University Park, Pa. -- Penn State's College of Agricultural Sciences has honored eight of its graduates with 2010 Outstanding Alumni Awards. The awards recognize alumni for their achievements and provide opportunities for recipients to interact with the college's faculty, students and other alumni.
Named Outstanding Alumni were Louis (Mick) Colvin of West Salem, Ohio; Lynn Dietrich of Chambersburg, Pa.; Matthew Ehrhart of Brickerville, Pa.; William Fleet of Lititz, Pa.; Marc Ribaudo of Woodbridge, Va., and Holly Shimizu of Glen Echo, Md.
Kevin Harvatine of Boalsburg and Wei Zhang of Hillsdale, Ill., were named Outstanding Recent Alumni, an award that honors alumni who have graduated in the last 10 years.
Louis (Mick) Colvin, a 1960 graduate in animal industry, is the retired executive director of the Certified Angus Beef program, based in Wooster, Ohio. Colvin pioneered the concept of fresh-beef branding and made Certified Angus Beef an industry leader in quality. During 22 years as executive director, Colvin grew Certified Angus Beef to almost 500 million pounds worldwide and $2.7 billion in customer sales annually. An inductee of the Meat Industry Hall of Fame and the Saddle & Sirloin Portrait Gallery, Colvin has held leadership roles with the National Cattlemen's Association and the Ohio Angus Association.
Lynn Dietrich, a 1973 graduate in agricultural engineering, is director of engineering for Manitowoc Cranes, a major designer and manufacturer of mobile lifting cranes and related services. He is responsible for the company's engineering centers of excellence and works globally with the innovation and design centers to design and build lifting equipment close to the supplied markets while maintaining standardization of product, process and quality. A leader in the crane industry, Dietrich collaborates with industry and government groups to develop standards and regulations for crane design and use around the world.
Matthew Ehrhart, who received a bachelor's degree in environmental resource management in 1991 and a master's degree in engineering sciences in 1996, is the Pennsylvania executive director of the Chesapeake Bay Foundation, where he oversees the agricultural restoration program in Pennsylvania's portion of the bay's watershed. He has helped establish 2,100 miles of forest buffers and 4,500 acres of wetlands to improve water quality and worked to promote alternative uses of manure and implement precision dairy feeding. He recently helped secure $14.8 million in federal funding for agricultural best management practices.
William Fleet, who received his bachelor's degree in agricultural science and his master's in agricultural education, is the executive director of the nonprofit National FFA Foundation, which secures funding and support for agricultural education and the National FFA Organization. Recognized as a leader in the agriculture industry at the national, state and local levels, Fleet previously worked for 24 years at DuPont Crop Protection/Pioneer Hi-Bred International of Johnston, Iowa. As vice president for North America sales, he restructured the organization of sales in his division, leading to double-digit margin growth from 1995 to 2005.
Marc Ribaudo, who earned a doctorate in aricultural economics in 1983, is a senior economist with the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Economic Research Service, focusing on water-quality policy. During his career, Ribaudo has addressed issues such as water conservation, water quality improvement, environmental credit trading and the cost of reducing nutrient loads to the Gulf of Mexico. He received a USDA Secretary Award for Excellence for analysis of the economics of animal waste management and the EPA Bronze Medal for Commendable Service for creating a regulation that balances environmental and business concerns.
Holly Shimizu, a 1976 graduate in horticulture, has been executive director of the U.S. Botanic Garden in Washington D.C. since 2000. Under her leadership, the garden -- the oldest botanic garden in North America -- has flourished with the creation of the new National Garden and the development of innovative exhibits, interpretations and outstanding plant collections. Shimizu is known internationally as a flower show judge, lecturer and writer in the field of horticulture. She also is one of the hosts the public television show, "Victory Garden," and can be heard on National Public Radio.
Kevin Harvatine, a 2001 graduate with a bachelor's degree in animal sciences, is assistant professor of nutritional physiology in the college's Dairy and Animal Science Department. He teaches classes on animal nutrition and lactation and studies the effect of nutrition on metabolism. Previously, he was a post-doctoral associate at Cornell University in the Center for Vertebrate Genomics. He has authored or co-authored 14 peer-reviewed publications and 28 abstracts and is internationally known for his understanding of animal nutrition and molecular regulation of milk synthesis.
Wei Zang, who earned his doctorate in Food Science in 2004, is an assistant professor of biology at the Illinois Institute of Technology at Chicago. He also holds a joint appointment at the National Center for Food Safety and Technology. His research focuses on bacterial stress response, food safety microbiology, genomics and pathogenesis. He has published in top scientific journals and has received international recognition for his studies on the genomics of foodborne pathogens, which have led to better methods for tracking and controlling pathogens and identifying disease outbreaks.