Arkansas Agricultural Experiment Station, University of Arkansas Division of Agriculture
Dale Bumpers College of Agricultural, Food and Life Sciences
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Table of Contents HEADLINES Top Vision Credits
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Honors Convocation is April 20 Faculty, staff and students are encourage to attend Honors Convocation at 1:00 p.m., Thursday, April 20 in the Arkansas Union Theatre. Bumpers College and Division of Agriculture faculty, staff and student awards will be presented by Dean Greg Weidemann and Vice President for Agriculture Milo Shult. STUDENT AWARDS Honors Program Graduates Tyler Davis, Animal Science, of Ashdown, the son of Chuck Davis and Sandra Davis. His faculty mentor is Dr. Beth Kegley, and his thesis title is Effects of Grain By-products as Supplements for Stocker Cattle Grazing Bermudagrass. Melanie Doyal, Apparel Studies, of Rose Bud, the daughter of Mary Doyal Brown and Billy Doyal. Her faculty mentor is Dr. Mary Warnock, and her thesis title is Effects of Laundering on the Colorfastness Properties of Reactive and Direct Dyed Cotton and Kenaf Fibers and Cotton/Kenaf Yarns. Dawn Elkins, Animal Science, of Jonesboro, the daughter of Tommy and Patricia Elkins. Her faculty mentor is Dr. Rick Rorie, and her thesis title is The Effects of Social Status of Dairy Heifers on Expression of Estrus and Subsequent Fertility. Matthew Fryar, Agricultural and Extension Education, of Royal, the son of Jim and Sandy Fryar. His faculty mentor is Dr. Jefferson D. Miller, and his thesis title is Arkansas Employer Perceptions of Curriculum Needs for the University of Arkansas Agricultural Communication Program. Tory Hodges, Agricultural Economics and Agribusiness, of Alpena, the daughter of John and Cheryl Hodges. Her faculty mentor is Dr. Jennie Popp, and her thesis title is Environmental Pollution and Agricultural Incentives in US and EU Programs. Jeremy Huff, Animal Science, of Mena, the son of Jerry and Brenda Huff. His faculty mentor is Dr. Charles Rosenkrans, and his thesis title is Determine the Effects of Grazing Stockpiled Endophyte-infected Fescue Pastures on Growth and Physiological Indices of Dairy Heifers. Sarah Knox, Agricultural Economics and Agribusiness, of Mountain Home, the daughter of Dr. Thomas Knox and Deborah Knox. Her faculty mentor is Dr. Harold Goodwin, and her thesis title is Satisfaction Assessment of Participants Utilizing the Ozark Poultry Litter Bank. Adam McClymont, Environmental, Soil, and Water Sciences, of Ferndale, the son of Dave and Jean McClymont. His faculty advisor is Dr. Mary Savin, and his thesis title is Antibiotic Resistance in Fecal Bacterial Indicators Downstream of Wastewater Treatment Plants in Northwest Arkansas. Lindy L. Medlock, Animal Science, of Little Rock, the daughter of Dan and Rita Medlock. Her faculty mentor is Dr. David Kreider, and her thesis title is Evaluation of the Role of Fescue Toxins as Endocrine Disruptors of Estrogen and Estrogen Receptor Binding. C. Grace Pendergrass, Apparel Studies, of Peter Pender, the daughter of John Paul and Catherine Pendergrass. Her faculty mentor is Dr. Laurie Apple, and her thesis title is Determining the Common Curriculum Strengths and Weaknesses of Universities within the State of Arkansas with Fashion Merchandising Degrees. Creenna Sheely, Agricultural and Extension Education, of Clarksville, the daughter of David and Cindi Sheely. Her faculty mentor is Dr. Nancy Jack, and her thesis title is Do Review Games Affect Test Scores? Senior Scholars Four graduates in the Class of 2006 are receiving Senior Scholar award as graduating seniors with the highest grade point average. Tory Hodges, the daughter of John and Cheryl Hodges of Alpena, is a First Ranked Senior Scholar, having completed all of her courses at the University of Arkansas. She is a Bodenheimer Fellow and also is receiving the John W. White Outstanding Student Award (see below). Her major is Agricultural Business with a pre-law concentration and minors in international agriculture and political science. Eleven law schools, including Harvard and Yale, have accepted her application for admission in the fall. Dana Stewart grew up on a farm operated by her parents, David and Rita Martin, near Judsonia. She completed her degree requirements in Agricultural Education, Communication and Technology in August 2005 and is now Director of Member Services for the American Gelbvieh Association in Westminster, Colo. Ms. Stewart