At the 2015 CFAES Alumni Awards, agricultural education alum C. Dale Baughman was presented with the Distinguished Alumni Award. This award gives public recognition to the men and women who have rought distinction to themselves; to the College of Food, Agricultural, and Environmental Sciences; to the School of Environment and Natural Resources; to the Agricultural Technical Institute; to the Ohio Agricultural Research and Development Center; and to Ohio State University Extension through their participation, commitment and leadership.

C. Dale Baughman, 2015 Distinguished Alumni Award

Dale earned his Bachelor of Science in Agricultural Education from The Ohio State University in 1961. After graduating, he started as a vocational agriculture (VoAg) and science teacher at Graham High School in Champaign County. During this time, he was also working toward his Master of Arts in Education Administration at Wittenberg University. Dale maintained his VoAg position and also served as guidance counselor, athletic director and assistant principal.

In 1966, Dale became vocational director intern and administrative assistant to the Montgomery County Superintendent of Schools. Hired to spearhead the creation of a comprehensive vocational technology district for high school and adult students of Miami Valley, he obtained commitments from 13 school districts. Starting in 1971, Dale served as director/assistant superintendent of the Montgomery County JVS District until 1976 when he was named superintendent. The Montgomery County Joint Vocational School District continued to grow over time, increasing to 27 member districts. To more accurately reflect the expanded district, the name was changed to Miami Valley Career Technology Center in 1994. In 1995, Dale led students and staff to Russia on a 30-day educational exchange program.

Dale earned his PhD in Educational Administration from Miami University in 1972. Throughout the 70s, he taught graduate level courses at the University of Dayton.

A longtime member of Ohio Vocational Association and American Vocational Association, Dale has also held memberships with Ohio JVS District Superintendents’ Association (past president); Buckeye Association of Schools Administrators (legislative agent, representative at State Board of Education meetings, representative at Ohio School Facilities Commission meetings, and at-large member of the legislative committee); and the American Association of School Administrators.

Also active in his community, Dale has held memberships with the Greater Dayton Jaycees, Dayton Area Junior Achievement Board of Directors, Northmont Rotary Club (past president), United Way of Montgomery County Education Division (chairman and pacesetter), BrookHaven Retirement Community (director since 1992, president 2002–2014), and the Farm Bureau Advisory Council.

Dale and his wife, Carol, live in Brookville, Ohio. They are the parents of Gregory and Bradley.

Congratulations Dale on your many accomplishments and for representing the agricultural education profession.

Four alumni of the Department of Agricultural Communication, Education, and Leadership were recently recognized at the 2014 National Association of Agricultural Educators annual convention in Nashville, Tenn., November 18-22.

JoAnn Pfeiffer, Agriscience Teacher of the Year Award
Gina Neff, Outstanding Young Member Award
Maria Homan, Teachers Turn the Key professional development scholarship
Katie Black, Teachers Turn the Key professional development scholarship

JoAnn Pfeiffer (fourth from left)

JoAnn Pfeiffer, agricultural educator at Federal Hocking High School in Stewart, Ohio, is one of only six individuals nationwide who received the Agriscience Teacher of the Year Award. The National Agriscience Teacher of the Year award recognizes teachers who have inspired and enlightened their students through engaging and interactive lessons in the science of agriculture.

Pfeiffer has been teaching agriculture for 15 years at Federal Hocking High School.  The two-teacher agriculture program is popular — currently reaching half of the students in the high school.  The program guides students through inquiry-based projects so they can make connections between science, math and agriculture. Pfeiffer’s goal is to teach students how to think and find answers on their own. She challenges students with a problem, and asks them to consider and test solutions to find the best solution on their own.

Gina Neff

Gina Neff, agricultural educator at Lancaster High School in Lancaster, Ohio, is one of only six individuals nationwide who received the Outstanding Young Member Award.

Neff has been the agriculture teacher at Lancaster High School for the past four years, where she engages students in an agriscience based curriculum. She is certified to teach Curriculum for Agricultural Science Education (CASE) for all four of her classes: Principles of Agricultural Sciences – Plant, Natural Resources and Ecology, Principles of Agricultural Sciences – Animal, and Introduction to Agriculture, Food, and Natural Resources. CASE is a system of instruction and teacher support that trains educators in inquiry-based teaching methods and provides them with a structured sequence of agriculture courses.

Maria Homan, agricultural educator at New Bremen High School in New Bremen, Ohio, and Katie Black, agricultural educator at Wauseon High School in Wauseon, Ohio, were two of a select group of agriculture teachers nationwide who received the 2014 Teachers Turn the Key professional development scholarship.

Katie Black

One of the keys to Black’s success at Wauseon has been the strong support of the school’s FFA Alumni chapter.  Alumni members lend a hand wherever needed, whether that means helping in the classroom, volunteering at events, or coaching a team for a FFA competition.

Black has also been able to secure grants that have given her funding to provide some unique learning facilities for her students. These include sensory trails in a nearby two-acre wooded area and a two-acre community garden, in addition to their already established 88-acre land and livestock facility. Each of these facilities helps her provide students with various hands-on activities, whether it’s learning to plow a field or safely operate a chainsaw.

Maria Homan

Homan has been the agriculture teacher at New Bremen High School since 2013, and taught at Fairlawn High School for two years prior to that.  At Fairlawn, one of her biggest academic accomplishments was a hydroponics unit that was developed, built, and used by students. Now at New Bremen, Homan continues to provide real-world learning through labs like artificial insemination and 3-D digestion modeling, as well as field trips to local farms and guest speakers in the classroom.

The Teachers Turn the Key scholarship brings together agricultural educators with four or fewer years of experience and immerses them in three days of professional development that addresses issues specific to the early years of teaching agriculture. Participants also have the opportunity to become involved in NAAE leadership and network with other NAAE convention attendees. TTTK participants come away from the experience with a long-lasting peer cohort and tools that will help them have successful careers as agricultural educators.

These award winners are graduates of the agriscience education major at Ohio State (formerly agricultural and extension education.) The agriscience education major prepares its students to acquire a license to teach agricultural science in secondary high schools in Ohio and across the country, with extensive training in agricultural science, educational psychology, instructional methods, and youth development.

For additional information on the agriscience education major, visit acel.osu.edu or call 614.247.6358.