NACTA Newsletter - October 2023
Friday, October 27, 2023
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Posted by: NACTA
October 2023
NACTA Roundup with President Nick Fuhrman
Hear NACTA President welcome you into the fall season, give a shout out to Cheryl Wachenheim for her
recent Artificial Intelligence session, give some deadline reminders, and reminds members why its important
to update your membership profile. Thank you,
Nick!
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Featured Member, Tom Paulsen
Each month we sit down with a member to highlight their academic and professional career, and to see how
they are making the best of their membership in NACTA. This month’s Featured Member is the current chair
of the Educational Issues & Teaching Improvement (EITI) Committee, Thomas Paulsen.
Thomas Paulsen, Ph.D.
Morningside College, Iowa
How long have you been a member of NACTA?
Since 2008 – I did 21 years of high school teaching prior to that. My first NACTA Conference was at
Oklahoma State in 2009. I was at Iowa State at the time and a colleague said I needed to go. We jumped in
a vehicle, headed south, and had a great time. I thought, “NACTA is a pretty neat organization”. I connected
almost immediately.
Looking at your time with the Association, what have you most enjoyed doing?
There are a couple of different things that are important to me. Professionally, this organization is about
scholarship of teaching and learning. That is crucially important to me and my administration. I’ve
presented, garnered a few awards, and been engaged with the association. My own professional
development is really important. In my heart, the personal and professional relationships I’ve built with the
people of NACTA is the piece that keeps me coming back. What has been really fun is that I’m at a small
school, and all the faculty in my department are NACTA members. One was a member before she started
here but now they are all members. Last year we brought a finance professor along to NACTA with us and it
was really exciting to see their passion for NACTA.
Congratulations on the commencement of your term as Chair of the EITI Committee. What do you
hope to accomplish during your term? What are your aspirations and plans. What are you looking
forward to?
I have served on EITI before and sat on most of the committees in the past. This committee resonates with
me the most. I served as a Regional Director before and enjoyed the comradery. I wanted to and was able to
give back. There are many ways that members of EITI can give back to the profession and the organization.
It’s a busy committee but an important one. The EITI Committee oversees the selection of the Blue Ribbon
Speaker and the selection of the workshops. The webinar we had in the fall was well attended – we had 91
attendees. It is nice working with other colleagues across the country.
What are you looking forward to with next year’s conference?
I have a little more responsibility this year since I am the ETIT Chair, but it’s always fun to see the abstracts
and things coming through. I’m really excited to see what those workshops look like. Working with folks on
the ground at the Ohio State University to see how things will come together is also really exciting. Being
able to reach out to the Blue Ribbon Speaker and welcome them to the event has been a pleasure. It’s also
fun to see young faculty get something accepted.
What interesting things are you working on outside the Association right now?
I’ve got a pretty big admin hat on here in my role but the one thing we are excited about is our endowment
purchased a of a new 74 acre farm. Last year I led a task force to develop a stat plan in developing that
farm. Next year we will begin leading students through a capstone as they begin to utilize that farm. We
work together as a department as different pieces in the puzzle. We are going to attempt to raise amaranth
and casava.
Talk a little about how your program is involved in international activities.
Our choir goes on a tour each year called a Food and Music tour. We have been able to take agricultural
students to experience the choir and vice versa in places all over the world. We can expose these two
different groups of students to different customs and experiences as well as different cultures and
professions around the world. This semester we have about 75 agricultural students here at Morningside.
What is your most memorable teaching moment?
I had a student who came to Morningside to play football during my first year here. I had to develop History
of Food and Agriculture course and in the class we got into Issues in Food. He followed through many of my
other courses and eventually graduated. I get a phone call from him about every 4-5 months to give me a
life status update. He went through some real trials during his schoolwork and has stayed connected with me
over the years.
He promised that when he opens his own restaurant he will have a “Paulsen Jellied Moose Nose” dish!
Anything else that you would like to add?
I look forward to the opportunity to serve and if anyone else wants to serve on this committee or any others
please reach out to me at paulsent@morningside.edu. I won’t say I’ve been here forever, but it’s getting
close. NACTA made me feel welcome from the very first day.
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NACTA 2024 Conference Call for Workshops
Don't miss your chance to submit your workshop abstracts for the NACTA 2024 Annual Conference to be held
June 24 - 28, 2024 in Wooster, Ohio. The 70th Annual NACTA Conference will serve as a venue for faculty
and graduate students in agricultural, environmental, natural, and life sciences to share their scholarship of
teaching, innovative teaching and advising ideas, and other relevant teaching and learning information.
Submission guidelines and criteria can be found by clicking the button below.
Submit Your Abstract
Deadline: November 1, 2023
Workshop coordinators will be notified in December, 2023. Please contact support@nactateachers.org
for any
questions about your submission.
We hope to see you in Wooster next year!
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Call for Murray Brown and Distinguished Educator
Awards Closing Soon!
Murray Brown NACTA Leadership Award
Do you know a member of the NACTA leadership who has gone above and beyond for the association?
Someone who has made a lasting impact on us and whose contributions will benefit NACTA for years to
come? If you have someone in mind, please consider nominating them for the Murray Brown NACTA
Leadership Award. Nominations are due November 1, 2023. Eligibility: Nominee must be a current or emeritus NACTA member who has served in a leadership role in
the organization.
Criteria: Nominations will be accepted from any NACTA member. The President-Elect (who shall chair the
committee), President, and Past President shall serve as the selection committee and are not eligible for the
award during their time of service on the selection committee.
Due Date: November 1, 2023
For any questions regarding Murray Brown nomination materials please email NACTA President-Elect Cheryl
Wachenheim at Cheryl.wachenheim@ndsu.edu.
Murray Brown Nominations Due November 1
Distinguished Educator Award
Do you know a NACTA member who has had an illustrious career in higher education? Someone who has
inspired you to continuously improve your teaching? Or someone whose scholarly teaching research has
helped you think differently about your teaching, research or outreach efforts. If you have someone in mind,
please consider nominating them for the 2024 NACTA Distinguished Educator Award. Nominations are due
November 1, 2023.
Eligibility: Nominee must be a current or retired NACTA member and have ten or more years of service to
higher education.
Due Date: November 1, 2023
For any questions regarding Distinguished Educator nomination materials please email NACTA Past-President
Todd Winters at winters@utm.edu. Distinguished Educator Nomination
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How to Update Your Member Profile
Wondering the best way to find other NACTA members or make it easier for others to find you? Make sure
your membership profile is up to date with your region, institution, research interests, discipline and profile
photo are current by logging in and updating all your info. Follow along with the tutorial video above
by logging in here. Top ↑
New NACTA Members
NACTA had 5 new members in September. We hope you will join us in welcoming them!
Northern
Patricia Eshelman, NY Southern
Gabriella Johnson, AL
Kameron Rinehart, TX
Sharon Wagner, GA
Sandra N. Wilson, FL
Renew Your NACTA Membership
NACTA is the largest professional development organization that focuses specifically on the scholarship of
teaching and learning in agriculture, food and natural resources. Need to renew your membership? Want to
invite a colleague to join? Want to change your membership status? Visit the
membership page here. We
appreciate your NACTA membership!
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