Bumpers College Grad Goldmon Named USDA's Senior Adviser for Racial Equity

Whit Pruitt, University Relations

Dewayne Goldmon is a two-time U of A graduate, earning bachelor and master's degrees from Bumpers College.

Dewayne Goldmon, a farmer in southeast Arkansas who has more than 30 years of experience in the agricultural sector and a U of A alumnus, has been named senior adviser for racial equity to the Secretary of Agriculture, the U.S. Department of Agriculture recently announced.

Goldmon is a two-time graduate of U of A's Dale Bumpers College of Agricultural, Food and Life Sciences, earning bachelor's (1985) and master's (1987) degrees before earning his Ph.D. from Iowa State University, all in agronomy.

He has been a member of Bumpers College's Dean's Partnership Council since 2015.

Goldmon served the past year as executive director of the National Black Growers Council, a Washington, D.C.-based organization that advocates to improve the efficiency, productivity and sustainability of Black row crop farmers.

"We need to accelerate a transformation of our food system, and that begins with embracing a call for racial justice and equity across food, agriculture and rural America," said Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack in a USDA release. "With Dewayne's guidance, we will build a USDA that represents and serves all Americans—a USDA that is committed to ensuring equity across the department, removing barriers to access and rooting out systemic discrimination, and building a workforce that reflects all of America."

"I am proud that Dr. Goldman has earned this opportunity, and I know he will do an excellent job," said Bumpers College Dean Deacue Fields. "He has been consistently engaged with Bumpers College and a champion for diversity, inclusion and equity.  I look forward to our continued partnership."

After four years as a field researcher with American Cyanamid (acquired by BASF), Goldmon joined Monsanto Company (acquired by Bayer Crop Sciences) in 1995. He held various positions in technology development, where he conducted research on all southern row crops and managed research and development trials in soybeans, rice and cotton.

He has also worked on Monsanto's government affairs team and in human resources, retiring as the outreach lead for Bayer Crop Sciences in 2019.

 Throughout his education and career, he has worked on diversity initiatives and maintained working relationships with several land-grant universities and community-based organizations.

About the Dale Bumpers College of Agricultural, Food and Life Sciences: Bumpers College provides life-changing opportunities to position and prepare graduates who will be leaders in the businesses associated with foods, family, the environment, agriculture, sustainability and human quality of life; and who will be first-choice candidates of employers looking for leaders, innovators, policy makers and entrepreneurs. The college is named for Dale Bumpers, former Arkansas governor and longtime U.S. senator who made the state prominent in national and international agriculture. For more information about Bumpers College, visit our website, and follow us on Twitter at @BumpersCollege and Instagram at BumpersCollege.

About the University of Arkansas: The University of Arkansas provides an internationally competitive education for undergraduate and graduate students in more than 200 academic programs. The university contributes new knowledge, economic development, basic and applied research, and creative activity while also providing service to academic and professional disciplines. The Carnegie Foundation classifies the University of Arkansas among fewer than 3% of colleges and universities in America that have the highest level of research activity. U.S. News & World Report ranks the U of A among its top American public research universities. Founded in 1871, the University of Arkansas comprises 10 colleges and schools and maintains a low student-to-faculty ratio that promotes personal attention and close mentoring.