About

Dr. Jeffrey Beasley is the Marion F. Bass Endowed Professor of Agriculture in the Department of Biology at UNC Pembroke. He joined UNCP in November 2023 and looks forward to the opportunity to bring his experiences in agriculture to the students of UNCP and citizens of the surrounding areas of Robeson County.

Jeffrey was born and raised in Greenville, North Carolina, before leaving the state to begin his academic and professional journey with graduate degrees in Crop Science from Virginia Tech and in Natural Resource and Environmental Sciences at the University of Illinois, before accepting a position as an assistant professor in the School of Plant, Environmental, and Soil Sciences at Louisiana State University. During his seventeen years at LSU, Jeffrey was involved in many aspects of agriculture including teaching, research, and extension activities. He not only taught various agriculture courses, but he was instrumental in the modernization of the LSU horticulture undergraduate teaching curriculum where he led efforts to develop a new concentration in medicinal plants. He believes undergraduate education is the bedrock for institutions of higher learning.

Jeffrey’s initial research activities at LSU helped the United States Army Corp of Engineers strengthen the New Orleans Metropolitan Area Hurricane and Storm Damage Risk Reduction System in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. His research examined establishment protocols for soft armoring levees with vegetation. These efforts led to cooperative research with Colorado State University evaluating innovative technology to reduce erosion from wave overtopping, a damaging force that leads to levee failures. Since his early work, Jeffrey has evolved his research to investigate best management practices (BMP) and/or sustainable alternatives in fertility of various plant species. This has led to a range of projects with various collaborators that have included: developing BMP during establishment for runoff prone areas, evaluating organic fertilizers as alternative nutrient sources, using black soldier fly as method for waste reduction as well as waste reutilization, evaluation of drones equipped with light detection and ranging (LIDAR) for use in agricultural fields, and developing environmental practices to retain nutrients onsite.

One of Dr. Jeffrey Beasley’s major efforts at UNCP will be to increase undergraduate student participation in agricultural research. As someone who has mentored over fifty undergraduates and fifteen graduate students, he has come to believe many students are intimidated by the idea of research. Students believe they are not up to the task of conducting their own research projects, and they struggle to start. What he plans to do is take students’ inquisitive nature and help them develop simple questions from which they can conduct meaningful research. Students will not only gain an appreciation and understanding for the research process, but more importantly students will become empowered and confident contributors. This will open doors to students looking to go right to work upon graduation or being competitive for acceptance into regional Land Grant institutions for furthering their education in agriculture. He expects that over time these experiences with UNCP undergraduate students will lead to students sharing their experiences in the surrounding community through demonstrations at the Deep Branch Facility and to mentoring K-12 students to support their interests in agriculture.

Outside of the office, Jeffrey enjoys spending time with his wife, Kendall, two daughters, Lily and Lottie, and dog and three cats. He really missed the wide array of outdoor opportunities North Carolina provides from the coast to the mountains. On breaks from UNCP, Jeffrey can be found making his way west to partake in hiking and water sports or simply relaxing at his home, working in the yard, or tinkering in his shop.