Wednesday, February 24, 2010

Jerry DeWitt, NCR-SARE Administrative Council Member, Receives Award for Outstanding Achievement

Jerry DeWitt, NCR-SARE Administrative Council member, has been awarded the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences George Washington Carver Distinguished Service Award at Iowa State University.

Source: Iowa State University

AMES, Iowa - Iowa State University's College of Agriculture and Life Sciences presented awards on Oct. 16 at the annual Iowa State University Alumni Association Honors and Awards ceremony.

Dwight Hughes Jr., received the Floyd Andre Award, which recognizes alums who have made outstanding contributions to production agriculture, agricultural business or who have significantly influenced Iowa agriculture.

Hughes was honored for his innovations in the landscape nursery industry. He received his bachelor’s degree at Iowa State in horticulture in 1970 and owns Dwight Hughes Nursery in Cedar Rapids, which is part of the family business that was opened in 1908. He is past president of the American Nursery and Landscape Association. He also has published a book and video on landscape installation and nursery production.

David Wright, received the Henry A. Wallace Award, which was established in 1978 to honor an Iowa State University alumnus who has made an outstanding contribution to national or international agriculture in writing, teaching, research, or leadership

Wright was honored for his leadership in helping university researchers across the United States prioritize research to improve profitability for soybean producers. He received both his bachelor’s degree and master’s degree in 1982 and 1986 in agronomy at Iowa State, and a doctorate in agronomy from Kansas State University. He began working for the Iowa Soybean Association in 2001 and now serves as the director of contract research and strategic initiatives.

Jerry DeWitt and Charles Sukup received the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences George Washington Carver Distinguished Service Award. The award was established to honor Iowa State University alumni and friends for outstanding achievements in the agricultural, food, environmental, social and life sciences.

DeWitt, who has been an Iowa State faculty member since 1972, is a leader in sustainable agriculture at the state, regional and national levels. His 30-year commitment to sustainable agriculture research led to establishing the first tenured organic agriculture faculty position at Iowa State and at a land grant university. He has served as ISU Extension’s state sustainable agriculture coordinator since 1994. In 2005, he became the director of the Leopold Center for Sustainable Agriculture at Iowa State University.

Sukup was honored for his contributions in the engineering of grain handling and storage equipment. His innovations have helped farmers become more productive and profitable. He received his bachelor’s degree in 1976 and his master’s degree in 1982 in agricultural engineering at Iowa State. Sukup lives on a farm near Sheffield and is president of Sukup Manufacturing Co. The company is the world’s largest family-owned manufacturer of grain handling and storage equipment.