Alumnus Michael Kidd to Lead University's Poultry Science Department

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Michael T. Kidd

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — Milo J. Shult, University of Arkansas System vice president for agriculture, and Sharon L. Gaber, University of Arkansas provost, have announced that Michael T. Kidd has been appointed director of the Center of Excellence for Poultry Science and head of the department of poultry science. Kidd is currently head of the poultry science department at Mississippi State University. He is scheduled to assume his new position January 25.

The Center is a multidisciplinary unit of the statewide University of Arkansas Division of Agriculture. As center director, Kidd will provide leadership for multidisciplinary research and extension programs in poultry science and related disciplines. As department head, he will be responsible for academic programs in poultry science within Dale Bumpers College of Agricultural, Food and Life Sciences on the Fayetteville campus, which offers bachelors, masters and doctoral degree programs in poultry science.

Shult said, “I am confident that under Dr. Kidd’s leadership, the Center of Excellence for Poultry Science and department of poultry science will continue to provide world-class research, teaching and extension programs.”

“Arkansas is a national leader in poultry production, and we are dedicated to meeting the needs of this vital industry for research and development and the education of future leaders,” Shult added. “Dr. Kidd has demonstrated that he understands how university scientists can help the industry solve problems and develop opportunities for long-term growth. He also has significantly increased poultry science student enrollment as department head at Mississippi State.”

A native of El Dorado, Kidd has bachelor’s and master’s degrees from the University of Arkansas in poultry science. His doctorate is from North Carolina State University, with a major concentration in nutrition and a minor in immunology.

After receiving his doctorate in 1994, Kidd became research manager at Nutri-Quest, Inc., in Chesterfield, Mo. He was promoted to research director in 1998 at Nutri-Quest, which produces animal nutrition products.

Kidd joined the Mississippi State faculty in 1999 and has headed the poultry science department there since 2007. He is recognized as an authority on amino acids in poultry nutrition and has published extensively on the impact of nutrition on immune responses of birds. He has published over 300 scientific articles.

In 2005, Kidd received an award for the scientific publication that had the most impact on Mississippi Agriculture from the Mississippi Agriculture and Forestry Experiment Station. His identification of the specific amino acids that are most limiting to growth and feed efficiency was credited with helping poultry producers provide better and more cost-effective diets for broiler chickens.

>Kidd said, “The Center of Excellence for Poultry Science is uniquely positioned to provide multidisciplinary research efforts for both short and long term needs. The poultry science department’s academic program is also key to serving Arkansas by providing future poultry industry and academic leaders. I look forward to leading the center and department and serving the state’s largest agricultural commodity through the land-grant missions of teaching, research and extension.”