September 16, 2009
AMES, Iowa - Twenty Iowa State University faculty and staff who received an award from Iowa State University Extension in 2009 were recognized Sept. 16 at the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences fall convocation.
Jerry Miller, associate dean for extension programs and outreach, and director of Agriculture and Natural Resources Extension, introduced the award winners, all of whom work primarily on the Iowa State campus. Award recipients working across Iowa were honored earlier at area meetings.
John Lawrence received a Meritorious Service award. Lawrence is an extension economist, economics professor and director of the Iowa Beef Center. He is recognized as a leading expert in the U.S. livestock industry, has achieved high credibility as a forecaster of livestock market conditions, and is an unbiased interpreter of the changing structure of Iowa's livestock industry. Lawrence has conducted research and shared the results with producers, policy makers and industry leaders.
Four people were recognized for a team achievement award in the educational category. They developed the Community Assessment Model, known as CAM, which objectively helps identify the best locations for swine barns relative to downwind residents. Those honored were Colin Johnson, program specialist with the Iowa Pork Industry Center; Steve Hoff, agricultural and biosystems engineering professor; Jay Harmon, agricultural and biosystems engineering professor and extension agricultural engineer; and John Tyndall, natural resources ecology and management assistant professor.
Two members of a 14-member team were honored for their part in the Northeast Iowa Food and Fitness Initiative. They were Cornelia Flora, Charles F. Curtiss Distinguished Professor in sociology, and Corry Bregendahl, assistant scientist, both affiliated with the North Central Regional Center for Rural Development. The initiative has laid the groundwork to improve the policies, practices and systems that determine how food arrives on tables and how communities can provide opportunities for physical activity for everyone.
Eight members of a 16-member team were honored for their part in a team achievement award in the organizational category. The project, titled Bioeconomy Conversations II: Food, Feed and Fuel, involved the development of a package of communication tools, including presentations, support materials and staff resources that can be used to facilitate local discussions surrounding the economic, social and environmental ramifications of the bioeconomy.
On-campus team members were Chad Hart, assistant professor of economics and extension economist; Dan Otto and John Lawrence, economics professors and extension economists; Charles Hurburgh, professor of agricultural and biosystems engineering and extension agricultural engineer; J. Gordon Arbuckle, assistant professor of sociology and extension sociologist; Matt Helmers, assistant professor of agricultural and biosystems engineering and extension agricultural engineer; Matt Liebman, Henry A. Wallace Endowed Chair for Sustainable Agriculture and agronomy professor; and Lisa Schulte, assistant professor of natural resource ecology and management.
Two members of a 13-member team were honored for their part in a team achievement award in the organizational category for their work with the Hawkeye Farm Show. The show has been a staple of agricultural education and product promotion in northeast Iowa for nearly 20 years, with Iowa State Extension providing the major educational component for the past 12 years. On-campus team members were Elwynn Taylor, agronomy professor and extension climatologist, and Robert Wisner, emeritus university professor of economics and extension economist.
The 2009 Scholarship and the Discovery/Engagement Partnership award went to the Corn and Soybean Initiative. The initiative partners with agribusinesses and media to provide science-based crop production information to corn and soybean growers to increase their productivity and global competitiveness while conserving the environment. Three of the 17-member team were recognized at the college convocation. They were Greg Tylka, plant pathology professor and extension plant pathologist, and Daren Mueller and Rich Pope, extension program specialists.
Those honored were selected from nominations submitted in February to the ISU Extension Awards Committee. Twenty-seven individuals and members of nine teams received awards.