UW PROFESSOR WINS NATIONAL USDA

Vicki Hamende, Senior Editor and Writer
Phone: (307) 766-6342
E-mail: hamende@uwyo

The U.S. Department of Agriculture has selected Professor Donna Brown of the University of Wyoming to receive one of two national awards given in 2004 for “Excellence in College and University Teaching” in the field of agriculture sciences.

University of Wyoming Professor Donna Brown helps Amy Copeland of Torrington with a sewing pattern. Brown has won a national teaching award from the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

She was honored at the annual meeting of the National Association of State Universities and Land-Grant Colleges (NASULGC) in San Diego, Calif., Nov. 14-15.

Brown received a plaque and a $5,000 stipend in her name to be used for the improvement of teaching at UW.

The Excellence in College and University Teaching in the Agricultural Sciences Awards Program was authorized by Congress in 1990. It generates nominations from a wide selection of departments in agriculture, natural resources, veterinary science and human sciences.

Speaking of the national award winners, NASULGC President C. Peter Magrath said, “Their records of exemplary teaching and university science, coupled with sound scholarship, provide a most timely example of how university faculty members can effectively serve both the educational and professional needs of their institutions in the broader society.”

A native of Australia, Brown was educated at the University of New South Wales prior to joining the faculty of the Department of Family and Consumer Sciences in the UW College of Agriculture.

She has received national and international recognition and prizes for many of her clothing creations and hosts the annual “Coat Couture” display at the American Heritage Center of jackets designed by students in her wearable art program. In the spring of 2005, she will introduce a solo exhibit of her work at the center.

Her UW honors include the John P. Ellbogen Meritorious Classroom Teaching Award, the College of Agriculture Outstanding Adviser Award and the U.S. West/UW Center for Teaching Excellence University Studies Freshman Program Course Teaching Award.

In addition to teaching several textile and apparel courses, Brown pursues research in human physiological and perceptual responses to the textile/skin interface, economic development through merchandising, the production and distribution of textiles and sewn products, and wearable art design.