Skip to Main Content

Book of Great Teachers celebrates induction of new faculty

The 2023 Book of Great Teachers induction ceremony, held on Sept. 26, honored 38 outstanding teaching faculty--11 of those faculty members are from the College of Agriculture. The induction ceremony for the Book of Great Teachers occurs every five years after faculty, who have at least 15 years of service to the university, are nominated by students, alumni and colleagues. Faculty members are automatically included in the book if they have been awarded the Charles B. Murphy Outstanding Undergraduate Teaching Award and have at least 10 years of service at Purdue.

The Book of Great Teachers is a permanent bronze-and-walnut wall display located in the west foyer of the Purdue Memorial Union. The display was dedicated on April 23, 1999. Including the most recently inducted professors, the book contains 467 names, now including 83 College of Agriculture faculty.

Bernie Engel, the Glenn W. Sample Dean of Agriculture, attended the ceremony to honor recipients’ accomplishments. “These are colleagues who I have known and worked with during my years on our college’s faculty. They view teaching undergraduates to be at the heart of their mission as faculty members. They are also widely recognized for their research, Extension outreach and many other professional accomplishments. While it was no surprise to me, I was proud to see that almost a third of those honored at this ceremony are College of Agriculture faculty members.”

The 11 inductees from the College of Agriculture are:

  • Cale Bigelow, professor of horticulture
  • Laura Bowling, director and coordinator of Natural Resources and Environment Science and professor of agronomy, received the Charles B. Murphy Outstanding Undergraduate Teaching Award during the 2022-23 academic year.
  • Dennis Buckmaster, professor of agricultural and biological engineering and dean’s fellow for digital agriculture
  • Christian Butzke, professor of food science and innovation and entrepreneurship fellow
  • Michael Dana, professor of horticulture
  • Elizabeth Flaherty, associate department head and professor of forestry and natural resources, received the Charles B. Murphy Outstanding Undergraduate Teaching Award during the 2019-20 academic year.
  • Mark Hall, associate professor of biochemistry
  • Steven Hallett, professor of horticulture
  • Haley Oliver, assistant dean of Ag Online programs and professor of food science, received the Charles B. Murphy Outstanding Undergraduate Teaching Award during the 2017-18 academic year.
  • Kathryn Orvis, professor of horticulture and landscape architecture
  • Christine Wilson, senior associate dean and director of academic programs and professor of agricultural economics, received the Charles B. Murphy Outstanding Undergraduate Teaching Award during the 2007-08 academic year.

(Banner photo caption: Award members attending the ceremony were: Front row: Cale Bigelow, Christine Wilson, Steven Hallett, Laura Bowling and Kathryn Orvis. Back row: Mark Hall, Christian Butzke and Elizabeth Flaherty. Not pictured: Mike Dana, Haley Oliver and Dennis Buckmaster.)

Featured Stories

Lana Malek golf swing
Swinging big: Balancing golf, research and biological engineering at Purdue

She chose Purdue for the chance to pursue an agriculture/engineering degree while also competing...

Read More
Jacob Ricker-Gilbert
Resounding question drives Ricker-Gilbert's research

From his early days as an undergraduate, Purdue Agricultural Economics Professor Jacob...

Read More
Dad and son shop at grocery store
How household composition influences food behaviors and spending

New data sheds light on consumer perceptions of farms and firms in the food supply chain and...

Read More
sunrise on purdue student farm over rows of young green plants
Indiana Organic Network: Cultivating community for Hoosier farmers

Communities rely on farmers to produce the food that sits on their dinner table, and farmers rely...

Read More
Ag Barometer
Farmers say current conditions on U.S. farms are weakening

Farmers say current conditions on U.S. farms are weakening

Read More
Leo Koenigsfeld
Leo Koenigsfeld - Graduate Ag Research Spotlight

Leo Koenigsfeld grew up in a small town in central Missouri with the unlikely name of...

Read More
To Top