COA/MAES Awards of Excellence
Faculty and staff members can make nominations to their department head for the annual College of Ag/Montana Ag Experiment Station Awards of Excellence.
The 2022-23 Awards of Excellence have been announced! You can read about our recipients below!
2022-2023 Award Recipients
NACTA Teaching Award of Merit for Faculty
Dr. Jennifer Lachowiec, Assistant Professor in the Department of Plant Sciences and Plant Pathology, engages students in Biometry (BIOB 318) emphasizing retention, understanding, and real-world applications of the material with in-class practice. she adopted an open, free textbook and modified the course to align with the new text. Her dedication to connecting students’ future to what they are learning is inspiring. Congratulations Jennifer!
NACTA Teaching Award of Merit for Graduate Students – PSPP
Brandon Tillett, PhD student in the Department of Plant Sciences and Plant Pathology, is the teaching assistant for the plant breeding course (AGSC 441/541). Brandon doesn’t just give out the answers; his questions strategically inspire people to learn more. He always encourages his peers by saying “we are all smart and we are all capable of mastering the concepts”. Students find Brandon genuinely shows interest in the different cultures and backgrounds of students of his students. Congratulations Brandon!
Vinicius Alves Cruz, PhD student in the Department of Animal and Range Sciences, has contributed as a teaching assistant for ANSC 202 and 320 or the farm crew with several daily works, including data collection of animals and nutrition. In addition, Vinni has contributed to the Montana 4-H program and the 2023 Quadrathlon, helping with presentations and guidance of students. He is not only participated in several programs provided by Animal and Range Sciences, but he has also helped more than 150 students to excel in all the lab activities in crucial courses in our department (ANSC 100, 202, and 320). Congratulations Vinni!
Transformative Teaching Award
Dr. Ryan Thum, Associate Professor in the Department of Plant Sciences and Plant Pathology, leads large lecture courses including Genetics (BIOB 375), Evolution (BIOB 420), and Population Genetics (BIOB 484), in addition to a graduate-level course Navigating Graduate School (PSPP 501), which focuses on scientific writing. Dr. Thum instinctively is the consummate practitioner of “connection before content”. Dr. Thum’s engaging and amiable personality is what first and foremost sustains students’ motivation and excitement in his undergraduate classes or in graduate student seminars and meetings. The use of group discussions, problem solving, and any form of summative and formative learning assessment is effectively layered on top of Dr. Thum’s natural upbeat and amiable personality. Dr. Thum fosters student communication in large lecture courses through the formation of student groups, which promotes learning scientific concepts and problem solving. Congratulations Ryan!
Meritorious Service Award
Ileana Yates-Johnson, currently Program Coordinator for the WIMU Program, Department of Microbiology and Cell Biology, began an Administrative Associate III. Her duties in this position ranged from budgetary issues, assisting teaching activities, arranging travel, and assisting with administratively challenging committees, including the MCB’s graduate committee. It was her administrative prowess and expertise in dealing with the diverse personalities of faculty combined with her skills working with students that fostered her development into the Graduate Program Coordinator of MCB (from 2017-2022). In this position, she oversaw admissions and graduate recruitment. She enrolled all graduate students and capably advised students on their program of study and tracked student progress to degree. Ileana was also a confidant, who took student wellness seriously and provided a safe environment for students. She also provided support to faculty advisors. .As faculty noted “The bond that she was able to develop with each individual student was admirable, and in many cases, enabled corrective actions to be put in place for students before situations got out of hand and they left the program. Such efforts are cornerstone to the mission of MSU in graduate training and helped solidify our department as the leader in not just producing doctoral graduates but in producing top quality graduates.” Congratulations Ileana!
Impactful Outreach and Community Engagement Award
Dr. Hayes Goosey, Assistant Professor in the Department of Animal and Range Sciences, is a tireless contributor to the outreach mission of the University, College, and Department and a passionate advocate for producers throughout the state. In the past year, Dr. Goosey met with 82 producers for personal consultations, put on 38 seminars and 1 facilitation that collectively impacted 1,300 hardworking Montanans. His forage outreach program is highly regarded and appraises producers of critical knowledge for maintaining livestock and profitability while adapting to the weather anomalies that we have experienced with some regularity in recent years. For example, in 2021 Montanan producers and those in the surrounding regions were affected by a record setting drought that affected forage quality and availability for livestock producers – Dr. Goosey was at the forefront of MSU extension’s efforts to help producers navigate the multitude of challenges this brought, serving on a Drought and Wildfire taskforce, educating producers in outreach events and through news articles, radio station spots, and newsletter about options for managing livestock through these challenges, and working with extension agents to ensure their efforts maximally aided their stakeholders. As one producer shared, Dr. Goosey’s service “has been extremely valuable over the last several years”. Congratulations Hayes!
