This year’s Departmental Awards Luncheon honored faculty members and graduate students who have shown outstanding achievement in the areas of teaching, counseling, and research.

Dick Cobb, Sheep Research Specialist, was awarded the G.R. Carlisle Award for Excellence in Extension Teaching.

Dr. Janeen Salak-Johnson, Associate Professor, was awarded the D.E. Becker Award for Excellence in Undergraduate Teaching and Counseling.

Dr. Sandra Rodriguez-Zas, Associate Professor, was awarded the H.H. Mitchell Award for Excellence in Graduate Teaching and Research.

Sean Holmer (John Killefer, advisor) was awarded the Sean Murray Memorial Scholarship and the David H. and Norraine A. Baker Graduate Fellowship in Animal Sciences.

Kathleen Barry (George Fahey, advisor) was awarded the Mitchell Fellowship in Animal Nutrition.

Congratulations!

From L to R: Dr. Robert Easter (Dean), Dick Cobb, Dr. Sandra Rodriguez-Zas, Dr. Janeen Salak-Johnson, Dr. Neal Merchen (Head)

From L. to R: Dr. Robert Easter (Dean), Kathleen Barry, Sean Holmer, and Dr. Neal Merchen (Head)

From L. to R: Dr. John Killefer, Sean Holmer, Dr. David H. Baker, and Norraine A. Baker

Congratulations to the Teachers and Teaching Assistants ranked as excellent by their students in the Fall 2007 semester! These results are based on Instructor and Course Evaluation (ICES) questionnaire forms that students turn in for each class at the end of the semester. Instructors from our department were:

Larry Berger *Tom Carr *Dick Cobb Dolores Doane (TA) Jim Drackley Amy Fischer-Brown Deb Hagstrom Walt Hurley Dan Shike

ANSC 321 ANSC 310 ANSC 103 ANSC 362 ANSC 420, 522 ANSC 207 ANSC 313 ANSC 103 ANSC 401

Mike Hutjens *Darrel Kesler John Killefer *Christine Leick (TA) Floyd McKeith Doug Parrett Carl Parsons *Stacy Scramlin (TA)

ANSC 201 ANSC 110, 437 ANSC 509, 590 ANSC 310 ANSC 109, 119 ANSC 401 ANSC 524 ANSC 109

* - The instructor’s ratings were outstanding

Six faculty members were recognized as University Scholars for 2007. Our very own Dr. Romana Nowak, Associate Professor, was one of those recipients. The program, which is in its 22nd year, recognizes excellence while helping to identify and retain the university’s most talented teachers, scholars and researchers.

Dr. Nowak joined our department in 2000. Her research focuses on understanding the mechanisms that regulate remodeling in the uterus and how dysregulation of these pathways leads to the reproductive diseases of uterine leiomyomas and endometriosis. She has been awarded more than $5.3 million in research funding.

Since the program began in 1985, 12 members of the Animal Sciences faculty have received University Scholar recognition. Only four other departments on this campus (Chemistry, Electrical & Computer Engineering, Physics, and History) have had as many or more faculty honored as University Scholars.

Other Animal Sciences Faculty who hold University Scholar status include: Dave Baker (1986), George Fahey (1986), Dan Gianola (1987), Larry Schook (1990), Janice Bahr (1993), Harris Lewin (1993), Keith Kelley (1994), Bryan White (1996), Rex Gaskins (1999), Matt Wheeler (2003), and Rod Johnson (2004).

Kathryn Cowles (Michael Murphy, advisor) and Nicole Janovick Guretzky (James Drackley, advisor) were both honored as Outstanding Mentor Fellows. In 2007, Professor Janice Bahr was the recipient of the Campus Award for Excellence in Graduate Student Mentoring. As part of this award, the Department of Animal Sciences was provided a one time fellowship allocation. The purpose of the fellowship is to encourage and recognize excellence in mentoring of undergraduate students by graduate students in the Department. This award may be used to supplement and existing assistantship or another fellowship. Congratulations!

