Jul 8, 2022
Division of Agriculture staff come up winners in APW, NFPW contests
By the U of A System Division of Agriculture
Fast facts:
- National awards given in June
- Communications, community development efforts recognized
(652 words)
(Newsrooms — With headshots of award winners: Higgins; Hightower, Miller, Mathews, Whited, Wiley, Dunn; photo of Miller receiving award)
LITTLE ROCK — Seven current or former staffers from the University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture earned 35 awards in the 2022 state and national competitions held by the National Federation of Press Women and its Arkansas affiliate.
Fred Miller, science editor for the Arkansas Agricultural Experiment Station, won first place in the national competition for “Soybean researcher hunts genetics of drought tolerance from the air” about work being done by Larry Purcell, distinguished professor of crop physiology.
Miller also won third place for his obituary for retired Division of Agriculture entomologist Phil Tugwell.
Also winning awards at the national level on June 25 were:
- Kristin Higgins, program associate for the Public Policy Center, won two second place awards for both communications campaign, “Redistricting in Arkansas,” and for her blog post, nonprofit, government or educational, “Redistricting in Arkansas: Legislators File Maps To Divvy Up Arkansas Congressional District.”
- Mary Hightower, chief communications officer for the Division of Agriculture, won second place for infographics, “Arkansas Public Research, Global Benefits,” third place for video for web-special interest for “Employee Update,” and honorable mention for “ONE Division” in the electronic newsletter-nonprofit, government or education, category.
- Julianne Dunn, a former extension instructor at the Division of Agriculture, took third place in the national contest for her entry: “Truths We Tell: Stories from the Yarn Stage.”
- Murriel Wiley, a former CREATE Bridges regional program coordinator with the Cooperative Extension Service, won first place in Web and Social Media, Podcast for “Bilingual in Business/Bilingüe en los negocios.”
At the state level, Division of Agriculture staff members earned the following awards. Entries that earn first place at the state level are eligible for the national competition. The state contest drew 208 entries. The national contest had more than 2,000 entries.
Dunn took first place for a non-fiction book for adult readers at the state level for “Truths We Tell: Stories from the Yarn Stage.”
Higgins
- First place in Communications Programs and Campaigns > Public Service Program or Campaign for “Redistricting in Arkansas.”
- First place in Web and Social Media > Blog > Nonprofit, government or educational for “Redistricting in Arkansas: Legislators File Maps To Divvy Up Arkansas Congressional District”
- Second Place in Web and Social Media > Electronic Newsletter > Nonprofit, government, or educational for “Arkansas Ballot Issues News & Notes”
- Third Place in Web and Social Media > Blog > Nonprofit, government or educational for “Panel Discussion: Redistricting at the Local Level in Arkansas”
- Honorable mention in Writing > Specialty Articles > Government or politics for “Arkansas Jails: Counties use many methods to pay for prisoner incarceration”
- Honorable mention in Writing > Specialty Articles > Social issues for “Arkansas Jails: SAU grad student surveys programs for people behind bars”
- Honorable mention in Web and Social Media > Blog > Nonprofit, government or educational for “Redistricting in Arkansas: Public Comment Period On House and Senate Maps”
Hightower
- First place in Web and Social Media > Electronic Newsletter > Nonprofit, government, or educational for “ONE Division”
- First place in Graphics and Design > Graphics > Infographics for “Arkansas Public Research, Global Benefits”
- First place in Web and Social Media > Video for Web > Special interest video for “Employee Update”
- Second Place in Writing > Specialty Articles > Food for “Message in a bottle”
- Second Place in Writing > Specialty Articles > Agriculture) for “Deep freeze”
- Second Place in Writing > Specialty Articles > Business for “I-40 Bridge Closure”
- Third Place in Writing > Specialty Articles > Education for “Wetland, wildfowl graduate certificate”
- Third Place in Writing > Specialty Articles > Food Honorable mention in Writing > Specialty Articles > Agriculture for “Could’ve been worse”
- Honorable mention in Writing > Specialty Articles > Education for “Shew-Profile”
- Honorable mention in Writing > Specialty Articles > Obituary for “Obit-James”
for “First Arkansas Quality Wine competition shows breadth of styles, grapes”
Brandon Mathews, CREATE Bridges regional program coordinator with the Cooperative Extension Service won honorable mentions in Web and Social Media > Podcast for “Banks and Business – The Power of Local Investment”
Miller
- First place in Writing > Specialty Articles > Science or technology for “Soybean researcher hunts genetics of drought tolerance from the air”
- First place in Writing > Specialty Articles > Obituary for “Friends, colleagues remember Division of Agriculture entomologist Phil Tugwell for hard work, generosity, impact on Arkansas agriculture”
- Third Place in Writing > Feature Story > Online publication for “Entomologist rescues wayward bee colony from grocery parking lot”
- Honorable mention in Writing > Specialty Articles > Business for “Global rice prices spike during COVID pandemic, remain high despite ample supply”
- Honorable mention in Writing > Specialty Articles > Social issues for “Researchers find food insecurity heightens vulnerability to anxiety, depression during COVID-19 pandemic”
- Honorable mention in Writing > Specialty Articles > Food for “Food engineer joins Arkansas Agricultural Experiment Station, Bumpers College”
Hazelle Whited, a former CREATE Bridges regional program coordinator with the Cooperative Extension Service, won honorable mention in web and social media podcast for “Total Eclipse of the Sun.”
Wiley won first place in Web and Social Media > Podcast for “Bilingual in Business/Bilingüe en los negocios,” and second place in Web and Social Media > Blog > Nonprofit, government or educational for “CREATE BRIDGES helps De Queen Woman launch local business.”
To learn more about Division of Agriculture research, visit the Arkansas Agricultural Experiment Station website: https://aaes.uada.edu. Follow on Twitter at @ArkAgResearch. To learn more about the Division of Agriculture, visit https://uada.edu/. Follow us on Twitter at @AgInArk. To learn about extension programs in Arkansas, contact your local Cooperative Extension Service agent or visit www.uaex.uada.edu.
About the Division of Agriculture
The University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture’s mission is to strengthen agriculture, communities, and families by connecting trusted research to the adoption of best practices. Through the Agricultural Experiment Station and the Cooperative Extension Service, the Division of Agriculture conducts research and extension work within the nation’s historic land grant education system.
The Division of Agriculture is one of 20 entities within the University of Arkansas System. It has offices in all 75 counties in Arkansas and faculty on five system campuses.
The University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture offers all its Extension and Research programs to all eligible persons without regard to race, color, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, national origin, religion, age, disability, marital or veteran status, genetic information, or any other legally protected status, and is an Affirmative Action/Equal Opportunity Employer.
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Media contact: Mary Hightower
mhightower@uada.edu