UF/IFAS Global honored four faculty and staff members on April 25th for their outstanding research, teaching and scholarship around the globe. The winners:
• Dr. Don Behringer in the Fisheries and Aquatics Sciences program won the 2018 IFAS Global International Fellow award for his many international activities, including research on spiny lobsters and blue crabs in the Caribbean and South America.
• Dr. Karen Garrett of the Plant Pathology Department won the International Achievement award for work that includes helping to develop international programs for the UF Institute for Sustainable Food Systems and serving as an adviser on the Feed the Future Haiti AREA project.
• UF/IFAS extension agent Christine Kelly-Begazo received the International Extension award in recognition for her work to develop programs geared to Spanish-speaking farm workers and teaching sustainable agriculture and other farming-related topics in Honduras each year.
• Finally, senior lecturer Dr. Monika Oli received the Internationalizing Student Education Award for globalizing nearly every aspect of her teaching, including her study abroad programs across Europe and her award-winning online class “Microbes Without Borders.”
Jack Payne, senior vice president for agriculture and natural sciences, said the award ceremony is a rare opportunity to highlight the worldwide efforts of UF/IFAS to improve farm productivity, teaching and food security.
"It's wonderful to know we can contribute to solving some of these problems around the world," Payne said. “To be a great university, you need to spread your knowledge — not only across the state but across the globe."