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.”
John R. Buchanan, professor in the Department of Biosystems Engineering and Soil Science, is one of four recipients of the J.E. Moss Achievement Award. Established in memory of J.E. and Ann Moss, this award recognizes excellent achievement in teaching, research, and Extension for UTIA. Awards are provided each year for each of the four units of the institute. They are selected by a committee including the UTIA senior vice president and senior vice chancellor and the deans of the institute’s four units: the College of Veterinary Medicine, the Herbert College of Agriculture, UT AgResearch and UT Extension. Bryce Burton, a clinical veterinarian with the College of Veterinary Medicine Office of Lab Animal Care; Walt Hitch, director of the UT Plateau AgResearch and Education Center in Crossville; and Sreedhar Upendram, associate professor and UT Extension specialist with the Department of Agricultural and Resource Economics also received this award.
Buchanan, who received his Ph.D. in civil engineering from UT Knoxville, has been with UITA for 36 years. As a professor in the Department of Biosystems Engineering and Soil Science, and director of that department’s undergraduates, Buchanan is very active in the Herbert College of Agriculture’s popular construction science and management program. This bachelor of science degree is designed to prepare students for entry into the very broad and diverse range of careers related to the modern construction industry. Buchanan also teaches courses involving soil-based wastewater renovation, environmental stormwater management and water reuse.
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.