was active in Agriculture Communicators of Tomorrow (ACT), a member of the UA Livestock Judging Team and was a student representative for her department. She was also named the Jack and Ginger Graham Fellow to help organize and conduct the first Arkansas Women in Agriculture Conference. She and her husband, Josh, live in Denver. Lauren Kemp is a December 2005 Summa Cum Laude graduate in Apparel Studies and is now employed at the Dillard’s corporate office in Little Rock as a visual retail graphics merchandiser. The daughter of Judge John Dan and Susan Kemp of Mountain View, she was a member of the Fashion Merchandising Club and had a fashion internship in London and Edinburgh last summer. She participated in student study tours to England, Paris and New York and a fashion design competition in Dallas. Ledia Guci, daughter of Andrea and Mariora Guci, of Korca, Albania, completed the requirements for a degree in Agricultural Economics last fall and will resume her studies in August 2006 in the master’s degree program in Agricultural Economics. She is a member of the Phi Kappa Phi, Gamma Sigma Delta and Golden Key honor societies. She was valedictorian of her class at Dimitris Perrotis College of Agricultural Studies in Thessalonica, Greece, where she received an associate degree in Agricultural Business in 2003. John W. White Outstanding Student Tory Hodges, the daughter of John and Cheryl Hodges of Alpena, is a Bodenheimer Fellow and has more than met the high expectations of that premier University of Arkansas scholarship program. She will graduate in May as an Agricultural Business major with a pre-law concentration and minors in international agriculture and political science. Eleven law schools, including Harvard and Yale, have accepted her application for admission in the fall. Ms. Hodges took advantage of an opportunity to study abroad last spring at Oxford University in England and in a Renewable Biomaterials course in Toulouse, France. She has conducted an Honors Program research project on the European Union’s common agricultural policy. She has been a research assistant to Dr. Jennie Popp, helping to design and implement a multi-country survey of agricultural economics professionals. Ms. Hodges’ service and leadership activities have included a term as president of the Agribusiness Club, national FFA officer candidate, state FFA president, and Bumpers College Ambassador, among others. She also was a member of the Honors College Dean Search Committee. Her career goals include a position in the governmental affairs division of the America Farm Bureau Federation, volunteer work on rural poverty, and a seat in the Arkansas Legislature. Dale Bumpers Distinguished Scholars This award is presented to an outstanding undergraduate transfer student and outstanding master’s and doctoral students. The transfer student award recipient is Dilynn Dodd, a senior majoring in Agricultural Education, Communication and Technology. She received an Associate Degree in Applied Science at the University of Arkansas in Monticello. Ms. Dodd, the daughter of David and Debbie Dodd of Springdale, was the Arkansas High School Rodeo Association All-Around Champion Cowgirl in 2003. She remains active in rodeo events and works as a secretary at the U of A Poultry Farm. She is a member of Alpha Zeta and Gamma Sigma Delta and has been an active member of three state or national rodeo organizations. She also has been a volunteer worker at Northwest Medical Center in Springdale. Peter Tomlinson, a master’s student in the Department of Crop, Soil, and Environmental Sciences, is the first student from the University of Arkansas to win the nationally competitive Francis and Evelyn Clark Soil Biology Scholarship. He is a degree-track research specialist to Dr. Mary Savin and is co-author with Dr. Savin of a paper accepted by the Journal of Environmental Quality. One of his career goals is to work as an environmental consultant to develop nutrient management plans to meet producers’ needs while protecting the environment. His leadership roles include serving as president of the CSES Graduate Student Club and National Recruitment Coordinator for Alpha Gamma Rho Fraternity. He received the AGR Brothers of the Century Award in 2004. The son of William and Carol Tomlinson of West Hartford, Conn., he has two bachelor’s degrees, in Animal Science and Agronomy, from the University of Connecticut. Robert Ty Baublits already has an impressive record in research, teaching