Ashley Stokes joined UC Davis as its dean of the College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences in July 2025 from the University of Tennessee, where she was a professor of veterinary large animal clinical sciences. Stokes served as dean of the University of Tennessee Institute of Agriculture’s UT Extension from 2021 to 2024 and oversaw a $100 million budget and 1,000 faculty and staff. As dean, she helped diversify the division’s funding streams and more than doubled grant and contract awards over its pre-COVID-19 levels. Her direction and partnership led Tennessee’s governor to include $46 million in the state budget to build new hands-on learning STEM and outdoor education centers. Stokes helped secure $16.5 million to endow a new 4-H center, the largest endowment of any 4-H & Youth Development Center in Tennessee’s history. With her team, they transformed and developed new programs for employees, earning them the prestigious “Employer of the Year” in 2023 from a prominent international administrative organization across numerous industry sectors.

Stokes has more than 30 years of experience in higher education, including six years at Colorado State University, where she was associate vice president for engagement and extension, assistant dean for admissions and student success, and interim senior director of CSU Online. 

Stokes earned a Bachelor of Science degree in physiological psychology from the University of Alabama, a Doctor of Veterinary Medicine and a Ph.D. in cardiovascular physiology and pharmacology from Louisiana State University, and an MBA from Colorado State University.