Prof. Olga Bolden-Tiller – Minorities in Agriculture Natural Resources and Related Sciences

Dr. Olga U. Bolden-Tiller serves as the Head of the Department of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences (DAES) as well as the Assistant Dean of Development for the College of Agriculture, Environment and Nutrition Sciences (CAENS) at Tuskegee University (TU). She holds a BS degree in Agricultural Sciences (Animal Sciences) from Fort Valley State University and a PhD degree in Animal Sciences (Reproductive Biology) from the University of Missouri- Columbia where she matriculated as an USDA-National Needs Fellow.  Dr. Bolden-Tiller continued her training at the University of Texas-MD Anderson Cancer Center as an NIH Fellow in Reproductive Biology. In 2005, she joined Tuskegee University as an Assistant Professor.  Prior to obtaining her current position, Dr. Bolden-Tiller served as the Coordinator for the Animal, Poultry and Veterinary Sciences Program as well as the Assistant Chair for DAES.  In these roles, Dr. Bolden-Tiller established numerous collaborations with a variety of domestic and international organizations for Tuskegee University, a Minority Serving Institutions in the US, to build collaborations that promote Sustainable Agriculture Research, Teaching and Extension.   Dr. Bolden-Tiller has served as the Director for the NSF funded Integrative Biosciences Research Experiences for Undergraduates program at Tuskegee University and currently directs several summer pre-college programs, including AgriTREK, AgDiscovery, SciTREK, and DiscoveryTREK. In addition to her administrative duties described above and teaching duties, which include Introductory Animal Sciences, Reproductive Physiology, Advanced Reproductive Physiology, and Domestic Animal Anatomy and Physiology, Dr. Bolden-Tiller maintains a small, but robust research program that entails elucidating the molecular mechanisms of testicular function in rodents and ruminants. Her research and training programs are funded by the United States Department of Agriculture, the National Science Foundation, and the state of Alabama (Alabama Agricultural Land Grant Alliance). Collectively, Dr. Bolden-Tiller has served as a research mentor for over 50 high school, graduate (MS and PhD) and undergraduate students.  She is the author/co-author of numerous of refereed journal articles and conference proceedings and is an active member of numerous professional societies, serving in leadership roles in many, including the Minorities in Agriculture, Natural Resources and Related Sciences (MANRRS; President-Elect and Past Historian); American Society of Animal Sciences; and the Society for the Study of Reproduction (Board Member; Public Affairs Committee Liaison and Past Trainee Representative).  For her contributions, Dr. Bolden-Tiller has received several awards, including the TU College of Agriculture, Environmental and Natural Sciences’ Faculty Performance Award for Service (2008, 2017) and Teaching (2010) as well as the Russell Brown Distinguished Scientist Award (2013).  She is also recognized as an Opportunities for UnderRepresented Scholars (OURS) Fellow and is an alumnus of the Lead 21 Program, the Fielding/Conclave Leadership Academy and is currently a Food Systems Leadership Institute Fellow.