CAES Newswire

 College of Agricultural & Environmental Sciences UGA Cooperative Extension
Menu
Published on 10/08/08

D.W. Brooks diversity awards given

By April Sorrow
University of Georgia

A University of Georgia instructor, a federal communications specialist, a UGA Cooperative Extension team and a national student organization were honored for their work and commitments to the improvement of diversity in Georgia at the D.W. Brooks Awards for Excellence ceremony Oct. 7 in Athens, Ga.

Presented by the UGA College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, the award program honors Gold Kist Inc. founder D.W. Brooks. A CAES alumnus, Brooks advised seven U.S. presidents on agriculture and trade issues. Although he died in 1999, his promotion of agriculture lives on through the awards.

Maria Navarro was given the faculty award for her work in diversity education. She is an assistant professor in the CAES department of agricultural leadership, education and communication. She teaches undergraduate and graduate classes in international agriculture and development, hunger issues and program planning and evaluation.

Navarro works closely with UGA student organizations to eliminate worldwide hunger and poverty. Her research addresses student learning and curriculum change in higher education, communication and extension issues for agricultural and human development around the world. While at UGA, she has participated in development and outreach programs in Mexico, Argentina and Armenia.

For building bridges of unity and understanding between UGA and Athens-Clarke County communities, she was given the 2007 UGA president’s Fulfilling the Dream Award.

Minorities in Agriculture, Natural Resources and Related Sciences won the diversity award for a student organization. MANRRS is a national society that promotes academic and professional advancement by empowering minorities. It welcomes the participation of people from all backgrounds and recruits minority students into agricultural and related science fields.

The UGA MANRRS chapter conducts local food drives and an annual event focused on cleaning the Oconee River.

A family and consumer science team from Colquitt County in south Georgia won the unit diversity award for their work in addressing issues related to poverty and changing demographics in its area.

Led by UGA Extension specialists with the College of Family and Consumer Sciences, the team provides programs that contribute to greater economic stability, safer neighborhoods and affordable housing, as well as leadership development among diverse, ethnic, racial and socioeconomic populations.

For the county’s growing Latino population, the team works closely with local community organizations to provide bilingual education in nutrition, food safety, child development, parenting, home ownership, financial education and leadership development.

The diversity staff award went to Gwen Roland, a communications specialist for the Southern Region Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education program housed at the UGA Griffin campus. SARE is a grant program funded by the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

Roland established and maintains a volunteer organization on the campus to encourage understanding and friendship across racial and cultural barriers. The Racial Appreciation Cultural Enrichment lunch group is a monthly brown-bag gathering that allows members to make observations about their own backgrounds, ask questions of others and share information from their different cultural perspectives. The newfound friendships grew into home visits, a folk dance group and a farmers’ market.

(April Sorrow is a news editor with the University of Georgia College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences.)

April R. Sorrow is a science writer with the University of Georgia Public Affairs Office.

Experts/Sources:
J. Scott Angle
uga commencement CAES News
CAES to celebrate new graduates during May 9 convocation 04/18/24 Sameeka Prabath Rajamani
As another academic year draws to a close, the University of Georgia College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences is gearing up for its Athens campus convocation ceremony, which will be held at 6 p.m. on Thursday, May 9, at The Classic Center in Athens. “Each year, it’s an honor to celebrate the success of our CAES graduates,” said CAES Dean and Director Nick T. Place. “It’s amazing what these students accomplish during their time with us, and I’m always excited to commemorate this next step in their lives as they continue on to either further studies or the start of their careers.”
A student harvests red clover at UGArden. CAES News
UGA horticulture class shows students the science behind herbal remedies 04/16/24 Sameeka Prabath Rajamani
The field of medicine is ever-changing, and the use of herbal medicines may play a bigger role in health care as the value of natural remedies gain recognition in the Western world. Students at the University of Georgia’s College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences are delving into the field of medicinal remedies through the class “Herbs, Spices and Medicinal Plants.” Offered to undergraduate students through the Department of Horticulture, the class helps students develop a deeper understanding of the connection between nature and health.
Using robotics to help sort onions on Georgia farms CAES News
Using robotics to help sort onions on Georgia farms 04/15/24 David Mitchell
During the pandemic, labor problems became acute on many farms in Georgia and across the country. Farms once staffed by humans to bring produce from the field to stores for purchase were suddenly short-staffed, and the global supply chain was severely impacted. Working with UGA’s Vidalia Onion and Vegetable Research Center and A&M Farms in Lyons, Georgia, a team of researchers led by School of Computing Professor Prashant Doshi is designing collaborative robots to mitigate some of these potential challenges.
2024 honorees are William D. Branch, Georgia Seed Development Professor in Peanut Breeding and Genetics in the Department of Crop and Soil Sciences, and Elzie Argene Claxton, an agriculture educator and 1980 CAES agricultural education graduate who went on to earn a master’s degree in 1982 and education specialist degree in 1984 from UGA’s College of Education. CAES News
Innovator, educator inducted into the Georgia Agricultural Hall of Fame 04/11/24 Maria M. Lameiras
An innovator in peanut breeding whose research revitalized an industry and an ardent champion of agricultural education were inducted into the Georgia Agricultural Hall of Fame at the 68th University of Georgia College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences Alumni Association Awards in Athens. The 2024 honorees are William D. Branch, Georgia Seed Development Professor in Peanut Breeding and Genetics in the Department of Crop and Soil Sciences, and Elzie Argene Claxton, an agriculture educator and 1980 CAES agricultural education graduate.
Peach growers are looking forward to a fruitful season as the weather this winter and spring have been near-perfect for the sensitive crop. This year is projected to be a much-needed comeback from the disastrous season they experienced after a late freeze in March 2023 took out more than 90% of the state's crop. (Photo by Dorothy Kozlowski/UGA) CAES News
Growers hopeful 2024 peach season will rebound from disastrous 2023 04/10/24 Emily Cabrera
Last year, the peach industry lost $60 million due to the late freeze that hit much of the Southeast in mid-March 2023, said Jeff Cook, University of Georgia Cooperative Extension agent for Peach and Taylor counties. With no freezing temperatures in the forecast and hope for strong pricing during the upcoming season, peach growers are looking forward to a much-needed rebound year.
UGA wheat breeder and geneticist Mohamed Mergoum smells one of several test brews created by Creature Comforts on its annual Get Comfortable collaboration using a variety of wheat Mergoum developed at CAES. CAES News
Creature Comforts partners with UGA wheat breeder to create 2024 Get Comfortable brew 04/09/24 Maria M. Lameiras
Wheat breeders spend years meticulously crossing varieties to coax the best traits out of each species, carefully propagating plant varieties that are healthier, heartier and better suited for the environments where they are grown. Brewmasters are equally painstaking when choosing the components that will give their beers a specific flavor profile. These two exacting professions came together this spring when Athens-based Creature Comforts Brewing Co. reached out to the University of Georgia College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences to find a sustainable wheat variety they could use to make a good beer for a great cause.