Prof Albert Modi has been the Dean and Head of the School of Agricultural, Earth & Environmental Sciences since November 2011. He was employed by the then University of Natal in 1996 and has been associated with University of KwaZulu-Natal (UKZN) since then. Before joining the University, he was provincial agronomist for PHI-Hibred International, a position that exposed him to the agronomy and rural development issues. He has also worked as the CEO of the Moses Kotane Institute for Science and Technology, which he established in 2008, while he was the adjunct Professor of UKZN. His agronomy research focuses on traditional/indigenous crops.