UT Institute of Agriculture Presents Top Faculty and Staff Awards for 2025
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. This year’s ceremony was held in the Agriculture and Natural Resources Building on the UTIA campus in Knoxville on July 30, 2025. 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 luncheon and praised the honorees for their work. “The enthusiasm and expertise demonstrated by our UTIA faculty and staff is unparalleled,” he said. “I am always in awe of their dedication to providing real life solutions to the people of Tennessee. These well-deserved awards represent impacts and accomplishments that benefit Tennesseans and society now and for years to come.”
Matthew Adams, Extension area specialist I with UT Extension Western Region, has been recognized with the G.L. Carter Jr. Outstanding 4-H Youth Development Agent Award. This award was established by the late G.L. Carter Jr., whose Extension career began in 1949 in Greene County where he served as a 4-H agent. He was also a UT Extension Hamblen County 4-H member. Carter was the first in his family to graduate from college, later earning an MS and a PhD from the University of Wisconsin. His 44-year career included working as the youth editor of a farm and ranch magazine; serving as a state 4-H staff member in both Tennessee and North Carolina; and helping to create the Journal of Extension, a professional publication for Extension agents and specialists. Carter has provided the funding through an endowment to recognize an outstanding 4-H youth development agent.
“I am honored to receive the G.L. Carter Jr. Outstanding 4-H Agent Award,” Adams says. “4-H has been an integral part of my life since I began as a 4-H member in Lawrence County, and it’s incredibly meaningful to be recognized for giving back to the program that helped shape who I am. This award reflects the impact of the amazing youth, volunteers and partners I have the privilege of working with every day.”
Adams has been with UT Extension for 13 years, including a previous appointment as Extension agent II with UT Extension Lawrence County. His areas of focus in 4-H youth programming include leadership development and equine education. One of his impacts to date includes developing a survey to help understand the barriers that impact youth participation within the Tennessee State 4-H Horse Show. The survey was distributed statewide on multiple platforms.
He has received previous awards recognizing his impacts, including the National Association of Extension 4-H Youth Development Professionals Distinguished Service Award 2019 and the National Association of Extension 4-H Youth Development Professionals Achievement in Service Award in 2017.
Adams holds a B.S. in animal sciences from UT Martin; a B.S. in biology from the University of North Alabama, and a M.S. in agriculture from UT Martin.
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.