Walter Gassman, a professor of plant science and technology, received the 2026 Provost’s Award for University Citizenship in Leadership.  

This award recognizes Mizzou faculty who have demonstrated exemplary university citizenship through faculty leadership. 

Gassman is also the director and lead investigator of the Bond Life Sciences Center (LSC). As director, he works with the Vice Chancellor for Research to develop and implement plans for growth of Mizzou’s research enterprise. That includes partnering with academic units to attract research groups to Mizzou and Bond LSC. 

In the Walter Gassmann Lab at Bond LSC, Gassman works alongside other researchers focusing on innate plant immunity. He enjoys mentoring junior researchers in his lab, who study the plant innate immune system and the pathogens that attack plants. The research in his lab works to understand plant immune regulatory systems to ultimately generate plants with increased pathogen defenses. 

Gassman is a member of the Interdisciplinary Plant Group (IPG) and was elected a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) in 2016. He began as an assistant professor of plant microbiology and pathology at Mizzou in 2000. He has served as director of Bond LSC since 2021.