N.C. A&T’s “Rookie of the Year” researcher, an excellent advisor and an outstanding teacher all earned top awards from the university this month, while a host of grant winners and researchers were honored by the college during end-of-year award ceremonies.
John Ng’ombe, assistant professor in the Department of Agribusiness, Applied Economics and Agriscience Education, won distinction as the university’s “Rookie of the Year” for his research on agricultural and applied economics issues.
“Dr. Ng’ombe has a passion for teaching and mentoring students and is committed to making quantitative techniques easy to understand for all learners,” according to his nomination.
Associate Professor Devona Dixon’s success in providing students with opportunities through her grant-funded projects helped earned Dixon an Academic Advising Excellence award from the university. Her most recent grants have contributed to the department’s modernization by helping acquire industry-level software and technology, which builds students’ career preparedness.
A Junior Faculty Teaching Excellence award was given to Assistant Professor Niroj Aryal of the Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Design.
“He works diligently on teaching skills and is steadfastly committed,” according to his nomination. “Based on students’ needs and learning styles, he uses specific teaching methods with a goal of understanding for all students.”
College faculty were also recognized for their research and staff were recognized for their skills at the CAES Faculty Research and Staff Recognition Awards this month.
“Last year was a banner year, with 34.5 million in grant funding,” said Dean Mohamed Ahmedna. “We’re on track to exceed that amount this year, thanks to your hard work.”
Research award presentations, made by Dean Ahmedna and department chairs, went to Niroj Aryal, Ph.D., Outstanding Young Investigator; Paula Faulkner, Ph.D., Senior Researcher of the Year; Kenrett Jefferson-Moore, Ph.D. and Michelle Eley, Competitive Grant Awards.
Many faculty were recognized for publication in high-impact journals. Those publishing in journals with impact factors of 2.0-6.0 included Drs. Arnab Bhowmik, Shengmin Sang, Hye Won Kang, Niroj Aryal, Beatrice Dingha, Omon Isikhuemhen, Ghasem Shahbazi, Lijun Wang, Yewande Fasina, Mulumubet Worku and John Ng’ombe.
Those with publications in journals of impact factor 6.0-10 include Drs. Jianmei Yu, Guibeng Chen, Salam Ibrahim and Reza Tahergorabi.
Award-winning CAES staff included Jacqueline Holden, administrative assistant in the Department of Natural Resources (NRED), who won the Customer Service Award; Beef Unit coordinator Aaron Snider, who won the Performance Award; and research assistant Renee Robinson of the Department of Family and Consumer Sciences, who won the Teamwork Award.
Jawan Burwell, Ed.D, director of the Child Development Institute on campus, was the recipient of the Leadership Award.
Lynda McGee, of NRED, won the Burleigh C. Webb Award for “going the extra mile.”
