Provided

New York Commissioner of Agriculture Darrel Aubertine, left, with Susan Henry, recipient of the the 2012 Distinguished Service Citation, and her husband, Peter, right.

Susan Henry, professor of molecular biology and genetics in Cornell's College of Agriculture and Life Sciences (CALS), has been awarded the 2012 Distinguished Service Citation, the highest honor bestowed by the New York State Agricultural Society.

At the 180th Annual Agricultural Forum in Syracuse Jan. 5, Henry -- the dean of CALS from 2000 to 2010 -- was praised for being an effective steward of the college's facilities and farms and a strong advocate for agriculture at home and abroad.

The Distinguished Service Citation recognizes individuals who have dedicated a lifetime of service resulting in outstanding contributions to New York agriculture.

During her tenure, Henry focused CALS activities around the land-grant mission, the applied social sciences, the environmental sciences and the new life sciences. She instituted three new majors and saw the successful accreditation of Cornell's undergraduate business program in applied economics and management (now the Charles H. Dyson School of Applied Economics and Management).

While she was dean, CALS also opened a teaching winery and a biofuels laboratory on the Ithaca campus, the Vinification and Brewing Lab and the Cornell Agriculture and Food Technology Park at the New York State Agricultural Experiment Station in Geneva, and the Lake Erie Research and Extension Laboratory in Portland, N.Y. Under her leadership, CALS secured organic certification for the Freeville Research Farm.

Henry was also credited with keeping a balanced budget, despite declining state support. Student applications and contributions from alumni and friends increased, academic priorities were redefined, the vision and mission were rearticulated and administrative services were streamlined. The award is sponsored by New York Farm Bureau Member Services.

Stacey Shackford is a staff writer at the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences.