages the Mississippi State Chemical Laboratory, a state agency housed at MSU. The lab works in cooperation with the Mississippi Department of Agriculture and Commerce to develop regulations for and conduct analysis of animal feeds, fertilizers, pesticides, agricultural limes and petroleum products sold in Mississippi. The lab assures the quality of retail foods, fuels, livestock feeds, crop protection products and more.

An MSU faculty member since 2006, Brown Johnson is a two-time graduate of the University of South Florida, earning a bachelor’s degree in biology and a doctorate in biochemistry.

The Food Systems Leadership Institute was created with financial support from the W.K. Kellogg Foundation and is operated in a partnership between North Carolina State University, Ohio State University, and California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo.  More information on the program is available at www.fsli.org.

MSU is Mississippi’s leading university, available online at www.msstate.edu.