Excellence in Research and Discovery Award
Dr. Chaofu Lu, Professor in the Department of Plant Sciences and Plant Pathology, has been on a mission to develop camelina as a dedicated biofuel crop. In that regard, he has been a national leader in driving interest, research, and funding for camelina. He has been the PI or Co-PI on over $30 million in research funding and is the PI on a currently funded DOE project with a total budget of over $11 million dollars. His research projects have spanned every aspect of camelina as a dedicated biofuel crop from the techniques needed to transform camelina, to agronomics, basic genetics, in depth studies of fatty acid pathways, rate limiting enzymes, and microbes associated with camelina. Outcome from Dr. Lu’s research can significantly boost rural economies of Montana and improve the cereal-based cropping systems. Congratulations Chaofu!
Award Categories
The annual awards are as follows:
- Meritorious Service Award
- NACTA Teaching Award of Merit for Faculty
- NACTA Teaching Award of Merit for Graduate Students (limit 1 nominee per department)
- Transformational Teaching Award
- Excellence in Research and Discovery Award
- Impactful Outreach and Engagement Award
Past Winners
Meritorious Service Award |
Transformational Teaching Award |
| 2023: Ileana Yates-Johnson, MCB | 2023: Ryan Thum, PSPP |
| 2022: Susan Cooper, ARS | 2022: Jennifer Lachowiec, PSPP |
| 2021: Julia Dafoe, DRC | 2021: Michelle Flenniken, PSPP |
| 2020: Mike Ivie, PSPP | 2020: Nick Fox, LRES |
NACTA Teaching Award of Merit for Faculty |
Excellence in Research and Discovery Award |
| 2023: Jennifer Lachowiec, PSPP | 2023: Chaofu Lu, PSPP |
| 2022: Sarah McCoski, ARS | 2022: Carl Yeoman, ARS |
| 2021: Jennifer Thomson, ARS | 2021: Lisa Rew, LRES |
| 2020: Ryan Thum, PSPP | 2020: Eric Boyd, MCB |
NACTA Teaching Award of Merit for Graduate Students |
Impactful Outreach and Engagement Award |
| 2023: Brandon Tillett and Vinicius Alves Cruz | 2023: Hayes Goosey, ARS |
| 2022: Emma Kubinski and Eden Manuel | 2022: Megan VanEmon, ARS |
| 2021: Bryce Currey, Justin Gay and Marley Manoukian | 2021: George Haynes, DAEE |
| 2020: Sam Carlson and Joe Jensen | 2020: Jeff Mosley, ARS |
Award Descriptions and Criteria
Meritorious Service Award
Recognizes staff and professionals for their dedication and service to the College of Agriculture and/or the Montana Agricultural Research Station. The COA/MAES values service in its many forms, recognizing that are invaluable to sparking innovation and engagement and helps students, faculty, and staff be more effective in scholarship, teaching, and outreach/engagement.
Eligibility
All staff and professionals in the COA/MAES.
Selection Criteria
Evidence of service excellence and its contribution to scholarship, teaching and outreach/engagement within COA/MAES, which could include (but is not limited to) enabling excellence in a specific research project or a body of scholarly work, facilitating students and instructors to be successful inside and outside the classroom, ensuring highly effective communication and outreach/engagement with Montana communities and stakeholders, going above and beyond the scope of the nominee's position.
Nomination Criteria
Nominations can be made by any faculty, staff, or student, and submitted to the nominee's department head. The award will be based on a nomination dossier (1 per department), which should address the selection criteria described above and should include:
- a departmental letter of nomination outlining the nominee’s specific meritorious service activities and their impacts (max. 2 pages);
- the staff/professional’s shortened CV (max. 3 pages);
- two letters (internal and/or external) describing the nominee's meritorious service within the COA.
Award Sponsor
MSU College of Agriculture and Montana Agricultural Experiment Station
(could change if award money is associated with a particular gift / endowment)
Award Amount:$500
NACTA Teaching Award of Merit for Faculty & for Graduate Students
Recognizes emerging excellence in on-campus instruction, particularly for early career faculty. This award recognizes teaching that aims to transform the students and teacher for the better through innovation, discovery-driven education, exceptional student engagement, imparting skills relevant to the workforce, etc. Teaching encompasses a balance of classroom instruction, mentoring and professional development students and service to the profession depending on the faculty or graduate student’s appointment.
Eligibility
All tenure- and non-tenure track faculty in the COA/MAES. Graduate students in the COA.
Selection Criteria
Evidence of burgeoning excellence in teaching, which could include (but is not limited to) fostering student learning, enhancing critical thinking, stimulating creativity and engagement, increasing students' workforce skillset, providing innovative mentoring to students and/or peer instructors, demonstrating an aspiration toward professional development, developing curricula and/or teaching resources that move forward the teaching profession in the nominee's field. One faculty per college and one graduate student per department will be recognized.
