UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — Wendy Clemens has been named the Alan R. Warehime Faculty Chair in Agribusiness in Penn State’s College of Agricultural Sciences, effective April 1.
In this role, Clemens will serve as director of the Entrepreneurship and Innovation Program in the college. She will lead efforts to advance entrepreneurial education and innovation across the college while teaching courses and supporting the college’s broader mission through research, public service and academic advising.
Additionally, she will serve as the college’s representative on the University’s Innovation Steering Committee and work to integrate and coordinate related activities across the University.
Clemens succeeds Dan Azzara, who recently retired from the University after more than a decade of service. Before joining Penn State, Azzara spent 26 years with the Hershey Co., where he served as senior vice president of global research and development. He continues to serve on the college’s Dean’s Leadership Council.
“Dan’s leadership and industry insight helped strengthen the agribusiness and Entrepreneurship and Innovation programs and deepen connections between the college and the private sector,” said Troy Ott, Peter and Ann Tombros Dean of the College of Agricultural Sciences. “Dan built a high-functioning team whose work was supercharged by generous philanthropic support from the Harbaugh and Warehime families, and we are grateful for his visionary leadership over the past decade.”
Ott added that at the same time, college leadership is excited to welcome Clemens, a Penn State alumna, saying, “Her extensive experience in research, development and commercialization, along with her collaborative, high-energy leadership style, will be a tremendous asset to our students and programs. As a dual-degree graduate of the college, Wendy has a deep understanding of our mission and a passion to advance the college’s impact across the commonwealth, the nation and the world.”
Clemens has more than 25 years of experience spanning basic research, drug development and commercialization in the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industry. She has held scientific and leadership roles in oncology, cell therapy, immunology and infectious diseases at leading organizations, including Bristol Myers Squibb, Tmunity Therapeutics, MedImmune/AstraZeneca and Merck & Co.
During her 15-year tenure with Bristol Myers Squibb, Clemens, of Bucks County, worked in both early- and late-stage research and development, helping advance novel immunotherapies from preclinical stages through proof-of-concept and commercialization for patients with serious diseases.
She said she is deeply committed to community engagement and STEM advocacy, and chairs the Bristol Myers Squibb STEM Council, which unites volunteers across the company to promote STEM education, inspire students and foster partnerships with colleges and communities.
Clemens earned a bachelor’s degree in animal bioscience and a doctorate in physiology from the University. She also holds a master’s degree in veterinary immunology from the University of Missouri. She completed her postdoctoral fellowship at the U.S. Food and Drug Administration Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research in Bethesda, Maryland.
The Alan R. Warehime Faculty Chair in Agribusiness was established through a gift from Alan R. Warehime, a 1935 graduate of agricultural economics at Penn State and former president and chairman of Hanover Foods Corp. His family continues to support the college’s entrepreneurship and innovation initiatives.