AECT's Graham Named Top Educator by American Association for Agricultural Education

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Donna L. Graham, AAAE's Outstanding Agricultural Educator and a state Agriculture Hall of Fame member, is University Professor of agricultural education in Bumpers College's Department of Agricultural Education, Communications and Technology.

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – Donna L. Graham, University Professor of agricultural education in U of A's Dale Bumpers College of Agricultural, Food and Life Sciences, has been named the nation's Outstanding Agricultural Educator by the American Association for Agricultural Education.

Graham, who is also the graduate coordinator in the Department of Agricultural Education, Communications and Technology, was presented the award at the national conference in Des Moines, Iowa. AAAE is dedicated to studying, applying and promoting the teaching and learning processes in agriculture.

Last spring, Graham was inducted into the Arkansas Agriculture Hall of Fame. She has been with the U of A System since 1970, starting with the Cooperative Extension Service in Jefferson County.

In 1985, she moved to the Fayetteville campus as an AECT faculty member and served 10 years as associate dean for academic programs. Graham has received the Spitze Land Grant Faculty Award for Excellence as well as recognition as a Distinguished Alumna from the U of A Alumni Association.

She received the Educator Award from the North American Colleges and Teachers of Agriculture professional society in 2016. Graham is a past president of AAAE and also a Senior Fellow.

About the Dale Bumpers College of Agricultural, Food and Life Sciences: Bumpers College provides life-changing opportunities to position and prepare graduates who will be leaders in the businesses associated with foods, family, the environment, agriculture, sustainability and human quality of life; and who will be first-choice candidates of employers looking for leaders, innovators, policy makers and entrepreneurs. The college is named for Dale Bumpers, former Arkansas governor and longtime U.S. senator who made the state prominent in national and international agriculture. For more information about Bumpers College, visit our website, and follow us on Twitter at @BumpersCollege and Instagram at BumpersCollege.

About the University of Arkansas: The University of Arkansas provides an internationally competitive education for undergraduate and graduate students in more than 200 academic programs. The university contributes new knowledge, economic development, basic and applied research, and creative activity while also providing service to academic and professional disciplines. The Carnegie Foundation classifies the University of Arkansas among only 2.7 percent of universities in America that have the highest level of research activity. U.S. News & World Report ranks the University of Arkansas among its top American public research universities. Founded in 1871, the University of Arkansas comprises 10 colleges and schools and maintains a low student-to-faculty ratio that promotes personal attention and close mentoring.