UT Institute of Agriculture Presents Top Faculty and Staff Awards for 2025
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – The accomplishments of the faculty and staff of the University of Tennessee Institute of Agriculture were celebrated at an annual awards luncheon held on the UT Knoxville campus in the new Agriculture and Natural Resources Building on July 30. 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.”
Amy Kirk, business manager for Extension Evaluation and Staff Development, received the Charles and Patricia Goan Excellence in Customer Service Award. This award, established by Dean Emeritus Charles Goan and his wife, Pat, recognizes UT Extension employees who complete or aid in completing exemplary work to further Extension priorities and provide or aid in providing Extension customers with excellent service, knowledge and information as requested. The award recognizes excellence and is open to all faculty and staff.
“I am honored to receive this award and to be among a distinguished group of Extension employees. I want to thank my colleagues for providing me with opportunities to represent UTIA and UT Extension and deliver the highest level of customer service to those customers both internally and externally. When providing customer service on a daily basis, I want to remember Maya Angelou’s quote, ‘I’ve learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel,’ and after an interaction with me, my customer feels that they were my #1 priority for that time period.”
Kirk has been in her present position for nearly five years. She achieved her B.S. in finance at the University of Tennessee in 1993, and her B.A. in education at Tusculum University in 2012. She was the 2024 Lloyd and Nettie Downen Leadership Award winner and has been recognized for her contributions at the Tennessee Extension New Employee Conference and Thrive95 Conference.
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.