CANR & MSU Extension faculty and staff selected to receive distinguished awards
posted on February 15, 2012 12:28pm
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EAST LANSING, Mich. – Six individuals in the College of Agriculture and Natural Resources and Michigan State University (MSU) Extension have been selected to receive prestigious MSU Distinguished Faculty and Distinguished Staff awards. They were recognized on Feb. 14 during MSU’s Awards Convocation at the Wharton Center.
Those recognized, Amy Iezzoni, Susan Selke, Kendra Cheruvelil, Daniel Kramer, Roger Betz and Lela Vandenberg, demonstrate extraordinary achievement and make exceptional contributions in advising, curriculum, development, outreach, research or teaching. These members also exemplify long-term careers with excellence and outstanding contributions to MSU.
Amy Iezzoni, professor in the Department of Horticulture, is a distinguished researcher, plant breeder, teacher and student mentor. Dedicating her career to the study and improvement of cherries has led her to achieve international recognition in cherry genetics and genomics. Factors contributing to the success and uniqueness of Iezzoni’s program consist of her ability to entwine basic and applied research, recognized by both industry and scientific communities, while incorporating the mentoring of numerous graduate students.
Susan E. Selke, professor in the School of Packaging, is one of the world’s leading scholars in the areas of sustainability, packaging materials and the end-of-life scenarios of packaging. Due to her outstanding status in this field, she has been honored by governmental agencies, trade associations and nonprofit organizations. Dedicating her life to helping others and making a global impact, she has mentored 40 master’s and 10 doctoral graduates, several of whom are now serving as faculty members in the U.S. and overseas.
Assistant professor Kendra S. Cheruvelil is an outstanding teacher who is passionate about developing and using effective means of connecting with and teaching a diverse group of students. With her defined career as teacher-scholar at MSU’s Fisheries and Wildlife and Lyman Briggs College, she is dedicated to the improvement of accessibility of her own course to students categorized as low-math placement freshmen. Her participation in the MSU Creating Inclusive Excellence grant makes her an excellent example to students who aspire to be the best they can be in the application of ideas in the classroom.
Daniel B. Kramer, associate professor in the Department of Fisheries & Wildlife and James Madison College, is a perfect example of educating students through some of the toughest challenges in the intersection of environmental science and public policy. As stated by one of his students, he “inspires his students to learn from the world around us.” Giving evidence to his upstanding skills, Kramer has also been actively involved with research within the globalized fisheries community through many awarded grants.
A passionate leader of MSU Extension, senior Extension educator Roger A. Betz is committed to helping Michigan farmers manage their finances to better suit their farming operations. As district Extension farm management educator since 1990, Betz is not only a respected resource for both agricultural producer and colleagues across the state, but he also is valuable in giving advice through many educational methods to anyone and everyone.
Senior Extension specialist Lela L. Vandenberg has established an outstanding career in developing leadership in MSU Extension. During her past 18 years, Vandenberg has consistently helped in analyzing needs and being the educational innovator that utilizes leadership in problematic situations. Even with her involvement in strengthening MSU’s participation in an online system connecting 74 research and land-grant universities, she still does not fail to encourage more to become adaptive and effective in this challenging environment.