and leadership while pursuing first his master’s degree, and now a Ph.D. in Animal Science with an emphasis in meat science. His master’s thesis project resulted in two professional journal articles. He has published five more articles and three are in press from his Ph.D. work on the effects of enhancement solutions on beef quality characteristics. He has been a teaching assistant in six different courses. His service and leadership roles include serving as president of the Animal Science Graduate Student Association, managing the Beef Quiz Bowl contest at the Arkansas Cattlemen’s Association convention, and helping with the state 4-H and FFA meats judging contests. He came to the U of A from Panhandle State University in Oklahoma, where he graduated Magna Cum Laude. Spitze Public Policy Legislative Intern Scholarship Laura Sossamon and Kerri Boling, rising juniors with majors in Agricultural Business, were selected for this award, which provides for a summer internship in the Washington office of an Arkansas senator or congressman. Laura Sossamon, the daughter of Bill and Liz Sossamon of Ozark, has a concentration in agricultural law. She received an Honors College study-abroad grant for a 10-day study tour of agriculture in Scotland. Her Honors Program project is to compare the attitudes of farmers in the U.S. and Europe regarding environmental policy. She is active in several organizations, including the AgriBusiness Club, and has been the Humphreys Hall Senate athletic coordinator and member of the executive council. Kerri Boling, the daughter of Danny and Rebecca Boling of Gravette, has been interested in public policy since she served as a page in the State Legislature. She has a minor in International Agriculture and plans to attend law school. As an intern with Arkansas Farm Bureau and the Arkansas Cattlemen’s Association, she helped develop and promote policy positions. She is currently a market analyst intern at Tyson Foods. She is an Arkansas 4-H Hall of Fame nominee, a Bumpers College Ambassador, Arkansas Beef Princess and state representative to the National 4-H Council. The Presidential Scholar for 2006 — the junior with the highest grade point average — is Brittany Adams, the daughter of Jeff and Jeannie Bonds of Jonesboro. A junior Food Science major, she spent a month last summer as a student intern at Queen Margaret University in Edinburgh, Scotland, where she developed a procedure to determine the relationship between sweet taste thresholds and the ability to taste a particular compound that is used to identify genetic differences in the sensitivity to bitter taste. Ms. Adams was the lead author of a research poster that won first place in the Gamma Sigma Delta undergraduate student research competition in 2005 and a paper that won second place. She is secretary of the Food Science Club and a member of the College Bowl Team that won the regional competition this year to qualify for the national contest. Bumpers College Alumni Society Scholarship The Bumpers College Alumni Society sponsors an annual scholarship and names two Ring Scholars, who each receive a class ring when they graduate. The Alumni Society Scholarship recipient is John Christopher Looney, a senior with a double major in Animal Science and Agricultural Business. Also known as “Ribby,” the Razorbacks baseball team mascot, he is the son of Dr. Charles Looney of Camden and Cathryn Looney of Monroe, La. His career goals include working in animal genetics with endangered species. He has been an officer in Alpha Gamma Rho fraternity, a Bumpers College Ambassador, a member of Gamma Sigma Delta and the Pre-Vet Club, among other organizations. He is a Brandon Burlsworth Scholar and has been a volunteer for several community service activities. Ring Scholars for 2006 are Frances Ellen Elder of Ozark and Emerson Conner McNair of Fayetteville. Frances Elder, the daughter of Franklin and Roberta Elder, is completing her third year as an Agricultural Education, Communication and Technology major with a concentration in Agricultural Education. She is a first-generation college student and has a goal of teaching in a public school agricultural science program. She is an officer in Alpha Zeta and Alpha Tau Alpha and is involved in the Chi Alpha campus ministries program and softball team. Connor McNair, the son of Malcolm and Martha McNair of Fayetteville, is a senior majoring in Agricultural Business with a Pre-Law concentration. He was president of Kappa Sigma fraternity