Lifetime Achievement Award
(by area)
Bluegrass—Joyce Clifford
Fort Harrod—Barbara Taylor
Green River—Martha Lee
Lake Cumberland—Sue Stivers
Licking River—William & Joan Comer
Lincoln Trail—Lawrence Hall
Louisville—Gary Thompson
Mammoth Cave—Gene Harris
Northeast—James Reed
Pennyrile—Scotty R. Parsons, Sr.
Quicksand—Paul Dwayne Morris

(by region)
North Central Region—Dorothy Teeter
Northeast Region—Martha Frost
Western Region—Jean Fleming
Southern Region—Peggy Mesaros

New Achievers
by area)
Bluegrass—Matthew Koch
Fort Harrod—Christi Stafford Hack
Green River—April Winstead Ramsey
Lake Cumberland—Michael Caldwell
Licking River—Juliet Murphy Lane
Lincoln Trail—Deana Shewmaker
Louisville—Brittany Edelson
Mammoth Cave—Jeff Watt
Northeast—Rebekah Frazier Rudd
Pennyrile—Patrick McCuiston
Quicksand—Shawn Christian Rice

(by region)
Western Region—Sharon Sienna Castillo

Outstanding Achievers
(by area)
Bluegrass—Doug Thomas
Fort Harrod—James Hicks
Green River—Wayne Mattingly
Licking River—Carole Rison (Deceased)
Lincoln Trail—Carolyn Goodman
Louisville—Julia Bauscher
Mammoth Cave—Debbie Conway
Northeast—Georgia (Penny) Scott
Quicksand—Will Connelly
Wilderness Trail—Robert Hail

(by region)
Southern Region—James Michael Goatley, Jr.

 

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Moo-ve over, Cattlemen

Given her background, is it any surprise that Corinne Kephart ’93 is the first woman and youngest president of Kentucky Cattlemen’s Association? 4-H, FFA, and UK Block and Bridle Club fueled Kephart’s interest in leadership. So did her parents; her mother was the first woman president of the Indiana Beef Cattle Association, and her veterinarian father was heavily involved in veterinary associations.

“I’ve just always had that example set by my parents that you get involved, and if it’s appropriate to take a leadership position, you do,” she said.

Kephart grew up on an Indiana farm with Angus, Simmentals and Shorthorn cattle. She came to Kentucky to major in animal science in the UK College of Agriculture and has called the state home ever since.

Two threads run through Kep-hart’s career—education and cattle. As she sees it, both should serve her well as president. In Shelby County, she’s been part of UK Cooperative Extension as a 4-H youth development agent and now as a horticulture and animal science technician. She worked for a purebred Limousin operation in Lexington and now shares a Henry County farm with her husband, two children, Shorthorns, a couple of Simmentals, and a Red Angus.

How does she feel about holding an office traditionally held by men?

“I don’t really see the gender difference so much,” she said. “It’s an honor to be president of this association, whether you’re male or female.”

Kephart said she enjoys getting out into the state to see people who share the common goal of promoting beef.

“It’s really important that we spread the word and tell our story, so consumers can be comfortable with what we do—the fact that we produce the safest, most wholesome and nutritious food on the face of the earth.”

 

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A Lofty Career

The University of Kentucky recognized the lifetime achievements of School of Human Environmental Sciences alumna Barbara Landrum Rice ’62 when the UK Alumni Association inducted her into its Hall of Distinguished Alumni in April.

A Franklin native, Rice has spent the last 20 years as a research dietitian in Enterprise Advisory Services at NASA’s Johnson Space Center. She is a member of a team of scientists who study the nutritional requirements of NASA astronauts with an eye toward preventing nutritional deficiencies while in space.

“Being inducted into the UK Hall of Distinguished Alumni is certainly a great and unexpected honor for me,” Rice said. “I am grateful that the decision committee considered my career contributions worthy of such an honor in this small group of alumni.”

Rice attributes her leadership and speaking skills to her early years in 4-H and Future Homemakers of America. She also believes that the foundation in nutrition and food science she received while studying at UK served her well in her career.

