Recipients
Recipient | Title and Unit | Date Announced | Selected | Reason for Selection |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Adam Marx | Associate Professor of Agricutural Education | April, 2024 | Angie Johnson | Dr. Marx has been instrumental in revitalizing and growing the agricultural and Extension education programs at NDSU. His passion to help coach and empower the next generation (and current generation) of agricultural education teachers and Extension professionals has helped the state of North Dakota cultivate exceptional youth and adult education professionals in our communities. Dr. Marx has a powerful vision to help students grow – both personally and professionally – by developing professionals who are equipped to mentor, teach, and navigate new challenges and opportunities that face our education systems and production agriculture. |
| Barb Mullins | Research Specialist, North Dakota Agricultural Weather Network (NDAWN) | April, 2024 | Susan Finneseth | Barb is vital to the integrity of the highly relied upon NDAWN through her quality control checks, management of equipment orders, field work to maintain stations, and so much more. Her quiet hard work and dedication safeguards reliable and accurate weather information from this trusted source for North Dakota. |
| Brian Jenks | Weed Scientist, North Central Research Extension Center | April, 2024 | Skott Knoke | Brian Jenks, area weed scientist, at the North Central Research Extension Center of Minot has been a ‘go-to’ researcher for problematic weed control strategies for many years. Applicators, industry representatives, and county agents continue to look to Dr. Jenks for sound recommendations. His enthusiasm to help with the war on weeds is an asset we have come to trust. |
Chris Anderson | Production Manager, Print and Copy Services, Ag Communication | April, 2024 | Andrew Thostenson | Chris is a valued member of the NDSU Pesticide Program. Even though he is not officially part of our program, he makes things work for us! He is affable, reliable, and inventive about getting publications printed and shipped. Frankly, without Chris managing that task, our Pesticide Program would grind to a halt. We have enormous respect for him and we are grateful that he is a member of NDSU Agriculture. |
Chris Augustin | Director, Dickinson Research Extension Center | April, 2024 | Penny Nester | Dr. Augustin has done an excellent job of bridging the gap between RECs and Extension. He shows excellent leadership and works to continue to expand the scope of the center in Dickinson to reach both urban and rural stakeholders. |
Diane Pennington | Business Coordinator, Ag Budget Office | April, 2024 | Angela Scott | Diane is the Business Coordinator for the School of Natural Resource Sciences and Ag & Biosystems Engineering. She keeps a positive attitude and recognizes the importance of staying efficient. She is consistent and employees know they can rely on her to get things done and keep things moving forward. I appreciate her willingness to pitch in and help if she sees someone struggling. She is kind, professional and her work ethic is contagious. |
Erik Hanson | Assistant Professor, Agribusiness and Applied Economics | April, 2024 | Kristi Schweiss | Dr. Hanson is the student advisor to the Agribusiness Club and in charge of Farm Credit AgCountry Fellows. Dr. Hanson continues to be an inspiration to past, present and future students. As a young person within academia myself, Erik has given me invaluable guidance to improve my own teaching and shows how approachable a PhD and path to professorship really can be. I have had the pleasure of not only sitting in his classroom as a student but now have the honor of working alongside him in the department. It has been inspiring to watch him grow in his role over the years. |
Kirk Howatt | Associate Professor, Plant Sciences | April, 2024 | Ed Deckard | Dr. Kirk Howatt is an outstanding scientist, teacher, advisor, mentor and person. He is passionate and enthusiastic about agriculture and the people involved. He has a deep concern for undergraduate and graduate students and makes exceptional efforts to help students develop intellectually and personally. He is a natural leader of students, staff and faculty alike. Kirk embodies the core values of Agricultural Affairs. |
Linda Schuster | Administrative Secretary, Carrington Research Extension Center | April, 2024 | Jeff Gale | Linda wears many hats in her role at the Carrington REC. She plays a vital role in helping to plan and facilitate the programming efforts of Extension specialists and agents. When challenges arise, Linda is quick to say, “We’ll find a way to get this done.” In addition to her selfless service to NDSU Extension and its stakeholders, Linda is also an active volunteer in our community. |
Rachel Wald | Extension Agent, McHenry County | Miranda Meehan | Rachel uses innovative programing to meet the needs of the agriculture community. Her leadership and communication has been instrumental in strengthening Extension programming at both the local and state level. As a co-leader of the Livestock Team, Rachel was critical in initiating and facilitating monthly meetings with professional development opportunities for Extension agents across the state. | |
