Professor Ozzie Abaye was selected by the American Society of Agronomy and the Fellows Committee as an ASA Fellow. It is the highest recognition given by the society. Members are nominated based on professional achievements and meritorious service. Only 0.3 percent of the society’s active and emeritus members are elected as Fellows.
Abaye was also awarded a five-year, $500,000 grant by the USDA to implement agricultural and educational activities to increase access to nutritional food through the production of mung beans.
W. Lee Daniels (left) and Gregory Evanylo (right) have each been conferred the title of professor emeritus by the Virginia Tech Board of Visitors. The title is granted upon retirement to those who gave exemplary service to the university and are recommended to the board by Virginia Tech President Tim Sands.
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Horticulture Associate Laurie Fox was presented with the Volunteer of the Year Award from the Norfolk Tree Commission at the Arbor Day Festival in October.
Professor Alex Niemiera was presented the Excellence in Teaching Award by the Center for Excellence in Teaching and Learning at Virginia Tech.
The award recognizes a Faculty member’s effective, engaged, and dynamic approaches and achievements as an educator.
Former student Forrest Brown described Niemiera as, “a dedicated and impactful professor who shows unwavering empathy and patience with his students.”
Niemiera served for five years as Assistant Dean of Student Programs for the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences.
(Left to right) Professors John Fike, Liesel Ritchie, and John Munsell will work with farmers in the mid-Atlantic and Appalachia to increase the use of agroforestry in their operations. Photo by Marya Barlow for Virginia Tech.
Virginia Tech is part of a $60 million, five-year grant led by The Nature Conservancy. The project, titled “Expanding Agroforestry Production and Markets for Producer Profitability and Climate Stabilization,” aims to advance agroforestry in the eastern U.S. and Hawaii. It is funded by the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Climate-Smart Agriculture and Forestry Partnership Initiative.
The university will receive $2.25 million to lead regional efforts to help farmers increase the use of agroforestry for economic, social, and environmental benefits.
“Virginia Tech was chosen as a partner for this effort because of our strong track record in agroforestry research and extension in the U.S.,” Professor and Forage Extension Specialist John Fike said.
The multidisciplinary team is made up of Professor and Forest Management Extension Specialist John Munsell, Professor of Sociology Liesel Ritchie, and Fike.
Fike and Virginia Tech also received a $195,000 USDA Conservation Innovation Grant to explore the potential production and environmental benefits of incorporating chicory and plantain into the state’s cool season pasture systems.
Producers in certain regions of the state will be eligible to take part in the project, which involves implementing forb seeding treatments in targeted fields to increase pasture diversity.
Steve Heckendorn, manager of the Soil Testing Lab, hosted Mario Buch, Director of Research at ENCA Ing., an agricultural technical school in Villa Nueva, Guatemala. Buch was touring several Agricultural Research and Extension Centers across the Commonwealth of Virginia.