Contact: Allison Matthews

STARKVILLE, Miss.—Mississippi State’s associate provost for academic affairs is taking on an additional role as interim dean of the university’s Graduate School.

Peter Ryan will work closely with the associate deans of the university’s various colleges, as well as with departmental graduate program directors and the Graduate Council “to foster an environment where graduate education will not only thrive but will be recognized nationally for academic excellence,” said Judy Bonner, MSU provost and executive vice president, in making the recent announcement.

Bonner said Ryan will continue to handle issues related to undergraduate education in the Office of the Provost and Executive Vice President as he provides “leadership to bring the colleges together to chart a course that will facilitate the growth of graduate education at Mississippi State.”

MSU’s Graduate School supports students in every graduate-level program and provides assistance in academic matters, advice on degree requirements, information on assistantships, fellowships and scholarships, as well as approval for theses and dissertations.

Ryan has been a part of MSU’s faculty for more than 18 years. A professor of reproductive physiology, he holds joint appointments in the Department of Animal and Dairy Sciences in MSU’s College of Agriculture and Life Sciences and the Department of Pathobiology and Population Medicine in MSU’s College of Veterinary Medicine. Ryan is a University of Dublin, Trinity College graduate who holds master’s and doctoral degrees from the University of Guelph, Ontario Veterinary College in Ontario, Canada. He also completed post-doctoral work at Princeton University and Rutgers University.

“Graduate education is a very important component of the mission of Mississippi State University as a land-grant institution, and I look forward to working with the staff in the Office of Graduate Studies and with the colleges to provide the best service possible in meeting the needs of graduate students and graduate educators,” Ryan said.

In 2015, Ryan received the Dean of Students Award of Excellence for his contributions to student well-being on campus. In presenting the award at that time, Dean of Students Thomas Bourgeois called Ryan, “a tireless advocate for students who goes above the course and scope of his everyday responsibilities and sacrifices much of his personal time in the service of MSU and its community.”

For more information about MSU’s Graduate School, visit www.grad.msstate.edu.

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