AMES, Iowa -- An Iowa State University faculty member has received national recognition for teaching excellence and engaging and preparing students for the future.
Michael Retallick, an associate professor of agricultural education and studies, received the New Teacher Award at the Food and Agricultural Sciences Excellence in College and University Awards Program at the Association of Public and Land-Grant Universities (APLU) annual meeting in Denver on Nov. 11.
Retallick was one of two recipients of the New Teacher Award, which honors college and university instructors who demonstrate a commitment to a career in teaching and exhibit meritorious teaching with seven or less years of experience in higher education.
"Dr. Retallick is a tremendous role model for prospective and current agriculture teachers," said David Acker, associate dean for academic and global programs in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences. "He has demonstrated exceptional scholarship of teaching and learning, especially in the area of experiential learning and student-centered and active learning."
Retallick is the seventh ISU College of Agriculture and Life Sciences faculty member to receive an award in the national program in the past six years. The award program is sponsored by APLU and the U.S. Department of Agriculture's National Institute of Food and Agriculture.
Retallick, who joined the ISU faculty in 2006, teaches undergraduate and graduate courses in agricultural education and experiential learning. He directs the college's Science With Practice program, which links learning opportunities with on-campus work experiences. The program provides meaningful paid internships for undergraduate students who also earn class credit for what they learn. Hundreds of Science With Practice students majoring in agriculture and life sciences fields have benefited from working with faculty and staff mentors in nearly every department or unit in the college.
Retallick advises 50 undergraduates and 12 graduate students each semester. His research focuses on experiential learning related to formal education at high schools and in higher education.
The New Teacher Award is the third national honor Retallick has received this year. In July, he received the Teacher Fellow Award at the North American Colleges and Teachers of Agriculture Conference. In October, the American Association for Agricultural Education presented him with the Outstanding Early Career Agricultural Educator Award for the north-central region.
He also has received ISU's Award for Early Achievement in Teaching and the ISU College of Agriculture and Life Sciences' Outstanding Advisor and Early Achievement in Teaching awards. He was an inaugural member of the college's Louis M. Thompson Academic Advising Academy.
Retallick earned a bachelor's degree in agricultural education from the University of Wisconsin at Platteville, a master's degree in agribusiness from Kansas State University and a Ph.D. in agricultural education from Iowa State University.
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