Congratulations to Kathryn De Master, ESPM associate professor of agriculture, society, and environment, on receiving the Rural Sociological Society (RSS)’s 2021 Excellence in Instruction Award. The purpose of the Excellence in Instruction Award is to recognize outstanding rural-oriented teaching by a RSS member at the graduate or undergraduate level. De Master accepted the award during the RSS’s annual meeting on August 1st.
De Master researches the sociology of agriculture, rural livelihoods, farmland access and tenure, farmland financialization, diversification in agricultural systems, and the agri-food tech sector, among other topics. Her teaching has included such ESPM courses as Sustenance and Sustainability, Sociology of Agriculture, Community Engagement in Food Systems, and Diversified Farming Systems.
De Master was also awarded the Rausser College of Natural Resources 2021 Distinguished Teaching Award, for which her instruction—in both large lecture-style classes and small discussion or lab-style classes—was recognized.