Kentucky State University faculty and students were awarded at the Southern Rural Sociology Association Conference
Posted on March 13, 2018
A team of faculty, students and Extension staff from the College of Agriculture, Food
Science, and Sustainable Systems at Kentucky State University (KSU) participated in
the 49
th
Southern Rural Sociology Association (SRSA) meeting in Jacksonville, Florida recently.
Several KSU attendees presented research and Extension papers, poster presentations
and received awards for their outstanding teaching, Extension and research papers.
Dr. Marion Simon, professor and state specialist for small farm and part-time farmers
at Kentucky State University, received an award as an appreciation of her service
to the SRSA as President for the 2017-2018 term and for her outstanding contributions
to the SRSA in previous years. She presented a presidential address titled “Sustainable
Agriculture in the South: Rural Sociologists are a Critical Key.”
Dr. Buddhi Raj Gyawali, associate professor of geospatial technology and human dimensions
of natural resources at Kentucky State, received the SRSA Excellence in Teaching award
for his outstanding contribution in integrating environmental sociology to his geospatial
courses, student experiential and thesis research and teaching pedagogy. Gyawali was
also elected to the position of program chair-elect with a four-year commitment to
the SRSA, which will transition him to the position of president of SRSA in 2022.
Cynthia Rice, a graduate student Gyawali in the Master of Environmental Science program
at Kentucky State, received the Outstanding Student Paper
award, which included a cash award. Rice also gave a presentation on the same topic
as her paper,
“
Food Security and the Small Farmer’s Place in Food Security.” Audience members applauded
her research efforts and expected that her thesis results would contribute to develop
innovative educational and outreach materials about food security and safety for Kentucky
farmers.
Other research and poster presentations from Kentucky State participants included:
- Community Perceptions on Surface Mining, Reclamation Impacts and Trust on Public Entities in the Eastern Kentucky (oral) – Dr. Budhi Raj Gyawali
- A Business Model for Small Scale Catfish Farming (oral) –Victoria Odesanmi, undergraduate business major
- Motivation of Regrowth (oral) – Laura Rogers, Area Small Farm Extension Agent;
- Role of Building Resiliency of Small and Limited Resource Farmers (oral) – Courtney Owens, second author
- Developing Networks for Diversity (poster) – Edwin Chavous, Area Small Farm Extension Agent
- Kentucky’s Local Food Systems – African American Beginning Farmers Are Taking a Lead Role (poster) – Tehran Jewell, Area Small Farm Extension Agent
- A Diversity of Farmers Have Built Networks Because of Pastured Poultry Enterprises (poster) – Steve Skelton, Mobile Processing Unit Manager
- Farmers and Food Security Perceptions (poster) – Cynthia Rice