Sheldon Tuscherer | Research Specialist, Agricultural and Biosystems Engineering | April, 2024 | Dongqing Lin | Sheldon has demonstrated his dedication and diligence in the lab experiment, instrumentation, data processing/analysis, and field work over 17 years. His teamwork attitude and safety consciousness has big impact on his colleagues and students. |
| Penny Nester | Extension Agent, Bowman County | 3/19/24 | Deb Theurer | Penny is an avid Extension educator. She addresses the needs of her community and the greater good. She is dedicated to serving not only agriculture, but also youth, home and family. Penny is an enthusiastic leader and a willing mentor. She is open-minded, displays integrity, and is so willing to serve, which makes her an excellent recipient of the Core Values Award. |
| Ed Deckard | Professor Emeritus, Plant Sciences | 3/19/24 | Karen Jevning | Dr. Ed Deckard continues to put his heart and soul into teaching students in the classroom. Even after retirement, he saw the need to teach students one more semester to help fill in on the shortage of professors for this semester. Ed has been a very impactful professor over 50 years to the department and is always student focused with undergraduate and graduate level students. Thank you for spearheading the development of the Learning Center in Loftsgard Hall and being a part of the improvements for the future of our students. |
| Scott Knoke | Extension Agent, Benson County | 3/19/24 | Jane Knodel | He is enthusiastic, knowledgeable and knows how to communicate relevant information to our farmers and stakeholders by collaborating with numerous agricultural field projects like the wheat midge soil survey, and IPM Crop Survey scouting and insect trapping. I frequently hear Scott giving IPM scouting reports to our regional radio stations, and he always does a great job. |
| Andrew Thostenson | Pesticide Program Specialist, Pesticide Program | 3/19/24 | Dave Franzen | Andrew has taken the NDSU Pesticide Certification to a new, fresh level. His trainings are engaging, which is hard to do in a required-training setting. In addition, he has proven an important and effective liaison between NDSU, the commercial pesticide industry and federal/state regulatory agencies. He is a vital link in this realm between Extension agents, specialists, North Dakota citizens and federal regulatory agencies. |
| Angie Johnson | Farm and Ranch Safety Coordinator | 3/19/24 | Stacy Wang | Angie is deserving of this award because of her passion, hard work and dedication to making North Dakota safer. She spearheads critical safety programs that equip our residents with the knowledge and skills to prevent farm/ranch accidents and to respond effectively if an emergency does occur. |
| Susan Finneseth | Grants Coordinator | 3/19/24 | Leon Schumacher | Susan serves as the grants coordinator for three of the departments in the College of Agriculture, Food Systems, and Natural Resources. She has helped all of us gather the information needed for grant proposals and somehow manages to keep us all on task until the day the proposal must be submitted. |
| Jeff Gale | Extension Agent, Foster County | 3/19/24 | David Copenhaver | Jeff has really embraced his role as county agent. A county agent has many different duties, and Jeff has worked on all of these duties with great passion and energy. His work not only benefits the producers of Foster County but also statewide. Foster County is very fortunate to have Jeff Gale as a county agent. His great work ethic and devotion to his job makes him an ideal candidate for this award. |
| Miranda Meehan | Livestock Environmental Stewardship Specialist, Animal Sciences | 3/19/24 | Brian Zimprich | Dr. Miranda Meehan is our go-to when we are dealing with disasters around the state, drought monitoring, and HPAI monitoring. She is also instrumental in organizing different programs where agents from across the state provide data to help our producers out in difficult times. Many of the programs have received various awards for the impact they have shown in supporting producers. |
| Dongqing Lin | Research Specialist, Agricultural and Biosystems Engineering | 3/19/24 | Dean Steele | Dr. Lin's behind-the-scenes efforts on field and lab experiments, data collection and instrumentation have had big and positive impacts on many graduate students over the years. |
| Kristi Schweiss | Assistant Director, Quentin Burdick Center for Cooperatives, Agribusiness and Applied Ecnomics | 3/19/24 | Edie Nelson | Kristi is the Assistant Director of the Quentin Burdick Center for Cooperatives. She works very hard at her job. She has done a lot to promote the center and is always looking for more ways to do just that. She is always pleasant and nice to visit with and a joy to work with. |
| Angela Scott | Senior Business Coordinator, Ag Budget Office | 3/19/24 | Brian Otteson | Angela has done an outstanding job in the Ag Budget Office. She goes above and beyond her duties to ensure paperwork is handled and processed in a timely manner. Angela is a very dedicated and hard-working individual who is very detail oriented in everything she does. I can always count on Angela to help me with my paperwork, answer any questions or provide other assistance as needed. Angela plays a crucial role in the endless paperwork process and strives to meet deadlines when handling all the paperwork that comes across her desk. She has been a great colleague to work with. |
