RIVER FALLS – On April 18, a total of 164 scholarships, totaling more than $254,000, were awarded for the 2024-25 academic year to continuing students in the College of Agriculture, Food and Environmental Sciences (CAFES) at the University of Wisconsin-River Falls.
More than 200 students, friends and family, donors, faculty and honored guests came together for the Annual Scholarship and Awards Recognition Program. Representatives from 16 established scholarships were on hand. Three scholarships were awarded for the first time:

• Bongard Creameries Scholarship – to support and encourage UWRF students interested in pursuing a career in dairy food processing and to help spread the word about the company and its career opportunities.
• Koskelin Family Scholarship - Kathy Koskelin Hotovec, ’79, wants to encourage students to pursue a degree in plant and earth science or food science and technology as preparation for successfully tackling the diverse challenges of this changing world.
• Nelson-Jameson, Inc. Scholarship - Nelson-Jameson, Inc., a leading supplier to the dairy industry, is committed to supporting future generations of students so they can focus on their academics and gain experience in the dairy plant.

CAFES also presented the 2024 Outstanding Service Award to GENEX-URUS. Becky Schley and Bill Casey from GENEX-URUS accepted the award. Their organization has been a strong supporter of CAFES for decades, providing students with training in artificial insemination and bovine reproductive management techniques at no cost or a significantly reduced cost. GENEX-URUS has also never turned down a request for assistance and maintained an open-door policy, allowing multiple student groups to tour their facilities each year.

To wrap up the evening, CAFES Dean Mike Orth presented the 2024 CAFES Outstanding Faculty Award to Youngmi Kim, associate professor of agricultural engineering. This is the highest award bestowed upon a faculty member in the college. Nominations are submitted by faculty peers and the selection is made by the College Awards and Promotions Committee. The awardee is also honored nationally with the Teaching Award of Merit from the North American Colleges and Teachers of Agriculture (NACTA) in recognition of meritorious efforts in college teaching.

In their letter of nomination, Kim’s colleagues noted that her dedication to teaching, student recruitment, research, professional activity involvement, and university service is exceptional. Her courses are current, well-designed, meaningful, and engaging, and she works to continually improve them through course redesign opportunities, teaching fellowships and by participating in the American Society of Engineering Education (ASEE).

Kim is keenly interested in getting more women and minorities into engineering and technology. She participates in a wide range of STEM youth events and camps and has taken on leadership roles within UW-System and ASEE to advance this effort. Kim is also a talented researcher and has been the lead investigator on multiple research projects and a collaborator on others. She holds several patents and serves as a reviewer for multiple industry and professional journals.

Kim’s colleagues were honored to nominate her, saying “she cares deeply about the success of our students, our department, CAFES and UWRF. She is an incredibly positive force in the department, on fellow faculty, on her advisees and on every student in her classes.”

Submitted by UW-River Falls