Food Science Professor Amanda Lathrop was selected to serve as an administrative faculty fellow for Graduate Education and starting in June will serve as the interim dean through August 2023, or until the permanent dean appointment is made.

Lathrop joined the Food Science and Nutrition Department in 2009. She teaches Introduction to Food Science, Food Plant Sanitation, and Food Safety. Currently, her research interests include produce safety focused on leafy greens, citrus fruits, and the use of biofumigation for the control of food pathogens in agricultural soils. She is actively involved in a multidisciplinary project assisting underrepresented small farmers with on-farm food safety practices. During her time at Cal Poly, she has served as a thesis advisor to numerous graduate students and since 2019 has served as the Food Science graduate coordinator.