Each year, the College of Agricultural, Consumer and Environmental Sciences at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign has the honor of celebrating the achievements of several exceptional ACES alumni. Alumni Award recipients are recognized in the categories of Outstanding Young Alumni, Career Achievement, Award of Merit, and ACES Family Spirit. The 2025 winners will be honored during the ACES Alumni Awards Gala on April 14 at the Pear Tree Estate.

The ACES Alumni Award of Merit recognizes alumni with an outstanding record of personal and professional accomplishments, extraordinary humanitarian contributions, and a history of serving the College of ACES.

The 2025 ACES Alumni Award of Merit recipients are:

• Paul Ellinger, Urbana, Illinois - B.S. ’80 agriculture mechanization and M.S. ’82 agricultural economics
• Kathleen Koehler, Washington, D.C. - Ph.D. ’76 nutritional sciences

The ACES Career Achievement Award is presented to alumni who have demonstrated exceptional professional achievements and/or made extraordinary humanitarian contributions resulting in meaningful or life-changing impacts on a significant population.

The 2025 ACES Career Achievement Award recipients are:

• Joshua C. Anthony, Princeton Junction, New Jersey - M.S. ’98 nutritional sciences
• Orlando F. McMeans, Baton Rouge, Louisiana - M.S. ’94 and Ph.D. ’97 horticulture
• Danielle Waterworth, Kansasville, Wisconsin - B.S. ’02 agriculture and consumer economics, agri-finance

The ACES Outstanding Young Alumni Award recognizes alumni under the age of 40 who have also shown outstanding personal achievement or significantly enhanced or improved the lives of others through remarkable leadership and service.

The 2025 Outstanding Young Alumni Award recipients are:

• LaVontae Brooks, Chicago, Illinois - B.S. ’15 agriculture and consumer economics, public policy and law
• Arshan Nasir, Hopkinton, Massachusetts - M.S. ’12 crop sciences, bioinformatics
• Matt Riggs - Urbana, Illinois - B.S ’06 technical systems management

The ACES Family Spirit Award honors alumni families who have demonstrated their support of ACES as alumni and/or students.

The 2025 ACES Family Spirit Award recipient is:

• The Allen/West Family - Callie (West) Allen and Levi Allen united two families that bleed orange and blue. The Allen and West family's ties to the University of Illinois span generations, with more than 15 family members earning their degrees here–10 of them from the College of ACES. This family continues to live by the values cultivated within them by ACES, inspiring future generations to follow in their footsteps.

At the April Alumni Awards Gala, awardees will be pinned as the newest members of the College of ACES Round Barn Society, a group dedicated to celebrating alumni who bring honor and distinction to ACES. The U. of I. Membership is granted to ACES alumni after serving in elected positions on the alumni boards or receiving individual award recognition from the college or the University of Illinois Alumni Association.

“These award recipients exemplify the spirit of ACES–leaders who use their expertise to shape industries, improve lives, and make meaningful contributions to society,” said Raquel Lacey-Nelson B.S. ‘97 agricultural sciences, president of the ACES Alumni Association. “We are proud to celebrate their impact.”

Registration for the ACES Alumni Award Gala is open and available until March 28, 2025.