WASHINGTON — Michael Larry Mashtare Jr. of Pennsylvania State University and Tyson Joel Sorensen of Utah State University were named national recipients of the USDA Excellence in College and University Teaching Awards for Food and Agricultural Sciences. Jennifer Lynn Gillett-Kaufman of Texas A&M University and Rebecca Dean Swenson of the University of Minnesota were named recipients in the national Teaching and Student Engagement category. The awards, which celebrate university faculty for their use of innovative teaching methods and service to students, were presented during the APLU Annual Meeting.
Six regional and two early career awardees were also named recipients of the 2024 Excellence in College and University Teaching Awards for Food and Agricultural Sciences. 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 early career honorees to be used for improving teaching at their respective universities.
The six regional awards were presented to Elizabeth Leigh Karcher of Purdue University, Elizabeth Anne Yeager of Kansas State University, Margaret Crowley Hoffman of Pennsylvania State University, Lara Brongo Pacifici of North Carolina State University, Patricia J. Moore of the University of Georgia and Sergio Abit of Oklahoma State University.
Amanda Bowling of The Ohio State University and Sushil Paudyal of Texas A&M University each received best early career teacher honors.
“We extend our heartfelt congratulations to this year’s recipients of the Excellence in College and University Teaching Awards for Food and Agricultural Sciences,” said Wendy Fink, executive director of the Academic Programs Section at APLU. “Their unwavering commitment to education and mentorship not only shapes the future of their students, but also sets a powerful example for their peers, fostering a community of continuous learning and excellence.”
2024 Recipients of the Teaching and Student Engagement and National Excellence in College and University Teaching Awards for Food and Agricultural Sciences:
Michael Larry Mashtare Jr., Pennsylvania State University
Dr. Michael Mashtare joined the Department of Agricultural and Biological Engineering at Pennsylvania State University as an assistant professor in 2020. In this role, he teaches courses in soil and water management, environmental analysis, land disposal of waste, research methods, technical communications and an inter-institutional capstone (service learning) course. Prior to 2020, he was an assistant professor in the Department of Agronomy and the Division of Environmental and Ecological Engineering at Purdue University.
While Dr. Mashtare’s lab research is focused on the fate-transport of emerging contaminants, his other research passion is on teaching and learning, building classroom community, integrating best practices from remote learning into in-classroom instruction, and the innovative use of AI and technology-enhanced pedagogy to support student learning and engagement.
Tyson Joel Sorensen, Utah State University
Dr. Tyson Sorensen is an associate professor in the Applied Sciences, Technology and Education Department at Utah State University (USU), which he joined the faculty in 2015. At USU, he has taught 23 courses at the undergraduate and graduate levels. He has developed multiple study abroad, study away and training programs for students, teachers and administrators, including programs in Italy, Ecuador, West Africa and Puerto Rico.
Sorensen has a passion for teaching and helping students and educators be successful. His approach to teaching involves engagement with real-world issues, contextualized experiences and practice, and critical reflection.
Sorensen is the program lead for agricultural education at USU. He has served on 25 graduate committees and has mentored six undergraduate research scholars. He advises or co-advises three student organizations at USU and has received numerous teaching awards.
2024 Recipients of the National Teaching and Student Engagement awards:
Jennifer Lynn Gillett-Kaufman of Texas A&M University
Dr. Jennifer Gillett-Kaufman is an associate instructional professor in the Texas A&M University Department of Entomology. She is dedicated to preparing students professionally and includes writing exercises, peer reviews and team or group work in all of her courses (including Insects in Human Society ENTO 322 that regularly has 250-300 students a semester). She has developed curricula that encourage students to explore agricultural topics with a worldview while improving their professional skills. She works to get students out of their comfort zone and asks them to think critically about how what they are learning fits into the big picture of their lives. She developed and delivered a Virtual Exchange Internship with Zamorano University in Honduras, allowing place-bound students at both universities the opportunity to build their grant-writing skills, global competencies and networks.
Rebecca Dean Swenson of the University of Minnesota
Dr. Rebecca Swenson is an associate professor of Agricultural, Food and Natural Resource Communication at the University of Minnesota Twin Cities. She teaches courses about science communication, strategic communication, writing for public audiences, audience research, communication evaluation, team communication, and outreach for agricultural, food and environmental science issues.
She has been deeply involved in new program and curriculum development. She created a new undergraduate major in Agricultural Communication & Marketing, a new minor in Agricultural & Environmental Science Communication, a revamped graduate program in Agricultural Education & Communication, and a set of new undergraduate and graduate courses.
Her research focuses on how topics and debates related to agriculture, food and the environment are discussed in the media, by organizations and among audience members. Specifically, Swenson studies science communication training, building community, increasing engagement and strengthening dialogue that are core to understanding communication’s role in building relationships.
—USDA NIFA
APLU
