Congratulations to Dr. Laura Deeter on receiving the 2024-2025 College of Food, Agricultural, and Environmental Sciences (CFAES) Distinguished Teacher Award! Dr. Deeter is the Chadwick Arboretum Director and a Professor here in the Department of Horticulture and Crop Science (HCS).
Luckily, she had a moment to share her thoughts on this achievement as well as a bit about her approach to teaching...
WHAT ARE YOUR THOUGHTS ON RECEIVING THIS AWARD?
Receiving any recognition for teaching is always humbling. It’s great to know that folks value quality undergraduate teaching here at OSU.
What got you interested in teaching?
Even as a grad student it was something I discovered I loved doing. And as I matured as a professor/instructor, I recognized the value of engaging students with content in a variety of ways and keeping up with changing, learning, new ways of presenting are always fun for me. I bore easily, and if I’m bored, then I know they are bored! Gamification of classes is a great way to keep people engaged!
What’s one of the most interesting things you’ve come across while teaching?
I love hearing student stories from their lives outside of the classroom. The best story was from an 8am class where a student asked if I knew what to do with an alligator, they purchased last night and was now living in their bathtub!
How do you stay up to date on advancements in the industry to share with your students?
I use a variety of sources (including students who are in the field working), but often simply asking industry folks what they are doing and then inviting them to my classes is a great way to keep up.
Any fun classes coming up this fall?
I mean I think all of my classes are fun! I will be teaching woody plant identification and landscape management.
Eager for more news about the CFAES Awards and 2024-2025 recipients? You're in luck...