Professors nationally recognized for teaching excellence

LEXINGTON, Ky., (Jul 16, 2009) Five University of Kentucky College of Agriculture faculty members received the Teacher Fellow Award at a recent meeting of the North American Colleges and Teachers of Agriculture group at Oklahoma State University. 

The award recognizes individuals who demonstrate excellence in higher education in the agricultural, human and natural resource sciences. In addition to classroom teaching excellence, the award also recognizes the recipients' contributions to the culture of teaching on campus, scholarly activities related to teaching and involvement with students outside of the formal classroom setting.

The UK faculty members who received the award were plant and soil sciences professor Larry Grabau, landscape architecture assistant professor Brian Lee, agricultural economics associate professor Leigh Maynard, nutrition and food science Lecturer Tammy Stephenson and horticulture associate professor Mark Williams.

"One of the hallmarks of a great teacher is continuous professional development," said Mike Mullen, professor and associate dean of academic programs in the UK College of Agriculture. "These award recipients have joined a select group of teaching faculty receiving the honor, and they should be very proud of their accomplishments.

At the same meeting, Mullen was named president of the organization. Mullen previously served as the society's eastern region director, the liaison to the National Association of State Universities and Land Grant Colleges and also as president-elect.

Contact: Mike Mullen, 859-257-3469

Extension helps vegetable growers branch out into hydroponics

Matt and Jerry Wyatt of Heartland Hydroponics in Marshall County, always had been traditional vegetable producers but wanted to better utilize...
read more

For tree farms, less is more when it comes to pesticides

Some commercial tree farm managers who are used to applying large volumes of pesticides to control insects and diseases on their operations are trying a new management system using half the amount. 

Horticulturalists with the University of Kentucky College of Agriculture are part of an effort led by The Ohio State University (OSU) to teach nursery and farm managers...
read more

Blame cool July on El Niño

With less than one week left in July, no hurricane has formed in the Atlantic Ocean.  Meteorologists at the University of Kentucky College of Agriculture largely attribute this anomaly to El Niño, which  also may be the reason July 2009 will be one of the coolest Julys in the past 100 years.

"The Climate Prediction Center defines El Niño as...
read more