More than $235,000 was awarded to students in the College of Agriculture, Food and Environmental Sciences (CAFES) at the University of Wisconsin-River Falls at the 56th Annual Scholarship and Awards Recognition Program. The 185 scholarships were awarded to continuing students who will be sophomores, juniors or seniors in the 2022-23 academic year.
Four new scholarships were among those awarded:
- The Meydam-Larsen Agricultural Education Scholarship endowed by alumni and long-time UWRF employees Katrina Larsen and Mark Meydam for agricultural education majors actively involved in student organizations.
- The Cole Berra Memorial Scholarship funded by family and friends in memory of Cole, a junior in Ag Engineering Technology who passed away last fall after a courageous battle with cancer.
- The Frank and Helga Onan Scholarship established by Gary Onan, Professor Emeritus of Animal Science, in honor of his parents who were outstanding supporters of higher education.
- The Isometric Micro Molding, Inc. Scholarships, a leader in precision/micro manufacturing and industry partner in New Richmond interested in supporting engineering students.
Following the presentation of the scholarships, CAFES Dean Dale Gallenberg presented the 2022 CAFES Outstanding Faculty Award, the highest award bestowed upon a faculty member in the college. The awardee is also honored nationally with the Teaching Award of Merit from the North American Colleges and Teachers of Agriculture (NACTA) in recognition of meritorious efforts in college teaching.
The 2022 honoree is Agricultural Education Professor James Graham. Graham’s nomination materials highlighted his commitment to integrating high impact practices with a focus on service learning and collaborative assignments and projects that connect students with the community and area high school agricultural education programs. His teaching excellence is also reflected in his high student evaluation scores. He averages more than 70 advisees per year yet still earns their praise.
“Dr. Graham has always made me feel welcome and understood. As a transfer, he made my transition easy and greatly reduced the stress of it all. I could not have asked for a better advisor,” a student wrote.
“Graham is always there to help whenever one of his advisees has questions,” wrote another.
Graham has a strong record of service in the college and beyond. He is the long-time adviser for the Alpha Gamma Rho fraternity, held leadership roles on Faculty Senate, served as the national president of Alpha Tau Alpha, has been instrumental in the development, advising and judging of the Wisconsin FFA Parliamentary Procedure competitions, and conducted numerous workshops and held committee service responsibilities for the Wisconsin Association of Agricultural Educators.
“A review of Dr. Graham’s record of activities and accomplishments clearly shows why he is an obvious choice for this award,” Gallenberg said. “He puts students first and his commitment to their educational experiences through the agricultural education program furthers that priority. Beyond this, his record of service to the department, college, and university is outstanding.”