| Deb Theurer | Extension Parent Educator, Region 8 (comprised of eight counties in southwest North Dakota) | 2/24/24 | Ashley Ueckert | “Deb is a dedicated educator who is truly passionate about parenting and family, but also about all extension programming and will help in any way she is able. Deb is a true supporter of the extension mission and making the lives of those she serves better.” |
| Karen Jevning | Administrative Secretary, Plant Sciences | 2/22/24 | Anuradha Vegi | "Ms. Jevning is phenomenal in everything she does for the Plant Sciences Department and NDSU. She has helped tremendously in undergraduate student recruitment events held by our department and college and has supported student success at NDSU. She is a great colleague to work with." |
| Jan Knodel | Professor and Extension Entomologist, Plant Pathology/SNRS | 2/22/24 | Esther McGinnis | “Dr. Janet Knodel tirelessly serves all of North Dakota Agriculture by leading the NDSU Extension effort to secure integrated pest management funding to monitor for crop diseases and insects to proactively protect crops in a sustainable manner.” |
| Dave Franzen | Professor/Soil Science Specialist, School of Natural Resource Sciences | 2/22/24 | Greg Endres | “Dave received this award due to 30 years of excellence as an Extension educator and scientist serving crop advisors and farmers in crop plant nutrition and soil management.” |
| Stacy Wang | Social Media Specialist, Agriculture Communication | 2/22/24 | Kamie Beeson | “Stacy Wang is an outstanding social media specialist who goes above and beyond to exhibit and expand the impact of NDSU agricultural research, extension and academics. She works skillfully behind the scenes crafting eye-catching graphics, consistent branding and compelling messaging to generate the greatest user engagement through multiple platforms.” |
| Leon Schumacher | Chair, Department of Agricutlural and Biosystems Engineering | 2/22/24 | Matthew Olhoft | “Dr. Schumacher works hard every day to help faculty and staff achieve work goals in a friendly and inclusive work environment by being a good listener and promoting the Agricultural and Biosystems Engineering and Precision Agriculture TM program.” |
| David Copenhaver | Foundation Seedstock Manager, Carrington Research Extension Center | 2/22/24 | Myrna Friedt | “Dave epitomizes integrity in all he does in his work to produce Foundation seeds for the producers of North Dakota. His careful attention to detail, strong work ethic and genuine desire to impact North Dakota seed growers make him an ideal candidate for this award.” |
| Brian Zimprich | Agriculture and Natural Resources Extension Agent, Ransom County | 2/22/24 | Skip Anderson | “Along with the numerous activities Brian spearheads as the Ransom County Extension agent, it is Brian’s commitment and passion for coaching, teaching and providing industry-relevant experiences for youth with an interest in livestock judging that make him an excellent recipient of the NDSU Agriculture core values award. Brian has coached multiple state champion 4-H and FFA teams and has numerous former team members with successful collegiate livestock judging careers at colleges and universities across the country.” |
| Dean Steele | Associate Professor, Agricultural and Biosystems Engineering | 2/22/24 | Tayler Johnston | “Dean’s constant commitment to his research and teaching has always impressed me as a student and now coworker of his. Dean strives to do better every day and reflects that to his students and peers.” |
| Edie Nelson | Administrative Assistant, Agribusiness and Applied Economics | 2/22/24 | Thomas Krumel | “Edie has played a pivotal role in supporting me, surpassing the expectations of her role by assisting in navigating NDSU administrative processes, ultimately bolstering the effectiveness of my teaching. As a specific example, she has been instrumental in helping me to schedule review sessions for my students. Moreover, amid my frequent time constraints, Edie has played a crucial role in ensuring the punctual submission of projects with strict deadlines, including USDA grants, even when managing last-minute paperwork processing.” |
| Brian Otteson | Director, Agronomy Seed Farm | 2/22/24 | Venkat Chapara | “Mr. Otteson is a diligent, amiable and very resourceful person. As the director of the Agronomy Seed Farm, his exceptional work on the foundation seed program, along with its outreach programs, was well received by the farming community. Likewise, he has maintained the Agronomy Seed Farm as one of the ideal research centers among the units of the Agricultural Experiment Station.” |
| Ashley Ueckert | Extension Agent, Golden Valley County | 1/22/24 | Sue Isbell | “Ashley is community driven and stakeholder connected in Golden Valley County.” |
| Anuradha Vegi | Associate Professor of Practice, Plant Sciences | 1/22/24 | Jiajia Rao | “Through her teaching, Dr. Vegi brings out the best of the best from students, and through her roles as advisor and coordinator of the food science program at NDSU, she helps bring the program to the forefront of undergraduate education in North Dakota and beyond.” |
