Barb Clawson, student services specialist and rank-only adjunct associate professor in horticulture, is the recipient of the staff 2024 Service and Dedication Award from the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences at Iowa State University. For 25 years, she has been serving undergraduate students, the department, the college and industry.
For entering freshmen and transfer students, Clawson is often the first person they meet. She teaches HORT 110 and is their advisor for the first semester. She was instrumental in starting the Horticulture Learning Community, which she has coordinated for 25 years. She is also an advisor for the Horticulture Club. “Our reputation for fostering a nurturing, student-centered and highly relevant undergraduate program is linked directly to the efforts of Barb Clawson,” states a colleague.
Clawson’s service to the department and student recruitment is also extensive. She leads the scholarship committee, coordinates the annual Horticulture Career Night, an event for students to network with horticulture-related employers, and is an advisor for Phi Alpha Xi, the Department of Horticulture’s Honor Fraternity. Working closely with FFA, she makes sure students know about the field of horticulture and that tours are offered of horticulture-related industries during the state FFA Convention. In the summer, she will judge 4-H shows for horticulture crops, going out of her way to help recruit and represent Iowa State.
On the college level, Clawson has helped develop community college transfer articulation agreements. For the past seven years, she has been an advisor for Alpha Zeta Agriculture Honor Fraternity, and has served in every officer position for Gamma Sigma Delta, the honor society of agriculture. At the industry level, she represents Iowa State while volunteering with various organizations in the horticulture industry, like the Iowa Nursery and Landscape Association and the Iowa Turfgrass Conference. At these events, Clawson has a steady line of former students wanting to shake her hand and thank her or reminisce about a story from their undergraduate time at Iowa State.