Andy Swiger Land-Grant Award
Recognizing faculty whose research, teaching, or Extension accomplishments have potential or realized state or national level impacts on agriculture and life science industries, communities, and agencies in fulfillment of the land-grant mission.
The winner will be selected based on his or her creative accomplishments as they contribute to solving practical problems and enhancing production and profit in agriculture and life sciences, as related to the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences' vision and mission.
The Andy Swiger Land-Grant Award is made possible by an endowment established in honor of former Dean Andy Swiger. The award includes $2,000 (personal funds), plus an additional $2,000 in operating funds for the winner.
All full- and part-time, regular and restricted appointments, academic- and calendar-year faculty with teaching, research, or Extension appointments (including Extension agents) in the college are eligible.
A committee of faculty and agribusiness representatives will review nominations and recommend a winner to the dean.
Mark Reiter
The Andy Swiger Land Grant Award recognizes faculty members whose accomplishments help to fulfill the land-grant mission of addressing state and national needs through teaching, research, or Virginia Cooperative Extension. The Andy Swiger Land Grant Award is made possible by an endowment established in honor of retired dean Andy Swiger.
This year, Mark Reiter, a professor of soils and nutrient management and director of the Eastern Shore Agricultural Research and Extension Center, received the award for his work with Extension and his research.
Reiter works with Extension faculty from local offices, Agricultural Research and Extension Centers, and Virginia Tech’s Blacksburg campus to ensure a balanced, targeted, applied researched, and wide-casting Extension program to address local, statewide, and regional emerging issues.
Reiter’s applied research program improves soil health and nutrient management within Virginia and Delmarva vegetable, grain, oilseed, and fiber systems. Both program thrusts are imperative to reducing water quality degradation in the Chesapeake Bay and improving producer productivity and efficiency. His work in this research area has furthered scientific understanding by stakeholders since he joined Virginia Tech in 2008.
The nomination packet should be no more than five (5) pages and include all of the following:
- A description of the nominee's activities that emphasizes his or her creative accomplishments in applied or basic research, teaching, and/or Extension.
- A description of the impact that the nominee has made impactful progress towards solving practical problems and how this effort has enhanced production and profit in agriculture and life sciences.
- A clear identification of the time period and who has been impacted by or has benefited from the faculty member's accomplishments. Evidence may be included as excerpts from supporting letters or the original letter(s) within the nomination packet's five-page limit.
- A short summary of the faculty member's education, experience, and responsibilities.
Colleagues, department heads, staff, or members of the community who are familiar with the nominee's work are encouraged to submit nomination letters. You can resubmit an updated nomination letter for a previous year's nominee.
- A certificate will be presented to the selected individual(s) either at the annual meeting of the college's dean or during another appropriate ceremony organized to recognize the accomplishments of the college's faculty.
- Each nominee will be considered by the award committee for two additional years, if not selected in the first year of consideration, for a total of three years.
Submitting your Nominations
All nominations must be submitted via the Submittable link below. For questions regarding the award or submission process, please contact Laura Rasnick, lrasnick@vt.edu or 540.231.6336.
Former Dean Andy Swiger
“I and others in the industry and university created the awards to keep the land-grant spirit alive by honoring the college’s outstanding faculty and staff members each year who most personify this spirit of serving the industry by making a real difference in the areas of food, agriculture, and life sciences,” said Dean Emeritus Andy Swiger.