The Iowa State University College of Agriculture and Life Sciences and the ISU Alumni Association presented awards at the annual Honors and Awards Ceremony on Oct. 27. Wendy Wintersteen, dean of the college, presented the awards.

Todd Hall received the Floyd Andre Award from the College of Ag and Life Sciences. This award honors an alum who has made outstanding contributions to production agriculture or ag business, or who has had a significant impact on Iowa agriculture.

Hall, of Orono, Minn., received his bachelor’s degree in animal science in 1982. A champion for global food security, he serves as executive vice president of Cargill. Hall is a member of the company’s executive team, responsible for the strategy, execution, and profit and loss of Cargill’s protein and salt businesses.

GRS program adviser
Hall is one of four executives serving on Cargill’s board of directors, helping steer the company’s mission of improving food security, sustainability and nutrition worldwide. He is a board member for the Grocery Manufacturers Association, Greater Minneapolis-St. Paul Regional Economic Development Partnership and Twin Cities Habitat for Humanity. He formerly served on the board of the American Feed Industry Association.

Hall is co-chairman of the advisory council for the College of Ag and Life Sciences Global Resource Systems program. Under his leadership, Cargill supports the GRS program, offering resources for faculty, student recruitment and scholarships which will strengthen the curriculum and develop students’ leadership skills and global competencies. 

Gerald Klonglan received the George Washington Carver Distinguished Service Award from the College of Ag and Life Sciences. The award honors college alumni and friends who have demonstrated outstanding achievement or leadership in making significant, influential or innovative contributions to society.

Klonglan, of Ames, Iowa, is an emeritus professor of sociology at ISU and former associate dean for national programs and assistant director of the Iowa Ag and Home Economics Experiment Station. A nationally recognized sociologist and advocate for the college’s global involvement and diversity programs, Klonglan received his bachelor’s degree, master’s degree and doctorate in rural sociology from ISU.

ISU leader at global level
During his tenure, Klonglan led the charge for the college’s educational collaboration and research on a global level. Under his leadership, the College of Ag & Life Sciences was top in the nation among land-grant institutions for grants awarded from USDA’s National Research Initiative Program. His involvement was key to long-term global grant development projects in places like Malawi, Ghana, Zambia, Saudi Arabia and China.

Klonglan was key in establishing research collaborations and graduate education projects with land-grant colleges established in 1890 and Native American Indian tribal land-grant colleges — many of which remain in place today. His contributions have been recognized with a USDA Cooperative State Research, Education and Extension Service Award; a Gamma Sigma Delta Distinguished Achievement in Agriculture Award of Merit and an ISU Alumni Association Alumni Service Award.

Catherine Woteki was honored with the Henry A. Wallace Award by the College of Ag and Life Sciences. The award honors a college alum or friend who has achieved notable professional achievements nationally or internationally, and brought distinction to themselves, the college and the university through significant contributions.  

Woteki, of Washington, D.C., serves as a professor of food science and human nutrition at ISU. As former chief scientist and undersecretary for USDA’s Research, Education and Economics mission area, she is a world-renowned leader in science policy and established platforms for international food and agricultural research.

USDA undersecretary
In her role as undersecretary, Woteki developed the federal Office of the Chief Scientist, established the USDA Science Council and implemented USDA’s first scientific integrity and open data policies. Woteki garnered global respect for envisioning the international forum that became the annual Meeting of Agricultural Chief Scientists at the Group of Twenty international forum and for chairing the Global Research Alliance on Agricultural Greenhouse Gases.

Prior to her work at USDA, Woteki served in top leadership positions in the ag and food industries, including deputy associate director for science for the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy, and global director of scientific and regulatory affairs for Mars Inc. In 2002, she was named the first female dean of the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences at Iowa State University and director of the Iowa Agriculture and Home Economics Experiment Station. Woteki is one of four ISU faculty members who have been elected to the National Academy of Medicine.

Dawn Refsell received the Outstanding Young Professional Award from the College of Ag and Life Sciences, honoring an early to mid-career college alum who has distinguished themselves through significant advancement and achievement in their discipline, field or area of expertise.

Leader in weed science
Refsell, of Lathrop, Mo., received her bachelor’s degree in agronomy in 2001 and master’s in crop production and physiology in 2003. She serves as manager of Midwest field development for Valent U.S.A. In her role, Refsell manages the Valent field development team and Midwest Agriculture Research Center, a 77-acre research farm in Illinois she helped design and develop.

Refsell’s leadership and agronomic expertise includes service on a global level. She’s a member of the Global Herbicide Resistance Action Committee and serves as communications lead for the U.S. Herbicide Resistance Action Committee. She is the strategic planning chairwoman for the North Central Weed Science Society and a member of the Weed Science Society of America.

Refsell frequently returns to ISU to speak to classes, judge weed science competitions and serve as a mentor for young women interested in agronomy. An active supporter of college initiatives, she has served in the college’s young alumni program, Curtiss League. Refsell’s contributions extend to many civic organizations.

Kyle Flander and Claire Masker were recognized with the ISU Alumni Association’s James A. Hopson Volunteer Service Award. The award recognizes graduates under the age of 40 who have demonstrated early volunteer leadership for ISU.

ISU alumni efforts in Kansas City
Flander, of Shawnee, Kan., received his bachelor’s degree in industrial technology in 2003. He serves as a process improvement engineer for Entrematic/Amarr in Lawrence, Kan. Flander is an active volunteer in Kansas City’s ISU Alumni Club, where he serves as treasurer. He served as president of the club for 2012-15.

During his tenure on the club’s leadership board, he founded Cy’s Day at the K, organized overnight bus trips for Cyclone sporting events and created a sustainable presence for Cy’s Days of Service volunteer initiatives in Kansas City. He’s hosted Cyclone game-watches, Big 12 basketball tournament events and family events. He’s developed events and relationships that have helped Kansas City Cyclones feel stronger connections to ISU, and increased school pride and spirit.

Reaches young alumni
Masker, of Urbandale, Iowa, received bachelor’s degrees in 2005 in animal science, and ag and life sciences education, and a master’s degree in ag education in 2008. She is director of public relations for the National Pork Board.

Masker is a frequent guest lecturer for College of Ag and Life Sciences classes and ISU student organizations. She also volunteers as a judge for the annual ISU Bacon Expo. In 2016, she co-led a swine study abroad trip to China and Japan, where she helped students prepare throughout the semester and chaperoned the trip for three weeks.

Masker is a member of the college’s young alumni initiative, Curtiss League. She helped create Young Professionals in Agriculture, a networking group for young professionals. Masker has served as a member of the Agriculture Future of America Alliance Planning Committee and a member of the ISU Alumni Association’s Young Alumni Council. A graduate of the 2015-16 class of Leadership Iowa, she has received the National Agri-Marketing Association’s Best of NAMA Award for social media.

Source: Iowa State University