The Smith Center for International Sustainable Agriculture works to empower faculty, staff and students across UTIA to be global change agents, who partner with others to develop and deploy sustainable solutions to the world’s complex, agriculture-related challenges. The UTIA Faculty and Staff Global Engagement Awards are one way the Smith Center celebrates the international engagement taking place across the Institute. The Senior Vice Chancellor/Senior Vice President will present the awards at the Institute of Agriculture Promotion and Recognition Luncheon held annually each summer.
We encourage you to nominate a deserving colleague for one of three awards:
Nominations are due by April 18, 2025 (third Friday of April each year), and awards will be presented at the UTIA Awards and Promotions Luncheon. Questions should be directed to Carrera Romanini at carrera@utk.edu or 865-974-7340.
Nominations can be submitted at the link below:
Faculty Lifetime Achievement Award – Neelam Poudyal
Neelam Poudyal, a professor and director of graduate studies in the School of Natural Resources, is the recipient of the 2025 Faculty Global Lifetime Achievement Award. Poudyal has been a part of the UTIA community since 2008 when he was a graduate research assistant and joined as faculty in 2013. Since then, he was a Fulbright Scholar to Nepal for the 2022-2023 academic year. Poudyal also has international collaborations with Australia, China, Jordan, and Peru. His research has looked at climate change impact and adaptation by high altitude farmers around Mt. Everest National Park in Nepal. Poudyal has also been elected to serve on the Council of the International Association of Society and Natural Resources twice and co-founded Nepali Academics in America (NACA).
Faculty Global Excellence Award – Kristen Johnson
Kristen Johnson is an assistant professor and extension nutrition specialist, working with UTIA since 2017. Johnson has worked with a visiting Cambodian scholar, the first international scholar to be hosted by UTIA’s Department of Family & Consumer Sciences. Johnson’s global work extends into her online outreach programming. This has allowed her to engage with youth and families to provide nutrition education reaching Brazil, Germany, India, the United Kingdom, and more. Her passion for supporting international nutrition education and collaboration emphasizes her excellence as a faculty member of UTIA and beyond.
Outstanding Staff Global Engagement Award – Sawyer Main
Sawyer Main, an extension assistant in the Department of Animal Science, played a vital role in the facilitation of international connections and supporting faculty and global extension programs. Main has been involved with the coordination of numerous USDA global fellowship cohorts, the department’s international programming, and assisting faculty members with travel planning. He is described as an instrumental and an integral part of his team, contributing greatly to the internationalization of UTIA.
Faculty Lifetime Achievement Award – Juan Luis Jurat-Fuentes
Juan Luis Jurat-Fuentes has been with UTIA since 2006 as a professor in the Department of Entomology and Plant Pathology. He has been involved with international collaborations with partners in Argentina, Brazil, Cambodia, China, Colombia, Kenya, Mexico, and Spain, and has hosted over 30 international scholars to the Institute. Jurat-Fuentes has also served as an advisor for 20 international students from ten different countries and has been an adjunct professor with Jiangsu University Biofuels Institute in China since 2010. Jurat-Fuentes’ accomplishments highlight his passion for global agriculture development and dedication to UTIA’s global mission.
Faculty Global Excellence Award – Andrew Muhammad
Andrew Muhammad is a faculty member in the Department of Agriculture and Resource Economics and has been with the university since 2018. Muhammad has facilitated community and industry partnerships for hardwood trade between the Tennessee Department of Agriculture and Vietnam. He brings extensive experience and knowledge of international trade and development and has collaborated with partners in Africa, Asia, Europe, and South America. He led the development of a new master’s track in international trade and development and led a study abroad program to Southeast Asia with graduate students to prepare them for international agriculture careers. Muhammad’s colleagues speak highly of him stating that he embodies the Volunteer spirit.
Outstanding Staff Global Engagement Award – Whitney Anderson
Whitney Anderson was the UTIA 2024 winner of the Outstanding Staff Global Engagement Award. She works as the human resources consultant for AgResearch Administration and provided support to the Smith International Center. Anderson’s colleagues describe her as “an indispensable asset to our organization.” She has been with UTIA since 2013, and prior to that she spent 20 years working in the private sector, further establishing herself as a professional in her field. Anderson played an important role in facilitating growth of the Smith Center, as it grew from a team of five to 14 staff. Anderson is a dedicated and invaluable member of UTIA who has gone above and beyond time and time again to ensure the success of the institute and its global programming.
Faculty Lifetime Achievement Award – Marcy Souza
Marcy Souza Associate Dean of Outreach for Global Engagement for the College of Veterinary Medicine (CVM), has been with the university since 2008. Her passion is to provide global engagement opportunities for CVM faculty, staff, and students. In doing so, Souza has led two USDA Faculty Exchange Program (FEP) grants and one USDA Scientific Exchange Program (SEP) grants, bringing cohorts of African and Filipino veterinary educators to UTIA for pedagogical and scientific training. Souza has overseen the expansion of global experiences for CVM students, including clinical rotation opportunities to Argentina, Belize, the Galapagos Islands, and South Africa. Souza has served as a Fulbright Specialist to Chile and has collaborated on projects across multiple continents, continuing to grow the global engagement for veterinary professional and UTIA.
Faculty Global Excellence Award – Denita Hadziabdic-Guerry
Denita Hadziabdic-Guerry has been with UTIA since she was a graduate research assistant in 2003 in the Department of Entomology and Plant Pathology. Since then, she has risen through the ranks within the Institute, as a post-doctoral researcher and a faculty member. Recently, Hadziabdic-Guerry has been a leader in the growth of UTIA global engagement, serving as a Smith Global Leadership Faculty Fellow, Fulbright Scholar Ambassador, and Fulbright Scholar to Ghana. She has built collaborations with partners across Europe and Africa and continues to look for opportunities to extend her global impact. Her colleagues describe her saying, “her enthusiasm for global travel and making a difference has become contagious.”
Outstanding Staff Global Engagement Award – Lauren Henry
Lauren Henry is the Director of Communications for the UTIA Advancement Office and has been with UTIA since 2014. Her colleagues praise her for her ability to tell the story behind UTIA’s impact around the world. She traveled to Rwanda to visually capture the Smith Center team as they helped smallholder farmers learn how to produce safe and nutritious food. Henry makes intentional connections with stakeholders and members of the UTIA community to further the institute’s mission to grow global engagement.