Since 1978, the Jonathan Baldwin Turner (JBT) Scholar program has recognized a group of talented students each year from the College of Agricultural, Consumer, and Environmental Sciences. In the fall of 2021, the college re-envisioned its prestigious JBT program. Today, JBT scholars receive a renewable, merit-based scholarship, but more than financial support, the program provides unique professional development opportunities to prepare future leaders in diverse fields.

Elizabeth Brooks Bruns’ journey from a farm girl to a civil engineer for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers was not without its challenges. Diagnosed with cancer at age 13, and facing several recurrences, Elizabeth had to pause her education multiple times in her teens and early twenties. “It gave me space to think about what I liked to do and took away the pressure to pick a career too quickly,” she recalls.

Albert “Bert” Kemp’s legacy is one of service, hard work, and lasting generosity. He was just one of 25 students in Mahomet Community High School’s Class of 1938, yet he would go on to the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign where he earned his undergraduate degree in dairy science from the Department of Animal Sciences in 1942.

His formative undergraduate education set Bert up for a successful career and the means to one day give back to the institution that gave him his start in life. 

“I want to create something so unique that it will captivate experts and keep everyday people coming back,” said Bradley “Brad” Beam, an entrepreneurial winemaker from Illinois. Since founding Spoon River Junction in 2020, Beam has kept this mission a central focus of his efforts. Yet his journey toward innovative success and passion for winemaking began years earlier.

The College of Agricultural, Consumer, and Environmental Sciences (ACES) at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign invites alumni, students, faculty, staff, and friends to the annual Celebrate Food and Ag Day tailgate on Saturday, Oct. 12, 2024, which will be held from noon to 2 p.m. prior to the 2:30 p.m. kickoff at the Illinois vs. Purdue football game. 

When graduates leave the College of Agricultural, Consumer and Environmental Sciences at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, they enter a global network of alumni and friends making a difference in their fields. Even in the very farthest corners of the world, ACES alumni can be found leading industries and making progress toward the college’s mission to build robust food systems, nurture thriving families and communities, and steward a healthy planet. 

As part of a prestigious fellowship sponsored by The Norman Borlaug Institute, Molly Boyd, a 2024 graduate from the Department of Agricultural and Consumer Economics in the College of Agricultural, Consumer and Environmental Sciences (ACES) at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, will spend the next several months working as an agricultural extension agent and teacher in Ghana. 

The University of Illinois Alumni Association has named Jim and Marlene Evans the 2024 recipients of the UIAA Distinguished Service Award, which recognizes alumni accomplishments and service throughout their lives. A slate of eight alumni awards in six categories were presented on Sept.

Every summer, alumni of the College of Agricultural, Consumer and Environmental Sciences (ACES) at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign are invited back to campus with their kids or grandkids for ACES Family Academies. The two-day event introduces kids ages 8–13 to ACES majors, programs, and research through fun interactive classes and gives them a taste of campus life with meals in dining halls and a night in the dorms.