Quarterly CFANS awards roundup

May 10, 2021

Celebrating the accomplishments of students, faculty and staff 

Campus Affairs

In this inaugural quarterly celebration of award recipients across CFANS, we recognize students, faculty and staff who've received significant accolades. Congratulations to all recipients—we're CFANS proud of you!

2021 President’s Student Leadership and Service Award

The President’s Student Leadership & Service Award (PSLSA) recognizes the accomplishments and contributions of outstanding student leaders at the University of Minnesota Twin Cities. It is presented to students for their exceptional leadership and service to the University of Minnesota and the surrounding community.

  • Trey Feuerhelm
  • Cody Hoerning
  • Lauren Kreager
  • Persephone Ma
  • Gigi Otten
  • Samuel Reed
  • Maggie Shanahan
  • Anh K. Tran
  • Tyler Tran

Recipients of the PSLSA who are outstanding in certain aspects of their leadership and service (as determined by the PSLSA Selection Committee) may be eligible for one of the following scholarship awards: Donald R. Zander Alumni Award for Outstanding Student Leadership or Mary A. McEvoy Public Engagement and Leadership Award.

Donald R. Zander Alumni Award for Outstanding Student Leadership

Priscilla Trinh

Mary A. McEvoy Award for Public Service and Leadership

Hannah Jo King

Philip C. Hamm Scholarships

The Philip C. Hamm Memorial Lectureship in the Plant Sciences was established at the University of Minnesota in 1980 by a grant from the Monsanto Agricultural Products Company in memory of the late Philip C. Hamm, an outstanding research scientist in the employ of the company. The lectureship is given annually to an individual who has made a significant contribution to the plant sciences.

Undergraduate

  • Sarah Duber
  • Quinn Johnson

Graduate 

  • Craig See
  • Laise Sousa Moreira

Graduate — Honorable Mention

  • Emmanuel Adeyemo
  • John Hill Price
  • Artur Stefanski

Academic Advising Network (AAN) Rising Star Award

Recipients are professional staff who work with matriculated students, help with retention and degree progress, and assist with student academic success while demonstrating a commitment to AAN guiding principles of collaboration, innovation, and diversity.

Grant McCormack

2021 Distinguished McKnight University Professor

The Distinguished McKnight University Professorship program recognizes outstanding faculty members who have recently achieved full professor status. Recipients hold the title “Distinguished McKnight University Professor” for as long as they remain employed at the University of Minnesota.

Dylan Millet, Department of Soil, Water & Climate

2021 Richard C. Newman Art of Teaching Award

The Art of Teaching Award is presented annually to a faculty member who displays passion for teaching in the natural resource sciences; achieving excellence and making a positive impact on students.

Diana Karwan, Associate Professor, Department of Forest Resources

2021 Borealis Night of Excellence Awards

An annual event, Borealis Night of Excellence recognizes individuals who have made significant contributions to the college and community. The CFANS Alumni Society, CFANS Undergraduate Student Board, and CFANS Graduate Student Board come together to celebrate these exceptional alumni, students, staff, faculty and friends. The awards presented hold great honor in the CFANS community. 

  • Student Leadership Award — Undergraduate — Amelia Hayden
  • Student Leadership Award — Graduate — Thomas Durfee (MS '16)
  • Exemplary Undergraduate Student Organization — Ag Business Club
  • Exemplary Graduate Student Organization — UMN Mycology Club
  • Outstanding Club Advisor — Les Hansen (BS '73, MS '75 Animal Science)
  • Exemplary Staff — Sarah Lindholm (BS '12 Nutrition, M.Ed. '18)
  • Exemplary Faculty — Nic Jelinski (PhD '14 Land & Atmospheric Science)
  • Exemplary Post-Doc — Bethanne Bruninga-Socolar
  • Little Red Oil Can — Student — Persephone Ma (MS '20)
  • Little Red Oil Can — Non-Student — Jim Bradeen
  • Outstanding Friend — Katie Fineout (BS '17)
  • Alumni Service — Margot Monson (BS '67, MS '94 Entomology)
  • Distinguished Alumni — James (Jim) Nesseth (BS '76 Animal Science, MEd '00)
  • Lifetime Achievement — Patricia Booth (BS '77, Nutrition & Dietetics)

2020-2021 CFANS Honors and Awards

The CFANS Honors and Awards Committee presents collegiate awards at the spring college assembly. People from all units are eligible for nomination.  Awards recognize excellence in teaching, research, service, diversity, extension and outreach, innovation, and outstanding students and teaching assistants. Many awards include a monetary stipend.

  • CFANS Distinguished Teaching Award for Undergraduate Tenured Faculty
    Ruth Dill-Macky | Department of Plant Pathology 
  • CFANS Distinguished Teaching Award for Undergraduate Non-Tenured Faculty
    Jason Kerwin | Department of Applied Economics 
  • CFANS Distinguished Teaching Award for Graduate Faculty 
    Michael Boland | Department of Applied Economics 
  • CFANS Pioneering and Innovation Award 
    Matt Petersen | Department of Entomology 
  • Graduate Assistant Teaching Award 
    Ramya Lekha Medida | Department of Animal Science 
  • CFANS Civil Service/Bargaining Unit Staff Award – Technical Category
    Colin Zumwalde | Department of Horticulture Science 
  • CFANS Civil Service/Bargaining Unit Staff Award – Administrative Category
    Cheryel Keyser | Water Resources Center 
  • CFANS Professional and Academic Award – Research Category 
    Ben Held | Department of Plant Pathology 
  • CFANS Professional and Academic Award – Other Professional Category
    Kristen Opitz | Department of Plant Pathology 
  • Distinguished Extension and Outreach Award 
    Robert Koch | Department of Entomology 
  • Distinguished Diversity and Inclusion Award 
    Candy Hirsch | Department of Agronomy and Plant Genetics

To submit awards for inclusion in the Q2 2021  roundup, please complete this form and be sure to select the "Share an award recipient and corresponding award information" drop-down option. The next roundup will be published on our website in the beginning of August and will include awards received and/or announced in May, June and July. 

Submission criteria: The CFANS awards roundup is intended for announcements/awards heavily focused on the recognition of current faculty, staff and students. In general, the awards featured are of major significance. Individuals who are featured usually include faculty, dean designation or above, executive administration, or an administrative appointment that touches all departments/units in its function—for example, a director of equity and diversity. This general rule applies to student honorees as well. The awards roundup will be featured on the CFANS website and shared in our internal Purpose newsletter once per quarter. Our team will let you know whether or not your submission will be included. No photos necessary.