Five members of the UW-Madison Department of Animal and Dairy Sciences faculty have recently reached career milestones worth celebrating.
Kent Weigel and Milo Wiltbank, professors within the department, have received five-year endowed chair positions; Laura Hernandez and Heather White have been promoted from associate professor to full professor; and a “distinguished” prefix has been added to Ted Halbach’s faculty instructor title.
All five were asked to share insights on their careers and their most recent honors.
Dr. Kent Weigel, Judge John J. Crown Chair in Dairy Genetics
Weigel is a professor and chair of the Department of Animal and Dairy Sciences. He holds research, Extension and teaching appointments and serves as a technical consultant for numerous companies and organizations in the dairy genetics industry. His research focuses on genetic selection and genome-guided management programs to improve the productivity, health, fertility and feed efficiency of dairy cattle using tools such as whole genome selection, advanced reproductive technologies, crossbreeding, electronic data capture systems, and artificial intelligence algorithms.
The Crown chairs are essentially lifetime achievement awards for faculty members who will have highly active research programs for at least five more years (the term of the award). The Chicago-based Crown family donated money for the special chair positions for Weigel and Wiltbank, covering about half the cost of their faculty positions and research for the next five years.
What are you most proud of during your UW-Madison career?
“I am most proud of developing real-world strategies and solutions that farmers can use to improve their cattle and the efficiency and profitability of their operations. The biggest example was our role in collaborating with other scientists in finding a way to make genomic testing affordable for commercial dairy farmers, not just breeding companies and farms selling expensive breeding stock.”
How has your role evolved within the department?
“Like most university faculty, I started out doing most of the research myself and evolved into the role of leading a research team comprised of graduate and post-doctoral students. About a decade in, I became department chair (first of dairy science, then of the combined animal and dairy sciences) and this has had a dramatic impact on my daily activities. I have cut back on my Extension programming, engaged in more undergraduate teaching, and become more collaborative in my research program.”
What is your top goal as you move forward in your career?
“In terms of my administrative role, the primary goal is to make sure all the young faculty we’ve hired get off to a good start in their UW-Madison careers. I also want to continue to shepherd the newly merged department as we make changes in our undergraduate and graduate programs, develop new programs and initiatives, and keep building a collegial and healthy departmental environment. In terms of my research program, I want to continue to work very collaboratively while venturing into new subject areas such as genetic differences in resilience and selection for reduced enteric methane emissions.”
Dr. Milo Wiltbank, Judge John J. Crown Chair in Dairy Physiology.
Wiltbank joined the UW-Madison faculty in 1991 in the Department of Dairy Science and is currently a professor of endocrinology and reproductive physiology. He has conducted research in reproductive physiology throughout his career, including on interactions of nutrition and reproduction, the physiological basis for anovular cows, and hormonal regulation of the ovaries.
Wiltbank is probably best known for the development, validation, and modification of timed artificial insemination protocols such as Ovsynch and Double-Ovsynch that are used on dairy and beef cattle operations throughout the world.
What are you most proud of during your career at UW-Madison?
“I am most proud of the trainees in my laboratory and how together we have solved so many critical biological and reproductive management problems. I have prided myself on selecting excellent students and working with them to select the most important scientific questions to research. Some trainees were great at thinking about and resolving major biological questions and some had the skills and thinking that allowed them to tackle more practical questions. The biological understanding drove the practical research. Maybe this allowed veterinarians to clearly understand the biological basis and the practical application of our research on livestock operations in Wisconsin, the USA, and the world. I have been proud of how each group of trainees worked together to solve the current, critical problems that we selected.”
How has your role evolved within the department?
“Throughout my career I have felt that I was working for the dairy producer. I knew they woke early in the morning and worked hard at the day’s tasks. My role has been throughout my career to work to the best of my ability in my critical tasks of teaching, advising and investigating important research questions.”
What is your top goal as you move forward in your career?
“My major desire is to work with the trainees in my laboratory to solve our current research questions, publish our findings with clear discussion of the application of those findings, and thus promote progress in dairy farm efficiency and scientific understanding.”
Dr. Laura Hernandez, newly promoted to full professor status.
(Promotion to professor status focuses on accomplishments of the candidates subsequent to their promotion to associate professor, in all areas of faculty responsibility, teaching, research and service).
Hernandez joined the Department of Dairy Science faculty as an assistant professor in 2011. She was promoted to associate professor in 2017 and achieved full professor status in 2021. Hernandez also has an affiliate appointment in the UW-Madison School of Medicine and Public Health’s Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology.
Hernandez’s primary research focuses on mammary gland biology and lactation. Her laboratory uses a combination of in-vitro and in-vivo models in mice, cattle and humans to understand how the mammary gland and the mother adapt to lactation. She was promoted to a full professor position primarily on her research productivity.
What are you most proud of during your career at UW-Madison?
“I am most proud of my graduate students. I have been truly lucky to have been able to mentor some amazing young scientists and that is truly why I stay in academia.”
How has your role evolved within the department?
