Bruno Pedreira receives Faculty Global Excellence Award
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – The University of Tennessee Institute of Agriculture celebrated the accomplishments of some of its top faculty, staff, researchers and Extension experts at UTIA’s annual awards luncheon. The 2026 ceremony was held on the UTIA campus in Knoxville on August 4. Many of the awards are gifts made possible by faculty, alumni and friends of the institute.
UTIA Senior Vice Chancellor and Senior Vice President Keith Carver hosted the celebration and praised the honorees for their devotion to the land-grant mission. “Our UTIA staff and faculty continue to overwhelm me with their enthusiasm and unparalleled expertise,” he said. “I am always in awe of their dedication to providing Real. Life. Solutions. to the people of Tennessee. These award winners represent the efforts and accomplishments this past year that will most benefit all Tennesseans and society – impacts that will have lasting benefits through teaching, research and Extension for years to come.”
Bruno Pedreira, associate professor of plant sciences, UT Extension forage specialist and director of the UT Beef and Forage Center, received the Faculty Global Excellence Award from the UT Smith Center for International Sustainable Agriculture. The honor is presented to a faculty member who makes extraordinary contributions to the advancement of the international mission of the institute and enhances UTIA’s global reputation and visibility.
“It is a privilege to be recognized for our group’s contribution to the Institute of Agriculture’s international efforts. This award celebrates the partnerships, students and colleagues who have made this journey so rewarding,” Pedreira said.
Pedreira, who joined the UTIA faculty in 2023, specializes in forage systems, harvest and fertility management and integrated crop-livestock systems to improve land-use efficiency and profitability.
As a fifth-generation livestock farmer, Pedreira enjoys traveling and meeting people from other cultures. He has built great partnerships in his native Brazil as a Smith Global Leadership Fellow. He recently led a study abroad trip to Belize, and he has worked with the International Livestock Research Institute in Nairobi, Kenya. He also was recognized at the awards ceremony as a member of the UTIA flood recovery team, which received the William T. Miles M.D. Memorial Award for Community Service.
Pedreira earned his bachelor’s degree in agronomy from the Federal University of Lavras in Brazil and his master’s and Ph.D. in animal science and pasture from the University of São Paulo in Piracibaba, Brazil. Before joining UTIA, he was an assistant professor and Extension specialist at Kansas State University and also director of operations at the Southeast Research and Extension Center in Parsons, Kansas.
The University of Tennessee Institute of Agriculture is comprised of the Herbert College of Agriculture, UT College of Veterinary Medicine, UT AgResearch and UT Extension. Through its land-grant mission of teaching, research and outreach, the Institute touches lives and provides Real. Life. Solutions. to Tennesseans and beyond. utia.tennessee.edu.