and the campus chapter of the National Wild Turkey Federation. He has served as a Bumpers College Ambassador and on the U of A Student Alumni Board and has been a volunteer worker for local charities. He received the Kappa Sigma Scholarship-Leadership Award and was a Spitze Legislative Intern in Sen. Mark Pryor’s Washington office in 2005. FACULTY & STAFF AWARDS Spitze Land Grant University Faculty Award for Excellence Professor Sung Man Lim has had a distinguished career at the University of Illinois and USDA/ARS (1967-1991) and at the University of Arkansas since 1991. His research on epidemiology and disease resistance in corn and soybean in Illinois included discovery of the causal agent of southern corn leaf blight (SCLB) and control of the disease. These contributions were recognized as some of the most important plant pathology research of the 20th century. In 1977, he was recruited by USDA/ARS at the University of Illinois to develop a major soybean pathology research program. He was also recognized as one of the best teachers at UI. As Plant Pathology Department Head at the University of Arkansas, his leadership and support of faculty, students and staff led to many departmental accomplishments, such as the H.R. Rosen Alternative Pest Control Center, an updated curriculum, increased faculty collaboration, integration of extension faculty, the first molecular and biotechnology faculty members, the Arkansas Rice Disease Management Program, the base program in soybean variety screening, the Arkansas Soybean Rust Working Group, and the naming of the UA Division of Agriculture as lead institution for a $5 million USDA grant for a multi-state project on applied genomics in rice. Dr. Lim earned B.S. and M.S. degrees in agriculture in Korea, his native country, another M.S degree from Mississippi State University and a Ph.D. in plant pathology from Michigan State in 1966. Jack Justus Award for Teaching Excellence Dr. David Longer has developed and taught six courses and labs and was instrumental in developing the new minor in Wildlife Habitat. He was recently appointed to a three-year term as Co-Director of the Cordes Teaching and Faculty Support Center. His devotion to teaching is evident from the many other teaching awards he has received, including the U of A Teaching Academy Award of Excellence. He joined the faculty in 1980 and conducted the statewide variety testing program for soybeans, cotton and small grains and research on those crops. The focus of his research now is sustainable production systems. Dr. Longer has served in many leadership and service roles for the College, the University and his professional societies. He is also active in community service and was the founding chairman of the Harvey and Bernice Jones Center for Families in Springdale. He has a bachelor’s degree with a history major and biology and chemistry minors from Ball State University and M.S. and Ph.D. degrees in agronomy from Purdue University. Alumni Society Outstanding Advising Award Dr. Nancy Jack has built the Dorothy E. King Equine Program to national prominence. She developed the equine curriculum, including four new courses, and led the successful effort to create the Equine Science Minor. The success of this multi-faceted program is due in part to her devotion to teaching, advising and mentoring students. She has about 150 students involved to some degree in her program, including many with other majors who take her courses. She challenges each student to realize their potential and puts many of them to work on projects and events, maintaining equine facilities and caring for the horses. The Animal Science Department has received many testimonials from students about the personal attention they have received from Dr. Jack and how she has motivated them to stay in school when they were otherwise discouraged and frustrated. She has a Ph.D. degree in Animal Science from New Mexico State University. John W. White Outstanding Teacher Award Since joining the Food Science faculty in 1992, Dr. Navam Hettiarachchy has built a highly respected teaching and research program in the area of protein chemistry. In addition to developing and teaching six courses and labs, Dr. Hettiarachchy coaches the student College Bowl team that competes each year in events sponsored by the Institute of Food Technologists. The team won a national championship in 1996 and won this year’s regional contest. Dr. Hettiarachchy was the lead author for an IFT grant to foster