| Esther McGinnis | Associate Professor, Plant Sciences | 1/22/24 | Susan Milender | “Esther is a committed educator and passionate horticulturalist who has empowered people to improve their lives and the lives of future generations.” |
| Greg Endres | Extension Agronomist, Carrington Research Extension Center | 1/22/24 | Joe Ikley | “Greg has dedicated his career to the core missions of NDSU. He is one of the most respected agronomists in the state and one of the most respected individuals within NDSU Extension.” |
| Kamie Beeson | Administrative Assistant, Dean’s Office | 1/22/24 | Lisa Christenson | “Kamie is one of the kindest, hardest-working individuals in CAFSNR. She displays thoughtfulness, kindness and professionalism in all she does.” |
| Matthew Olhoft | Senior Lecturer, Agricultural and Biosystems Engineering | 1/22/24 | Julie Bietz | “Matt is a fantastic educator, advisor and mentor for his students. He goes above and beyond for the students in his classes and the clubs he advises. Matt truly exemplifies the ‘student-focused’ belief of NDSU.” |
| Myrna Friedt | Administrative Assistant, Carrington Research Extension Center | 1/22/24 | Tim Schroeder | “I selected Myrna because of her dedication, wealth of knowledge and excellent skills to keep the center moving flawlessly.” |
| Skip Anderson | Sheep Unit Manager, Animal Sciences | 1/22/24 | Blaine Novak | “Skip is the premiere example of a dedicated, passionate and high-quality stockman. He is a fantastic mentor for undergraduate students as he provides supportive, hands-on learning opportunities for all students, regardless of their background or experience.” |
| Tayler Johnston | Fabrication Specialist, Agricultural and Biosystems Engineering | 1/22/24 | Zhulu Lin | “Tayler devoted time and energy way beyond his normal work week to help our department move efficiently and safely, and largely due to his demonstration of integrity and innovation, we managed the daunting moving process with the least amount of interruptions to our work.” |
| Thomas Krumel | Professor, Agribusiness and Applied Economics | 1/22/24 | Jennifer Carney | “He puts students first, and he encourages his students to do better. He goes above and beyond for the department by taking on responsibilities such as being the advisor for NAMA, co-teaching a study tour, and being one of the top recruiters for the major.” |
| Venkat Chapara | Plant Pathologist, Langdon Research Extension Center | 1/22/24 | Luis Mendoza del Rio | “Dr. Chapara collaborates extensively with faculty from different academic units in our college and frequently interacts with their graduate students, facilitating their work and, in many instances, making sure they have successful field trials.” |
| Jiajia Rao | Department of Plant Sciences | 12/7/23 | Inaugural recipient | Larson/Yaggie Excellence in Research Award - Jiajia Rao, associate professor, Department of Plant Sciences |
| Luis del Rio Mendoza | Department of Plant Pathology | 12/7/23 | Inaugural recipient | Eugene R. Dahl Excellence in Research Award - Luis del Rio Mendoza, professor, Department of Plant Pathology |
| Blaine Novak | Department of Animal Sciences | 12/7/23 | Inaugural recipient | Earl and Dorothy Foster Excellence in Teaching Award - Blaine Novak, lecturer, Department of Animal Sciences |
| Zhulu Lin | Department of Agricultural and Biosystems Engineering | 12/7/23 | Inaugural recipient | H. Roald and Janet Lund Excellence in Teaching Award - Zhulu Lin, associate professor, Department of Agricultural and Biosystems Engineering |
| Lisa Christenson | Department of Animal Sciences | 12/7/23 | Inaugural recipient | William J. and Angelyn A. Austin Excellence in Advising Award - Lisa Christenson, associate professor of practice, Department of Animal Sciences |
| Joseph Ikley | Department of Plant Sciences | 12/7/23 | Inaugural recipient | Excellence in Extension Early Career Award - Joseph Ikley, assistant professor, Extension weed specialist, Department of Plant Sciences |
| Susan Milender | Barnes County Extension | 12/7/23 | Inaugural recipient | AGSCO Excellence in Extension Award - Susan Milender, Extension agent, family and community wellness, Barnes County |
| Jennifer Carney | Department of Agribusiness and Applied Economics / Academic Advising Center | 12/7/23 | Inaugural recipient | Charles and Linda Moses Staff Award - Jennifer Carney, director of student services / academic advisor, Department of Agribusiness and Applied Economics / Academic Advising Center |
| Julie Bietz | Department of Agricultural and Biosystems Engineering | 12/7/23 | Inaugural recipient | Donald and Jo Anderson Staff Award - Julie Bietz, student services coordinator and information processing specialist, Department of Agricultural and Biosystems Engineering |
| Timothy Schroeder | Carrington Research Extension Center | 12/7/23 | Inaugural recipient | Rick and Jody Burgum Staff Award - Timothy Schroeder, ag research technician, Carrington Research Extension Center |
| Sue Isbell | Extension agent, 4-H youth development, Sioux County | 12/7/23 | Inaugural recipient | Celebrate, Integrate and Embrace the Power of Diversity Award - Sue Isbell, Extension agent, 4-H youth development, Sioux County |