FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — Kate Shoulders, an assistant professor of agricultural education in the Dale Bumpers College of Agricultural, Food and Life Sciences at the University of Arkansas, received three national awards at a recent conference.

Shoulders earned recognition for three collaborative research projects at the national American Association for Agricultural Education conference in Kansas City in May.

She earned Distinguished Manuscript from the Journal of Agricultural Education, and Outstanding Innovative Idea poster presentation and Outstanding Research poster presentation.

The Distinguished Manuscript is "Peer Review in Agricultural Education: Interrater Reliability of Manuscript Reviews for the 2014 National Agricultural Education Research Conference." It was co-authored by Shoulders, Bumpers College coordinator of the agricultural systems technology management program Don Johnson and Jim Flowers from North Carolina State University.

The Outstanding Innovative Idea poster is "Owl Pellets: Regurgitating Practical Tips for Agriculture Teachers" which was submitted by Shoulders, Brian Myers from the University of Florida and Marshall Baker from Oklahoma State University.

The Outstanding Research poster is "What Not to Wear: An Exploration of How Teacher Attire Shapes Students' Perceptions." Shoulders worked on that project with U of A undergraduate students Alicia Hayden, Anna Loftin and Charlee Howard.

Shoulders teaches in the Department of Agricultural Education, Communications and Technology and also manages her Renewable Energy Analysis Project on sustainability.

About the Dale Bumpers College of Agricultural, Food and Life Sciences: Bumpers College provides life-changing opportunities to position and prepare graduates who will be leaders in the businesses associated with foods, family, the environment, agriculture, sustainability and human quality of life; and who will be first-choice candidates of employers looking for leaders, innovators, policy makers and entrepreneurs. The college is named for Dale Bumpers, former Arkansas governor and longtime U.S. senator who made the state prominent in national and international agriculture.

About the University of Arkansas: The University of Arkansas provides an internationally competitive education for undergraduate and graduate students in more than 200 academic programs. The university contributes new knowledge, economic development, basic and applied research, and creative activity while also providing service to academic and professional disciplines. The Carnegie Foundation classifies the University of Arkansas among only 2 percent of universities in America that have the highest level of research activity. U.S. News & World Report ranks the University of Arkansas among its top American public research universities. Founded in 1871, the University of Arkansas comprises 10 colleges and schools and maintains a low student-to-faculty ratio that promotes personal attention and close mentoring.