Perry L. Adkisson (11 March 1929 – 25 June 2020) was Chancellor of the

Texas A&M University System The Texas A&M University System is a state university system in Texas and is one of the state's six independent university systems. The Texas A&M University System is one of the largest systems of higher education in the United States, with a bu ...

. His academic work is known for his research on

integrated pest management Integrated pest management (IPM), also known as integrated pest control (IPC) is a broad-based approach that integrates both chemical and non-chemical practices for economic control of pests. IPM aims to suppress pest populations below the eco ...

methods which allowed for a 50% reduction of insecticide use in U.S. agriculture.

Early life and education

Adkisson was born on his family's cotton/soybean farm in

Blytheville Blytheville is the county seat and the largest city in Mississippi County, Arkansas, United States. It is approximately north of West Memphis. The population was 13,406 at the 2020 census, down from 15,620 in 2010. History Blytheville was found ...

Arkansas Arkansas ( ) is a landlocked state in the South Central United States. It is bordered by Missouri to the north, Tennessee and Mississippi to the east, Louisiana to the south, and Texas and Oklahoma to the west. Its name is from the ...

. He was the second of two children born to Robert and Imogene Adkisson. He graduated valedictorian from

Armorel High School Armorel High School is a comprehensive public high school serving students in grades seven through twelve in the distant, rural community of Armorel, Arkansas, United States. It is the one of seven public high schools located in Mississippi Count ...

. Adkisson attended the

University of Arkansas The University of Arkansas (U of A, UArk, or UA) is a public land-grant research university in Fayetteville, Arkansas. It is the flagship campus of the University of Arkansas System and the largest university in the state. Founded as Arkansas ...

where he earned his bachelor's degree in agriculture in 1950 and a master's degree in

agronomy Agronomy is the science and technology of producing and using plants by agriculture for food, fuel, fiber, chemicals, recreation, or land conservation. Agronomy has come to include research of plant genetics, plant physiology, meteorology, and s ...

in 1954. He received a doctorate in entomology from

Kansas State University Kansas State University (KSU, Kansas State, or K-State) is a public land-grant research university with its main campus in Manhattan, Kansas, United States. It was opened as the state's land-grant college in 1863 and was the first public insti ...

in 1956. He also did his postdoctoral studies at

Harvard University Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of high ...

Army

He was inducted into the U.S. Army in 1951 during the

Korean War {{Infobox military conflict , conflict = Korean War , partof = the Cold War and the Korean conflict , image = Korean War Montage 2.png , image_size = 300px , caption = Clockwise from top: ...

, and released from service in 1953, and returned to University of Arkansas to study for his master's degree.

Career

After a short time teaching at the

University of Missouri The University of Missouri (Mizzou, MU, or Missouri) is a public land-grant research university in Columbia, Missouri. It is Missouri's largest university and the flagship of the four-campus University of Missouri System. MU was founded ...

, he began his career as a professor of entomology at Texas A&M University in 1958. He later became head of the department, and went on to become chancellor of the A&M University System from 1986 until 1990. He also served as deputy chancellor, vice president for agriculture and renewable resources and the head of the Department of

Entomology Entomology () is the scientific study of insects, a branch of zoology. In the past the term "insect" was less specific, and historically the definition of entomology would also include the study of animals in other arthropod groups, such as arach ...

. He retired from Texas A&M in 1994. Adkisson was also named Regents of entomology, Chancellor Emeritus and Distinguished Emeritus. In 2001, he received a Doctor of Letters from Texas A&M for his work in IPM.

Research

As part of the Huffaker Project, a collaborative project between multiple universities and government agencies, Adkisson joined with Ray F. Smith of the

University of California The University of California (UC) is a public land-grant research university system in the U.S. state of California. The system is composed of the campuses at Berkeley, Davis, Irvine, Los Angeles, Merced, Riverside, San Diego, San Fran ...

to further their similar research in the field of sustainable insect control, resulting in what is now known as

Bush Presidential Library Center

Adkisson began working to have President George H.W. Bush and the U.S. National Archives to locate the presidential library on the campus of Texas A&M as soon as Bush was elected. Later, Adkisson was named as executive director of the Bush Presidential Library and the George H.W. Bush Presidential Library Foundation.

Awards and recognition

Adkisson received what are considered the three most important international awards in agriculture: Adkisson and Smith were jointly awarded the

World Food Prize The World Food Prize is an international award recognizing the achievements of individuals who have advanced human development by improving the quality, quantity, or availability of food in the world. Conceived by Nobel Peace Prize laureate Nor ...

in 1997 for this achievement. Adkisson was also awarded the

Wolf Prize in Agriculture The Wolf Prize in Agriculture is awarded annually by the Wolf Foundation in Israel. It is one of the six Wolf Prizes established by the Foundation and awarded since 1978; the others are in Chemistry, Mathematics, Medicine, Physics and the Arts. T ...

in 1994 and the 1980 Alexander von Humboldt Award for his achievements in agriculture. In 1998, he was inducted into the Texas Heritage Hall of Honor at the

State Fair of Texas The State Fair of Texas is an annual state fair held in Dallas at historic Fair Park. The fair has taken place every year since 1886 except for varying periods during World War I and World War II as well as 2020, due to the COVID-19 pandemic. I ...

. He was elected to the

National Academy of Sciences The National Academy of Sciences (NAS) is a United States nonprofit, non-governmental organization. NAS is part of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, along with the National Academy of Engineering (NAE) and the Nat ...

, the

American Academy of Arts and Sciences The American Academy of Arts and Sciences (abbreviation: AAA&S) is one of the oldest learned societies in the United States. It was founded in 1780 during the American Revolution by John Adams, John Hancock, James Bowdoin, Andrew Oliver, ...

, and was the president of the

Entomological Society of America The Entomological Society of America (ESA) was founded in 1889 and today has more than 7,000 members, including educators, extension personnel, consultants, students, researchers, and scientists from agricultural departments, health agencies, ...

References

External links

The World Food Prize

Perry Lee Adkisson and Lynn M. Riddiford, "Perry L. Adkisson", Biographical Memoirs of the National Academy of Sciences (2022)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Adkisson, Perry 2020 deaths Texas A&M University faculty 1929 births Presidents of the Entomological Society of America Agriculture and food award winners