Agricultural Education Professor Receives Teaching Award

The North American Colleges and Teachers of Agriculture (NACTA) recently honored Michael L. Pate with the NACTA Educator Award at the society’s annual conference in Honolulu, Hawaii. The award is presented to those whose efforts represent the very best in agricultural higher education.

Bruce Miller, head of department of the School of Applied Sciences, Technology and Education, nominated Pate for the award. He nominated Pate because of his outstanding teaching efforts.

“Dr. Pate makes a very conscious effort to engage each student in their learning,” said Miller. “He is passionate about the teaching and learning process.”

Pate said that he was humbled to have received the recognition and that he has been working towards excellence in teaching over the past six years at USU.

“Teaching is something I have always enjoyed,” said Pate. “It is important to me to have positive engagement with all my students. I believe that my students enjoy the hands-on experiences and my commitment to laboratory activities that emphasize real-world problems.”

The NACTA is a professional society for postsecondary teachers that focuses on scholarship of teaching and learning agriculture. Pate teaches several classes in agricultural systems technology, preparing his students to become teachers in secondary schools, in addition to his extensive research as part of a national project to improve farm safety.

USU College of Agriculture and Applied Sciences

Contact: Michael Pate, michael.pate@usu.edu

KailCee Harrison, kailcee.harrison@usu.edu