Dr. Rolston St. Hilaire (center), dean of the Jordan College of Agricultural Sciences and Technology, has been appointed by Gov. Gavin Newsom to the California State Board of Food and Agriculture. Fresno State photo

Dr. Rolston St. Hilaire, dean of the Jordan College of Agricultural Sciences and Technology at Fresno State, was appointed to the California State Board of Food and Agriculture by Gov. Gavin Newsom on Nov. 15.

 

Members are selected to represent a broad range of topics that are important to California’s farmers and ranchers, community stakeholders, citizens and the California State University and University of California academic systems.

 

“It’s a pleasure to have Dr. St. Hilaire as a representative to the State Board of Food and Agriculture,” said California Department of Food and Agriculture Secretary Karen Ross. “I congratulate Dr. St. Hilaire on his appointment and value his representation of the California State University System on the board.”

 

Fresno State alumnus Don Cameron (biology) serves as the president of the 15-member board that also includes Fresno State alumnus Mike Gallo (viticulture and enology). 

 

The board’s next meeting is on Dec. 3. Agendas for past and upcoming meetings demonstrate the board encourages public participation and input in a host of matters concerning evolving agriculture and food policy issues.

 

Members serve up to four-year terms and may be reappointed to the position.

 

“This is a special honor for me because the board works with multiple aspects of sustainable agriculture,” St. Hilaire said, “which is a concept we are equally committed to with our campus agricultural academic and research programs. California is known around the world as a leader in agricultural innovation and for trying to more effectively balance its resources among agricultural, urban and environmental needs.”

 

St. Hilaire advocates for food security and serves as Fresno State’s principal investigator for the Southwest USDA Regional Food Business Center. In August 2025, he will begin a one-year appointment as the president of the American Society for Horticultural Science, an association he joined in 1996.

 

He became Jordan College dean in September 2022 after serving as a plant science faculty and department head at New Mexico State University from 1998 to 2022. He was also a regents professor, New Mexico State’s highest faculty award, and oversaw its research and extension programs. 

 

He earned his Doctor of Philosophy degree in horticulture from Iowa State University, and his master’s and bachelor’s degrees from the University of Puerto Rico, Mayagüez. Each degree was in the horticulture field, and he received his department’s top of the class award as an undergraduate.