UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – Leland Glenna, assistant professor of rural sociology in Penn State’s College of Agricultural Sciences, has received the 2007 Roy C. Buck Faculty Award in the Agricultural Sciences for his article, "University Administrators, Agricultural Biotechnology, and Academic Capitalism: Defining the Public Good to Promote University-Industry Relationships."

The award recognizes the best refereed article by an untenured faculty member in the college whose research involves the social or human sciences published in a scholarly journal in the previous two years. Co-authored with agricultural sociologists from the University of California at Davis and Clarkson University, Glenna’s article was published in the Fall 2007 issue of the Sociological Quarterly.

The article examines "academic capitalism," or how federal, state and university policies have expanded university-industry relationships and contributed to a commercialization of knowledge. Researchers surveyed top administrators at six prominent land-grant universities responsible for agricultural biotechnology research programs to determine how they see their role in promoting those relationships. A significant finding was that administrators tend to interpret their university’s mission in a way that is conducive to encouraging the relationships and to commercializing research discoveries.

"Leland's research examines the variables that lead to policies guiding research at our public universities," says Bruce McPheron, associate dean for research in the college. "The land-grant system is founded on the principles of knowledge discovery and dissemination. Our ‘stock-in-trade’ is the understanding that our recommendations are based upon science but are unbiased. The relationship of our faculty and industrial partners is important for all parties and for our stakeholders. Leland's work reminds us that we must be vigilant to protect the public-good aspects of our research."

Prior to joining the Penn State faculty in 2005, Glenna taught at Washington State University, the University of California at Davis and Cornell University. He has a bachelor’s degree in history from Hamline University, a master’s degree from the Harvard University School of Divinity and a doctorate in rural sociology from the University of Missouri.

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Editors: Contact Leland Glenna at 814-863-8636 or by e-mail at llg13@psu.edu.

Writer-Editor: Gary Abdullah 814-863-2708 gxa2@psu.edu