UT Institute of Agriculture Presents Top Faculty and Staff Awards for 2020
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – The University of Tennessee Institute of Agriculture recognized extraordinary service from members of the faculty and staff across the state at its annual awards and promotions event, held this year on August 21, 2020. Honorees were recognized virtually during a Zoom presentation rather than a fun, in-person luncheon. This change in venue did not minimize the amazing accomplishments for 2020. Many of the awards are gifts made possible by past faculty, alumni and friends of the Institute.
Barbara Gillespie, a research associate in the Department of Animal Science, is the winner of a new honor, the UTIA AgResearch Outstanding Support Staff Award. Gillespie has been with the Institute for 35 years. She trains students in molecular biology, designs and analyzes experiments, and helped establish an animal hormone testing procedure. She is also a past winner of the Mildred Pendergrass Award and the Gamma Sigma Delta Award as part of the Tennessee Quality Milk Lab team.
“It is an honor to be awarded the first-ever AgResearch Outstanding Support Staff Award,” Gillespie says. “For more than 35 years, I have been a member of the technical staff for the Department of Animal Science. During this time, I have had the privilege of working with some amazing students, staff and faculty. I want to personally thank all the principal investigators I have worked with through the years who have challenged me to be a better researcher. For them, I accept this award. Thank you.”
UT Institute of Agriculture Senior Vice President Tim Cross hosted the Zoom session for the award winners and praised them for their work. “Now more than ever, it’s critical that we take time to acknowledge the award-winning work that our faculty and staff carry out, even in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic,” Cross says. “Tennesseans can count on the real-life solutions that the UT Institute of Agriculture provides to students and stakeholders from communities throughout Tennessee and beyond to enhance the economy, conserve the environment, and develop leaders for the future.”
Through its mission of research, teaching and extension, the University of Tennessee Institute of Agriculture touches lives and provides Real. Life. Solutions. utia.tennessee.edu.