Rice received her master’s degree in nutrition and food science from California State University and was a nutrition consultant in private practice before joining NASA.

Rice’s family has a long and generous history with the School of Human Environmental Sciences; four sisters and a niece are also alumnae. The Landrum family established the Bessie C. Landrum Scholarship in memory of their mother, and Rice established the Barbara Landrum Rice Endowed Library Fund in Dietetics.

The School of Human Environmental Sciences named Rice a Distinguished Lecturer in 1999 and inducted her into the HES Hall of Fame in 2002.

 

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A Lifetime of Contributions

Because of his expertise and research into equine infectious diseases, the College of Agriculture’s Peter J. Timoney was one of four international scientists inducted into the prestigious University of Kentucky Equine Research Hall of Fame. A native of Ireland, Timoney holds the Frederick Van Lennep Chair in Equine Veterinary Science at the UK Gluck Equine Research Center and is past president of the World Equine Veterinary Association.

His focus on infectious equine diseases includes emphasis on equine viral arteritis, contagious equine metritis and equine herpesviruses. He is a World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE) designated international specialist on equine viral arteritis.

Timoney joined UK‘s Department of Veterinary Science in 1983. He was director of the Gluck Center from 1989-2006 and chair of the Department of Veterinary Science from 1989-2008.

The Equine Research Hall of Fame biennially honors international scientific community members for their work, dedication, and achievements in equine research. Douglas F. Antczak and Alan J. Nixon of Cornell University and I.G. Joe Mayhew of Massey University in New Zealand were inducted with Timoney.

 

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HES HALL OF FAME

Working at the national or grassroots level, the five women inducted in 2009 into the School of Human Environmental Sciences Hall of Fame had one thing in common: in myriad ways and with multiple approaches, they all succeeded in making lives better.

Mary E. Sweeny, an internationally renowned home economist and family relations expert in the first half of the 20th century, was inducted posthumously. After graduating from UK with one of her two master’s degrees, Sweeny served at the University as an assistant professor of household science, as head of the Department of Home Economics in the College of Agriculture, and briefly as dean of the department when it became a separate entity in 1916. The next year, she became chair of home economics for the U.S. Food Administration in Washington, D.C. In 1920, while she was dean of home economics at Michigan State University, she was named president of the American Home Economics Association. She finished her career as director for the Merrill-Palmer School for Child Development in Detroit, Mich.

 

Myrtle Weldon came to UK in 1924 to serve as the state leader for the home demonstration program. By the time she retired 31 years later, the program had grown from 24 to 105 county agents and included more than 34,000 members of the Kentucky Federation of Homemakers. During World War II, she worked to promote the Women’s Land Army, which recruited women to farm in place of men who were serving in the military. While at UK, she expanded her extension work by forming partnerships with agencies that worked with farm and limited resource families. Weldon was inducted posthumously into the Hall of Fame.

 

Shirley Ellis Sheperson received her bachelor’s degree in home economics from UK in 1952. The next year she began what would be 32 years of service as the county extension agent for home economics in Casey County. She was dedicated to helping families enrich their lives. Sheperson helped obtain the former Forkland School for use as a community center in neighboring Boyle County in 1972. She and other family members established the Ellis Family Scholarship at UK. Her interests in families and genealogy spurred her to author or co-author several books, including “Forkland Heritage: Its People Past and Present 1793-1996.”

 

Margaret Holyfield Potter graduated with a bachelor’s degree from UK in 1955 and proceeded to Purdue for her master’s. From there she moved to Massachusetts, where she worked as associate professor and ultimately department chair in the department of Home Economics at Framingham State College. Throughout her career, she consulted on projects that spanned the gamut from product promotion, recipe development and testing, writing, and television production. She served in leadership positions with the national honor society, Phi Upsilon Omicron, eventually becoming director. While in that position, she served for two years as the chair of the Phi U Educational Foundation. Under her leadership, the foundation established two scholarships and one alumni award. She retired in 1989.

