11 in Purdue Ag's distinguished alumni class of 2016

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - Eleven educators, executives and researchers will receive the Purdue University 2016 Distinguished Agriculture Alumni Award, the College of Agriculture's top honor.

They will be presented the award March 4 during a ceremony at 3:30 p.m. EST in the North Ballroom of Purdue Memorial Union on the West Lafayette campus. A reception will precede the ceremony at 2:30 p.m. Both events are free and open to the public.

The DAA award recognizes Purdue Agriculture alumni who have demonstrated outstanding accomplishments, made significant contributions to their professions or to society in general and exhibit high potential for future professional growth.

The 2016 class brings to 219 the number of alumni who have received the award since it was created in 1992.

"Our 2016 distinguished alumni are terrific examples of what Purdue Agriculture graduates every year - farmers, scientists, educators, entrepreneurs and business executives who become leaders in their fields," said Jay Akridge, Glenn W. Sample Dean of Purdue Agriculture. "We are very proud of each of them and what they have accomplished to this point in their careers. And, we are even more excited about what they will yet accomplish in the future."

This year’s award recipients are (degree, year and Purdue department):

* Tahirou Abdoulaye (M.S. 1994, Ph.D. 2002, agricultural economics), impact economist with International Institute for Tropical Agriculture, Ibadan, Nigeria.

* Mary Beth Adams (B.S. 1980, M.S. 1982), forestry and natural resources), research soil scientist, U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Forest Service, Morgantown, West Virginia.

* Martin F. Berry (Ph.D. 1988, food science), senior principal research engineer, Ocean Spray Cranberries Inc., Lakeville, Massachusetts.

* Jay Hood (B.S. 1987, horticulture and landscape architecture), director of landscape architecture, Littlejohn, Orlando, Florida.

* Thomas H. McKinney (B.S. 1980, agricultural economics), president and general manager, McKinney & McKinney Inc., Kempton, Indiana.

* Jack Odle (B.S. 1982, animal sciences), William Neal Reynolds Distinguished Professor, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, North Carolina.

* Sergio Pascholati (B.S. 1983, botany and plant pathology), professor, Luiz de Queiroz College of Agriculture, Piracicaba, Brazil.

* Jeffrey T. Troike (B.S. 1982, animal sciences), CEO and president, Ceres Solutions LLP, Attica, Indiana.

* Dexter Wakefield I (M.S. 1988, Ph.D. 2001, youth development and agricultural education), assistant professor of agricultural education and mechanics, Texas State University, San Marcos, Texas.

* Karl Weiss (B.S. 1992, agricultural and biological engineering), vice president, Earthmoving Division, Caterpillar Inc., Dunlap, Illinois.

* Kristin Whittington (B.S. 1992, animal sciences), owner and president, Landmark Enterprises LLC, Edinburgh, Indiana. 

Writer: Keith Robinson, 765-494-2722, robins89@purdue.edu 

Source: Jay Akridge, 765-494-8391, akridge@purdue.edu

Agricultural Communications: (765) 494-2722;
Keith Robinson, robins89@purdue.edu
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