Julie Weathers recently named chair of Department of Agriculture at Southeast

Julie Weathers has been around animals and agriculture her entire life.

"I grew up on a cattle and swine farm, and my dad was a high-school [agriculture] teacher, so I've always been a part of agriculture, it's just part of who I am," says Weathers, the first female chair of the Department of Agriculture at Southeast Missouri State University.

Originally from West Texas, "about as dry and hot as you can get from humid and hot," she says with a laugh, Weathers studied and earned her Ph.D. at Texas Tech University. While on a search for animal science jobs, Weathers set her sights on Southeast.

"I was going to graduate in May of 2010 with my Ph.D., so I started looking for assistant professor jobs or post-doc jobs, and I applied for one here and they hired me, so I started here and have really enjoyed my time here," she says.

After she worked in the department at Southeast for several years, the then-department chair, Dr. Michael Aide, decided to step down and be a full-time member of the faculty.

Dr. Julie Weathers, chair of the Department of Agriculture at Southeast Missouri State University, poses for a photo with cattle Thursday, July 6, at Barton Agriculture Research Center in Cape Girardeau.Andrew J. Whitaker

"... That meant that we would need to do an internal hire because there wasn't an open position to get a new department chair, and the faculty on the committee thought that I was the best candidate, so here I am," Weathers says.

Weathers became the chair of the department in mid-March.

"I'm excited about it," she says. "One of the things that I work on with our student body is that women are a minority in agriculture, so it's exciting for me to get to show them that you can be successful even as a woman in agriculture."

She says the department has done a great job of hiring female professors, lending to a team that has about equal male and female members on the faculty.

"That's exciting because not a lot of departments even have that [equality in] staffing going on," she says.

Although women may be considered a minority in the field of agriculture, Weathers has never considered that an issue.

"I have always said that it was just one of those things growing up, no one ever made a big deal about if you were male or female," she says. "If it was time to clean the barn, everybody in our family went outside and cleaned the barn, that's just what we did."

Her encouragement to female students or young women and girls interested in science- and agriculture-related fields is simple: you are capable of whatever you want to pursue.

"I've never really thought about the fact that being female meant that there were things I couldn't do, and I think that's the main thing, is just remember that you can do anything that you set your mind to," she says. "If it's what you truly want to do, then don't let being a minority stop you from that."

As department chair, Weathers teaches a half load, meaning two classes per semester. For her, discovering passions and gaining understanding is what makes the teaching process worthwhile.

"I like to see when people start to understand ideas and concepts, like, you can really see those ideas click, and I like to see people be successful in what their goals are," she says. "When you have somebody who truly wants to be a veterinarian and they get into vet school, that's as exciting for me as I think it is for them. I like to be able to see people put those concepts together and really grow as someone who's here for higher education."

Along with educating students, her position includes budget administration and management of the university's array of agricultural facilities, including the Charles Hutson Horticulture Greenhouse, the Charles Nemanick Alternative Agriculture Garden, the David M. Barton Agriculture Research Center in Gordonville and more. She also coordinates with faculty and makes sure the department runs smoothly.

"The really nice part is that our faculty work really well together, so that piece is kind of already going for me and I just have to help manage, help improve communication, things like that so that nobody's out in the dark with what's happening," she says.

Although Weathers enjoys working with students, the more clerical details of her position also have a certain appeal.

"I love working with students, so I think that will always be at the top of my list, and I think if you're going to be in higher education that should be at the top of your list ... but I enjoy the management and getting to know all the details and how things work and why they work this way and what the rules and intricacies are, so I enjoy that part, too," she says.

Weathers found a home in Southeast, and she hopes to continue her work in the area for the time being.

"I really enjoy this and hopefully will get to do this for a while longer and then see where that takes me, but I really enjoy my time here, so I think this is a good place for me."