Welcome to the online home of the North American Colleges and Teachers of Agriculture (NACTA)! 
NACTA is a professional organization for post-secondary educators of agricultural, environmental, natural, and life sciences; and so much more. It is a social group of like-minded professionals many of whom have made lasting friendships as well as fruitful academic collaborations. The organization supports professional development and provides a respected publication outlet for research on teaching and learning. NACTA also supports many grants, awards, and honors for the membership to recognize professional excellence and contributions to the betterment of the NACTA organization as a whole.
My involvement with NACTA began when I started my faculty career as a newly minted PhD. I was encouraged to participate in the annual conference by my new colleagues, and I haven’t looked back in the ensuing 20+ years. Over these years, I have found NACTA to be extremely beneficial professionally, and one of the most enjoyable organizations to be involved with personally. I believe the network of agriculture educators created by NACTA provides a wonderful space for graduate students, new, mid-career, and senior faculty to all engage in constructive conversations about teaching and learning.
As the 2018-19 President, I look forward to serving the NACTA membership and building on the positive direction I believe the organization is headed. As I mentioned in my installation remarks at the annual conference in June, the NACTA leadership team worked during the last academic year to identify short- and longer-term issues our organization needs to address. I look forward to continuing this work and to gathering additional input and feedback from our members. If you have ideas or suggestions that can make our organization stronger, please contact me.
We, as a collective of agricultural, environmental, natural, and life sciences educators have the privilege and responsibility to teach the next generation of professionals who will continue to advance knowledge and identify solutions in many of the global challenges faced by society; issues like human health, renewable energy, and of course feeding the world.
As your president for the next year, I look forward to collaborating with you to share our vision for addressing these global challenges and to celebrate the incredible work you do on your campuses.
I hope to see you at the 65th annual conference June 18-21, 2019 at the College of Southern Idaho!
Ann Marie VanDerZanden, President
North American Colleges and Teachers of Agriculture
