Henry Perly Rusk (July 18, 1884 – January 9, 1954) was an American academic, administrator, and agronomist.
[4][3] In 1910, he joined the faculty of University of Illinois, working in beef cattle research.
[4][5] He was head of the Department of Animal Sciences from 1922 to 1939 and also served as dean of the College of Agriculture for thirteen years, starting in 1939 until his retirement.
[2] He was an advocate for government control of agriculture and was a frequent public speaker on this subject.
[3] He also had leadership roles with the Farm Foundation, the Illinois State Fair, and the National Research Council.
[9][3][10] The American Farm Bureau Federation gave Rusk its gold medal in 1947 for distinguished service.
[2] On January 9, 1954, Rusk died in the Carle Memorial Hospital in Urbana, Illinois at the age of 69.
[1] His funeral was held in Smith Music Hall at the University of Illinois, with nearly 1,000 people in attendance.