About Clinton Krehbiel:
Grew up near Moundridge, Kan. on a cattle and wheat farm. My dad farmed and managed a Simmental ranch and mom was a high school English and German teacher. I have one brother and two sisters. I was involved in 4-H, FFA and athletics growing up. I married my high school sweetheart, Shelly, in 1986. We have three daughters, Madison, Megan and Emma.
What is your position at the University of Nebraska?
I am the department head of animal science at the University of Nebraska–Lincoln.
What drew you to the University of Nebraska?
I earned my Ph.D. here at UNL in 1994, and spent nearly two years as a postdoc at USMARC. Shelly and I greatly enjoyed our time in Nebraska. Nebraska is an agriculture and natural resources state. We are blessed with an administration, all the way through the system, who understands the importance and value of agriculture to this state. Beyond that, they have had the vision to look forward at what our challenges/opportunities might be over the next 5, 25, 50 years, and put resources towards addressing those needs. Their philosophy and approach fits me very well. We are scholarship driven with the focus being on improving the quality of life for people in the state and around the world. The land-grant mission is balanced and still held in high regard. I am very excited to be a part of the University of Nebraska.
What aspect of working in an educational setting do you enjoy the most?
Interacting with and having a positive impact on students is the part I enjoy the most. The future is bright for animal science and agriculture in general. The current generation of students will have the opportunity to solve problems related to feeding a growing population with the same (or fewer) resources (land, water, etc.) than we have now. Being a part of providing them with the technical skills, life skills and motivation to be successful is very rewarding. Being in an academic environment where discovery and translation of new knowledge happens every day is also very rewarding.
What do you consider your greatest achievement?
In addition to helping raise three faithful daughters, I have been blessed to have had the opportunity to train some graduate students who have become very influential in the beef cattle industry and/or academia. I would consider having some degree of impact on their careers my greatest achievement. The excellent research we conducted together has been multiplied as a result of their success.
What is something that most people don’t know about you?
One advantage of growing up in a small town in rural America is the opportunity to get involved in many extracurricular activities. I enjoyed acting and singing in high school, and had the opportunity to attend college on a theatre scholarship.
What is your life like outside of work?
My family is my life outside of work. I have enjoyed keeping up with the activities of my daughters. I have also greatly enjoyed being involved in booster clubs, the school board and church activities.