FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – Jeff Edwards, one of the 2017-18 Outstanding Alumni of the Year for the Department of Crop, Soil and Environmental Sciences in the Dale Bumpers College of Agricultural, Food and Life Sciences, will be speaking on campus next week.

Edwards is presenting "A Few Things I Have Learned" at 3:05 p.m. Monday, March 5, in Room 009 of the Plant Sciences Building. His presentation is open to everyone. He will be sharing insight from his professional experiences.

Edwards is professor and head of the Department of Plant and Soil Sciences at Oklahoma State University. He earned his bachelor's degree in weed science in 1995 from Western Kentucky University. He earned his master's degree in weed science in 2001 and his doctorate in crop physiology in 2004, both from the U of A.

Before becoming department head, he spent 11 years as the small grains extension and Warth Endowed Professor at OSU, focusing on increasing the productivity, profitability and end-use quality of the Oklahoma small grains industry through improved management practices.

In 2013, his extension work was recognized with the National Excellence in Extension Award from the Association of Public Land-grant Universities and USDA's National Institute of Food and Agriculture.

Edwards has authored or co-authored 49 refereed journal articles, 92 extension fact sheets and management guides, one book chapter, and multiple research reports and popular press articles.

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.