 

Janey Knight Thornton served as food service director for Hardin County Schools after receiving her master’s degree from UK. She worked to improve the nutrition offerings in the school district by eliminating deep-fat fryers, making fruits and vegetables more readily available, providing fresh-baked bread each morning, and using locally grown foods whenever possible. Thornton served as president of the national School Nutrition Association in 2006. In 2009, Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack appointed her as deputy undersecretary for food, nutrition, and consumer services in the U.S. Department of Agriculture. In this position she provides policy direction for the Food and Nutrition Service and the Center for Nutrition Policy and Promotion.

 

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Animal & Food Sciences Hall of Fame

George Mitchell, Jr., born to a life in agriculture on a New Mexico ranch, spent nearly four decades as a nationally renowned researcher and devoted teacher and advisor in the UK Department of Animal and Food Sciences. In recognition of his accomplishments, he is the most recent inductee into the Animal and Food Sciences Hall of Fame.

 

 

Bob Harmon (left) presents the Hall of Fame award to George Mitchell during Roundup 2009.

 

 

 

 

 

Mitchell graduated from the University of Missouri with his bachelor’s and master’s degrees and received his doctorate from the University of Illinois. Four years later he set down roots in Kentucky when he joined the UK College of Agriculture. Over the next 38 years, Mitchell developed the doctoral program in animal science and directed 82 master’s and doctoral students. In 1999, Gamma Sigma Delta recognized his outstanding service to students by naming an award after him.

Mitchell had an impressive research career in the areas of ruminant nutrition and metabolism, collecting the most extensive data available on many aspects of vitamin metabolism. He was also the first researcher to quantify dietary starch that escaped fermentation in the rumen. From his years of research and work with many collaborators came more than 600 publications.

Nationally respected for his work, Mitchell held positions of influence beyond the University. He was president of the Southern Section of the American Society of Animal Science, was involved in the initiation of American Registry of Certified Animal Scientists, and served on the National Research Council’s Committee on Animal Nutrition, as well as sub-committees on beef cattle and vitamin tolerance.

Throughout his career, Mitchell received numerous awards, including the Thomas Poe Cooper Research Award and American Society of Animal Science (Southern Section) Distinguished Service Award. He was named a Research Fellow by the same association.

Mitchell retired from UK in 1998.

 

 

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2010 Board of Directors
AG & HES Alumni Association

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Area Presidents

Bluegrass—Andrew Fritsch, Paris
Fort Harrod—Chuck Canter, Nicholasville
Green River—Alex Bryant, Calhoun
Lake Cumberland—William Wallace Evans, Campbellsville
Licking River—Randy Meadows, Wallingford
Lincoln Trail—Christi Marksbury, Bardstown
Louisville—Beth Floyd, Louisville
Mammoth Cave—Joe Duncan, Rockfield
Northeast—Heather Kirk, Flatwoods
Northern Kentucky—Dr. Carl “Jay” Hellmann Jr., Independence
Pennyrile—Saralyn Hite, Gracey
Quicksand—Tom Cravens, Hazard
Wilderness Trail—Mark “Buck” Jones, London

Faculty Directors

Teaching—Dr. Martha Nall, Lexington
Research—Dr. Steve Higgins, Lexington
Extension—Dr. William Snell, Paris

Student Director

Student Council President—Caroline Peterson, Lexington
Ag Student Representative—Jim Gilles, Lexington
HES Student Representative—Denna Cotterill, Lexington

Executive Board

President—Michelle McDonald, Carlisle
Vice President—Bill McCloskey, Bardstown
Secretary—Whitney Stith, Union
Treasurer—Diana Doggett, Lexington
Immediate Past President—Tony Holloway, Gracey
HES Representative—Myrna Wesley, Lexington
At-Large Representatives—
Marianne Larensen, Lexington, and Danny Bailey, Ashland
National Agriculture Alumni and Development Association
(NAADA) Representative—Amelia Brown, Lexington