A. Larry Branen finished another segment of his most complicated leadership effort yet for the University of Idaho in February. His newest transformation from administrator to food scientist remains an evolving process.

Photo right by Mark LaMoreaux.

His time as dean of the College of Agricultural and Life Sciences resumed in 1998 when he agreed to fill the role in an acting capacity following the departure of David Lineback. If life is a merry-go-round, Branen found himself in familiar circles having served as dean from 1986 to 1993.

The goodwill that Branen had developed with agricultural interest groups during his first ride as dean remained intact. A search for a new dean ultimately led back to Branen and he agreed to take on the job for the second time since joining the UI faculty in 1983.

Dean for the second time

His second tour, from 1998 to 2003, differed dramatically from the first in a multitude of ways. “Overall, the way I felt about it was like being on a roller coaster ride,” Branen said. “There were lots of ups and downs. It was fun to be back with the people who I had enjoyed working closely with before, but there were some low points because of the budget.”

Finances occupied much of his attention and generated most of the downdrafts. A shortfall in state support early in that second tour led to widespread reorganization in the university and affected the college. The financial issues remain a challenge.

A program that offered incentives for senior faculty and staff to retire and a decision to review all vacancies in the college led to nearly 100 vacant positions, roughly 20 percent. Branen led the development of a consensus plan that called for scrutinizing each position and determining whether it fit with the college’s long-range plan, then prioritizing refilling the vacancies.

One man in three jobs

“The budget issues have been difficult but they have also given us a chance to reflect on what we want to be as a college and what we need to do to get there,” he said. He carried more than his share of the load personally, at one time filling three high-level positions of major importance to the college and university.

When LeRoy Luft retired as UI Cooperative Extension System director in 2001, Branen picked up that role for a year until the interim appointment of Charlotte Eberlein.

That year, the university also reorganized its top administrative structure and Branen was selected as vice president for outreach. Also in 2001, Branen presided over the June celebration marking the grand opening of the UI Agricultural Biotechnology Laboratory, a project that first took root a decade before. The $13 million project represented the successful partnership of private, state, and federal funding.

New century and a new name

The laboratory celebration also provided a platform for Branen to note the centennial of the College of Agriculture, which was created June 14, 1901, by the UI Board of Regents. As part of that celebration, the dean announced a name change to the College of Agricultural and Life Sciences.

The new name better reflected the college’s new emphasis both on traditional agriculture and programs ranging from molecular biology to family and consumer sciences.

“One of the most enjoyable aspects of the job was being able to participate in the celebration of the college’s centennial,” Branen said. Now 58, his own ties to the university reach back nearly 50 years. Like thousands of other Idaho youth, Branen’s first exposure to the University of Idaho was through the UI 4-H program when he was growing up on a farm near Wilder. He was also active in FFA.

As a member of the two youth development groups, Branen began visiting the UI campus in the 1950s and assumed a role as Idaho 4-H vice president in 1961. His advocacy for 4-H was recognized last year when he joined Maurice Johnson as the two Idahoans selected for induction into the newly formed national 4-H Hall of Fame, and later with a larger group inducted into Idaho’s 4-H Hall of Fame.

Branen’s role as vice president for outreach will shift this summer when he transitions to duties as associate vice president for research and outreach with his attention focused on the needs of northern Idaho.

New challenges in Coeur d’Alene tackle terrorism and disease

That transition reflects other major changes. He and Laurel Branen, his wife and a UI professor of family and consumer sciences, moved to Coeur d’Alene to help bolster UI’s profile there and because he is working on a project to develop biosensors.

The biosensor project pairs him with Gary Maki and the Center for Advanced Microelectronics and Biomolecular Research that Maki directs. The biosensor project has important implications for food safety work and for homeland security. The devices would marry sophisticated electronics with molecular biology to quickly identify the presence of disease organisms or their toxins.

Larry Branen grew up near Wilder, enjoying the opportunities to explore life at home, on the farm and in school. A member of both 4-H and FFA, he raised and showed Jersey heifers.

As Branen prepared to leave the dean’s office in February, his agriculture friends sprung a surprise. They renamed the annual industry convention, which draws hundreds of the state’s top political leaders and agricultural movers and shakers, to the A. Larry Branen Idaho Ag Summit, honoring his years of contributions.