Beth Kegley, a U of A professor in the Department of Animal Science, has been named recipient of the 2023 Southern Section Animal Science Distinguished Service Award by the American Society of Animal Science.

She will be presented the award at meetings in Raleigh, North Carolina, later this month.

Kegley is a member of the faculty in the Dale Bumpers College of Agricultural, Food and Life Sciences and a researcher and scientist with the Arkansas Agricultural Experiment Station, the research arm of the U of A System Division of Agriculture.

"An important part of any faculty's position is service to the department, the Division of Agriculture, the college and the profession," said Mike Looper, head of the Department of Animal Science. "Dr. Kegley excels in all of these areas. She stays busy providing valuable service to our students, stakeholders and our professional society. This is great recognition and a well-deserved award for Dr. Kegley."    

She received her bachelor's degree in animal science from Virginia Tech in 1986, her master's in 1989 and her Ph.D. in 1996, both from North Carolina State University. Kegley joined the faculty at the U of A  in 1996 and was promoted to professor in 2007.

Her research focus is the impact of nutrition on the immune response, disease resistance and growth performance of beef cattle.

Kegley, who grew up on a dairy, beef and sheep farm in Virginia, teaches the graduate level Ruminant Nutrition, Energetics and Mineral Metabolism courses. She supervises the Stocker and Receiving Cattle Research Facility and the shared departmental nutrition lab.

She has served as an officer in the Southern Section of ASAS (2005-09) and as national ASAS president in 2019-20.

ASAS fosters the discovery, sharing and application of scientific knowledge concerning the care and responsible use of animals to enhance animal and human health and well-being. The core principles of ASAS are: animals are essential to human life and well-being; the care and use of animals are held to the highest standards of integrity and professional ethics; research and scientific information are communicated in an open, transparent and dynamic manner; career development for animal scientists, educators and producers is essential to the viability of the allied and animal industries; and animal science and the production of animal-sourced foods must continually evolve to meet the needs and values of society.

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 top 3% of 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.