Land-Grant Faculty, Staff Earn Honors at Annual Ag Awards

MEDIA CONTACT

Mary Hightower

mhightower@uada.edu

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — Outstanding land-grant faculty and staff were honored Friday during the annual Agriculture Awards, held at the Don Tyson Center for Agricultural Sciences.

The event recognizes the achievements of those from the University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture and the Dale Bumpers College of Agricultural, Food and Life Sciences, representing the extension, research and teaching missions of the nation’s land-grant system in Arkansas.

“These awards do more than recognize the excellence in our ranks. Since our winners are nominated by their colleagues, these awards are an acknowledgement of the esteem in which their peers hold them,” said Deacue Fields, vice president-agriculture for the University of Arkansas System. “Nothing could be more gratifying for our professionals and our organization.”

The following were honored with John W. White Awards, which commemorate the first head of the Division of Agriculture.

• John W. White Outstanding Research Award – Kristen Gibson, professor of food safety and microbiology, who joined the Division of Agriculture in 2010 as a postdoctoral research associate in the Center for Food Safety.
• John W. White Outstanding Teaching Award – Nathan Kemper, an associate professor of community and rural economic development and the director of undergraduate and online programs in the department of agricultural economics and agribusiness.
• John W. White Outstanding Extension State Faculty Award – Laura Hendrix, professor, department of family and consumer sciences.
• John W. White Outstanding County Extension Educator Award – Brad McGinley, Grant County extension staff chair.
• John W. White Outstanding Team Award – Expanding the Fresh-Market Blackberry Industry Team: Aaron Cato, extension specialist-horticulture integrated pest management; Amanda McWhirt, extension specialist-horticulture crops, Jackie Lee, director of the Fruit Research Station, and Margaret Worthington, fruit breeder, all of the department of horticulture; and Renee Threlfall, associate professor, department of food science.

The following were honored with Outstanding Support Personnel Awards.

Program Area Awards

• Daniel McCarty – Rice breeding program associate based at the Rice Research and Extension Center.
• Julian Abram – Program technician in the biological and agricultural engineering department.

 Support Function Awards

• Dwain Ober – Farm foreman, Fruit Research Station.
• Karen DiCicco – Assistant director of information technology, Cooperative Extension Service.

Support Staff Awards 

• Genean Butler – Associate for administration for agriculture and natural resources.
• Tonya Foster – Administrative manager for the department of agricultural economics and agribusiness

John Anderson, head of the Cooperative Extension Service, said that our Agriculture Awards give us an annual reminder of the exceptional work being done in the Division of Agriculture and in Bumpers College across all or our land-grant mission areas.

“This year’s awardees are all highly deserving of recognition for the quality and the impact of their work. Our Extension winners – both individually and in their contribution to interdisciplinary teams – have clearly earned the respect of their colleagues,” he said. “Their work in linking the UA System directly to our stakeholders with practical, relevant, and impactful programming deserves to be recognized and celebrated. These awards give us an opportunity to do just that.”

RESEARCH — Jean-François Meullenet, director of the Arkansas Agricultural Experiment Station and senior associate vice president-research for the University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture, speaks at the 2024 Agriculture Awards. (U of A System Division of Agriculture photo)

“The faculty and staff we recognize this year are a testament to the level of achievement we aim for as an institution. They reflect our values and our mission to innovate and improve people’s lives,” said Jean-François Meullenet, director of the Arkansas Agricultural Experiment Station. “I am grateful for how these awardees set the standard for excellence with their impactful work.”

The following were honored with Bumpers College Awards:

• Outstanding Honors Thesis Mentor Award – Gisela Erf, an immunologist and holder of the Tyson Endowed Professorship in Avian Immunology in the department of poultry science and with the Center of Excellence for Poultry Science.
• Alumni Society Outstanding Advising – Stephanie Hubert, a senior instructor of apparel merchandising and product development in Bumpers College’s School of Human Environmental Sciences.
• Jack G. Justus Teaching – Christopher Estepp, associate professor in the department of agricultural education, communications and technology.
• Dean’s Award of Excellence for Professional Staff – Kristin Seals, associate director of facilities and special events with the Bumpers College dean’s office.
• Spitze Land Grant University Faculty Award for Excellence – Walter Bottje, professor in the department of poultry science.

Jeff Edwards, dean of Bumpers College, offered his “congratulations to everyone who is receiving an award. It gives me great pleasure to acknowledge members of the college faculty and staff who are being honored.

“We have the best faculty and staff on campus and these awards are a small way of recognizing all that they do,” Edwards said. “Their dedication to serving students, and others, stands out and I’m proud to have them representing Bumpers College as recipients of their respective awards.”

​To learn more about the Division of Agriculture research, visit the Arkansas Agricultural Experiment Station website. Follow us on 𝕏 at @ArkAgResearch, subscribe to the Food, Farms and Forests podcast and sign up for our monthly newsletter, the Arkansas Agricultural Research Report. To learn more about the Division of Agriculture, visit uada.edu. Follow us on 𝕏 at @AgInArk. To learn about extension programs in Arkansas, contact your local Cooperative Extension Service agent or visit uaex.uada.edu.

About the Division of Agriculture

The University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture’s mission is to strengthen agriculture, communities, and families by connecting trusted research to the adoption of best practices. Through the Agricultural Experiment Station and the Cooperative Extension Service, the Division of Agriculture conducts research and extension work within the nation’s historic land grant education system.

The Division of Agriculture is one of 20 entities within the University of Arkansas System. It has offices in all 75 counties in Arkansas and faculty on five system campuses.

The University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture offers all its Extension and Research programs and services without regard to race, color, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, national origin, religion, age, disability, marital or veteran status, genetic information, or any other legally protected status, and is an Affirmative Action/Equal Opportunity Employer.