Rate My Professor Anthony Kern

Anthony Kern serves as Associate Vice Chancellor for Agriculture, Natural Resources, and Math, Science, and Technology at the University of Minnesota Crookston. He holds a professorial appointment with tenure in the Math, Science, and Technology Department. Prior to this appointment in 2017, Dr. Kern was associate professor of biology and chair of the Biology and Chemistry Department at Morningside College in Sioux City, Iowa, where he began teaching in 2012. Before joining Morningside, he spent ten years on the faculty at Northland College in Ashland, Wisconsin, serving as president of the Northland College Faculty Council and receiving a faculty merit award for outstanding research and scholarship. Dr. Kern earned his Ph.D. in plant genetics from Montana State University in Bozeman in 2002, his master's degree from the same institution, and his bachelor's degree from the University of South Dakota.

Dr. Kern's research scholarship centers on agro-ecological and conservation genetics, emphasizing restoration ecology of wild rice (Zizania palustris L.) and population genetics of American hazelnut. Notable publications include the chapter 'Maintaining Food Value of Wild Rice (Zizania palustris L.) Using Comparative Genomics' co-authored with University of Minnesota faculty in the book Genomics of Plant Genetic Resources. Additional works encompass genetic diversity, conservation, and threats to wild rice populations; improved remote sensing methods to detect northern wild rice; and genetic analysis of wild and cultivated populations of northern wild rice, published in bioRxiv in 2022. Towards Stewardship of Wild Species and Their Domesticated Counterparts: A Case Study in Northern Wild Rice represents another contribution. He has also co-authored articles on agroforestry systems and plant genomics. At Morningside College, Dr. Kern received the 2014 Sharon Walker Faculty Excellence Award recognizing his contributions to teaching and scholarship. His work supports experiential learning in agriculture, natural resources, biology, and related fields at UMN Crookston.