Regents Award for Faculty Excellence

  • Headshot of Matthew Darr.
    Digital Ag Innovation Lab, which he leads, hosts half of all industry-sponsored research at ISU.
  • Responsible for 65 patent filings and tech transfer agreements that resulted in 32 products on the market globally.
  • Designed course in electronic systems integration for ag machinery that went from elective to required.
  • Nomination letter: "Truly an exceptional individual who has made a tremendous impact on Iowa State."

  • Headshot of Carol Faber.
    Played a key role in developing and providing feedback on College of Design's Core Program for first-year students.
  • One of four featured artists in Iowa Outdoors magazine's special edition for 100th anniversary of Iowa State Parks.
  • Former Faculty Senate president (2020-21) and current chair of Standing Committee to Consideration for the Removal of Names from University Property.
  • Received the College of Design's Polster Teaching Award (2009).

  • Headshot of Frank Matt.
    Served on the college diversity committee to create a more unbiased and standardized faculty search process.
  • Faculty advisor for student professional organization since 2006, helping it earn several national awards.
  • Garnered more than $9 million in research awards that support the degree programs for many graduate and undergraduate students. Many of the technologies are in use today.
  • Nomination letter: "Teaching is his primary motivation ... and his goal is to provide the toughest, most enjoyable class experience."

  • Headshot of Al Jergens.
    Numerous research contributions on dogs and cats led to the highest index of research publications among departmental faculty.
  • Received 90+ research grants totaling more than $5.1 million.
  • Served on university committees, 23 college committees and 19 departmental-level committees.
  • Nomination letter: "Internationally recognized as a pre-eminent opinion leader in companion animal gastroenterology."
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Regents Award for Staff Excellence

  • Headshot of Ben Drescher.
    Oversees nine ISU farms with a budget of more than $6 million.
  • Oversees all farm personnel (47 staff) and all activities that happen on the farms.
  • Works with the more than 1,700 graduate and undergraduate students who come to the farms each year as part of the teaching program.
  • Assists 30 faculty conducting research.
  • Played a key role in derecho clean-up (2020) by ensuring animal, worker and product safety. Clean up continues today.

  • Headshot of Tammy Krock.
    Helped two new department chairs hire a shared business administrator.
  • Earned the College of Veterinary Medicine Merit Employee of the Year award (2022); 75% of department faculty and graduate students sent letters of support.
  • On a half-time appointment, singlehandedly gathered the appendix material for a 400-page department external review document.
  • Helps train many of the new hires throughout the college.
     

  • Headshot of Bill Robertson.
    Supervises and maintains departmental teaching spaces that are not general classrooms, but specialized spaces for topics such as gross anatomy.
  • Developed computer-based remote temperature monitoring system for hundreds of freezers across college to avoid malfunctions.
  • Led the construction of the department's human cadaver lab.
  • Supervised the renovation of many labs and helped make decisions on best equipment for them.

  • Headshot of Katie Woodard.
    Instrumental in developing custom, web-based and mobile-friendly applications VDL clients use to submit and receive information from the lab.
  • Responsible for coordinating the molecular diagnostic case submissions (approximately 35,000 to the VDL last year).
  • Nationally recognized for her article in a special issue of the "Journal of Veterinary Diagnostic Investigation" focused on laboratory-client interaction.
  • Nomination letter: "She's doing pioneering work centered on improving overall quality, efficiency and value of the diagnostic process."

  • Headshot of Meimei Xu.
    Published 39 papers in prestigious journals since joining the department in 2002.
  • Earned international recognition by winning the International Allelopathy Society's Grodzinsky Award (2014) for a refereed publication that exemplifies research excellence.
  • Nomination letter: "Her work is among the very best studies in the broader area of plant biochemistry and molecular biology."