Rupesh Kariyat Named New Co-Director of Wally Cordes Teaching and Faculty Support Center

The Wally Cordes Teaching and Faculty Support Center (TFSC) and the Office for Faculty Affairs are pleased to announce that Rupesh Kariyat has been named a co-director of the center. Kariyat will serve a three-year term alongside continuing co-directors Edward Holland, associate professor of geosciences, and Aysa Galbraith, teaching associate professor in the First-Year Engineering Program. He succeeds Hope Ballentine, who recently completed her three-year term.

"I am really excited to serve as one of the co-directors of TFSC," Kariyat said. "In this role, I hope to strengthen engagement among both tenure-track and non-tenure-track faculty at the university while advocating for greater recognition and rewards for excellence in teaching across all stages of academic careers."

Kariyat is a professor in the Department of Entomology and Plant Pathology in the Dale Bumpers College of Agricultural, Food and Life Sciences and also holds the Clyde H. Sites Professorship in International Crop Physiology. He joined the U of A faculty in 2022 after serving on the faculty at the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley. He is also affiliated with the university's Cell and Molecular Biology and Environmental Dynamics graduate programs.

Teaching has been a significant part of Kariyat's work throughout his career. At the U of A, he teaches courses in insect pest management, insect behavior and chemical ecology and works with undergraduate, graduate and honors students. His approach emphasizes personal connections with students and the use of varied teaching strategies to engage learners with different backgrounds and needs.

Kariyat received the Entomological Society of America's 2024 Distinguished Achievement Award in Teaching, the organization's national recognition for outstanding teaching. He was also named the TFSC's November 2024 Wally Cordes Chair, received a Faculty Applause Award in 2025, and was recognized with a 2026 Outstanding Faculty Mentor Award. He has also received the national award for Excellence in Education from American Society for Plant Biologists, a North American Colleges and Teachers of Agriculture Educator Award and multiple TFSC commendations for his commitment to teaching.

Kariyat earned a bachelor's degree in agricultural sciences from Kerala Agricultural University in India, a master's degree in agronomy with an emphasis in plant breeding and genetics from the University of Wyoming and a doctorate in plant biology focused on insect-plant interactions from Pennsylvania State University. He completed postdoctoral work at Penn State and ETH Zurich in Switzerland and was an NSF Vision and Change Teaching Fellow at Penn State.

Established in 1992, the Wally Cordes Teaching and Faculty Support Center serves as an interactive resource for faculty seeking to enhance teaching and learning. The center invests in faculty excellence, promotes innovation in teaching and learning, and supports programs that advance student success through workshops, teaching symposia, new faculty orientation, Teaching Camp, grants and other faculty development opportunities.