The American Society for Enology and Viticulture (ASEV) has confirmed Dr. James Kennedy as the 2013-2014 president. Chair of the Department of Viticulture and Enology at California State University, Fresno, Kennedy succeeds Leticia Chacón-Rodríguez of Treasury Wine Estates to lead the ASEV’s 12-member board.

“It is an honor to serve an organization as established as ASEV,” Kennedy said. “I hope to enhance the legacy of my predecessors, which directly impacts ASEV’s value to the industry today and in the future.”

Kennedy has been an active ASEV member since 1991, serving as a board director and officer, policy committee chair, member of the Unified Wine & Grape Symposium program development committee and a current member of the Unified Wine & Grape Symposium LLC managing committee. He has also served as an associate editor of the American Journal of Enology and Viticulture since 2003.

In addition to his ASEV service, Kennedy is a member of the California Raisin Marketing Board, San Joaquin Valley Winegrowers Association, Australian Society of Oenology and Viticulture and American Chemical Society, Division of Agricultural and Food Chemistry. He received a Fulbright Scholarship at the University of Bordeaux in 2005 and has conducted research and published extensively in the field of grape and wine phenolic chemistry.

Formed in 1950 as a professional society dedicated to the interests of enologists, viticulturists and others in the fields of wine and grape research and production, the ASEV’s membership of more than 2,100 includes professionals from wineries, vineyards, and academic institutions and organizations. For more information, visit www.asev.org.