Dr. Michael F. Potter

Provost’s Distinguished Service Professor Emeritus

mpotter@uky.edu

Dr. Michael Potter was an extension professor in the Entomology Department for 30 years, specializing in pests impacting people, buildings and property. He received his B.S. in entomology from Cornell, and M.S. and Ph.D. in integrated pest management from the University of Arizona. Prior to joining UK in 1991, Potter was the National Technical Director for Orkin. Before that he worked in the agrichemicals sector as a research entomologist and development manager for Union Carbide and Rhone-Poulenc.   His previous experience in industry helped him relate to clientele.     

Dr. Potter’s full-time university extension appointment aided millions of clients worldwide including householders, schools, hospitals, businesses, food and manufacturing facilities, museums, parks, government agencies, and the professional pest control industry.  He has been a keynote/invited speaker at hundreds of professional meetings and conducted interviews with news outlets around the world.

Dr. Potter also collaborated on societally important research. He was instrumental in pioneering perimeter treatment with non-repellent termiticides which simplified and economized how termites are managed throughout the world. Potter and his UK colleagues also worked at the forefront of the global bed bug resurgence, providing much-needed insight and direction to the public. He also helped Kentucky’s bourbon industry mitigate threats from wood-infesting beetles.

Dr. Potter is the only contemporary academician to be honored with the National Pest Management Association’s Pinnacle Award and to be inducted into the Pest Control Hall of Fame. In 2013, he was named Provost’s Distinguished Service Professor and was the 2016 recipient of the Entomological Society of America’s Distinguished Achievement Award in Urban Entomology. 

Potter and his wife Ellen retired in 2020 and moved to Eugene, Oregon to be closer to their two adult children, their families, and fly fishing.