FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — Greg Weidemann, dean of Dale Bumpers College of Agricultural, Food and Life Sciences at the University of Arkansas, announced that Tyson Foods Inc. has endowed a new faculty chair and two new professorships.

Weidemann said current faculty members who are nationally recognized in their fields were named to the positions. They are Billy Hargis, holder of the Sustainable Poultry Health Chair; Gisela Erf, holder of the Avian Immunology Professorship; and Jean-Francois Meullenet, holder of the Food Sensory Science Professorship.

Investment returns from the endowments of $1.5 million for the chair and $500,000 for each professorship will be used for the teaching and research programs of each faculty member. The endowments were from a gift announced in June 2005 by Tyson Foods to the university’s Campaign for the Twenty-First Century. A total of $1.25 million from the Tyson gift has been designated for the endowed positions, and that amount was matched by the university’s matching fund program.

“We are pleased to be able to support the work of these three outstanding scientists. Their work is important to our industry, and will bring benefits to everyone involved in the poultry industry for years to come”, said John Tyson, chairman of the board of Tyson Foods.

Weidemann said, “I am extremely grateful to Tyson Foods for these endowments. They will strengthen three important programs conducted by scientists who are highly respected in academia and within the poultry and food industries. Their work has significant impact on the Arkansas economy.”

Weidemann said Hargis, Erf and Meullenet are also outstanding teachers and mentors to both undergraduate and graduate students. “They provide our students with the opportunity to study with scientists who are among the best anywhere in their disciplines,” he said.

Billy Hargis

Hargis is a professor of poultry science and director of the J.K. Skeeles Poultry Health Laboratory. His research focus is sustainable poultry health systems, including the use of probiotics and bacteriophage therapy as alternatives to chemicals for control of bacteria that can cause disease in poultry and food-borne illness in humans. Hargis has a Doctor of Philosophy degree and a doctorate in veterinary medicine from the University of Minnesota and is a diplomate of the American College of Poultry Veterinarians. He was a professor of veterinary pathobiology and poultry science at Texas A&M University prior to joining the UA faculty in 2000.

Gisela Erf

Erf, professor of poultry science, is one of the nation’s leading scientists studying the development and function of the immune system in poultry. Her research includes study of the Smyth line chicken, which exhibits a genetic autoimmune condition similar to vitiligo, which causes abnormal skin pigmentation in humans. Her work provides insight into immune function in poultry as well as humans. Erf has bachelor’s and master’s degrees in animal science from the University of Guelph in Ontario and a doctoral degree in immunology from Cornell University, Ithaca, N.Y.

Jean-Francois Meullenet

Meullenet, associate professor of food science, coordinates the Sensory Service Center for product testing provided by the food science department. His research focuses on sensory testing methods and the relationship between consumer acceptance and sensory properties of food. Meullenet has a master’s degree in food engineering from the National Superior School of Agronomy and Food Sciences in Nancy, France, and a doctoral degree in food science and technology from the University of Georgia.