Hitting the Ground Running

Dr. Daniel Thomson (2000)
When the Starbuck wildfire broke out in southwestern Kansas in early March 2017, Dr. Daniel Thomson packed his truck and left his northeastern Kansas home to assist impacted farmers. A similar call to action happened in mid-March of this year when Iowa State University announced the move to online courses and working remotely. This time, Thomson loaded his stock trailer and headed north to Ames to lead the animal science department through these unprecedented times – two weeks earlier than anticipated. "It’s one thing to go through a crisis, and another to go through a crisis together,” Thomson said. Originally scheduled to begin April 6, Thomson joined the Department of Animal Science March 23 as the new department chair.