“I’d like to think I’ve brought a fresh perspective. I am not from an agricultural background and I do research that is both human-health relevant and agriculturally relevant. I feel like this allows me to think of solutions and ideas from a different place that has helped us move forward as a department on a variety of different topics from graduate student training to diversity and inclusivity.”
What is your top goal as you move forward in your career?
“My top goal moving forward would be to continue to improve graduate student and post-doctoral fellow training such that these students are able to attain their goals. From a research perspective, I also hope to be able to continue doing research on the human and agricultural side.”
Dr. Heather White, newly promoted to full professor status.
White is a professor in the area of dairy cattle nutritional physiology. Her research program focuses on the health and nutrition of dairy cows during the transition period and is centered on hepatic and whole-animal nutrient partitioning and metabolism. Additionally, Dr. White is serving as the faculty director of the Dairy Innovation Hub that spans UW-Madison, UW-Platteville and UW-River Falls and focuses on dairy-related research.
What are you most proud of during your career at UW-Madison?
“One of the aspects of my research that I am most proud of is that my research is on a continuum of more basic to more applied and they complement each other. This has allowed us to generate tools and strategies that can be used by farmers and nutritionists, all while adding to our understanding of nutritional physiology. I am also proud of the students I have mentored along the way. It takes a lot of individuals to complete the type of projects we do and I have the opportunity to work with undergraduate and graduate students, postdoctoral research fellows, interns and visiting scholars.”
How has your role evolved within the department?
“I started in 2013 as a research and teaching faculty member in the Department of Dairy Science. Along the way I earned tenure, was on the task force that evaluated the potential (and subsequent action) to merge the departments to become the Department of Animal and Dairy Sciences, and I am currently serving as the chair or member of several of the mentor committees for our new faculty. As faculty director for the Dairy Innovation Hub I have also worked closely with the deans and faculty in the respective colleges of UW-Madison, Platteville and River Falls.”
What is your top goal as you move forward in your career?
“My ‘why’ has always been to ensure that people have access to safe and nutritious food. Through my research, and my role with the Dairy Innovation Hub, I can be one small piece of the solution. My goal continues to be to have a positive impact through my research, teaching and leadership to help ensure that agriculture can meet the needs of our growing global population.”
Theodore ‘Ted’ Halbach, an instructor of dairy management, awarded a “Distinguished Prefix” title.
The “Distinguished Prefix” title targets mid- to late-career academic staff members who have acquired extensive experience, advanced skill and knowledge, and a reputation beyond their school or college.
Halbach became UW-Extension’s dairy youth specialist in 1998, and later served as director of the College of Agricultural and Life Science’s Farm and Industry Short Course for four years. He returned to an instructional role with the department in 2012. Halbach coaches the intercollegiate Dairy Challenge team and serves as an Extension species expert in the area of evaluating functional conformation of dairy cattle.
What are you most proud of during your career at UW-Madison?
“I am most proud of the relationships that I’ve built with students who took the courses I taught and participated on the teams I coached. At UW, I’ve had the privilege to interact with incredibly talented students of high character. To be in a position to advocate for these young people academically and professionally has been one of the most rewarding aspects of my work. I am proud of the competitive excellence that my intercollegiate dairy judging and Dairy Challenge teams have enjoyed, but more importantly than the results, has been the opportunity to provide student experiences related to teamwork, life skills and technical knowledge that they can use in their careers. Extension wise, I believe my work on the PDCA scorecards for type conformation and dairy showmanship has been impactful. Badger Dairy Camp was influential during its run, and adding showmanship for all youth to participate in at the Junior State Fair Dairy Show along with the Dairyland Youth Celebration were programs that have become mainstays. Funding sources at the UW Foundation that support dairy youth activities also increased. Departmentally, besides teaching, I’ve been involved with our undergraduate recruitment. Despite some of the obstacles we face in this area, the department has maintained solid undergraduate dairy student numbers over the years and it’s rewarding to hear from our alums that tell me they appreciated the encouragement I gave them when they were considering their college options as high schoolers.”
How has your role evolved within the department?
“When I started in the department in 1998 my appointment was 65% Extension and 35% Instruction. Upon my return to Dairy Science after serving as the Farm and Industry Short Course Director from 2008-’12, I transitioned into a 100% instructional position that included 4 courses in dairy management. I now teach 6 courses, and within the last couple of years, I’ve been given a 15% Extension appointment to serve as a content expert for youth dairy judging competitions that are hosted by Wisconsin FFA and Wisconsin 4-H. Our appointments come with service expectations and my primary service efforts are oversight of the department’s electronic media platforms, chairing our External Relations and Recruitment Committee and serving as the Collegiate Farm Bureau academic adviser. Off campus, I am on the North American Intercollegiate Dairy Challenge Board of Directors and chair the organization’s Program Committee.”
What is your top goal as you move forward in your career?
“Since I will be retiring in August of 2023, I am in the twilight of my tenure at UW. With that said, I want the next year to be my best. I always preach to my students that there is no entitlement in life. What matters in the 2022-2023 academic year is that the students in my courses have the absolute best learning experience possible. I’m going to put my focus and energy into making that a reality.”