UW-Madison College of Agricultural and Life Sciences Dean Molly Jahn will step down Jan 1., according to the university.
Chancellor Biddy Martin and Provost Paul DeLuca announced Jahn's resignation Thursday.
Jahn, who has served as dean since 2006, will take a half-time faculty position in the departments of agronomy and genetics. She will also temporarily act as a special adviser to the chancellor and provost for sustainability sciences.
Beginning July 31, 2011 Jahn will no longer serve as adviser and will become a full-time faculty member.
Jahn, who came to Wisconsin from Cornell University, is a plant geneticist who is known for her research on economically important plant traits and breeding new vegetables.
Jahn was the first woman to serve as Dean of the College of Agricultural and Life Sciences.
While Jahn served as dean, the college's structural deficit was eliminated and the school was granted $130 million from the U.S.
Department of Energy to create the Great Lakes Bioenergy Research Center, according to the university.