participation by minority students in food science as a career. This funding supports a successful student internship program that she developed. She is a teacher in the Bumpers College Honors Program and a mentor to undergraduate students who conduct research projects. Part of her success as a teacher is due to her listening skills, as she works with each student to help them master the course work. Her courses emphasize problem solving and applying scientific principles and theory to food industry situations. Dr. Hettiarachchy is a native of Sri Lanka with degrees from universities in India, Scotland and England, including a Ph.D. in biochemistry from the University of Hull in England. John W. White Outstanding Researcher Award Dr. John R. Clark became resident director of the Fruit Substation at Clarksville in 1983. He joined the Horticulture Department faculty in 1991 and transferred to Fayetteville in 1994. He worked closely with Dr. James N. Moore in a very productive fruit breeding program and was given responsibility for that program when Dr. Moore retired in 1997. Dr. Clark provides leadership for a team effort that includes his graduate students and other Division scientists and staff at Clarksville, Fayetteville and the Southwest Research and Extension Center at Hope. Since 1997, the program has produced 16 new varieties of blackberries, peaches, grapes and nectarines. The blackberry breeding program is the largest and most productive in the world. Dr. Clark and his students have also improved the technology for breeding and successfully growing fruit crops. He also developed variety testing programs that help growers select varieties best adapted to their needs. Dr. Clark is a prolific writer of journal articles and is in great demand as a speaker throughout the United States and abroad. He received B.S. and M.S. degrees from Mississippi State University and a Ph.D. degree in Plant Science from the University of Arkansas. John W. White Extension Excellence Award — State Dr. Rosemary Rodibaugh has been a Nutrition Specialist with the Cooperative Extension Service since 1989. She is also an adjunct faculty member in the School of Human Environmental Sciences and the UA-Medical Sciences Department of Dietetics and Nutrition. Dr. Rodibaugh chairs Extension’s Nutrition Initiative Team and the Healthy Weight for Arkansans focus program and has been the principal investigator or co-principal investigator on grants and contracts totaling more than $13,600,000. She is currently the project director for the Food Stamp Nutrition Education program; the Delta HOPE Project, a Kellogg Foundation-funded multi-state school-based nutrition and physical activity intervention; and the Blue and You Foundation-funded AR HOPE school-based project. She serves on the Arkansas Child Health Advisory Committee and chairs the nutrition sub-committee that developed standards for public schools. She is a founding member the Arkansas 5 a Day Coalition and Arkansas Action for Healthy Kids and serves on the executive committees of both coalitions. She received the Arkansas Public Health Association’s Nutrition Advocacy Award in 2005 and was named the Arkansas Dietetic Association’s Outstanding Dietitian of the Year in 2006. She is a native of Indiana and received her B.S. and Ph.D. degrees from Purdue University. John W. White Extension Excellence Award — County Two county Staff Chairs were selected to receive the John W. White Extension Excellence Award for 2006: Mike McCarter of Murfreesboro in Pike County and Rick L. Thompson of Harrisburg in Poinsett County. Rick Thompson was first employed by the Division of Agriculture in 1978 as an Extension Agricultural Agent in Greene County. In 1981, he moved to the Corning office in Clay County as Agricultural Agent. In 1987, he was promoted to Staff Chair in Monroe County and became Staff Chair in Cross County in 1988. He transferred to Poinsett County as Staff Chair in 1995. Mr. Thompson and his staff manage a program focused on row crop production. Poinsett County farmers grow rice on about 135,000 acres, which is the most of any county in the state. He has a B.S. degree from Arkansas State University and an M.S. degree from the University of Arkansas at Fayetteville. Mike McCarter began his extension career in Nevada County in 1979 as an Agriculture/4-H Agent. In 1985, he was promoted to Agriculture and Community Development Leader in Nevada County and to his present position as Staff Chair in Pike County in 1989. In the