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.
Rob Holland, director of the Center for Profitable Agriculture, is the winner of the William D. Bishop Outstanding Service Award, named for the former UTIA dean.
“I am extremely honored to receive the William D. Bishop Outstanding Service Award, which was named after a former esteemed dean of UT Extension,” Holland says. “I am humbled to be counted among the previous recipients of this award. Tennessee’s vibrant agriculture industry is supported by a strong base of educational and technical service programs, and I feel blessed to be able to contribute to the growth of our nation’s food and fiber industries. I am thankful to those who nominated me for this award and for the opportunity to work closely with dedicated colleagues in the Center for Profitable Agriculture and the Tennessee Farm Bureau, as well as with the hard-working farmers and farm families across the state.”
Holland has served with UTIA for 27 years. Prior to his role as director, he worked as an area farm management specialist in the Eastern Region. He has conducted farm visits in all 95 counties of Tennessee and has made two visits to national 4-H Congress, once as a teen winner and 30 years later while working for Extension. He’s also a past winner of the Institute’s Cavendar, Downen and Hicks awards.
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.