Oklahoma State University and The Ohio State University Faculty Members Win USDA National Teaching Awards for Food and Agricultural Sciences

Austin, TX – The Association of Public and Land-grant Universities (APLU), today honored F. Bailey Norwood of Oklahoma State University and Ann D. Christy of The Ohio State University as recipients of the U.S. Department of Agriculture National Excellence in College and University Teaching Awards for Food and Agricultural Sciences. Six regional and two new teacher awardees were also named recipients of the 2016 Excellence in College and University Teaching Awards for Food and Agricultural Sciences. The awards, which celebrates university faculty for their use of innovative teaching methods and service to students, were presented at the 129th APLU Annual Meeting now underway in Austin, Texas.

In recognition of their scholarship, exemplary pedagogy and dedication to instruction, the annual awards include stipends of $5,000 for the national winners and $2,000 for regional and new teacher honorees to be used for improving teaching at their respective universities.

The six regional awards were presented to Elizabeth A. Applegate of the University of California, Davis;

Emily B. Buck of The Ohio State University; John Ewing of The Pennsylvania State University; Brian H. Lower of The Ohio State University; Zhu H. Ning of Southern University and A&M College; and Nicole L. P. Stedman of the University of Florida. Rebecca G. Lawver of Utah State University and Eric S. McLamore of the University of Florida each received best new teacher honors.

“Public universities’ primary mission is to educate students and inspire them to apply the skills and knowledge learned in the classroom to transform the world outside it,” said Ian Maw, Vice President of Food, Agriculture and Natural Resources at APLU. “Educators play a central role in helping students realize their full potential. This year’s winners of Excellence in College and University Teaching Awards for Food and Agricultural Sciences have demonstrated an uncompromising commitment to their students and the community they serve, and we’re delighted to spotlight their exceptional work in agricultural sciences.”

Details on the 2016 recipients of the Excellence in College and University Teaching Awards for Food and Agricultural Sciences follows:

Ann D. Christy, The Ohio State University

For Professor Christy, teaching is about inspiring and empowering students by engaging them in course content and the process of learning itself. Over the past 20 years, she has established herself as a master educator with a dedication and commitment to students and to the scholarship of teaching and learning. Prior to becoming a faculty member, she worked full-time in the engineering consulting industry – informing her teaching in courses such as bioenergy, biological engineering, environmental controls, professional development, thermodynamics, waste management, first-year engineering design, senior capstone design, and college teaching. She has won multiple teaching awards at the college, university, and national levels. Her research focuses on bioenergy, environment, and engineering education, and she has generated over 120 publications.

Her service includes mentoring graduate students and young faculty in their own teaching. She helped found and subsequently chaired the Education Division of the American Society of Agricultural and Biological Engineers. She also served as interim associate dean for undergraduate engineering education, provided faculty leadership in Ohio State’s transition from the quarter to semester system, and most recently was interim director of the Engineering Education Innovation Center. In that role, she facilitated the establishment of a new Department of Engineering Education, shepherding the relatively rare event of the birth of a new department.

She earned both her B.S. (agricultural engineering) and M.S. (biomedical engineering) from The Ohio State University, and her Ph.D. (environmental engineering) from Clemson University.

F. Bailey Norwood, Oklahoma State University

Students attend Professor Norwood’s lectures in diverse locations, from The Oklahoma State University football stadium to the local farmers market, and they learn everything from the economics of markets to retirement planning to the life of a dairy cow. One commonality across all his students, though, is an appreciation for his lively teaching style and earnest concern for their success in life.

Norwood holds the Barry Pollard, M.D. / P&K Equipment Professorship in the Department of Agricultural Economics, where he teaches and advises undergraduate students and conducts research on consumer preferences for food. He is the author of a textbook and two books on controversial agricultural topics and taught the first Massively Open Online Course (MOOC) at Oklahoma State University, titled Farm to Fork. Two of his four articles on teaching and advising have received awards.

He earned his B.S. from Clemson University, M.S. from Kansas State University, and Ph.D. from North Carolina State University.