Two Animal Science professors were honored by professional associations for their outstanding teaching abilities this summer at the joint meetings of the American Society of Animal Science (ASAS) and the American Dairy Science Association (ADSA) in Baltimore last June.

Professor Thomas R. Famula, originally from Livingston, New Jersey, recently won a national honor, the 2000 ASAS Distinguished Teacher Award from the sponsored by Purina Mills Feed Company. He earned his B.S. degree in Animal Science, with Distinction and Honors, from the University of Delaware, and his M.S. and Ph.D. degrees in Animal Breeding from Cornell University. In addition, the Western Section of the ASAS repeated the award for distinguished teacher in the West.

Tom currently is Professor of Animal Science and Geneticist in the Agricultural Experiment Station at UC Davis. His teaching covers the

full range from a high-enrollment, lower-division introductory animal science course to specialty graduate courses in genetics. At all levels students praise his innovative teaching style, his ability to present complex concepts in an understandable fashion, and his genuine concern for his students' learning and welfare. Tom's introductory animal science course annually attracts as many as 300 students, who learn about the role animals play in providing food fiber, and companionship. His mean rating by students in the course has been 4.9 on a 1-to-5 scale, reflecting both his innate ability to teach and his willingness to work hard at providing an optimal environment for learning. His teaching excellence is reflected also in the large number of graduate teaching assistants who have developed both their value for high-quality teaching and their didactic skills under Tom's tutelage. His contributions to teaching excellence extend beyond the classroom to include service as both an undergraduate and graduate advisor and on numerous committees that develop and oversee campus teaching programs. In 1999 he was recognized by the faculty of UC Davis as recipient of their prestigious Distinguished Teaching Award.