2025-26 CALS Faculty & Staff Awards Celebration

Join Benjamin Houlton, the Ronald P. Lynch Dean, and members of the college community to honor our awardees at the annual CALS Faculty and Staff Awards Celebration.

Please RSVP by February 16. Reservations are required for attendance. 

In addition to national and international accolades, the college regularly acknowledges the outstanding work of our faculty and staff members in teaching, research, extension and service. Their efforts help to create a positive, welcoming environment where everyone can thrive. CALS offers a variety of awards and accolades to acknowledge our community’s individual and collective efforts. We encourage a diverse and inclusive pool of candidates for consideration.  

2025-26 CALS Faculty & Staff Awardees

CALS Core Value Staff Awards Recipients

• Communication | Dustin Page, Financial Reposting Specialist; Communication, Landscape Architecture and Facilities
• Growth | Zora Blitz, Administrative Manager; Computational Biology
• Inclusion | Jana VanHouten, Administrative Assistant V; Director’s Office, Cornell AgriTech
• Initiative | Roxana Usturoi, Appointments Coordinator; School of Integrative Plant Science
• Integrity | Michelle Morse, Administrative Assistant, Dean's Office; CALS Dean's Office
• Judgment | Cait Costello, Research Associate; Biological and Environmental Engineering
• Unsung Hero | Angie Putnam, Operations & Project Manager; CALS Dean's Office
• Unsung Hero | Tracy Chapman, Assistant Director for Finance & Budget; School of Integrative Plant Science
• Vision | Alex Chang, Director of Integrated Marketing; Cornell Lab of Ornithology

CALS Early Achievement Award

• Abigail Snyder, Associate Professor; Food Science

CALS Career Accomplishment Award

• Bryan Danforth, Professor; Entomology

CALS Early Career Faculty Teaching Award

• Lori Huberman, Assistant Professor; Plant Pathology and Plant-Microbe Biology Section, School of Integrative Plant Science

CALS Kathy Druckman Berggren Diversity & Inclusion Award

• Tory Hendry, Associate Professor; Microbiology

CALS Louis and Edith Edgerton Career Teaching Award

• Syed Rizvi, International Professor of Food Process Engineering; Food Science

CALS Outstanding Accomplishments in Extension/Outreach Award

• Nicole Martin, Assistant Research Professor; Food Science

CALS Outstanding Accomplishments in Extension/Outreach Award

• Team: Cornell CALS Nutrient Management Spear Program
  • Quirine Ketterings; Olivia Florence Godber; Kirsten Workman; Karl Czymmek; Asmita Gautam; Subhashree Srinivasagan; Manuel Marcaida; Juan Carlos Ramos; Gurpreet Kaur; Issa Fernanda Diaz Flores; Helen Solecki; Marcos Velludo Junqueira Filho; Carlos Ismael Irias-Barahona; Karolyn Auer; Abraham Hauser; Madeline Hanscom; Julianna Kyungjune Lee; Sara Rebeca Mach Tomas; Sadiel A Negron Santiago; Sanjay K Gami

CALS Outstanding Accomplishments in Research Award

• Julio Giordano, Professor – Dairy Cattle Biology and Management, Co-Director Cornell Institute for Digital Agriculture (CIDA), Director Cornell Agricultural Systems Testbed and Demonstration Site (CAST) for the Farm the Future; Animal Science

CALS Outstanding Accomplishments in Science and Public Policy Award

• Team: Alejandro Calixto and Scott McArt, Associate Professor & Director of Cornell IPM; Entomology & Cornell IPM

CALS Outstanding Service to the CALS Community Award

• Jocelyn Rose, Director of the School of Integrative Plant Science; School of Integrative Plant Science

CALS Robert H. Foote Mid-Career Teaching Award

• Julie Goddard, Professor of Biomaterials and Biointerfaces; Department of Food Science 

Donald C. Burgett Distinguished Advisor Award

• Maegan Puzas Kessen, Assistant Director of Inclusive Academic Advising; Office of Academic Programs, CALS Student Services 

Excellence in Mentoring Undergraduate Students in Independent Research Award

• Heather J. Huson, Associate Professor; Animal Science

Professor of Merit Award

• Dwayne Bershaw, Senior Lecturer; Food Science - Viticulture and Enology

CALS Nominees for the SUNY Chancellor's Awards

SUNY Chancellor’s Award for Excellence in Faculty Service

• Christopher A. Wolf, E.V. Baker Professor of Agricultural Economics; Charles H. Dyson School of Applied Economics and Management

SUNY Chancellor’s Award for Excellence in Librarianship

• Diana Hackett, Digital Literacy Librarian at Mann Library

SUNY Chancellor’s Award for Excellence in Professional Service

• Rajni Aneja, Managing Director, Cornell Institute for Food Systems Industry Partnership Program; Cornell Institute for Food Systems

SUNY Chancellor’s Award for Excellence in Scholarship and Creative Activities

• Jonathon Schuldt, Professor & Executive Director; Department of Communication & Roper Center 

SUNY Chancellor’s Award for Excellence in Teaching

• Terence J. Alexander, Senior Lecturer; Dyson School of Applied Economics and Management

SUNY Chancellor’s Award for Excellence in Teaching

• Toby Ault, Associate Professor and Director of Graduate Studies for Atmospheric Sciences; Earth and Atmospheric Sciences