2012 Winter Newsletter - Illinois Agricultural Education

W INTER
 NEW S TAFF J OIN
A GRICULTURAL E DUCATION
P ROGRAM ..................... 1
 UIUC A LUM NATIONALLY
RECOGNIZED ................. 1
 E XPLORACES
S CAVENGER HUNT .......... 2
 S POTLIGHT ON UIUC
S TUDENT TEACHERS ....... 2
2012
Illinois
Ag Ed
AGRICULTURAL EDUCATI ON: IT’S WHAT YOU MAKE IT!
Dr. Kari Keating and Ms. Debra Korte join Agricultural Education Program at the University of Illinois
New Staff Join AGED Program
The start of the Spring 2012 semester welcomed students back to campus,
and introduced two new staff members to the University of Illinois
Agricultural Education Program. Dr. Kari Keating and Ms. Debra Korte
are the two newest members of the AGED Program.
Dr. Kari Hall Keating originally comes from Taylorville, IL, and earned
her bachelor’s degree in Marketing from Bradley University in Peoria,
IL. She earned her master’s degree in Educational Psychology from the
University of Iowa, and worked 11 years at the St. Johns County
Chamber of Commerce in St. Augustine, Florida, as Vice President of
Economic Development. In 2007, she returned to Illinois to pursue a PhD
in Human and Community Development. Her research is focused on
social outcomes of community leadership development programs and
how local leaders can learn to network across organizations to improve
their communities. She has worked closely with the University of Illinois
Extension and built a network of colleagues around the state of people
who are interested in leadership and community development. Prior to
being hired in this position, Dr. Keating served as a Visiting Extension
Associate in the Laboratory for Community and Economic Development
where she wrote curriculum and evaluation tools for leadership programs.
She will be teaching courses in the Agricultural Leadership Education
concentration and serving as the internship coordinator for the Ag
Leadership Education undergraduate students. Dr. Keating says, “I look
forward to drawing upon my real world experience and engaging my rich
network of colleagues in order to help our students find meaningful
career opportunities in Agricultural Leadership Education. Our students
are poised to help organizations develop their human capital and
communicate the value of agriculture in a global society.”
Ms. Debra Korte grew up on a family farm near Metropolis, Illinois. Her
active involvement in FFA led to the decision to pursue a bachelor’s
degree in Agricultural Education. Debra attended Lake Land College
after high school and completed her bachelor’s degree at the University
of Illinois. She taught high school agriculture for six years at Kansas
High School in Kansas, IL. In 2009, she completed her master’s degree in
Educational Administration at Eastern Illinois University. Debra will
primarily be teaching courses in the Agricultural Science Education
concentration. Her responsibilities will also include coordinating student
teacher placements and teacher certification requirements with the Illinois
State Board of Education. “It truly is an honor to work for the University
of Illinois and teach in the same program where I learned some of the
basics of education.” Debra comments, “I am looking forward to sharing
my high school classroom experiences with future teachers, and helping
them to pursue a very rewarding career as a high school agriculture
teacher and FFA advisor.”
The Agricultural Education Program is also excited to announce two new
appointments within the program. Dr. Richard Clark has moved into the
role of Associate Director of the Agricultural Education Program, and
Mr. Corey Flournoy is now serving as Director for the Illinois Center for
Urban Agricultural Education, based at the Chicago High School for
Agricultural Sciences.
UIUC Alum Nationally Recognized
Mr. Tim McDermott, Agriculture Instructor at Waterloo High School and 2004 University of Illinois
Alum, has been named the Outstanding Agricultural Education Teacher from the National
Association of Agricultural Educators (NAAE). As part of the honor, Toyota Motor Sales awarded
McDermott a brand new Toyota Tundra truck on February 10th during the Waterloo High School
Senior Night basketball game. The two-teacher Waterloo Agricultural Education program also
includes Mindy McDermott, a University of Illinois Alum, who was recognized by the National FFA
Organization in 2010 as the National Agriscience Teacher of the Year.
(Photo and information obtained from www.naae.org and http://stclairmonroe.fox2now.com)
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MARK YOUR
CALENDARS!
9.26.2012
ExplorACES
ExplorACES event to be held March 9-10
Thousands of people will flood
the College of Agricultural,
Consumer, and Environmental
Sciences (ACES) on March 9-10
for the annual ExplorACES
event! People from young to old
will visit campus to learn more
about agriculture and the
programs that are offered
through the College of ACES.
As part of the event, the Ag Ed
Program will be hosting a
scavenger
hunt
activity. Anyone
interested
in
participating in the
scavenger hunt should pick
up a form from the Ag Ed display
in the ACES Library. The
scavenger hunt will take
participants through nearly every
area of the College of ACES. At
the completion of the scavenger
hunt, students will receive a
prize.
Mini-lessons will also be
presented during the two-day
event. Dr. Walt Hurley, Interim
Director of the Ag Ed Program,
will present the Magical Milk
Lab at 11 am on Saturday in
the Animal Sciences Laboratory,
Room 131. On Friday, hands-on
lessons will be presented by
Agricultural Education faculty to
introduce students to the two
concentrations within the
Agricultural Education Program:
Agricultural Science Education
and Agricultural Leadership
Education. Sessions will be
held at 1 pm and 2 pm on
Friday, and Saturday at 11
am and 1 pm. All sessions
will be held in the Monsanto
Room of the ACES Library.
The University of Illinois
Greenhand Conference
will be held
September 26, 2012.
Students will have the
opportunity to participate
in hands-on workshops
and learn
valuable
leadership
skills!
11 UIUC Student Teachers this Spring
The Agricultural Education Program has eleven student teachers who are
completing their student teaching experiences at various agriculture
programs throughout the state. Each student has the opportunity to teach
in the classroom and laboratory setting, and participate in numerous FFA
activities throughout the semester. A big thank you goes to each of the
cooperating teachers involved in the UIUC student teaching experience!
Each cooperating teacher devotes countless hours to prepare students for
the next step in their career path. The Spring 2012 student teachers are:
 Leland Bunting, student teaching at Mahomet-Seymour High School
with Jennifer Wherley
 Sarah Carson, student teaching at Amboy High School
with Sarah Landers
 Kathryn King, student teaching at Taylorville High School with
Matt Beyers, Lee Meteer, and Sue Schafer
 Molly Maxstadt, student teaching at Southwestern (Piasa) High
School with Tim Reed
 Emma Meyer, student teaching at Tri-Valley (Downs) High School
with Kristin Myers and Josh Rund
 Michaela Palchick, student teaching at Chicago High School for
Agricultural Sciences with Maria Byrd and William Collins
 Bobbi Paulus, student teaching at Central-Clifton High School
with Bill Bretzman and Brett Sorensen
 Monica Pierce, student teaching at Chicago High School for
Agricultural Sciences with Wende Dallain and William Collins
 Katie Pilcher, student teaching at Tri-Point High School
with Diana Loschen
 Lee Rincker, student teaching at Seneca High School with
Jeff Maierhofer and Kent Weber
 Angie Schoenbein, student teaching at Mattoon High School
with Ryan Wildman
College of Agricultural, Consumer and Environmental Sciences
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