People in the News

Ozzie Abaye and Thomas Wilchynski Earn Swiger Awards

Pictured from left to right: Associate Dean and Director of the Virginia Agricultural Experiment Station Craig Nessler, Associate Professor of Crop and Soil Environmental Sciences Ozzie Abaye, and Dean Emeritus Andy Swiger.

Ozzie Abaye of Blacksburg, Va. and Thomas Wilchynski of Virginia Beach, Va., received Andy Swiger Land-Grant Awards for their contributions to the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences. Established to reward creative achievement and commitment to the college, the award recognizes both a faculty and a staff member each year whose accomplishments in teaching, research, or Extension greatly benefits the agriculture industry and improves the quality of life for Virginians.

The college honored Abaye during the faculty and staff recognition luncheon and Wilchynski during the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences Staff Association picnic. Both Abaye and Wilchynski received a plaque and a monetary award for their excellence.

Abaye, associate professor of crop and soil environmental sciences, was honored for her involvement and interaction with students in the college. Along with her teaching and advising responsibilities, Abaye has served as the Virginia Tech Crop Judging Team coach and mentor for 15 years. She is noted for her unique personal teaching and advising style that allows her to develop a remarkable rapport with her students.

“I can think of no one who better exemplifies the land-grant concept than Ozzie; she takes ‘city kids’ and makes them knowledgeable as agriculturalists,” said David Parrish, professor of crop and soil environmental sciences. “At the same time, she takes students from rural backgrounds and opens them to a whole world.”

Pictured from left to right: Dean Sharron Quisenberry and Safety and Mechanical Manager for the Hampton Roads Agricultural Research and Extension Center Thomas Wilchynski.

As the safety and mechanical manager for the Hampton Roads Agricultural Research and Extension Center in Virginia Beach, Thomas Wilchynski is responsible for the maintenance and environmental health and safety for the center. Through his diligent efforts, he has been able to integrate facility systems to improve efficiency and environmental quality, as well as help to reduce costs. In addition to his facility responsibilities, he also assists faculty members with a variety of research needs such as fabricating and repairing instruments, which helps them keep their research on time and on track.

“Thomas’ experience and enthusiasm make him a valuable resource,” said Peter Schultz, director of the Hampton Roads AREC. “He has been instrumental in leading the AREC staff into areas they have often been reluctant to address. Thomas has made such a positive impact here at the Hampton Roads AREC.”

Generous contributions to the Andy Swiger Land-Grant Award Endowment make the annual recognition possible. “With others in the industry and university, we created these awards to keep the land-grant spirit alive by honoring an outstanding college faculty and staff member each year who most personify this spirit by serving the industry through making a real difference in the areas of food, agriculture, and biological sciences,” said Dean Emeritus Andy Swiger.

Uzel Receives College Diversity Award

Alinda Uzel

Alinda Uzel, unit coordinator and family and consumer sciences Extension agent from King and Queen County, was awarded the college’s 2007 Diversity Enhancement Award. The award is given in recognition of outstanding contributions and demonstrated commitment to enhancing diversity.

Since joining Virginia Cooperative Extension in 1993, Uzel has demonstrated that commitment by working tirelessly with previously underserved audiences in her area, particularly with Native Americans, African-Americans, and families with special-needs children.

Uzel has worked with Virginia’s Rappahannock Tribe to develop home-based and micro businesses to improve their economic stability. She has also had Extension publications translated into Spanish to assist a growing Spanish-speaking population within a 10-county area. By establishing the King and Queen Community Involvement Team, she was able to secure more than $350,000 for Extension-led programming to prevent spousal and child abuse.
In 2004, she worked with a committee to expand the Heritage Village at the State Fair to include African-American heritage. The display at the fair included a locally constructed quilt based on the Underground Railroad movement and the use of quilts for communication among runaway slaves. Presentations about the quilt have generated open discussions about slavery, the use of creativity to communicate by people having little or no voice, and the vast contributions by African-Americans to the development of our country.

Faculty and Staff

Kenny Webb, professor and head of the Department of Animal and Poultry Sciences, received the 2007 College Award for Research Excellence, Basic Research. The award recognizes his discovery that the absorption of small peptides contributes greatly to animal nutrition. Animal scientists worldwide now recognize the concept, and nutritional supplements are being designed expressly to take advantage of peptide absorption.

