The Purdue University College of Agriculture will recognize 11 people from business, government and education with the college’s highest honor for their achievements at the middle stages of their careers. They will receive the Distinguished Agriculture Alumni Award at 3:30 p.m. March 7 in the Purdue Memorial Union North Ballroom. A 2:30 p.m. reception, open to the public, will precede the ceremony.
The award recognizes mid-career Purdue Agriculture alumni who have demonstrated outstanding accomplishments, made significant contributions to their professions or to society in general, and exhibit high potential for future professional growth. “These 11 people are terrific representatives of what we do so well – prepare students to make a difference,” said Jay Akridge, Glenn W. Sample Dean of Purdue Agriculture. “They are businesspeople, educators, scientists and entrepreneurs working in both the public and private sectors, and they are all leaders. We take great pride in our alumni, and these are 11 of our best.”
The 2014 honorees are (all degrees from Purdue):
* John Becherer (M.S. ’87) of Chesterfield, Mo., CEO of the United Soybean Board.
* Lynda M. Ciuffetti, (Ph.D. ’83) of Corvallis, Ore., head of Oregon State University’s Department of Botany and Plant Pathology.
* Johann “Joe” R. Garwood (B.S. ’78) of Morrow, Ohio, vice president and director of corporate operations of Fulcrum Exploration LLC.
* Anetra L. Harbor (M.S ’02, Ph.D. ’06) of Rockville, Md., policy analyst at the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Natural Resources Conservation Service.
* Carl C. Kincaid (B.S. ’99) of Crawfordsville, Ind., principal of Rundell Ernstberger Associates LLC, Indianapolis.
* Donald J. Leopold (Ph.D. ’84) of Syracuse, N.Y., chair and distinguished teaching professor of the State University of New York’s Department of Environmental and Forest Biology, College of Environmental Science and Forestry.
* Maurício Antonio Lopes (M.S. ’89) of Brasília, Brazil, president of Brazilian Agricultural Research Corp.
* Nicholas L. Rozzi (B.S. ’97, Ph.D. ’01) of Douglassville, Pa., director of global commercialization at Godiva Chocolatier Inc.
* S. Richard Tolman (M.S. ’78) of Chesterfield, Mo., CEO of National Corn Growers Association.
* Geoffrey C. Waldbieser (B.S. ’83, M.S. ’85, Ph.D. ’89) of Stoneville, Miss., research molecular biologist of the Warmwater Aquaculture Research Unit of USDA’s Agricultural Research Service.
* Carla N. Yerkes (B.S. ’82, M.S. ’85, Ph.D. ’95) of Indianapolis, senior research scientist and group leader of Input Traits Biology, Discovery Research, Dow AgroSciences.