early 1990s, most row crop producers in the county converted to beef and forage production, which became the main emphasis of the Extension program. Mr. McCarter initiated one of the original 10 whole-farm Arkansas Beef Improvement Program projects in the county. He has a B.S. degree in Animal Science and an M.S. degree in General Agriculture, both from the University of Arkansas. John W. White Team Award The University of Arkansas Turfgrass Program is one of the most productive and respected in the nation. Experiment Station and Extension faculty work as partners to provide cutting edge research and to extend new technology and methods to turfgrass industry professionals. The team also has developed one of the finest undergraduate and graduate education programs in the nation. Graduates are recruited by prestigious golf courses and other turfgrass operations nationally. Students are placed in internships with some of the most prestigious golf courses and with sports field managers and sod farms in the U.S. and abroad. Remote sensing techniques pioneered by team members to provide objective turfgrass performance data have been adopted by other scientists. Work in weed control, pathology, nutrition and other cultural techniques are the basis for best management practices used in Arkansas and the region. Team members are: Dr. Michael Richardson, Associate Professor of Horticulture, and currently editor in chief of the journal, Applied Turfgrass Science; Dr. Douglas Karcher, Assistant Professor of Horticulture, who focuses on improving turfgrass quality through innovative cultural practices while minimizing environmental impacts; Dr. Eugene Milus, Professor of Plant Pathology, and a member of the American Phytopathological Society Turfgrass Committee; Dr. John Boyd, Extension Specialist, and president of the Arkansas Turfgrass Association; and Dr. James A. Robbins, Professor of Horticulture and Extension Specialist, whose areas of expertise include landscape installation and maintenance. Non-Classified Support Personnel Award Charles F. Whitaker has been with the Division’s Cooperative Extension Service for the past 30 years, including the last eight years as Director of the Physical Plant. All of that was after he completed a career of 17 years in the U.S. Air Force. Mr. Whitaker was Central Supply Supervisor for 22 years before his present position. He became well known as one who could be relied on the get things done efficiently and effectively. In 1996, he accepted responsibility for the Division’s Cammack campus grounds of some 40 acres. In 2001, he supervised a major renovation at the Extension state office and at the Cammack campus. In 2004, he took charge of maintenance for the Extension facilities at Lonoke, and oversaw construction of two new greenhouses there last year. Mr. Whitaker has served as a member of the School Board for the Arkansas School for the Blind and Deaf in Little Rock and as president of the school’s parent/teacher organization. Classified Support Personnel Award - Agricultural Experiment Station Connie Stewart has been accountant for the Department of Animal Science since 1997. She not only keeps the department’s finances in good order, but also greatly enhances the quality of life for the faculty, staff and students with her cheerful approach to her job and friendly, cooperative nature. She also manages the department’s inventory system and assists with department activities involving students, faculty and staff. Ms. Stewart has a B.S. degree in business administration from UA-Monticello. She was previously employed as a corporate accountant with a Fayetteville law firm and as a staff accountant with a CPA firm in Magnolia. Classified Support Personnel Award - Cooperative Extension Service Johnny Woodley, Sr., is well known to Extension faculty and staff for his highly professional and always reliable performance as a Shipping and Receiving Clerk in the state office warehouse. He joined the Army National Guard after graduating from high school in 1990 and is now a Staff Sergeant. While working full-time for the Division since 1997, he continued his education and recently received a B.A. degree in Liberal Arts from the University of Arkansas at Little Rock. Mr. Woodley is a Sunday school teacher, a member of the Chi Epsilon Sigma Extension fraternity, and a member of the ACORN organization that seeks to improve opportunities for low and moderate-income families.
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