Dr. Desmond R. Layne was born and raised in rural southern Ontario, Canada. He spent summers in high school working on fruit and vegetable farms near Lake Erie.
Following completing his B.S., M.S., and Ph.D. degrees in horticulture, he spent most of his professional career focused on research and extension outreach to solve problems and provide recommendations to fruit growers (especially cherry, peach, apple, strawberry, and the native American pawpaw). He has held extension and academic leadership roles at three different Land-Grant universities (Clemson University, Washington State University, and Auburn University).
He has earned numerous national professional awards and has provided leadership in two national scientific societies. He is a Fellow of both the American Society for Horticultural Science (ASHS) and the Food Systems Leadership Institute (FSLI). A popular public speaker, he has been interviewed by the NY Times, NPR's All Things Considered (twice), CBS Early Show and ABC's World News Tonight. He has worked in and trained farmers in countries including the Republic of Georgia, Canada, China, Italy, Australia, the Czech Republic, and Brazil.
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Keynote Presentation: FoodU In his role as Head of the Department of Horticulture at Auburn University, Dr. Layne has the privilege of working with amazing campus partners and collaborators on efforts designed to create exceptional student experiences that are distinctively Auburn. Committed to bringing fresh, locally grown food to students on campus, the FoodU program at Auburn University is an interdisciplinary effort between the College of Agriculture, College of Human Sciences, Campus Dining, and Ithaka Hospitality Partners. Horticulture students and those from a dozen other majors experience working with high-end customers — whether it’s campus dining (The Edge at Central Dining Facility), a luxury hotel (The Laurel) or a high-quality restaurant (1856 Culinary Residence) serving the food they have grown. They also learn to work with the latest technology in the field, sending them into the industry prepared to efficiently and sustainably feed the world’s growing population. FoodU transforms Auburn’s food infrastructure into a learning opportunity. Students are immersed in high-impact educational experiences, including growing food in campus facilities, exploring local sourcing in dining services, conducting food waste audits, and participating in sustainability projects. These experiences prepare students to lead in agriculture, food policy, environmental science and more. Faculty and students in the College of Agriculture work alongside partners in dining, hospitality and community development to solve real-world food system challenges. FoodU supports applied research on topics like supply chain transparency, food literacy, waste reduction and land use. These efforts aim to improve both campus operations and global food system thinking. On campus growing facilities include the E.W. Shell Fisheries Center, Lambert Powell Meats Lab, the Auburn University Transformation Garden, and the Garden on the Walt and Ginger Woltosz Rooftop Terrace at the Tony and Libba Rane Culinary Sciences Center.
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