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.”
Rebecca Payton, with the Department of Animal Science, is one recipient of the UT AgResearch Dean’s Award for Outstanding Professional Staff. The award honors and acknowledges employees who have demonstrated the following: competence and critical thinking; cooperativeness and team building; professionalism and ethical behavior; initiative and dependability; and excellent communication skills. Philipus Pangloli, with the Department of Food Science, also received this award.
Payton, a Research Associate II, is proficient in methodologies related to reproductive and molecular research, including but not limited to embryology, cryopreservation, stereo- and fluorescent microscopy, RNA and DNA isolation, PCR and electrophoresis. She also assists with on-farm work such as multiple embryo recovery and transfer. She has worked for the Department of Animal Science for 13 years, but as a Vol through and through, she counts her association with the university from the days when she was an undergraduate student.
Regarding this recognition, Payton says, “My love language is acts of service, so my natural inclination is to work hard for others. As an introvert who has always had high expectations of myself, recognition is not something I seek but it is nice for the effort I put forth to be noticed.”
Payton has three degrees from UT Knoxville: a B.S. in agriculture and both an M.S. and Ph.D. in animal science.
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.