PULLMAN, Wash. — Faculty and staff in Washington State University’s College of Agricultural, Human, and Natural Resource Sciences (CAHNRS), gathered alongside their family and friends for an awards ceremony on Tuesday, April 22, 2025. Held in Ensminger Pavilion on the WSU Pullman campus, the event celebrated and recognized faculty and staff who consistently go above and beyond in their roles at WSU.
Award winners include:
Administrative Professional Staff Excellence Award – Joanna Dreger
Joanna Dreger is a graduate program academic coordinator in WSU’s Department of Biological Systems Engineering (BSE). Originally from Poland, Dreger earned a bachelor’s degree in general business in 2000 and an MBA in general management in 2004 from WSU. Since joining the BSE department in 2013, she has guided and nurtured the academic and personal growth of more than 265 graduate students.
Administrative Professional Technical Staff Excellence Award – Tawnee Melton
Tawnee Melton is a tree fruit integrated pest management lab manager at WSU’s Tree Research and Extension Center (TFREC). She has worked at TFREC since 2002, researching ecologically based methods of tree fruit pest management and using her experience to mentor students and staff. Melton is part of WSU’s Master Gardener Program and a regular volunteer in WSU Extension’s Plant Diagnosis Clinic.
Classified Technical Staff Excellence Award – Liz Mieirs
Liz Mieirs grew up on a small farm down the road from WSU’s Irrigated Agriculture Research and Extension Center (IAREC), where she now serves as a custodian. Mieirs is an avid gardener and a proud mom who spends her free time supporting her children’s activities.
CAHNRS For All Staff Excellence Award – Kat Odell
Kat Odell is a seasoned leader with more than 25 years of experience in higher education. She currently serves as operations administrative manager for CAHNRS, overseeing departmental administrative, fiscal, and personnel operations. She also manages WSU’s agricultural land services, and serves as the college’s risk management contact. Odell is dedicated to inclusivity and professional development.
Excellence in Advising Award – Scott Brown
Scott Brown is an academic coordinator and lead advisor in the Department of Animal Sciences. A U.S. Army veteran, he has spent time working on his father’s farm, framing houses, and as a delivery driver. Brown believes in working hard and helping ensure others achieve excellence. In his current role, he prioritizes listening to students and helping them find solutions to their questions.
CAHNRS For All Ribbon Awards
The CAHNRS For All ribbon system was established to recognize commitment to access, opportunity, and belonging in a department. With three tiers recognizing a progression of increased participation in events, activities, committee membership, and commitment, the ribbon system is a celebration, inspiration, and testament to the profound importance we place on embracing belonging at every level of our college.
Seed Ribbon Award – CAHNRS Operations
CAHNRS Operations won the first CAHNRS For All Seed Ribbon Award in 2024. At every level of their unit, they engage in activities such as search committee trainings and professional development workshops focused on mindfulness of cognitive differences. They have worked tirelessly to shape their unit in a way that seamlessly harnesses the full spectrum of human talents while respecting and celebrating human differences.
Seed Ribbon Award – Department of Entomology
The Department of Entomology also earned the CAHNRS For All Seed Ribbon Award in 2024. The department, which is dedicated to making everyone feel welcomed and safe, established its own committee in 2020 to promote access, opportunity, and belonging. It has maintained consistent representation in the CAHNRS For All committee since 2021. Individuals in the department have participated in numerous activities and trainings, while their committee works on research and outreach for staff, faculty, and students.
Seed Ribbon Award – Department of Crop and Soil Sciences
Crop and soil sciences faculty, staff, and students attend seminars related to access, opportunity, and belonging, participate in climate surveys designed by the CAHNRS For All committee, and hold hands-on activities to make sure everyone feels welcomed and valued. Their well-rounded efforts make them deserving of this award, which they also received in 2024.
Seed Ribbon Award – WSU Extension Clark County
WSU Extension Clark County is focused on making sure all members are encouraged to contribute ideas, share feedback, and engage in collaborative efforts on its initiatives. With an emphasis on reasonable accommodations, promoting educational opportunities, and real-world applications of principles in Extension programming and community engagement, Clark County goes beyond the basic expectations.
Sprout Ribbon Award – Department of Entomology
The Department of Entomology is the first department to receive this award. In 2022, faculty in the department voted to dedicate at least one of their yearly departmental seminar sessions to a topic related to access, opportunity, and belonging. Since then, they have invited speakers to speak about microaggressions, diversity statements, LGBTQ+ allyship, and more.