Nomination Criteria
Nominations can be made by any faculty, staff, or student, and submitted to the nominee's department head. The award will be based on a nomination dossier (1 per department), which should address the selection criteria described above and should include:
- a departmental letter of nomination outlining the nominee’s burgeoning innovative teaching activities (max. 2 pages)
Award Sponsor
NACTA and MSU College of Agriculture
Award Amount: 1 year NACTA membership ($100 value), Certificate signed by NACTA and COA leadership
Transformational Teaching Award
Recognizes on-campus teaching that transforms the students and teacher for the better through innovation, discovery-driven education experiences, exceptional student engagement, imparting skills relevant to the workforce, etc. Teaching encompasses a balance of classroom instruction, mentoring, and professional development of students and service to the profession depending on the faculty’s appointment.
Eligibility
All tenure- and non-tenure track faculty in the COA/MAES.
Selection Criteria
Evidence of innovative and transformative teaching, which could include (but is not limited to) fostering student learning, enhancing critical thinking, stimulating creativity and engagement, lowering barriers to effective instruction, increasing students' workforce skillset, providing superior mentoring to students and/or peer instructors, demonstrating a sustained aspiration toward continued professional development, developing curricula and/or teaching resources that move forward the teaching profession in the nominee's field or beyond.
Nomination Criteria
Nominations can be made by any faculty, staff, or student, and submitted to the nominee's department head. The award will be based on a nomination dossier (1 per department), which should address the selection criteria described above and should include:
- a departmental letter of nomination outlining the nominee’s specific transformative teaching activities and their impacts (max. 2 pages);
- the faculty's shortened CV (max. 3 pages);
- two letters (internal and/or external) describing the nominee's contributions to transformative teaching within the COA.
Award Sponsor
MSU College of Agriculture
(could change if award money is associated with a particular gift / endowment)
Award Amount: $1,000
Excellence in Research and Discovery Award
The Excellence in Research and Discovery award recognizes scientists who are national leaders in their area of research and whose research has made contributions in both moving forward their profession and improving the economy, society, culture, national security, public policy or services, health, the environment, and/or quality of life beyond the contribution to academia. Nominations can be made based on a single high impact discovery or a body of work that includes high profile, peer-reviewed publications, significant acquisition of extramural funding support, and lasting effects of the work on stakeholders outside the profession.
Eligibility
All faculty and research professionals in the COA/MAES.
Selection Criteria
Evidence of outstanding scholarship, which could include (but is not limited to) publication of peer-reviewed scientific articles in high-impact journals, grantsmanship and associated research, development of patents and subsequent adoption of technology, national and international recognition of research and discovery, a record of research significantly affecting the lives of Montanans and beyond.
Nomination Criteria
Nominations can be made by any faculty, staff, or student, and submitted to the nominee's department head. The award will be based on a nomination dossier (1 per department), which should address the selection criteria described above and should include:
- a departmental letter of nomination outlining the nominee’s specific research project, program, or body of work and their impacts (max. 2 pages);
- the faculty's shortened CV (max. 3 pages);
- two letters (internal and/or external) describing the professional contributions and broader impacts of the nominee's research efforts.
Award Sponsor
MSU College of Agriculture and the Montana Agricultural Experiment Station
(could change if award money is associated with a particular gift / endowment)
Award Amount: $1,000
Impactful Outreach and Community Engagement Award
Recognizes faculty and staff who have demonstrated especially significant outreach/engagement achievements and/or an established and sustained body of outreach/engagement related to scholarly work. Outreach refers to effectively developing and delivering scholarship-based knowledge to individuals outside the university and professional communities of faculty, staff and students. Engagement involves a mutually beneficial two-way partnership characterized by collaborative efforts between the university (faculty, staff, and students) and outside communities. Nominations can be made based on a single or shorter-term but high impact activity or on a longer-term body of work. Nominations recognizing efforts that engage underrepresented communities are particularly encouraged.
Eligibility
All faculty and staff in the COA/MAES
Selection Criteria
Evidence of effective, innovative and/or sustained outreach/engagement programming and activities, which could include (but is not limited to) documented changes in knowledge and action by targeted stakeholders and communities, evidence of exemplary integration between scholarship and outreach/engagement programming, securing and affecting communities that have not traditionally been involved, lowering barriers to effective outreach/engagement, developing innovative programs that lower barriers to effective communication and/or increase participation by underrepresented communities, demonstrate efforts that go above and beyond the scope of the nominee's position.
Nomination Criteria
Nominations can be made by any faculty, staff, or student, and submitted to the nominee's department head. The award will be based on a nomination dossier (1 per department), which should address the selection criteria described above and should include:
- a departmental letter of nomination outlining the nominee’s specific outreach and engagement activities and their impacts and significance to the affected communities (max. 2 pages);
- the faculty's shortened CV (max. 3 pages);
- two letters (internal and/or external) describing the nominee's outreach and community engagement efforts and their impacts on improving knowledge and societal well-being for Montanans and beyond.
Award Sponsor
MSU College of Agriculture and the Montana Agricultural Experiment Station
(could change if award money is associated with a particular gift / endowment)
Award Amount: $500