Parham named new APHIS administrator

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In March the Department of Agriculture announced Dr. Gregory L. Parham had been named administrator of the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, the agency responsible for protecting the health and value of the nation's agriculture and natural resources as well as administering the Animal Welfare Act.

Dr. Gregory L. Parham
Dr. Parham

Dr. Parham is a 1980 graduate of The Ohio State University College of Veterinary Medicine and comes to the job after more than 30 years of federal service. He has an extensive background in science, business, and academic arenas.

Since joining the USDA is 1982, Dr. Parham has worked for several USDA agencies, including the Food Safety and Inspection Service; Cooperative State Research, Education, and Extension Service (now the National Institute of Food and Agriculture); and Office of the Chief Information Officer.

Dr. Parham joined APHIS in 2006 as the chief information officer and provided leadership for the agency's information technology initiatives. He then served two years as the deputy administrator for Marketing and Regulatory Programs–Business Services, providing resource management and administrative services support to APHIS, the Agricultural Marketing Service, and the Grain Inspection, Packers, and Stockyards Administration.

In November 2009, Dr. Parham became APHIS' associate administrator, a position in which he provided support and leadership to the agency's core science-based programs and international and trade activities. He succeeds Cindy Smith, who was APHIS administrator since 2007 and is the agency's new adviser on government, academia, and industry partnerships.

Dr. Parham, who holds a master's degree from Johns Hopkins University in administrative science, has also served as a University of Maryland adjunct graduate faculty member and is a diplomate of the American College of Veterinary Preventive Medicine.