Eight leaders from across the fields of agriculture were recognized with the Purdue Agricultural Alumni Association’s highest honor—the Certificate of Distinction—during the Purdue Ag Alumni Fish Fry on Saturday, Feb. 1 at the Tippecanoe County 4-H Fairgrounds in Lafayette, Indiana.
The Certificate of Distinction is presented each year to those who have contributed to agriculture, forestry or natural resources through career accomplishments, organizational involvement, community service and other activities.
The following individuals were honored this year:
JAY AKRIDGE – West Lafayette, Indiana
When it was Jay Akridge’s turn to respond to a lengthy, sincere outpouring of praise, he noted that some of his siblings were in the Purdue Memorial Union’s crowded north ballroom — and predicted that they were asking each other if the dignitaries had meant to say such nice things about someone else, surely not their brother.
The December 2022 occasion was a university salute to Akridge, fresh from a five-year stint as provost. He was about to complete a career circle by returning to the Department of Agricultural Economics, where he earned a master’s degree (1983) and a PhD (1986) and immediately joined the faculty, becoming a full professor 10 years later. He was the Glenn W. Sample Dean of Agriculture from 2009 to 2017 (hiring four associate deans, 14 department/unit heads, and 127 tenure-track faculty) before moving into Hovde Hall. Now he’s the Trustee Chair in Teaching and Learning Excellence.
Akridge knows when to speak.
“He can address multiple issues because of the breadth of his experience,” a longtime acquaintance said, writing in support of Akridge’s Certificate of Distinction nomination. “Further, he is one of the best extemporaneous speakers I have ever known. His ability to address an audience without benefit of slides, notes or other prompts has always impressed me.”
And he knows when not to.
“An open mind and great intellect, combined with tremendous listening skills. He is an exceptional listener and will use his listening skills to determine how best to move forward and achieve a common goal. He is an excellent listener, is thoughtful, carefully analyzes information, guides decisions, and does all this with humility.”
Vic Lechtenberg, former dean and professor emeritus, wrote, “I would characterize Jay’s leadership as quiet, effective, enabling and visionary. He is a leader who just gets things done — without leaving a trail of blood in the process.
“The truest measure of a successful leader is whether they leave the entity they have led stronger and more prominent than they found it. By any metric, Jay Akridge has met that bar.”
MIKE BOEHJE – West Lafayette, Indiana
A prominent leader in the pork industry didn’t doubt Mike Boehlje’s qualifications to address the National Pork Producers Council in the late 1980s. However, the not-yet standout Purdue professor’s “decidedly different focus” stood out.
And not yet in a good way.
“His presentations focused on the pragmatic economic and financial consequences of choices that producers in our industry were facing,” the council member and future longtime Purdue trustee wrote in support of Boehlje’s Certificate of Distinction nomination. “His comments often made me uncomfortable. But once I got past my hubris, I recognized the truth of his strategic insights that my fellow producers and I had to consider in our plans.”
Boehlje made a career out of bridging theory and practice, connecting ideas to real challenges. He came to Purdue in 1992 and retired in 2017 but frequently goes to his campus office.
“His teaching and work at Purdue is/was a masterpiece in visionary thought for agribusiness,” wrote another supporter, who on multiple occasions asked Boehlje to “provide a vision into how the farm management industry could adapt and change to meet the needs of landowners. I always appreciated his third-party views because they tend to reach our team better than I can.”
He is persuasive.
“I do not believe it a stretch to say that Mike has been the national thought leader in farm management for decades,” a former Purdue executive wrote. “He is always pushing the edge, combining the heart and mind of a farmer with the skills and capabilities of one of the nation’s leading applied economists.
“Mike engages audiences in ways that are inspiring. Through his literally thousands of presentations, speeches, articles, and books, he puts his ideas in the hands of those who can put them to work. He is one of the most passionate and provocative speakers/educators you will experience.”
Boehlje exceeded expectations, says the former Purdue trustee who Boehlje once made uncomfortable. “He models the trifecta of the highest order of land-grant faculty: He brought new thinking to tackling many management challenges, he is a great teacher and scholar, and he has been a thought- provoking and change-oriented Extension
DONN CUMMINGS – Brownsburg, Indiana
It’s of course, about the plants.
Donn Cummings’ 25 corn inbred and hybrid patents, accumulated during a 30-year career with Pfizer/DeKalb/Monsanto, confirm that. He was responsible for DK537, once the highest volume hybrid on the most farmer acres in the Eastern Corn Belt. A Monsanto review concluded that revenue from 33 commercial hybrids sold in the U.S. that involved inbred parents from his corn breeding program exceeded $430 million.
Such success gets noticed. Just last year Iowa State University bestowed its Extraordinary Service to Plant Breeding honor, and the University of Minnesota, where he earned a PhD, gave Cummings its Distinguished Alumni Award.
And it’s about people. Cummings’ last title was global breeder sourcing lead. His strategy enhanced relationships and recruited talent to fill Monsanto’s need for early career scientists through PhD and MS land-grant university programs.
