FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – Kate Shoulders received the Outstanding Early Career Award, and Don Johnson was elected chair of the Academy of American Association for Agricultural Education Fellows at the organization's recent national meeting in Charleston, South Carolina.

The award and appointment for Shoulders and Johnson, respectively, highlight a list of recognitions earned by a contingent from the U of A's Department of Agricultural Education, Communications and Technology in the Dale Bumpers College of Agricultural, Food and Life Sciences.

Shoulders is associate professor of agricultural education, and Johnson professor and coordinator of the Agricultural Systems Technology Management program.

AECT faculty members Shoulders, Johnson, University Professor Donna Graham and graduate students presented nine posters and papers at the meeting, which included both national business meetings and the National Agricultural Education Research Conference.

Shoulders, along with Marshall Baker from Oklahoma State University and Brian Myers from the University of Florida, won the Outstanding Innovative Idea poster contest. Their work, "Critical Conversations: Using a Video Podcast to Engage Teachers in Philosophical Discussions about Agricultural Education," was named best of 40 entries.

Shoulders, Johnson and former master's degree student in agricultural and extension education Hailey Gates placed in the top five in the Distinguished Research Manuscript category. Their research, "Methods of Establishing Instrument Validity in Manuscripts Published in the Journal of Agricultural Education between 2007 and 2016," placed in the top five from among 60 manuscripts presented.

Johnson, Shoulders and former associate professor Leslie Edgar also earned a top five showing in the Distinguished Research Manuscript division. Their study, "The Relationship between Student Pre-Entry Attributes and Six-Year Bachelor's Degree Completion," gave Bumpers College and the department two of the top five presentations from the 60 entries.   

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.