YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK—While Kate Owen prefers teaching face to face, reaching young students online from Yellowstone National Park during the COVID-19 pandemic still produces the rewarding moments that drive her passion and career.

Besides, who wouldn’t want to learn the history of human/bison interaction or the importance of water quality at the Grand Canyon from Owen? You can see the sparkle in the education technician’s eyes just as clearly on Zoom.

The international agricultural and rural development community lost an influential and passionate advocate last week. Burton Swanson, professor emeritus of rural development in the Department of Agricultural and Consumer Economics, passed away after a long illness on April 23, 2020.

Jimmy Smith (M.S. ’82 and Ph.D. ‘86 in animal sciences ) recently received the Madhuri and Jagdish N. Sheth International Alumni Award for Exceptional Achievement as part of the 2019 Illinois International Achievement Awards.

The College of Agricultural, Consumer and Environmental Sciences (ACES) welcomed back alumnus Allan P. Mustard, a retired ambassador and accomplished Foreign Agricultural Service (FAS) professional, to present the annual ACES Distinguished International Lecture.

URBANA, Ill. – The Child Development Laboratory (CDL) at the University of Illinois has been part of the campus and Champaign-Urbana community for more than 77 years, preparing over 4,000 young children for successful futures.

A gift from Nannette “Nann” Armstrong, an alumna of the College of Agricultural, Consumer and Environmental Sciences at U of I, is helping to support the CDL in its commitment to provide high-quality early care and education for children, as well as to serve the campus through its teaching, research, and outreach and engagement.

John Bowman (Ph.D. Plant Pathology ’84) recently received the “Outstanding International Horticulturalist” award from the American Society of Horticultural Science. This award recognized Bowman’s lifetime of achievement in international horticulture. He currently serves as a program area leader in the United States Agency for International Development’s (USAID) Office of Agricultural Research and Policy.

URBANA, Ill. – Before gifting her farmland to the University of Illinois in the early 2000s, and long after she had moved from Illinois, Lora Sims recounted that she was once advised to sell off her Montgomery County land.

But Sims didn’t want to sell the farm that had been such an important part of her family. Lora’s mother, Adelaide “Addie” Colvin Sims, owned the land and then left it to Lora and her siblings. That decision has now positively impacted hundreds of University of Illinois students.

URBANA, Ill. – The College of Agricultural, Consumer and Environmental Sciences at the University of Illinois has acquired a work of art by renowned painter Billy Morrow Jackson.

The painting, “Windwalker,” was donated to the college by the artist’s wife of 30 years, Blanche Mary Jackson. It is currently on display in the dean’s conference room, 224 Mumford Hall.

Article submitted by Emely Lopez, doctoral student and research assistant, Department of Food Science and Human Nutrition

A recent ACES alumnus and former International Graduate Grant recipient recently returned to campus to share his experiences with aspiring food scientists, specifically how he led his team to create the world’s very first hemp coffee creamer.