April 13, 2009
AMES, Iowa - Awards were presented April 9 to Iowa State University College of Agriculture and Life Sciences faculty, alumni and students by the Iowa Chapter of the Honor Society of Agriculture, known as Gamma Sigma Delta.
Alumnus John Bonner received the Alumni Award of Merit. Bonner is the executive vice president and chief executive officer of the Council for Agricultural Science and Technology in Ames. The award is given to alumni who have contributed to the agriculture industry in exceptional ways.
Jerald DeWitt, director of the Leopold Center for Sustainable Agriculture at Iowa State, received the Distinguished Achievement in Agriculture Award. The award recognizes exemplary contributions to agriculture in the form of teaching, research, extension, international or other distinguished service.
Four Mission Awards were presented, which recognize faculty in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences who have made exceptional contributions in helping Iowa State achieve its mission. The Teaching Award was presented to James Kliebenstein, economics. The Research Award went to Tong Wang, food science and human nutrition. John Mabry, animal science, received the Extension Award.
Two people received the International Award - Rameshwar Kanwar, agricultural and biosystems engineering, and Aubrey Mendonca, food science and human nutrition.
Awards for exceptional service to the chapter were presented to Becky Johnson and Mike Duffy, both in the economics department.
The honor society also recognized two undergraduates. Ashley Stabenow of Liscomb, Iowa, received the Outstanding Sophomore Award. Stabenow is majoring in animal science. Mariko Peterson of Ceylon, Minn., received the Outstanding Senior Award. Peterson is majoring in microbiology. These awards are presented to students who earn the highest grade point average in the sophomore and senior classes.
Heidi Vittetoe of Washington, Iowa, a 1980 animal science graduate, and John Patience, who joined Iowa State's animal science faculty in September 2008, were inducted into the honor society. Also inducted were 33 undergraduate and veterinary medicine students and 24 graduate students.
New chapter officers were installed. They are Ed Braun, plant pathology, president; Howard Tyler, animal science, vice president; and Terri Bolyston, food science and human nutrition, secretary-treasurer.
The purpose of Gamma Sigma Delta is to encourage a high degree of excellence in the practice of agricultural pursuits and high standards of scholarship in all areas of agricultural science and education.