Chuanxue Hong, associate professor of plant pathology, Hampton Roads Agricultural Research and Extension Center, received the 2007 College Award for Research Excellence, Applied Research. He is recognized for his efforts in the field of plant disease management related to the nursery and landscape industry. A major focus of his work is controlling plant pathogens in irrigation water, and his improvements in this area have had a significant impact at nurseries in Virginia and nationwide. He also has been invited to present his research at the 2008 International Congress of Plant Pathology.

David Vaughn, professor of biological systems engineering, was the recipient of the 2007 Massey-Ferguson Educational Award from the American Society of Agricultural and Biological Engineers. The gold medal award recognizes advancement of engineering knowledge and practice in agriculture soil. He was selected for his outstanding contributions in teaching, student advising, and curriculum development, as well as his research in the field.

Dixie Reaves, associate professor and undergraduate program chair of agricultural and applied economics, was awarded the American Agricultural Economics Association’s Distinguished Teaching Award: Ten or More Years Undergraduate Teaching. She was honored for her passion and dedication to her students, not only as a teacher, but also as a mentor, advisor, and friend.

The America’s Anniversary Garden (AAG) project team, Joyce Latimer and Bonnie Appleton, both Extension specialists and professors of horticulture, Leanne DuBois, an agriculture and natural resources agent in James City County, and Dave Close, the state Master Gardener coordinator and an Extension specialist, won the 2007 American Society for Horticultural Science Extension Materials Award in the category of leaflets for the AAG publication, “America’s Anniversary Garden: Bulbs for a Red White and Blue Spring Garden.” In addition, the America’s Anniversary Garden team has been awarded the College Award for Outreach Excellence. They were recognized for outstanding contributions in “putting knowledge to work” for the benefit of constituencies outside the university. The program was developed to commemorate the 400th anniversary of Jamestown with gardens of red, white, and blue plantings, and there has been great participation by individuals and organizations around the state since its inception.

Members of the Communications and Marketing team recently received awards at the national Association for Communication Excellence conference in New Mexico. Linda Burcham, Extension communications manager, and Tim FisherPoff, graphic designer, received a Bronze Award for the Community Viability exhibit; Christopher Cox, graphic designer, and Nancy Templeman, editor, received a Silver Award for the horticulture department exhibit; and Tim FisherPoff, graphic designer, received a Gold Award for Illustration for the Healthy Weights for Healthy Kids poster.

The National Extension Association of Family and Consumer Sciences awarded Virginia Cooperative Extension’s Healthy Weights for Healthy Kids program its Program Excellence Through Research Award at its recent national conference. Team members include Elena Serrano, assistant professor of human nutrition, foods and exercise; Stephanie Diehl, associate Extension agent from Rockingham County; Julie Shelhamer, former agent from Frederick County; and Sarah Burkett, senior Extension agent from Pulaski County.

Virginia Tech Pesticide Stewardship Team members, Jean Cobb, project associate in biochemistry, and Pat Hipkins, senior research associate, Don Mullins, professor, and Mike Weaver, director of the Virginia Tech Pesticide Programs and professor, the latter three all of entomology, were honored with the Pesticide Stewardship Alliance’s 2007 Award at the alliance’s annual meeting in February. The team was recognized for its outstanding leadership to and support of national and international stewardship since the mid-1990s.

The Innovative Cropping Systems Team was honored with the No-till Innovator Award at the 15th Annual National No-Tillage Conference in Des Moines, Iowa. The award cites the team’s “dedication to promoting the most advanced techniques in conservation tillage [that] has helped numerous growers start no-till programs.” Virginia Tech team members are Paul Davis, unit coordinator and agriculture and natural resources agent, New Kent and Charles City counties; Mark Alley, W.G. Wysor professor, crop and soil environmental sciences (CSES); Steven Phillips, associate professor, CSES, Eastern Shore Agricultural Research and Extension Center, and John Spargo, graduate research assistant, CSES. The team also includes collaborators from the Colonial Soil and Water Conservation District, USDA/ARS, and Natural Resource Conservation Service.

Holly Scoggins, associate professor of horticulture, and Alex White, an instructor of agricultural and applied economics, were awarded the 2007 Certificate of Teaching Excellence from the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences. They were recognized at the college graduation ceremony on May 12.