He also managed the Monsanto Fellows in Plant Breeding program, which funded graduate-level research degree programs. In other words, he created a plant breeder talent pipeline.
Cummings, a Brownsburg native whose bachelor’s and master’s degrees were earned at Purdue, helped found the recently renamed National Association for Plant Breeding. In 2018, three years after retirement, he founded that group’s
Borlaug Scholars program. It sends future industry leaders to NAPB’s annual meeting and pairs them with mentors and financial support.
“The Borlaug scholarship is so important to community building,” one of the 24 Borlaug Scholars told Seed World in July 2024. Mentor support “puts you up on the stage, connecting your face and your name with what you like to do with everyone else who also likes to do those things.”
In a podcast, one of Cummings’ mentees said, “I think I’m the richest PhD student in the world. Not because I have any money but because I have the best mentors and advocates. Donn always listens. The best part: He makes no judgments. Donn has taught me that a true mentor does not try to mold their mentees into their own image. Instead, he/she listens to understand their passion/goals to guide them toward reaching full potential.”
TIM GAUCK – Greensburg, Indiana
A seed salesman long familiar with Tim Gauck’s approach to work and life zeroed in on a personal quality: “He is not a person to give up on someone. His patience is immense.” And then he widened the perspective.
“Tim’s operation was not the biggest in acres,” he wrote in support of Gauck’s nomination for the Certificate of Distinction. “But I guarantee it was the most profitable because he was never afraid to listen to ideas and try new things. We in agriculture sometimes see the work that goes into the production side of our job as the whole picture. But in looking at Tim’s career, he has shown us what it really takes to be an advocate for agriculture.”
His fifth-generation Decatur County farming operation is 100% no-till and cover cropped. Gauck was Decatur County Conservation farmer of the year in 2023 and was honored as an Indiana Master Farmer in 2024. His focus has shifted to specialty crops, such as non-GMO soybeans, non-GMO corn (for overseas markets and bourbon) and seed soybeans.
“For an experienced farmer like Tim, change could be difficult,” the salesman said. “But it never fazed him if they needed to change directions. He was always open-minded and would help lead the charge.”
A risk manager calls Gauck’s operation “one of the most respected of the 100 or so that I work with because of their ability to navigate, maintain and produce on land that requires good management to be successful. Tim is one of the most accomplished agriculturalists I’ve had the pleasure to work with. He sets the bar for all of us, from his farm management to his tireless commitment to better the community he lives in.”
In 2017 he was elected to the Indiana Corn Marketing Council and is the current president. He’s traveled the world to boost Indiana’s agricultural profile. A local farmer says if there’s an agriculture event in Decatur County, “Tim Gauck is there, leading, promoting and participating. Joining him is usually not enough. In short order he will have you LEADING others to join the events.”
BETTY JANE MEADOWS – Westminster, Colorado
With a bachelor’s degree (Hanover College) in science and a Purdue master’s degree in forestry, Betty Jane Gough Meadows was qualified. But in 1963, qualifications didn’t always open job market doors for women. It’s impossible to measure what the forestry field lost directly, but among the winners are everyone in a Denver suburb.
“Learning by doing is the theme of my whole career,” says Meadows, the first female Boilermaker to earn an MS in forestry. For 30 years she was an educator — a science teacher, environmental education resource specialist/coordinator, and principal in Jefferson County, Colorado. In 1971, she was chosen the state’s top biology teacher. In 1983, she earned national recognition for an elementary- level environmental discovery program that still operates through Colorado State University Extension.
Working alongside The Nature Conservancy to promote acquisition of open spaces in the county, their efforts resulted in the 127-acre Belmar Park.
Meadows spent 10 years as an evaluator for the National Science Foundation, helping improve the effectiveness of partnerships between industry and universities. In retirement, she’s affiliated with the University of Denver’s Osher Lifelong Learning Institute. Her book published in 2000 focused on what school administrators deal with; her 2014 memoir was about her life in experiential learning. She’s taught classes based on both books.
“BJ Meadows realized early on how experiential learning in the outdoors captivated her, and she dedicated her career to creating experiential learning experiences for her students and peers, overcoming opposition and many obstacles. Programs and curricula she created have withstood the test of time and are still in practice today,” a colleague wrote about the memoir, “Reflections: Learn by Doing.”
Calling her a trailblazer seems somehow insufficient. “A debt of gratitude is surely owed,” wrote the person who nominated Meadows for the Certificate of Distinction, citing “her impact on generations of women in forestry, wildlife management, and environmental studies who have followed in her footsteps. Meadows has truly followed her dreams, all while living her life to the fullest and bringing the rest of the world along to enjoy the journey.”
GARY STEINHARDT – West Lafayette, Indiana
At some point Steinyisms must be mentioned, so why not start there?
“The life lessons learned were greater than winning a competition,” a former Purdue soils judging team member wrote in support of Gary Steinhardt’s nomination for a Certificate of Distinction. “Early in my career, I struggled with confidence. Through his coaching and dedication, he taught me to trust my instincts.
