Adair and Woodbury Recognized for Excellence

This summer, Erin Adair and Patti Woodbury, two staff members with the College of Natural Resources, were among those honored as Award for Excellence recipients at NC State University – the  most prestigious honor bestowed upon non-faculty employees.

Erin Adair - 2014 Award of Excellence Recipient

Erin Adair

Patti Woodbury,  2014 Award of Excellence Honoree

Patti Woodbury

The award recognizes notable contributions that are above and beyond an employee’s normal job responsibilities. Recipients have demonstrated excellence in serving their departments or divisions, the NC State campus community, the State of North Carolina, or the lives of others.

Dean Mary Watzin joined Chancellor Randy Woodson at a campus-wide ceremony to confer the honors.  In addition to the award itself, each received eight hours of paid time off and a $250 check.

Erin Adair is an Instructional Technologist for the Department of Parks, Recreation & Tourism Management. Patti Woodbury is a Program Manager with the college’s Development Office.

 

Myron Floyd to lead NC State’s PRTM department

Dr. Myron Floyd, NC State UniversityDr. Myron F. Floyd has been selected as head of the Department of Parks, Recreation and Tourism Management (PRTM) at NC State University.

Dr. Floyd, has been the Director of Graduate Programs for PRTM since 2010 and a faculty member since 2005. Prior to coming to NC State, Floyd was the Director of the Center for Tourism Research and Development at the University of Florida and Coordinator of Graduate Studies.

He holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Recreation and Park Administration and a Master of Science in Recreation and Tourism Management from Clemson University and a PhD in Recreation and Resources Development with a specialization in Natural Resource Sociology from Texas A&M University. He is a Fellow in the Academy of Leisure Sciences (2005). In 2008, he received the National Recreation and Park Association’s highest research honor, the Theodore and Franklin Roosevelt Award.

Over the last two decades, Dr. Floyd’s research has focused on racial and ethnic inequality in provision of parks, open space, and public recreation services.

Since 2005 his research program has focused almost exclusively on understanding the capacity of neighborhood parks and green space to promote physical activity and reduce health disparities. He has served as PI or co-investigator on numerous large multidisciplinary research teams funded by governmental and non-governmental organizations, including the USDA Forest Service, USDI Park Service and Fish and Wildlife Service, NOAA, USDOD Army Corps of Engineers, and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJ).

Dr. Floyd is a frequent speaker on the topic of parks and health at national and international conferences and symposia. He is co-author of Race, Ethnicity, and Leisure: Perspectives on Research, Theory and Practice from Human Kinetics, as well as, 65 peer-reviewed journal articles, 22 peer reviewed monographs and proceedings papers, 15 book chapters and more than 100 presentation papers and abstracts.

Dr. Floyd’s has made significant contributions to his field serving as an Advisory Board Member for the National Policy & Legal Network to Prevent Childhood Obesity and on the Science Committee for the National Park Service’s Healthy Parks Healthy People Initiative.

In February 2014, Dr. Floyd was appointed to the Forestry Research Advisory Council (FRAC) by U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack. With a council of 11 distinguished members, he will present recommendations and advice to the Secretary on issues concerning forestry and natural resources.

Dean Mary Watzin of NC State’s College of Natural Resources had this to say when announcing the appointment, “Myron Floyd is a nationally renowned leader in natural resource sociology and outdoor recreation, with more than 25 years of experience in land grant universities. He brings maturity, imagination, and an interdisciplinary perspective that will help PRTM and our College continue our ascent to the next level of excellence. I am delighted that he is willing to take on this new challenge and I look forward to working with him in his new role.”

Originally from Loris, South Carolina, Dr. Floyd lives in Apex with his wife, Johnetta Holland. They have two sons – William, who will be a freshman at East Carolina University in the fall and Jonathan, a sophomore at Middle Creek High School.

Dr. Floyd will assume the duties of department head on July 1, 2014.

 

 

Devine Receives CESU National Network Award

Dr Hugh Devine, NC State UniversityCongratulations to Dr. Hugh Devine who has been awarded the 2014 Cooperative Ecosystem Studies Units (CESU) National Network Award. This prestigious award is presented biannually to recognize individuals who have contributed substantially to the development, implementation or accomplishments of the CESU Network.

Dr. Devine is an Alumni Distinguished Graduate Professor in the Department of Parks, Recreation & Tourism Management and the Associate Director of the Center for Geospatial Analytics in the NC State University College of Natural Resources.

The CESU Network is a national consortium of federal agencies, tribes, academic institutions, state and local governments, nongovernmental conservation organizations, and other partners working together to support informed public trust resource stewardship. The CESU Network includes 354 partners, including 14 federal agencies, in seventeen CESUs representing biogeographic regions encompassing all 50 states and U.S. territories.

