2024 Hovde Award nominees sought

Purdue University is accepting nominations for the 2024 Frederick L. Hovde Award of Excellence, given annually to a member of Purdue’s faculty or staff who has displayed outstanding educational service to rural Indiana. 

 Any active member of Purdue’s faculty and staff, including field staff, is eligible for the award. Nominees can serve any college, school, division or unit, whether at the West Lafayette campus or a regional campus.

“Purdue’s connection to local communities and individuals across the state continues to be critically important to the university’s land-grant mission,” said Bernie Engel, the Glenn W. Sample Dean of Agriculture. “We thank Indiana Farm Bureau for continuing to support the Hovde Award to recognize a Purdue faculty or staff member for their dedication in bringing the university’s resources to Hoosiers across the state.”

The nomination deadline is noon ET Monday, Sept. 2. Nomination packets should be submitted via email to agdean@purdue.edu.

At least one — and no more than five — one-page letters of support must accompany the nomination form. Nomination forms and guidelines are available in PDF format here. The recipient will receive an $800 cash prize and plaque. The award, which has been given annually since 1972, is sponsored by Indiana Farm Bureau Inc., in appreciation of Hovde, who was Purdue’s seventh president and served from 1946-1971.

The 2023 recipient was Ken Foster, professor of agricultural economics. Foster served as interim dean of the College of Agriculture in 2023. 

Featured Stories

Torbert Rocheford and Abebe Menkir hold some provitamin A corn at Purdue's Agronomy Center for Research and Education.
Global collaboration on provitamin A reaps reward

A 22-year collaboration between Purdue scientists and international colleagues has produced major...

Read More
Andrew DeWoody stands in front of test equipment in his lab in West Lafayette, Ind.
Department of Forestry and Natural Resources appoints its first Conservation Scholar

Andrew DeWoody, professor in the Department of Forestry and Natural Resources (FNR), has been...

Read More
A close-up of a four-leaf clover in a lawn.
The luck of the Irish in your lawn

St. Patrick’s Day gets us thinking about all things green — from shamrock decorations...

Read More
Two grain towers
Grain dust explosion incidents decrease, fatalities increase

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. — Seven U.S. grain dust explosions in 2025 caused 10 injuries and four...

Read More
Emma Johnson receives her Fenske Award at the Midwest Fish and Wildlife Conference; Johnson stands next to the Sky Arrow plane her team uses for research.
Emma Johnson Named Fenske Award for Wildlife Recipient

Master’s student Emma Johnson (BS 2025) received the Janice Lee Fenske Memorial Award for...

Read More
Mary Kay Thatcher to speak at 51st James C. Snyder Memorial Lecture.
Farm policy expert Mary Kay Thatcher to discuss evolving ag policy landscape at James C. Snyder Memorial Lecture

The Purdue University Department of Agricultural Economics will host Mary Kay Thatcher,...

Read More