Contact Information Jim Knight 520-621-9144 jknight@ag.arizona.edu Jack Elliot 520-621-7173 elliot@ag.arizona.edu

Jack Elliot usually knows every student’s name by the second day of class. His courses are full every semester because students seek them out. A professor in the department of agricultural education, Elliot has been honored with the U.S. Department of Agriculture 2002 Food and Agriculture Sciences Excellence in Teaching Award. As one of two recipients for the Western region, Elliot is recognized for his distinguished record in teaching agricultural technology management and education in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences (CALS) at the University of Arizona in Tucson.

“Dr. Elliot's style is one of quality, creativity, and confidence,” says Teresa Noon, an agricultural technology management senior. “A lesson from him lasts a lifetime.”

The award, sponsored by the National Association of State Universities and Land Grant Colleges (NASULGC) comes with a $2,000 stipend, a plaque and an invitation to receive the award and address more than 1,000 presidents, chancellors and other top administrators from American public research universities and land-grant colleges at the USDA Board of Agriculture Assembly in November. The stipend is to be used to improve teaching at the recipients’ institution.

“He’s the first UA faculty member to be recognized with this award, which is the highest honor bestowed by the USDA for teaching excellence,” said Jim Knight, professor and head of the agricultural education department. “I have spent my entire career observing, studying and researching in the area of teaching effectiveness and Dr. John (Jack) Elliot is one of the most accomplished teachers I have ever seen.”

A selection committee of nationally recognized teachers and scholars chooses eight regional recipients and two national recipients. Nominees in both categories are evaluated on the basis of their ability as classroom teachers, use of innovative teaching methodology, service to students and their profession, and scholarship.

Elliot was trained as an agricultural science teacher in 1975 in Washington state, where he taught at the high school level. He has a doctoral degree in agricultural education from Ohio State University and taught at Michigan State University before coming to the UA in 1992. Over the past 10 years Elliot has developed a local, state, national and even international reputation for his knowledge, skills and attitude toward teaching.

Highly focused on students and their learning, Elliot has taught nearly every course in his department, including classes in youth leadership, principles of vocational agriculture, communications, curriculum development, research and design, and program planning and evaluation. His graduate and undergraduate courses are among the most highly regarded not only in his department but on the entire UA campus. Students consistently rate him at the very top of the scale in their evaluations every semester.

Elliot also serves as a faculty associate for academic programs in the college, and coordinates the student ambassador program. He has chaired the teacher-certification review committee of the Arizona State Board of Education Career and Technical Education Advisory Committee, conducts numerous statewide workshops every year for secondary school and vocational education teachers and has written 21 state curriculums for high school level agri-science programs.

Elliot is also active in international agricultural and extension education. He has conducted workshops and assessed curricula in several countries, including Russia, Lithuania, and Namibia.

He has written more than 90 publications and won numerous awards and honors, including the Presidential Recognition Award from the Association for International Agricultural and Extension Education; the Distinguished Teaching Award from the American Association for Agricultural Education, Western Region; the CALS A+ Advisor Award and CALS Faculty Teaching Award. Elliot was a team recipient of the UA Meritorious Department Achievement in Instruction Award bestowed on the entire department of agricultural education in 2001.

Founded in 1887, the National Association of State Universities and Land-Grant Colleges is a voluntary association of public research universities, land-grant institutions and many state university systems. Its members enroll more than 3.55 million students, award approximately a half-million degrees annually and have an estimated 20 million alumni. The Excellence in College and University Teaching in the Food and Agricultural Sciences Awards Program was authorized by Congress in 1990.