“Dr. Steinhardt is known for his sayings, affectionately called ‘Steinyisms’ by the soils team. One saying he taught me that I still use to this day is ‘Eat the elephant one bite at a time.’ In moments when I am overwhelmed, I still hear him and remind myself that I only need to finish one piece of my to-do list at a time.”
The soils judging program is 4-H/FFA’s largest career development event/ contest. Steinhardt has led Indiana’s program for 40 years. “The program would not be the envy of the country without his guidance,” another supporter wrote.
“He was instrumental in bringing the contest into the 21st century.”
A high school ag teacher and FFA advisor wrote, “One thing is certain: The soil science field in Indiana, and quite frankly, the United States, needed Gary Steinhardt.” He’s been president of the Indiana Association of Professional Soil
Classifiers (which in October 2024 awarded him a gold-plated shovel), and in 2022, Steinhardt became an honorary master farmer, courtesy of Indiana Prairie Farmer/Purdue University College of Agriculture.
He was the first in his family to attend college (Michigan State). He earned a PhD at Purdue and has been a faculty member since 1976. State agencies and committees for years have relied on his onsite sewage systems expertise. He devises continuing education for the soil classification association, helping independent operators recalibrate, seeking to assure that Indiana septic systems are not installed where soils can’t support appropriate levels of wastewater treatment.
“He epitomizes what it’s like to be on top of your industry,” the high school teacher added. “No one has done it better with the class, professionalism and sportsmanship that Dr. Steinhardt exudes. He set the bar high.”
JEFF TROIKE – Attica, Indiana
An agricultural economics professor emeritus who has taught and counseled more than 10,000 students still remembers — more than 40 years later — how he came to realize “there was something special” about Jeff Troike.
The North Judson native and 1982 Purdue graduate (animal sciences) has exceeded “even my highest expectations,” the professor wrote in support of Troike’s nomination for the Certificate of Distinction. But it’s not only what Troike — “one of agriculture’s finest leaders,” a former top Purdue administrator says — has done that impresses the professor and others. It’s how.
In 1986, Troike joined West Central Indiana Co-op as general manager. Riding (and orchestrating) waves of consolidation in the agricultural inputs industry found him, in 2017, as president and chief executive of Ceres Solutions Cooperative, one of the Midwest’s largest cooperatives, with 60,000-plus customers in agronomy, energy and feed. Last year Ceres and Co-Alliance merged, forming Keystone Cooperative. Troike is executive vice president of special projects and public policy.
“Jeff has kept his farmer-members front and center and made sure the organization stayed focused on adding value to their farm businesses,” the ex-administrator wrote. The professor cites four qualities that elevate Troike:
- His “servant leadership” style. “His engaging manner with both humility and
- humor create a comfortable environment for all.”
- A commitment to innovation and technology.
- An emphasis on training and safety standards that permeate the culture.
- An earned reputation “that has given him a powerful voice in matters far beyond his own organization.”
Troike is on the National Council of Farmer Cooperatives board and, since 2010, the Land O’Lakes board.
A Keystone employee wrote: “I could tell immediately that I wasn’t just another new hire. Jeff was fully vested in my own leadership journey. Whether it’s leading a meeting, greeting interns, providing strategic direction or encouraging peers to take a leap of faith to reach their fullest potential, Jeff Troike’s strengths are centered on servant leadership and gratitude.”
DAVE VORIS – Windfall, Indiana
The nominator wrote that a Certificate of Distinction for Dave Voris would correct a “significant oversight.” Seems about right.
The Tipton County native’s ties to the Ag Alumni Association include a term (1993-94) as board president. He’s a member of the steering committee seeking to improve Pioneer Village, a fixture at the Indiana State Fair. (Voris has been a Council for Ag Science and Heritage board member since 2005.)
“This is being done, in part, to honor Mauri Williamson,” wrote a former president in support of Voris’ nomination. “It will also bring greater recognition to Ag Alumni’s role in providing this popular educational and entertaining event.”
The late Williamson, a Purdue legend, led the Purdue Ag Alumni Association for 37 years. Voris was board president as Williamson transitioned to retirement.
“From his time as an ag student leader until his current involvement, Dave has always stepped up to answer the call for service and leadership.”
Voris graduated from Purdue (agricultural economics) in 1968. After a stint in the Marine Corps, in 1972, he joined the family business, Voris Seeds, becoming president in 1985. (The company was sold in 1993.) In 1977, he co-founded the Indiana Seed Trade Association and led it for three years, was director of the Indiana Crop Improvement Association from 1979 to 1982, and was director of the Ag Alumni Seed Improvement Association from 1982 to 1994.
A longtime board member for the Tipton County hospital, Voris has been a member of the county’s housing board since 2005 and active in the Tipton County Foundation since 2011. His civic involvement list is extensive.
“He has definitely excelled in his profession and has truly given back to his alma mater in numerous ways — time, talent and treasure,” another Ag Alumni ex-president wrote. That includes continued involvement with his Purdue fraternity, Alpha Gamma Rho, serving on the capital development board and assisting with fundraising efforts after a house fire.
Source: Purdue Ag Alumni Association