Dr. Hess’s Teaching Award Spotlighted in Eastern Wake News

NC State University Chancellor Randy Woodson (left) congratulates Dr. George Hess on winning the Board of Governors Award for Excellence in Teaching.

NC State Chancellor Randy Woodson (left) congratulates Dr. George Hess(right) on winning the Board of Governors Award for Excellence in Teaching.

A focus on sustainability and hands-on activities for students are what Knightdale Land Use Review Board member George Hess considers some of the reasons he was chosen to receive North Carolina State University’s Board of Governor’s award at the university’s commencement exercises earlier this month.

When Hess isn’t making recommendations to Knightdale Town Council about land ordinances, he is a professor in the College of Natural Resources at N.C. State, a position he’s held since 1996.

Read the complete article in the Eastern Wake News>>

Dr. George Hess Honored with NC State’s Top Teaching Award for 2014

On April 23, 2014 at 7:45pm,  NC State University will turn the campus belltower red in honor of Dr. George Hess.

George Hess and Barry Goldfarb

Department Head Barry Goldfarb (r) congratulates Dr. George Hess (l) on his award.

Hess, an Alumni Distinguished Undergraduate Professor of Conservation and Ecology in the Department of Forestry and Environmental Resources is North Carolina State University’s recipient of the 2014 Board of Governors Award for Excellence in Teaching.

About the Award
In 1993 the Board of Governors of the University of North Carolina system reaffirmed that teaching is the primary responsibility of each of the 17 constituent institutions of the University. To underscore the importance of teaching and to encourage, identify, recognize, reward, and support good teaching within the University, the Board created annual systemwide teaching awards with monetary stipends which are designated “Board of Governors Awards for Excellence in Teaching.”

The College of Natural Resources is very proud that a member of our faculty has received this highly prestigious award.

About Dr. George Hess
Holding research and teaching positions at North Carolina State University since 1989, Dr. Hess joined the Department of Forestry and Environmental Resources in 1996.

Studying conservation planning for wildlife in suburbanizing areas and broader issues of open space conservation, Dr. Hess’s research has evolved from a strictly science-based focus to a collaborative combination of science and policy inquiry. Self-described as “…an unrepentant addict, craving the controlled chaos of engaged learning,” Dr. Hess challenges students to independently solve problems on projects in a collaborative environment using technical, communication, critical thinking, and organizational skills. He works to combine his teaching, research, and service activities at the undergraduate and graduate levels, creating exciting learning opportunities for his students and himself alike.

Dr. Hess’s activities comprise three major themes and are integrated across teaching, research, and engagement: participation in the scholarship of teaching and learning that supports the active engagement of faculty and students with community partners to address regional conservation challenges; improvement of the breadth and quality of ecologically-based information available to land use planners; and development of approaches to incorporating scientific findings about conservation into local planning activities by engaging with community partners.

As a teacher, Dr. Hess focuses on finding and developing approaches such as inquiry-guided learning, service-learning, and collaborative research that engage students in topical problems with the organizations and people who are working to solve them. Using these techniques, students respond positively to authentic learning environments.

His students have provided written support of his successful teaching methods:

“Dr. Hess introduces a realistic model of problems and solutions….”

“His classroom is a forum of active thought where students think critically to solve qualitative and quantitative problems….”

“Everything is interactive, hands-on, and designed so that students leave with a level of understanding and confidence…. ”

“… his instruction methods removed the barriers between class work and ‘real-world’ work.”

Civically active, Dr. Hess has served on the Board of Directors for Triangle Land Conservancy, the Town of Knightdale’s Land Use Review Board, and several committees focusing on land use and planning issues.

Dr. Gary Blank, Director of Undergraduate Programs in the Department of Forestry and Environmental Resources at North Carolina State University, writes in support of Dr. Hess’s outreach efforts, “Dr. Hess is instrumental in projects like WakeNature Preserve Partnership… he is the person who asserts the pedagogical perspective amid the sometimes too prevalent focus on just getting the ‘job’ done.”

Dr. Hess earned a BA in Biology from Columbia College (1978), a BS in Computer Science from Columbia University School of Engineering and Applied Science (1979), a MS in Computer Science from the Stevens Institute of Technology (1981) and a PhD in Biomathematics and Ecology from North Carolina State University (1994).
Visit Dr. Hess’s Website>>

Dr. Hess will be honored at NC State’s Spring commencement ceremony by a member of the Board of Governors, will receive a  $12,500 stipend and a bronze medallion, and lifetime bragging rights.

Congratulations on this well-deserved honor, Dr. Hess!