Ronnie Coffman serves as International Professor of Plant Breeding & Genetics (emeritus) in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences (CALS) at Cornell University.  He serves as Principal Investigator in the Next Generation Cassava project and Vice Chair of the Borlaug Global Rust Initiative (BGRI).  Previous positions include International Professor of Plant Breeding & Genetics at Cornell University (1981-2022); Director of International Programs in CALS (2001-2022); Associate Dean for Research in CALS, and Director, Cornell University Agricultural Experiment Station (1993-2001); Chair of the Department of Plant Breeding and Genetics at Cornell University (1987-1993 and 2001-2006), and Plant Breeder at the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) (1971-1981).  Coffman’s work has been important to the development of improved rice varieties grown on several million hectares throughout the world.  He has collaborated extensively with institutions in the developing world and has served as a board member for several international institutes.  Currently, he serves on the Board of Trustees of the American University of Beirut (emeritus), the Council of Advisors of the World Food Prize, and the Advisory Committee of the West Africa Center for Crop Improvement (WACCI).  In 2006 Coffman received the Chancellor’s Award for Faculty Service from the State University of New York.  In 2013 he was awarded the Inaugural World Agriculture Prize by the Global Confederation of Higher Education Associations for the Agricultural and Life Sciences (GCHERA).  In 2016 he was named Andrew H. & James S. Tisch Distinguished Cornell University Professor and received the Yaqui Award from CIMMYT.  In 2019 he was named as a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) and received the Outstanding Career Accomplishment Award from CALS, Cornell University.  In 2021 he received the African Plant Breeders Association (APBA) Distinguished Award for Meritorious Service.  His Ph.D. is from Cornell University (thesis research supervised by Norman Borlaug in Mexico) and undergraduate work was done at the University of Kentucky, his home state.