On Monday, April 21, 2008, Dr. Jim Drackley and Dr. Kevin Kline will be recipients of College of ACES Recognition Awards. Dr. Drackley will be presented one of three Paul A. Funk Recognition Awards. This award is given to faculty and academic professionals for outstanding achievement and major contributions to the betterment of agriculture, natural resources, and human systems. The award is funded by the Paul A. Funk Foundation of Bloomington, Illinois, as a memorial to the late Paul A. Funk who attended the college as a member of the class of 1929 and devoted his life to agriculture.

Dr. Kline will be presented the Faculty Award for Excellence in Extension. Each year, the college presents three College Faculty Awards for Excellence in teaching, research, and extension. This award recognizes outstanding professional achievement and demonstrated excellence in these areas.

For a full list of College of ACES Award Recipients, please visit http://awards.aces.uiuc.edu/Announcement08.pdf

An article by Dr. Rex Gaskins (Animal Sciences), Paul Kenis (Chemical & Biomolecular Engineering), and Bob Clegg (Physics) was chosen as a featured article in the February issue of Experimental Biology and Medicine. The work is funded by an NIH grant. A summary of the article as it appears in the journal can be found in the attached PDF.

Harris Lewin, the Director of the Institute for Genomic Biology and a Professor and Gutgsell Endowed Chair in the Department of Animal Sciences, has been elected to the Royal Swedish Academy of Agriculture and Forestry. He was the only American in a group of seven new foreign members elected during an annual meeting in late December.

Lewin joins the Agricultural Section of the Academy. Founded by royal charter in 1811, the Academy has worked for nearly 200 years to advance scientific knowledge in the fields of agriculture, horticulture, aquaculture, food, forestry, natural resources, bioenergy, and the environment. The Academy refers to itself as a “meeting place for the green sector” and is made up of no more than 210 Swedish members and no more than 75 foreign members.

“Harris Lewin had a bold vision of what could be accomplished with a broad interdisciplinary approach to genomic biology,” said Richard Herman, the Chancellor of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. “His unflagging efforts brought about the realization of this dream in the Institute for Genomic Biology, which will continue to redound to the benefit of this university and the society which it serves. This honor is a recognition of his commitment to scholarly research – he exemplifies the best of our university, and we are enormously proud of his accomplishments.”

Lewin is widely known for his research in immunogenetics and comparative mammalian genomics. His laboratory has made important discoveries on the organization of the cattle genome and the nature of chromosome evolution in mammals. Important applications arising from his work include the development of a genetic test to predict resistance of cattle to disease caused by bovine leukemia virus, the identification of a gene controlling protein levels in milk, and the first commercially available microarrays for studying the functions of thousands of cattle genes.

Dr. Lewin will be presented to membership in the academy on January 28, in Stockholm by the King of Sweden.

The University of Illinois recently returned from the International Intercollegiate Meat Judging contest held November 11th at Tyson Fresh Meats, Dakota City, NE. The International Contest is the last event sponsored by the American Meat Science Association and other industry companies and organizations during the fall semester. Fifty-five contestants representing fourteen universities participated in the national event. Colorado State University (4,132) edged out the University of Illinois (4,094) for first place. Texas A and M University (4,060) placed 3rd, followed by South Dakota University (4,059) and Oklahoma State University (4,046).

The University of Illinois had three contestants in the top ten overall with Whitney Keller placing 6th (1,036); Jeffrey Gregg 7th (1,025); and Daniel Clark 10th (l,021). The team won lamb judging, was second in pork judging and specifications, 3rd in combined beef, 4th in beef grading and placings, 5th in reasons and 6th in beef judging. Jessie Vawter was 4th high individual in the alternates contest.

Team members were Daniel Clark, Oblong; Jeffrey Gregg, Cerro Gordo; Whitney Keller,
Quincy; Jason Perry, Bement; and Jessie Vawter, Macomb. Team coaches were Tom Carr and Christine Leick.