Dr. Donn Cummings represents “passion and dedication”. He is widely recognized for his impactful leadership and service in the area of plant breeding and genetics. Many professional organizations have benefited tremendously from his active contributions: Crop Science Society of America (CSSA), American Society of Agronomy (ASA), National Council of Commercial Plant Breeders (NCCPB), American Seed Trade Association (ASTA), Plant Breeding Coordinating Committee (PBCC), and National Association of Plant Breeders (NAPB). 

As a founding member of the NAPB, Dr. Cummings has served as the NAPB Membership Committee Chair, initiated the NAPB’s Borlaug Scholars Program, spearheaded the development of the NAPB Strategic Plan, and seeded its largest financial donation. During a 30-year career with Pfizer Genetics, DeKalb, and Monsanto, Dr. Donn Cummings was a highly successful corn breeder, Station Manager and Area Research Director. He became Monsanto’s Global Breeder Sourcing Lead in 2007, where he provided overall leadership and global strategic planning to build and maintain a Ph.D. and M.S. level plant breeder talent pipeline for Monsanto. 

Retirement has a different meaning for Dr. Cummings, and he has continued to lead and contribute to plant breeding and genetics since 2015 by serving in NAPB, ASTA, CSSA, and Agronomic Science Foundation (ASF). Dr. Cummings was born and raised in Indiana, and currently resides in Brownsburg, IN. He received his B.S. in Biology Education in 1971 and M.S. in Plant Breeding and Genetics in 1973 from Purdue University, and Ph.D. in Plant Breeding and Genetics in 1977 from the University of Minnesota. Besides being named as Monsanto Scientific Fellow in 2007, he was awarded Agronomic Service Award by ASA in 2015, Outstanding Career Award by NCCPB/ASTA in 2015, and Friends of Plant Breeding Award by NAPB in 2020.

The Raymond F. Baker Center for Plant Breeding at Iowa State University is pleased to announce that Dr. Donn Cummings will be presented the award at the Raymond F. Baker Plant Breeding Symposium:

When:  Award ceremony on March 22, 2024
Where: The Iowa State University Alumni Center
            429 Alumni Lane, Ames, Iowa 50011-1403
More information about the symposium can be found here: Raymond F. Baker Plant Breeding Symposium