The Department of Agricultural Education, Communications and Technology represented the U of A's Dale Bumpers College of Agricultural, Food and Life Sciences at the Southern Region Conference of American Association for Agricultural Educators in Oklahoma City in February with two faculty members winning educator awards. 

The conference was held in partnership with the Southern Association of Agricultural Scientists with various agricultural disciplines meeting. Several AECT students participated in research poster and paper presentations.

Associate professor Chris Estepp was recognized as the AAAE Southern Region's Distinguished Teacher Educator, and professor Jefferson Miller received the AAAE Southern Region's Distinguished Agricultural Communications Educator award.

Oluwatoyin "Elizabeth" Abati received a distinguished innovative poster award for her project titled: "Increasing Intercultural Competence Through Food" with instructor Casandra Cox. 

AECT was represented with multiple paper presentations. Research and student presenters (in bold) with faculty advisers:

• "What Challenges Will Arkansas School-Based Agricultural Education Face Over the Next Decade?" - Estepp, Bryan D. Rank, Alyssa Johnson and Trent Wells
• "Reaching the Indoor Environmentalists: Understanding Generation Z's Perceptions of Hunting and Conservation Efforts in Arkansas" - Hannah C. Ferguson, Tobin Redwine, Deborah Dunsford and associate professor Jill Rucker
• "Examining Sense of Belonging Among Freshman in the College of Agriculture" - assistant professor Will Doss, Estepp, Sarah James, Bumpers College senior adviser and student experience coordinator Lucas Simmons and University Professor Donald Johnson
• "Mind the Skills Gap: Understanding Limitations of New Hires according to Agricultural Industry Professionals" - Madelaine Giebler, Rucker, Ferguson, instructor Casandra Cox, Miller and Steven Chumbley

Bumpers College was also represented by AECT with several poster presentations. Research and student presenters (in bold) with faculty advisers:

• "'Blazing the Trail' for the Future: BIPOC Students' Experiences with Colleges of Agriculture" - Logan G. Moss and Estepp
• "Bumpers College of Agricultural, Food and Life Sciences Student Perceptions of Career Preparedness" - Jessica Wesson, Samantha Jones, Cox, Rucker and Miller
• "Statistical Power in the Journal of Agricultural Education, 2012-2022" - Henry Akwah, Estepp and Johnson
• "The Struggle is Real: Identifying Prejudice and Discrimination Perceptions" -  Cox, Abati, Rucker and instructor Hanna Estes
• "Teacher Confidence in Instructional Methods" - Hiliary Viguet, Doss and John Rayfield
• "Increasing Intercultural Competence Through Food" - Abati and Cox

The American Association for Agricultural Educators is an organization for agricultural educators, primarily within the land grant university systems. The mission of AAAE is to foster excellence in the discovery and exchange of evidence-based solutions for social science challenges in agriculture and related sciences. The vision of AAAE is to be the premier national society for social science scholarship in food, agriculture and natural resources.

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.