May 2021

In this issue:

President's Message
Say Hello to NACTA 2021-2022 President-Elect, Todd Winters
There is Still Time to Register for #NACTA21!
New NACTA Members
Renew or Become a New NACTA Member

President's Message

Greetings. As you are aware, the 2021 election for open NACTA officer positions was held online from March 16 – April 16. The NACTA membership cast their votes, which have been tallied and confirmed. Each candidate has been individually contacted, informed of the results of the election, and those elected have provided written confirmation on their willingness to serve during their appointed terms.

We are pleased to announce to the NACTA membership the following incoming officers:

• Todd Winters, University of Tennessee at Martin – President-Elect, 2021-22
• Chris Estepp, University of Arkansas – Secretary/Treasurer, 2021-23
• Elizabeth Karcher, Purdue University – Eastern Region Director, 2021-23
• Wendy Warner, North Carolina State University – Southern Region Director, 2021-23
• Shannon Arnold, Montana State University – Western Region Director, 2021-23
  

Please join me in congratulating our new and renewing NACTA officers and in thanking them for their past and ongoing dedication and service. Each member will begin their term in office immediately following the 2021 Annual Conference. Congratulations!

I want to take this opportunity to thank the NACTA Nominating Committee – composed of Ann Marie VanDerZanden (Iowa State Univ.), Audrey Luke-Morgan (Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College – Georgia), Kimberly Moore (Univ. of Florida), Jeff Hattey (Ohio State Univ.), and committee chair, Foy Mills, Jr. (Lubbock Christian Univ.) – for their effort in identifying candidates, organizing an outstanding slate of candidates, and garnering timely approval of said slate by the NACTA Executive Committee during our monthly meeting (March 2021).

Thanks again to all the candidates! To the newly elected Executive Committee members, we eagerly look forward to your leadership. And to all our current members, we look forward to your continued engagement, support and leadership of NACTA.

Cordially,

J. Marcos Fernandez
2020-21 NACTA President
Purdue University

Say Hello to NACTA 2021-2022 President-Elect, Todd Winters

Our association is a robust and diverse set of educators, researchers, agriculture professionals, volunteers and academics who come from all walks of life and from around North America. Each month we sit down with a member to highlight their academic and professional career, and to see how they are making the best of their membership in NACTA. This month’s Featured Member is NACTA 2021-2022 President-Elect Todd Winters.

Todd Winters, PhD
Dean of the College of Agriculture and Applied Sciences
University of Tennessee at Martin
NACTA President-Elect, 2021-2022

Congratulations on your election to President-Elect. What are you looking forward to in this first year as a member of the Executive Committee?
I am very honored to be elected to this role. Since I found out I was elected I’ve spent some time looking closer at NACTA: the recent updates to branding, vision, strategy and the history of our group. Now that I’m about to jump into this role I am eager to learn more about what needs to be done. Changes to the foundation, the journal and the management are all positive things that have already begun over the past several years. Looking ahead, we need to let people know who we are while bringing our colleagues from across North America together.

Looking forward to the beginning of your term as president in 2022, what things do you plan to focus on? What things would you like to see happen in your term as president and beyond?
I would like to see NACTA in a place where everyone knows who we are and feels welcome to join. I’d not only like to increase our membership, but I’d like for people in DC to know who we are. Hopefully, we will be working to enhance funding for educational programs, building the brand of NACTA and expanding our membership and offerings.

I would love to see more leadership and continued engagement from the Canadian institutions as well as more collaboration and activities with our partners in Mexico. As the North American Colleges and Teachers of Agriculture, we can and should be more representative of all locations we cover.

The beauty of NACTA is that it still affords us an opportunity for all institutions to be main players, contributors, movers and shakers within the organization. Everyone, schools large and small, has a place at the table. Of all the organizations that I’m involved with, this is my favorite. At conferences we can all discuss the scholarship of teaching and learning while so many others aren’t as focused on that aspect. This is a place that you can go to talk about how you failed, and you can share and learn from that failure. At a lot of meetings, you can’t do that. NACTA is a family reunion every year because it is a family.

There is Still Time to Register for #NACTA21!

The 2021 NACTA Virtual Conference, to be held June 21-24, 2021 is right around the corner! At this annual meeting of the North American Colleges and Teachers of Agriculture (NACTA), you will be able to connect with and learn from others who share your passion for the scholarship of teaching and learning in agriculture, food, and natural resources. The annual NACTA conference will provide new teaching techniques, ideas, and resources. It is also one of the best professional development activities for networking with other teaching professionals where the common discipline is teaching.

By registering for the virtual conference, you will gain access to your choice of workshops, poster presentations, oral presentations, award presentations, and the annual business meeting. Some events, like the poster and oral presentations, will be presented on-demand and available for 60 days after the conference. Please note that you will need to register and be signed-in to view any conference events or presentations.

Additional meeting details and registration can be found at www.nactaconference.org.

New NACTA Members

NACTA had 48 new members in the last month. We hope you will join us in welcoming them!  

Renew or Become a New NACTA Member

NACTA is the largest professional development organization that focuses specifically on the scholarship of teaching and learning in agriculture, food and natural resources.

Need to renew your membership? Want to invite a colleague to join? Want to change your membership status? Visit the membership page here.

We appreciate your NACTA membership!