Source:  College of Agriculture & Life Sciences, 3/29/10

Dr. Tom Melton, North Carolina Cooperative Extension assistant director and director of the National Science Foundation Center for Integrated Pest Management in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, has been named interim head of the College’s Department of Crop Science.



Dr. Melton succeeds Dr. David Smith, who was named CALS associate dean for research and director of the College’s North Carolina Agricultural Research Service in January



Dr. Melton joined the N.C. State University faculty in 1988 as an assistant professor of plant pathology and North Carolina Cooperative Extension specialist working with tobacco. He came to N.C. State from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, where he was an assistant professor and extension project leader in plant pathology.



Dr. Melton has bachelor’s and master’s degrees from N.C. State, the bachelor’s in botany and the master’s in pest management. His doctorate is from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign in plant pathology.



Dr. Melton was named a Philip Morris professor in 1995 and Plant Pathology Department Extension Leader in 1999. He served as department extension leader until 2004, when he was named Cooperative Extension Assistant Director and Associate State Program Leader, Agriculture and Natural Resources/Community and Rural Development. Dr. Melton was named director of the Integrated Pest Management Center in July 2008.