The Association of Public and Land-grant Universities has honored four public university faculty with national teaching awards recognizing excellence in agricultural sciences teaching and student engagement, including U of A's Jacquelyn Dee Mosley.

Mosley and Shyam Nair of Sam Houston State University are national recipients of the U.S. Department of Agriculture Excellence in College and University Teaching Awards for Food and Agricultural Sciences. Rebecca Baldwin of the University of Florida and Mary Kay Pohlschneider of Ohio State University are recipients in the National Teaching and Student Engagement category.

The U of A has had regional APLU award winners, but Mosley is the university's first national award recipient.

The awards, which celebrate university faculty for their use of innovative teaching methods and service to students, were presented as part of the 135th APLU Annual Meeting in Denver, Colorado.

Mosley is a human development and family sciences professor in the Dale Bumpers College of Agricultural, Food and Life Sciences. 

In her 12 years, she has taught eight different classes, including four she developed and two for online education. After becoming a trained administrator in the Intercultural Development Inventory, she developed a new general education course for the entire campus. She has established herself as the go-to person for cultural competence training, assessing more than 2,000 students, faculty, staff and campus leaders in 60-plus trainings across campus, as well as the leadership team of Tyson Foods and the U of A System Division of Agriculture.

"It is humbling to be honored with this prestigious award," she said. "My career and achievements wouldn't be possible without all of the support from my mentors and colleagues, and from the leadership in Bumpers College and the Division of Agriculture. But most importantly, I have had the privilege and honor to work with truly exceptional students."

Mosley's excellence in teaching has been recognized with a national Cognella Innovation Teaching Award in Family Science, the U of A Teaching Academy New Fellow and Jack G. Justus Award for Teaching Excellence in Bumpers College. She has published over 50 research articles and secured more $2 million in funding support. Mosley is also the faculty mentor for the U of A Minorities in Agriculture, Natural Resources and Related Sciences student organization.

"This is a very prestigious award, and to be the first from the U of A to win a national award from the APLU is outstanding," said Jean-Francois Meullenet, Bumpers College interim dean. "We are the land-grant university in the state, and we take that mission very seriously. To be recognized by this organization is a tremendous honor. This award is for her teaching, but Jackie has also made many, many contributions to the college and the U of A through various research projects, her campus leadership in the area of cultural competency and in advising the university's MANRRS group. She is very deserving of this recognition and we're very proud of her." 

Six regional and two early-career awardees were also named recipients of the 2022 Excellence in College and University Teaching Awards for Food and Agricultural Sciences. In recognition of their scholarship, exemplary pedagogy and dedication to instruction, the annual awards include stipends of $5,000 for the national winners and $2,000 for regional and early-career honorees to be used for improving teaching at their respective universities.

The six regional awards included Courtney Alyssa Meyers, professor and graduate studies coordinator in the Department of Agricultural Education and Communications at Texas Tech University. 

Meyers earned her master's degree in agricultural and extension education from the U of A in 2005. Her master's thesis resulted in a published manuscript on genetically modified food labeling selected Research Article of the Year by the Journal of Applied Communications in 2006. While at the U of A, she was named Outstanding Graduate Student by the Department of Agricultural Education, Communications and Technology, and Bumpers College's Outstanding Master's Scholar in 2005, and in 2017 was named Bumpers College Alumni Society Outstanding Young Alumna and spoke to graduates at commencement.

"We applaud this year's winners of the Excellence in College and University Teaching Awards for Food and Agricultural Sciences," said Wendy Fink, executive director of the Academic Programs Section at APLU. "Through their dedicated and focused passion in mentoring and instruction, they serve as inspirational leaders for their students and other faculty striving to serve their students better."

APLU is a research, policy and advocacy organization dedicated to strengthening and advancing the work of public universities in the U.S., Canada and Mexico. With a membership of more than 250 public research universities, land-grant institutions, state university systems and affiliated organizations, APLU's agenda is built on the three pillars of increasing degree completion and academic success, advancing scientific research and expanding engagement. Annually, member campuses enroll 5 million undergraduates and 1.3 million graduate students, award 1.3 million degrees, employ 1.3 million faculty and staff, and conduct $49.5 billion in university-based research.

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. For more information about Bumpers College, visit our website, and follow us on Twitter at @BumpersCollege and Instagram at BumpersCollege.

About the University of Arkansas: As Arkansas' flagship institution, the U of A provides an internationally competitive education in more than 200 academic programs. Founded in 1871, the U of A contributes more than $2.2 billion to Arkansas' economy through the teaching of new knowledge and skills, entrepreneurship and job development, discovery through research and creative activity while also providing training for professional disciplines. The Carnegie Foundation classifies the U of A among the few U.S. colleges and universities with the highest level of research activity. U.S. News & World Report ranks the U of A among the top public universities in the nation. See how the U of A works to build a better world at Arkansas Research News.