AECT takes home multiple awards from SAAS
(Left to right): Graduate students Jackson Alexander, Sable Sellick, Maggie Jo Hansen, Fawn Kurtzo, Kristina Bautista, Bo/David Williford, Andrew Bolton and Kyle Hunter attended SAAS in San Antonio to present research and ended up bringing home multiple awards.
Feb. 15, 2016 – FAYETTEVILLE, AR – The Department of Agricultural Education, Communications and Technology recently earned numerous awards in the Agricultural Education and Agricultural Communications sections at the Southern Association for Agricultural Scientists (SAAS) conference in San Antonio.
In the agricultural communications section, multiple faculty and graduate students received awards.
Graduate students Maggie Jo Hansen and Fawn Kurtzo, Assistant Dean of Student Programs and Associate Professor Leslie Edgar and Assistant Professor Jill Rucker presented the Outstanding Research Poster. Jefferson Miller, professor of agricultural communications, graduate student Kyle Hunter and honors undergraduate alum Andrea Love presented the Second Runner-up Research Poster.
“It seems like every year our students and faculty earn more than their fair share of awards at SAAS,” Miller said. “That says a lot about the quality of our people and programs and about how we stack up nationally.”
In the agricultural education section, additional faculty and graduate students claimed awards.
Kate Shoulders, assistant professor in agricultural education, co-authored the Distinguished Innovative Poster and the Outstanding Innovative Poster. Graduate student Jackson Alexander, Jill Rucker, Graduate Coordinator Donna L. Graham, Jefferson Miller and Professor of Meat Science Jason Apple received Distinguished Research Poster. Graduate student Kristina Bautista, Professor Johnson, Shoulders and Leslie Edgar received Distinguished Research Poster.
“It’s really neat and exciting to have the opportunity to attend these conferences and hear about research that other universities are doing,” Bautista said. “It was nice to hear my named called as an award winner in front of the conference. It really makes the work and research pay off for myself and faculty.”
Faculty team members Donald Johnson, Kate Shoulders, Leslie Edgar, Donna L. Graham and Jill Rucker were awarded Outstanding Manuscript Award in addition to the Distinguished Manuscript award.
Assistant Professor Jill Rucker said, “I believe our research was recognized because of its relevance to academic programs as well as the implications it held for potential employers. I am proud to be a part of a dynamic team and have the opportunity to collaborate with some of the best researchers within our discipline.”