ANR Alumni Association Award Recipients (2006)
To view the 2004 ANR Alumni Association Award recipients, click here.
To view the 2005 ANR Alumni Association Award recipients, click here.
For a complete list of past recipients of ANR Alumni Association Awards, click here.
Honorary Alumnus Award
David C. Morris
David C. Morris has made contributions to agriculture and communities in Michigan as a farmer, public servant and philanthropist. Together with his late wife and business partner, Betty (MSU College of Business, ’49), Morris grew his farm and property from a 245-acre family farm into a thriving enterprise of more than 1,600 acres. Careful stewardship of their land and good business decisions led to their success in their cattle and other livestock operations.
Successful in his business, Morris also worked to ensure the success of his community and Michigan’s agriculture industry. He served as an Eagle Township supervisor for 23 years and was an active commissioner for Clinton County. He has been a member of the Michigan Farm Bureau since 1950. He has served on a number of advisory boards within the College of Agriculture and Natural Resources; members of the MSU faculty frequently rely upon his business experience and excellent judgment as they look for input to refine programs to meet stakeholder needs. As he has sought advice and incorporated new technology to benefit his operations, he has also provided important feedback to MSU during his more than 60 years in agriculture.
Morris has been a vocal advocate for the CANR, MSU Extension and the Michigan Agricultural Experiment Station at both the state and national levels. He was a representative to the Council for Agricultural Research, Extension and Teaching (CARET), a national organization that offered testimony to U.S. Congressional committees and executive branch agencies in support of land-grant universities. Speaking from the heart, Morris was exceptionally effective in his strong support of MSU’s agricultural research, Extension and teaching programs.
Morris is a generous and humble man who has chosen to put the fruits of his labor to work in support of the institutions that he values the most – his church and MSU agricultural programs in the CANR, MSUE and the MAES. He received the United Methodist Association Hall of Fame in Philanthropy Award in 2005, a national recognition for service and philanthropy to the United Methodist Church. Also in 2005, he was recognized as a member of the MSU Frank S. Kedzie Society for the future gift he established through his estate which will have a tremendous impact on the future of Michigan livestock research, local government policy and agriculture.
Outstanding Alumnus Award
James F. Schiller
James F. Schiller has been involved in Michigan agriculture his entire life and has worked to improve the income and financial well-being of Michigan farmers for more than 30 years.
Since 2001, he has been the chief executive officer for GreenStone Farm Credit Services. Under his guidance, the organization has grown to become Michigan’s largest agricultural lender. He successfully guided the merger of four regional farm credit associations in Michigan into one association (January 2000) and the merger of the Upper Peninsula and northeastern Wisconsin associations (January 2003). Headquartered in East Lansing, GreenStone Farm Credit Services is now the country’s fourth largest association in the Farm Credit System, with 15,000 members and a $3 billion organization encompassing all of Michigan and 10 counties of northeastern Wisconsin.
Schiller developed a strong work ethic growing up on a dairy farm in Washtenaw County and learned about production agriculture and leadership as a member of both 4-H and FFA. His leadership skills were tested when he entered the military shortly after graduating from the MSU Agricultural Technology program in 1966, serving with distinction and rising to the rank of first lieutenant in a field artillery unit during the Vietnam War. Upon completing his tour of duty, Schiller returned to MSU, graduating with honors in 1972 with a bachelor’s degree in agriculture business.
He has been with GreenStone since 1972, working his way up from loan officer to credit manager to president and CEO of Farm Credit Services of Southeastern Michigan. Prior to his appointment as CEO of GreenStone, he held the position of chief operating officer for Farm Credit Services-Michigan.
As GreenStone CEO, Schiller maintains a philosophy of investing in the future leadership of Michigan agriculture, strongly supporting the organization’s financial commitments to student scholarships, the Michigan 4-H Foundation and the Michigan FFA Foundation. A longtime advocate of MSU, the College of Agriculture and Natural Resources and FFA, he has served on the Michigan FFA Foundation board (as chair from 2003 to 2005) and as a member of the CANR Stakeholder Advisory Board. He has served within numerous industry organizations and as a member of the ANR Alumni Association board, the Lenawee Chamber of Commerce board, and the Charlotte and Adrian Kiwanis Clubs, and in several leadership roles in his church and community.
Distinguished Faculty Award
Dr. Mary Hausbeck
Dr. Mary Hausbeck, professor and Extension specialist in plant pathology, is an internationally recognized and respected plant pathologist in the areas of vegetable and greenhouse ornamental crops. Her work exemplifies the strong interrelationship between research and Extension at MSU: she seamlessly integrates the needs and problems of growers into her research, and her research results form the foundation of her Extension programs.
Her service to the Michigan vegetable and greenhouse ornamentals industry is exceptional. Her direct work with grower and industry leaders to find solutions to disease problems facilitates programs that provide answers needed by the industry to remain competitive. Her disease forecasting research and predictive models have been very effective in helping growers determine when and how to manage disease.
She has been a driving force in the development of several specialty crop pest management plans that provide a road map for pest management strategies. The plans evolved out of workshops in which Dr. Hausbeck brought together researchers, growers, commodity leaders and government agencies from several states to assess and address the needs of growers and plant industries. Her approach has served as a national model for developing such pest management plans.
Her mentorship instills a high degree of professionalism in her students and lab members and provides them with the tools they need to be successful upon completion of her program. Her dedication, organizational skills and teamwork approach result in a tremendous body of work that benefits the industry, students, postdoctoral fellows and technicians.
Dr. Hausbeck has authored or co-authored more than 45 peer-reviewed research publications and more than 150 reports, magazine articles and bulletins. Her capabilities have attracted excellent support, including more than $550,000 in new grant support last fiscal year. This productivity is with a direct purpose: to assist growers in meeting the demands of disease management. Results of her many disease management trials are presented directly to growers and published in the American Phytopathological Society’s Fungicide and Nematicide Reports, including 25 such reports in 2005 alone.
Dr. Hausbeck has been a member of the MSU faculty since shortly after receiving her doctorate from Pennsylvania State University in 1990. She also holds two horticulture degrees from MSU (B.S., 1983; M.S., 1985). Her commitment to outreach has been honored with numerous awards, including the John Hannah Award for Extension Program Excellence (2002) and the Outstanding Extension Specialist award (2001). She has also been recognized with the All-University Excellence in Diversity Team Award (2002) and the Alex Laurie Award for Research and Education from the Society of American Florists (2004).