Robert Strong, Ph.D., associate professor in the Department of Agricultural Leadership, Education and Communications, ALEC, in the Texas A&M College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, has received the Outstanding Research Award and was named Fellow by the American Association for Agricultural Education.
“We are extremely pleased to have Dr. Strong nationally recognized for his continued commitment and passion for both research and teaching,” said Matt Baker, Ph.D., department head. “He is a respected thought leader in our field. One of his many standout attributes is that he would rather have his graduate students receive recognition than himself. We are also extremely pleased to have several other members of ALEC receive honors for their work and continue the department’s mission of excellence.”
In addition to Strong, Amber Chambers, graduate assistant in ALEC, who completed her master’s at Texas A&M University, was awarded the 2023 AAAE Outstanding Thesis Award. Chambers’ thesis was titled, Effects of Message Framing and Information Source on Information Recall, Trust, Source Expertise, Source Credibility and Anticipated Consumption Behavior of An Amino Acid-Based Alternative Meat Curing System.
Jack Elliot, Ph.D., ALEC professor and regional director for Africa, and senior scientist, Norman Borlaug Institute for International Agriculture and Development, was recognized as the 2023 AAAE Distinguished International Agricultural Educator.
The People’s Choice Research Poster first place award went to the ALEC team of Chin-Ling Lee, Robert Strong, Gary Briers and Theresa Murphrey, Is Cooperative Extension Prepared to Promote Precision Agriculture Technologies?
About the association
The American Association for Agricultural Education is a national society for social science scholarship in food, agriculture and natural resources. According to the association, its mission is to foster excellence in discovering and exchanging evidence-based solutions for social science challenges in agriculture and related sciences.
“To be recognized for excellence in research by my peers both nationally and internationally, I’m very grateful and super humbled,” Strong said.
Innovation adoption
Strong has been at Texas A&M since 2010. His research focuses on innovation adoption in agriculture science and Extension education. Artificial intelligence, drones for irrigation systems and climate-smart practices are a few research focus areas. He also evaluates stakeholder adoption and the impact of participation in training programs.
His passion for graduate student research was highlighted in the award nomination. According to the nomination, “Dr. Strong is an excellent mentor for graduate student research. His graduate students conduct theoretically and methodologically sound research projects focused on practical problems. His students have a strong record of publication of their theses and dissertations. His students who take faculty positions have strong research programs themselves. He is a great graduate student mentor, and students at Texas A&M are lucky to have access to him.”
Strong earned his bachelor’s degree in animal science from Middle Tennessee State University, master’s degree in Extension education from the University of Tennessee and doctorate in agricultural education and communication from the University of Florida.
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