Dr. Richard H. Linton brings expertise in food science, academic-industry collaboration insight to Kansas City agtech-animal health innovator.

KANSAS CITY, Mo.—March 23, 2022—Dr. Richard H. Linton, president of Kansas State University, has joined the Board of Directors of TechAccel LLC, effective immediately. 

TechAccel, based in Overland Park, Kansas, is a technology and venture development organization investing in scientific breakthroughs to produce healthier plants, animals and foods. It was founded in 2014 by Michael Helmstetter, Ph.D. with support of Kansas State University and an elite investment group of Kansas City-area business leaders. 

Dr. Linton assumed the leadership of K-State following the Feb. 11, 2022, retirement of former President Richard Myers. Myers also had previously served on the Board of Directors of TechAccel. 

“We look forward to working with Dr. Linton on the Board,” said Greg M. Graves, chair of the TechAccel Board of Directors. “We welcome his expertise, leadership, and insights, especially his vast experience in food science, agriculture and technology. It will be a pleasure to continue expanding our strong and mutually beneficial relationship with K-State.” 

Dr. Linton comes to K-State from North Carolina State University, where he was dean of the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences. Prior to that position, he was department chair of food science and technology at The Ohio State University (2011-12) and a faculty member in the department of food science at Purdue University (1994-2011). While at Purdue, he served as founder and director of the Center for Food Safety Engineering and as the associate director of agricultural research program. 

“Much of my career has been focused on bringing leadership in agriculture and life sciences together in partnership to solve the global challenges of agriculture and food systems,” said Dr. Linton. “I’m honored to be a part of this board, and I look forward to contributing.”

“Dr. Linton has a background of collaboration with industry and government to address global agricultural challenges – a perfect alignment with the TechAccel mission, where we like to say, ‘Collaboration is the engine of success,’” said Dr. Helmstetter. “We look forward to working together to advance science, create jobs, and introduce solutions for healthy plants and animals.”

In addition to Dr. Linton’s academic roles, he continues to serve as a member of the Food and Drug Administration’s Science Advisory Board and as chair for the Binational (Israel/US) Ag Research and Development Fund. 

Dr. Linton joins an elite board of founding TechAccel investors: Paul DeBruce, CEO of DeBruce Cos.; Jeffrey Dobbs, former Global Chair of KPMG LLP International Industrial; Terry Dunn, former CEO of JE Dunn Construction Group Inc.; Cliff Illig, former vice chairman of Cerner; Roshann Parris, founder and CEO of Parris Communications; and John Sherman, CEO of MLP Holdings, in addition to Chairman Graves, former CEO of Burns & McDonnell; and Dr. Helmstetter. 

Dr. Linton holds a bachelor’s degree in biology, a master’s degree in food science and a doctorate in food science, all from Virginia Tech University. He participated in the Food Systems Leadership Institute from 2009-2011 and completed the Harvard Graduate School’s Institutional Educational Management Program in 2018.

Dr. Linton and his wife Sally, an ADHD/executive function life coach, have two children. 

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About TechAccel
TechAccel LLC is a Kansas City-based technology and equity company investing in scientific breakthroughs to produce healthier plants, animals and foods. Founded in 2014 as a first-of-its-kind technology and venture development enterprise, TechAccel sources, invests in and acquires early-stage innovations in the agriculture, animal health & nutrition, and food technology sectors. Through collaborations with universities and research institutions and in its own laboratories, TechAccel conducts advancement and de-risking research and development to ready technologies for commercialization. For more information, visit www.techaccel.net. Follow us on Twitter at @Tech_Accel.

About Kansas State University
Kansas State University is a comprehensive, research, land-grant institution serving students and the people of Kansas, the nation, and the world. Since its founding in 1863, the university has evolved into a modern institution of higher education, committed to quality programs and responsive to a rapidly changing world and the aspirations of an increasingly diverse society. K-State has campuses in Manhattan, Olathe and Salina — home of the Aerospace and Technology Campus — as well as K-State Online, which serves distance education students around the world. K-State Research and Extension also serves the citizens of Kansas through a variety of ways, with personnel, offices, research centers, programs and more. The university is known as the "Silicon Valley" for biodefense because of its leadership in food safety and security and agrodefense.