UT Institute of Agriculture Presents Top Faculty and Staff Awards for 2024
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 and promotions luncheon. This year’s ceremony was held in the newly-opened Agriculture and Natural Resources Building on the UTIA campus in Knoxville on August 14, 2024. Many of the awards are gifts made possible by faculty, alumni and friends of the Institute.
UT Institute of Agriculture Senior Vice Chancellor and Senior Vice President Keith Carver hosted the award winners and praised them for their work. “I continue to be amazed by the dedication, enthusiasm and expertise demonstrated by the impressive work of our UTIA faculty and staff,” says Carver. “The awards are well deserved, and the impacts of these accomplishments are seen across the state and will benefit Tennesseans for generations.”
Lindsay Stephenson, Extension agent II and county director with UT-TSU Extension Haywood County, is a recipient of the Tennessee Association of Agricultural Agents and Specialists – Hicks Award of Excellence. Established by the Tennessee Association of Agricultural Agents and Specialists (TAAA&S) and other endowed funds, this award is presented annually to up to three agricultural Extension faculty who are also members of TAAA&S. Mitchell Mote, Extension agent III with UT-TSU Extension Rutherford County, and Creig Kimbro, county director of UT-TSU Extension Grundy County, also received the award.
Stephenson has been with UT-TSU Extension Haywood County for seven years as an agriculture and natural resource agent and for the last 18 months, she has served as the county director. She has won many TAAA&S awards and in 2022 was named the TAAA&S Agent of the Year. In 2016, she received the TAAA&S Early Career Award. She has also received the 2020 Mid-South Farm and Gin Show, Ag. Achievement Award and the 2017 NACAA Achievement Award.
Stephenson is truly honored to have received this award. “It’s always nice to have clientele reach out to you and appreciate the work UT Extension does, but when your peers support you and back you it is truly memorable,” she says. Stephenson adds that serving as Chair of the West Tennessee Grain Conference over the past few years has been an extraordinary experience. “I’ve had the honor of collaborating with a team of exceptional agents, specialists and industry representatives. Their support has been nothing short of overwhelming. What was initially a small committee of just a handful of people, has grown to a group of more than 20 dedicated specialists, agents and industry personnel. Each year, this team not only grows in numbers but also shows incredible commitment, and seems to always have to brave winter conditions to attend.”
Along with her dog, Roscoe, Stephenson enjoys getting outdoors, and she is an avid hunter and hiker. Together they have traveled as far and wide as the Montana wilderness, but their “favorite place to wander remains at home in the Forked Deer River bottom.”
Since the beginning of her career, Stephenson has demonstrated a passion for education and the real life solutions that UT Extension brings to her community. Stephenson received her B.S. in agricultural engineering from Mississippi State University and her M.S. in agricultural leadership, education and communications from UT Knoxville.
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.