Lesley Oliver

Lesley Oliver was appointed the Associate Director of the Kentucky Agricultural Experiment Station (KAES) and Research Office in May of 2014.  She came to UK in 2009 as the Assistant Director of the KAES.  As Associate Director, she oversees the Agricultural Experiment Station’s federal capacity grant programs and helps develop programs and policies that promote faculty success in in obtaining extramural funding, partnering with industry, and managing grants and contracts. She serves as an advisor to nationally coordinated research projects related to animal nutrition, STEM in ag education, specialty crops and hemp production, and previously served on the Board of Directors for the Southern Rural Development Center. Economic development activities include service on UK’s Economic Development Collaborative and advisor to the Bluegrass AgTech Development Corp, a public-private partnership between the Martin-Gatton College, City of Lexington, Alltech and the Kentucky Department of Agriculture.  She also serves as one of the Martin-Gatton College’s liaisons to OneUK.

Before coming to UK, Lesley held multiple research administrative positions in Purdue University’s Agriculture Research Office and Discovery Park. Over the course of her administrative career, she has directly contributed to proposals that have garnered more than $30 million in awards.  She holds a B.S. in Natural Resources and Environmental Science and a M.S. in Agronomy (Soil Microbiology), both from Purdue.