Bloom Ribbon Award – Department of Entomology
The Department of Entomology is also the first department to receive all three tiers of the CAHNRS For All Ribbon Awards, the highest of which is the Bloom Ribbon Award. The department understands that productivity, creativity, and strong academic pursuits would not be possible without the contributions of people from all backgrounds. Nearly every research or Extension grant in the department includes an outreach component that increases opportunities for minoritized communities.
R.M. Wade Award for Excellence in Teaching – Anna Warner
Growing up on a farm in Pennsylvania and participating in 4-H, Anna Warner discovered her passion for agricultural education at a young age. She earned her PhD from the University of Florida before beginning her career at WSU in 2018. As an associate professor of agriculture education, Warner is dedicated to implementing relationship, relevancy, rigor, and reflection into her instruction. She values modeling the best teaching practices and mentoring future generations of agriculture teachers.
Early Career Excellence Award – Kirti Rajagopalan
Kirti Rajagopalan is an assistant professor in WSU’s Department of Biological Systems Engineering (BSE) and leads the Sustainable Environments and Agricultural Systems lab. Her lab develops and applies a variety of modeling approaches to help ensure food, nutrition, and resource security for future generations. Rajagopalan’s lab also collaborates closely with economists, computer scientists, tree fruit researchers, Extension professionals, and a wide range of stakeholders.
Land Grant Mission Award – Meijun Zhu
Meijun Zhu is a professor in the School of Food Science (SFS). Her research interests include microbiological food safety and the effects of dietary bioactive compounds on gut microbiota and chronic diseases. She works to enhance food safety by developing novel strategies to inactivate, intervene, and detect foodborne pathogens in foods and food production environments. She has published more than 300 peer-reviewed articles.
Faculty Excellence in Extension Award – Troy Peters
Troy Peters is a professor, scientist, and licensed professional agricultural engineer at WSU’s Irrigated Agriculture Research and Extension Center (IAREC). He has conducted research related to irrigation and irrigation management Extension education for more than 20 years. Peters’ research program covers deficit irrigation strategies, center pivot irrigation efficiency, irrigation automation, remote plant water stress detection, and more. He also serves on several national irrigation committees.
Faculty Excellence in Research Award – Manuel Garcia-Peréz
Manuel Garcia-Peréz works at the intersection of reaction engineering, environmental engineering, analytical chemistry, and systems engineering. His research in WSU’s Department of Biological Systems Engineering focuses on the production of biofuels, chemicals, and materials. He is also very active in the development of novel technologies for the production of sustainable aviation fuels. Garcia-Peréz has published more than 200 peer-reviewed publications and graduated 24 PhD and 11 master’s students.
CAHNRS For All Faculty Excellence Award – Rae Olsson
Rae Olsson has been at WSU since 2015, first as a PhD student, and now as a scholarly assistant professor in the honey bee research program. Their Extension work is focused on creating bilingual educational training videos to support Spanish-speaking beekeepers. In the classroom, Olsson has taught several entomology core courses and created several more. They have a passion for teaching and fostering an inclusive community.
Faculty Administrator Award – Chad Kruger
Chad Kruger is the director of the Center for Sustaining Agriculture and Natural Resources and an assistant director for the WSU Institute for Northwest Energy Futures. He has collaborated on integrated research and Extension teams that have secured more than $70 million in competitive funding; he was also the convening author on the multi-agency Washington Soil Health Initiative. Kruger currently serves as WSU’s representative to the Washington Food Policy Forum.
Team Interdisciplinary Award – Soil to Society
The Soil to Society project team is composed of experts from WSU, Johns Hopkins University, and Viva Farms who specialize in soil science, plant breeding, food science, population nutrition and epidemiology, and human health. Led by Kevin Murphy, a professor of international seed systems in the Department of Crop and Soil Sciences, the team’s goal is to create more nutritious, affordable, and accessible whole-grain foods. The Soil to Society research strategy addresses gaps in current knowledge and traces the flow of nutrients from agricultural systems and food production to human consumption.
More photos:
View more photos in the CAHNRS Faculty and Staff Awards Flickr album.
About CAHNRS
The land-grant mission of WSU’s College of Agricultural, Human, and Natural Resource Sciences is made possible through the U.S. Hatch Act of 1887 and the U.S. Smith-Lever Act of 1914. Respectively, these Acts fund experiment stations and cooperative Extension efforts that aid Northwest growers, provide nutrition and health education, support rural businesses, enhance our environment, and much more. Hatch and Smith-Lever capacity funds drive our work for a more resilient, prosperous, and sustainable Washington and are matched by state and local funds.