Kansas State University Professor Wins USDA Teaching Award
Cassandra Jones, professor of animal sciences and teaching coordinator in the Kansas State University Department of Animal Sciences and Industry (ASI), has been named a recipient of the 2022 USDA Excellence in College and University Teaching Awards for Food and Agricultural Sciences. This award was recently presented at the 2022 Annual Association of Public and Land-Grant Universities meeting in Denver, Colo.
“Cassie is an exceptional leader of our undergraduate teaching program, teaches a full slate of courses, and oversees a highly productive research emphasis in feed safety,” Mike Day, K-State ASI department head, said in a release. “Dr. Jones built our undergraduate research program, which effectively and comprehensively provides exposure to the scientific method for many of our students. Her understanding of what ASI students need to be fully prepared to serve as the next generation of animal scientists across the broad spectrum of career paths that they follow is unparalleled.”
Jones completed her bachelor’s and master’s degrees in animal sciences at K-State. She continued her education at Iowa State University, earning her doctorate while studying nutritional sciences with an emphasis on swine nutrition. Since joining the ASI department in 2016, Jones has shared her passion for teaching and working with students. She currently coordinates the ASI undergraduate teaching program, serves as an academic advisor, and teaches animal nutrition courses to undergraduate and graduate students.
She also has a robust research program focused on understanding pathogen transmission through feed and ingredients. Jones serves as a regular resource to government and industry partners as they build science-based policy and implement best-practices for producing animal feed and pet food that is both nutritionally wholesome and safe.
In recognition of recipient’s dedication to instruction and scholarship, the awards include $2,000 to improve teaching at the recipient’s respective university. Kansas State University currently ranks second nationally for the number of recipients since the awards program’s inception in 1992.
Jones and her husband, Spencer, have three children, Ty, Hayden, and Hadley, and raise Angus cattle in Wabaunsee County.
Read more about her research on Porkbusiness.com:
Biosecurity in the U.S. Pork Industry: Are the Gaps Opening?
Antibody Testing: A Critical Piece of the Puzzle (for People and Pigs)
