Purdue News
Purdue News
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June 2, 2000
Purdue professor 'tied' to teaching wins top awardWEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. -- It's official. After recently earning the Murphy Award as one of Purdue University's outstanding undergraduate teachers, John Graveel now has accrued more teaching awards in his 17-year academic career than neckties. Graveel, a professor of agronomy, has earned the outstanding teaching award from the American Society of Agronomy, the University of Tennessee National Alumni Outstanding Teacher Award and was named outstanding counselor in Purdue's School of Agriculture in 1998.
The Murphy Award breaks the unofficial "tie" between ties and teaching awards. The award is named after Charles B. Murphy and has been presented annually to Purdue's top teachers since 1967. The Murphy Award honors faculty members for outstanding teaching in all phases of the university's undergraduate instruction on the West Lafayette campus. It is Purdue's highest undergraduate teaching award. The $5,000 prize would buy a lot of ties, but don't look for that to happen. One of Graveel's performance reviews at Purdue even suggested he receive a pay raise for one simple reason: so he could afford a new tie. Graveel got the raise, but didn't spend any of the money expanding his tie collection. Graveel, a native of Mishawaka, Ind., puts the Murphy Award above his other teaching awards for one simple reason. "It's because Purdue is such a great university. To win an award like this is a very humbling experience," he says. Graveel is the sixth Purdue agronomy department teacher to earn the Murphy Award. In Purdue's School of Agriculture, only the Department of Agricultural Economics, with seven honorees, has earned more Murphy Awards. Associate Dean of Agriculture Karl Brandt says Graveel's teaching style is just a part of what makes him a great teacher. "Professor Graveel has provided enthusiastic and energetic leadership to our interdisciplinary natural resources and environmental science program of study," Brandt says. "He has also brought a number of innovations to the program, including the incorporation of hazardous waste certification into the curriculum and a focus on problem-based learning. "Clearly," Brandt says, "John Graveel is an innovator and a leader in his discipline, a true faculty scholar."
Writer: Tom Campbell, (765) 494-8084
Sources: John Graveel, (765) 494-8060 PHOTO CAPTION: The laid-back teaching style of John Graveel, who seldom wears a tie, has served his students and Purdue well. A professor of agronomy, Graveel recently received a Murphy Award, which recognizes Purdue's top undergraduate teachers. Here he talks with student Ginnie Masters, a junior in horticulture and landscaping. (Purdue News Service photo by Nick Judy) A publication-quality photograph is available at the News Service Web site and at the ftp site. Photo ID: Graveel.Murphy Purdue News Service: (765) 494-2096; purduenews@purdue.edu
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