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.”
Alicia Rihn, an assistant professor in the Department of Agricultural and Resource Economics, is the recipient of the T.J. Whatley Distinguished Young Scientist Award. Established by the late Thomas Whatley, associate dean emeritus of UT AgResearch, this award recognizes a young scientist who has been in a faculty position for no more than seven years, with a minimum of two years of service as a member of the agricultural faculty of the University of Tennessee.
Rihn’s research focus is on specialty crops, consumer behavior and valuation studies, value-added and niche attributes, and producer barriers and willingness to adopt new practices and products. Her impacts to date include founding and directing the Research, Extension and Marketing (REM) Lab, aiding the green industry through researching effective marketing strategies and providing economic metrics to green industry stakeholders. Since joining UTIA, she has contributed to 38 published peer-reviewed journal articles, 25 grants, 19 Extension reports and numerous industry publications and presentations.
“I am deeply honored to receive this award,” Rihn says. “I greatly appreciate the opportunities provided by UTIA and friendships that I have developed while working here. It’s amazing to see projects develop from initial ideas to meaningful outputs and implementation by industry partners.
Rihn holds a Ph.D. in plant sciences from the University of Minnesota and earned a B.S. in horticultural sciences from the University of Wisconsin – River Falls and an M.S. in plant sciences from the University of Minnesota. Her previous honors include the 2024 UT AgResearch Grantsmanship Award, the 2022 Greenhouse Product News’ 40 Under 40 Award and the 2022 Top Cited Article Award from Wiley.
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.