Lauren Kessler, a senior in crop sciences, spent the first two years of college at another institution, but soon realized that she missed horticulture and needed to follow her heart. At the beginning of her junior year, she transferred to the College of Agricultural, Consumer and Environmental Sciences to study horticultural food systems.

Although they may not have specifically said it, Mary and Neal Coffman pursued the dream of creating a life filled with love and service, according to their daughter Barbara Coffman.

This service to others continues as Barbara has designated a gift in her estate that will establish scholarship funds to honor both of her parents. “My parents went to school during the Depression, so they knew how difficult it was to pay for a college education,” she explains.

When it comes to professional achievement, H. Richard “Dick” McFarland believed that character and leadership development were just as valuable as formalized classroom education. Not only did he model entrepreneurial success, but he also made sure that Illinois youth and College of Agricultural, Consumer and Environmental Sciences (ACES) students were afforded opportunities to build a similar path. Two gifts provided by McFarland in his estate will continue to perpetuate that investment in young people.

Wyffels Hybrids recently donated used, fully operational research equipment to the University of Illinois. The Department of Crop Sciences received a combine with a three-row corn head, as well as a four-row planter. Spare equipment parts were also donated.

There are several new faces in leadership roles in the College of Agricultural, Consumer and Environmental Sciences.

John and Eunice Campbell have provided support to the College of ACES Jonathan Baldwin Turner Scholarship program for nearly four decades. A former College of ACES dean, John provided the vision to establish the JBT scholarship program in 1978.

Launched in 2001, the International Business Immersion Program (IBIP) has annually taken a group of Illinois undergraduate students with high leadership potential to various countries and continents around the world including Europe, Asia, Brazil, and New Zealand. IBIP is the premier and longest standing program in the Department of Agricultural and Consumer Economics’ suite of experiential learning program offerings.

URBANA, Ill. – Research in the Department of Animal Sciences at the University of Illinois spans multiple disciplines, from production agriculture to neuroscience. This breadth of expertise is one reason several researchers in the department were recently awarded a $1.62 million, five-year research grant from the National Institutes of Health and the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s “Dual Purpose for Dual Benefit” program.

When deciding which sweet corn hybrids to plant, vegetable processors need to consider whether they want their contract growers using a workhorse or a racehorse. Is it better to choose a hybrid with exceptional yields under ideal growing conditions (i.e., the racehorse) or one that performs consistently well across ideal and less-than-ideal conditions (i.e., the workhorse)? New research from the University of Illinois suggests the workhorse is the winner in processing sweet corn.

Handling a poorly timed tantrum from a toddler-such as in the middle of the grocery store-is never an easy task. It could serve as a teachable moment for a mom to help her child learn to manage his own emotions. After all, research shows that how parents react in these types of situations can play an important role in a child's emotional development.

But how does that child's negative behavior-that tantrum in the frozen food aisle-affect a mother's own stress level, and therefore, her ability to parent?