2006 - Kelly Cain

Kelly Cain, professor in the College of Agriculture, Food and Environmental Sciences and program coordinator for the University's Wildlife Recreation and Nature Tourism graduate online certificate program, is a popular professor among students and peers. He has received the 2005-06 Adviser of the Year as well as the 2004 Wisconsin Idea Fellow, a 2001 UW System Teaching Scholar Award, a 1999 National Peer Mentor for the Learn & Serve America Exchange and a 1995 UW Regents Teaching Excellence Award. He was named the 1994-95 UW-RF Distinguished Teacher of the Year and a 1993-94 UW System Teaching Fellow as well.

Cain teaches undergraduate and graduate courses at UW-River Falls and manages community service projects in sustainability-based planning and management. His work in international projects ranges from China and Trinidad to Bolivia and Nicaragua, and currently he has embarked on a sabbatical during the 2006-07 school year, working on sustainability issues in China for fall semester and South America during spring semester.

In addition to his teaching duties, Cain is actively involved in community outreach and service-learning in the St. Croix Valley, speaking and consulting on sustainability-based lifestyles, business models and community development. He has taught at the University of Minnesota and Appalachian State University as well as wilderness leadership courses and outdoor education for the Wilderness Education Association and Wilderness Inquiry. He holds a Ph.D. from the U of M. A River Falls resident, Cain is married and has three children.