The University of Nebraska–Lincoln’s Agricultural Research Division (ARD) supports the science to ensure resilient food systems and a healthy global future. The integrated, transdisciplinary programs within this broad scope continue to deliver multiple benefits: Hardier plant varieties. Increased water efficiency. Improved crop yields. Advances in animal production and health. New tools to combat drought. New uses of commodities for food and industrial products. Practices that improve water quality. Innovations that bolster food nutrition and human health. Management approaches that enhance environmental sustainability. Creation of innovative, high-tech tools to improve the safety, profitability, sustainability and efficiency of food production in Nebraska and beyond.
Part of UNL’s Institute of Agriculture and Natural Resources, ARD works to advance UNL’s land-grant mission, developing practical tools designed to improve agriculture in Nebraska and beyond. In pursuit of that mission, ARD has developed a network of world-class, high-tech laboratories and other research facilities on campus and at more than a dozen research centers and sites across Nebraska. Additionally, ARD leaders and faculty have forged partnerships with leading research institutions, agricultural ministries, scientists and others from around the world, in the process developing a global reputation for the strength of its agricultural and natural resources research programs. During the 2021 fiscal year, IANR faculty teams received $64 million in externally sponsored research grants and contracts to support this important work – a record for the division.
ARD structures its research work so that it provides undergraduate and graduate students a wide variety of experiential learning opportunities to deepen students’ scientific knowledge and build their collaborative skills. In this way, ARD is meeting the practical needs of today’s agriculture, while at the same time nurturing the next generation of agricultural and natural resources scientists.
Organizational Structure
The Dean of the Agricultural Research Division is a member of the IANR senior leadership team which consists of the IANR Vice Chancellor, Senior Associate Vice Chancellor, Associate Vice Chancellor for Faculty and Academic Leader Success, Assistant Vice Chancellor for Business and Finance and the deans of the Agricultural Research Division (ARD), Nebraska Extension, the College of Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources (CASNR), the College of Education and Human Sciences (CEHS), and the Nebraska College of Technical Agriculture (NCTA)
The Dean of ARD supervises Associate Deans; Directors of the Research, Extension, Education Centers (REEC); and staff. The Dean also oversees the directors of IANR’s 23 research centers and 8 farm and ranch research sites, and also coordinates oversight of centers and institutes that are shared with other administrative units.
Additional information about the Agricultural Research Division may be obtained from its website, https://ard.unl.edu/.