Celebration Continued: Dr. Ewing Receives Honors @jce122

As we begin to wind down from last week’s celebrations with family and friends, this week we join in celebration to recognize Dr. Ewing for being recognized as the Community of Scholars 2016 Northern Region Excellence in College and University Teaching in the Food and Agricultural Sciences.

Launched in 1992, the Community of Scholars Honoring Excellence in College and University Teaching in the Food and Agricultural Sciences program recognizes outstanding college professors of agriculture, natural resources, veterinary and human sciences. A selection committee of nationally recognized teachers and scholars choose two national recipients and two early career awardees. Also selected are six regional award recipients. The nominees are evaluated based on their instruction ability, educational innovation, service to students, professionalism and scholarship. Sponsored by the National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) and the Association of Public and Land-grant Universities (APLU), the award is presented at their annual meeting.

Excellence in College and Teaching Awards also recognizes university faculty for preparing students for the future.  Requirements of eligibility for a Regional Award include: a person who exhibits sustained and meritorious teaching, as well as maintained at least eight consecutive years’ experience in higher education teaching. While a sustained pattern of meritorious activity is expected, this award does not recognize teaching longevity so much as it recognizes the quality of recent achievements involving teaching philosophy, methodology, and self-assessment aimed at improvement.

Dr. John Ewing many accolades made him eligible for this award.  Dr. Ewing's accomplishments are highlighted below!

Teaching- A Penn State faculty member since 2006, Dr. Ewing’s teaching focuses mainly on undergraduate education. He has taught eight different courses related to teacher education. Dr. Ewing has the ability to connect theory and practice into each class topic, allowing students to see relevance in their learning. Also, by connecting his research on experimental learning and content specific to agricultural education, Dr. Ewing has been able to help future teachers prepare for management of their own high school agricultural education program.

Service- Dr. Ewing has served as the undergraduate program coordinator for Penn State's Agricultural and Extension Education major since 2008. This role helps guide students to opportunities that enhance their Penn State experience and their educational journey to becoming an agricultural educator. 

Other Recognition- Dr. Ewing’s desire to help students has been recognized through multiple organizations and awards. These include the following: North Central American Association for Agricultural Education’s Outstanding Early Career Agricultural Educator Award, College of Agricultural Sciences Community of Teaching Excellence Award, North American Colleges and Teachers of Agricultural (NACTA) Teaching Award of Merit, Penn State Gamma Sigma Delta Teaching Award of Merit, and the NACTA Teacher Fellow Award.

Through Dr. Ewing's hard work and dedication to teaching & service, he has achieved much as a teacher educator at Penn State. He gives credit to Dr. Tracy Hoover and Dr. Rama Radhakrishna. He says “They have both provided me excellent mentoring over the past 10 years at Penn State. Both have supported me in my teaching, and have always encouraged me to be the best teacher and advisor that I can be for my students. I appreciate all of their help.” It is evident the continued effort Dr. Ewing puts forth to achieve what others have helped him become. This recognition is quite an honor, and we thank Dr. Ewing for his time and dedication.

Congratulations Dr. John Ewing!

To learn more about starting on the path to having a career that makes a positive impact on the lives of students across the globe by becoming an agricultural educator, please contact the agricultural teacher education program at teachag@psu.edu. Follow us on Twitter at TeachAgPSU, on Facebook, or on our blog.

Halee Wasson

Student Blogger

Twitter Handle: @wasson_halee

2018 Agriculture Education Student Teacher