FARGO, N.D. - North Dakota State University is without a permanent animal science department head again. Ken Grafton, dean of the college of agriculture, on Feb. 5 announced in an internal memo that David Buchanan on Jan. 29 had resigned, asking to return to a teaching post immediately, citing unspecified personal reasons.
"At no time did he say anything negative about the department, the faculty, the college or any other unit in the university," Grafton wrote in an e-mail memo. Grafton said he accepted the resignation with "regret" and called Buchanan's "stellar." Greg Lardy is serving as acting chair. A committee will form to name an interim head within six weeks, followed by a "separate more inclusive search" for a permanent head. Buchanan's father had held the post from 1946 to 1976. Buchanan graduated from NDSU in 1975 and had been at Oklahoma State University from 1980 to 2007.
