Kelm and Smith honored with excellence awards

Contributions include commitment to service and research

July 11, 2024 - Faculty members Steve Kelm and Hiawatha Smith are recipients of distinctive faculty awards by their colleagues at the University of Wisconsin-River Falls.

In recognition of his record of going above and beyond, Kelm, chair of the Animal and Food Science Department, is being recognized with the 2024 University Excellence Award in Service. Smith, associate professor of literacy education and one of the most prolific members of the university’s Teacher Education Department, has been awarded the 2024 University Excellence Award in Research, Scholarly, and Creative Activity.

Both awards, presented for the second time in UWRF history, will be formally bestowed at the All-Campus Awards Reception in August that kicks off the 2024-25 academic year.

Service award

While serving as chief administrator for one of the largest departments on campus with about 800 students and more than 20 faculty and staff might seem like plenty of responsibility for one person, Kelm tackles many other challenges at the university. 

The professor of animal and dairy science also teaches classes, advises dozens of students, participates in numerous university committees, coaches dairy cattle judging teams and serves as co-adviser of the UWRF Dairy Club, faculty liaison for the Dairy Innovation Hub and director of the Farm and Industry Short Course.

The service award is given annually to recognize a faculty member who has contributed extensive service to their department, college, university, community, and/or discipline. Service done without compensation is particularly valued for this award. The selection is determined in collaboration among the provost and deans from a group of college nominees. Each college nominates one candidate for the award annually based on their preferred process. Self-nominations are also allowed.

In a nomination letter, Michael Orth, dean of the College of Agriculture, Food and Environmental Sciences, called Kelm an “ideal candidate” for the award and pointed to his many areas of service outside of his teaching appointment over more than 25 years at UW-River Falls. Kelm has served as his department’s chair from 2004-10, associate chair from 2010-21 and chair again since 2021.

“Being a department chair is a tough position,” Orth wrote. “When you add everything else Steve does, I do wonder why he keeps going periodically. But with Steve, I believe serving is a core value that he lives out and has for over two decades.”

Kelm said he doesn’t necessarily strive to provide service to the university, but just serves as a function of how he believes his job should be done.

“Service is simply part of doing a good job in the position that you hold, regardless of the title or role,” Kelm said. “I believe strongly in the mantra of 'leaders go first.' I am not going to ask others to do something that I would not be willing to do myself. If a task needs to be completed and I am in a position where it can be done by me, then I will step into the void.”

A perfect example came in summer 2023 when the university’s Mann Valley Farm faced a staffing shortage after losing a number of employees and seeing most student workers leave for the summer.

“As a testament to Steve’s commitment to the dairy program, he actually worked in the dairy on the weekends to help relieve the burden,” Orth wrote. “I am not sure how many faculty would do that.”

Later, Kelm was involved in the restaffing process and helped get the dairy center operating much more smoothly.

“I am not sure how it would have survived without his help and wisdom,” Orth wrote.

In a recommendation letter supporting Kelm, Dairy Science Professor Sylvia Kehoe indicated that Kelm has had “an immense impact on many of our alumni that are now working in the industry” through his work as department chair. Kehoe added that Kelm also has been a role model for her and many of her colleagues thanks to his leadership of the department through difficult times and transitions, including countless hours of service outside the traditional workday and on weekends.

On top of all his other duties, Kelm took on the unofficial role of director of the Farm and Industry Short Course last fall. When the course no longer was supported at UW-Madison, dairy farmers and industry professionals asked Kelm to move it to UWRF, prompting the course to move forward as the university applied for funding. When the state Legislature didn’t approve the financial support, Kelm led the department in offering the program anyway because he felt so strongly about the dairy industry sector served by the course.

“To think that Dr. Kelm coordinated and managed all this while working full time as chair of a large department, taught his standard course load and still showed up for his family after work – this is an amazing amount of service for one person,” Kehoe wrote.

For his part, Kelm said he has been fortunate to have had individuals in his life that have led by example.

“Parents, colleagues, my spouse and mentors have demonstrated to me that service is rewarding, and it has become an expectation of myself,” Kelm said. “My goal is to help others and to hopefully have an impact on others so that when they have the opportunity to serve, they take it on gladly. The load becomes much lighter when others are helping to finish a task.”

Research award

For Smith, it’s not enough just to teach future educators. He also devotes a large amount of his time and energy toward research and scholarly activity intended to help teachers be the best they can be.

Since joining UWRF in 2017, Smith has written multiple textbooks, book chapters and journal articles as well as presented at several education conferences.

The outstanding research award is given annually to recognize a faculty member that has made significant contributions to their field or fields of research, techniques, or creative expression. The selection is determined in collaboration among the provost and deans from a group of college nominees. Each college nominates one candidate for the award annually based on their preferred process. Self-nominations are also allowed. 

Smith said he was surprised and excited to have his scholarly work recognized.

“As a recently tenured faculty member, this acknowledgment not only validates my dedication and effort, but also inspires me to continue pushing the boundaries of my scholarly work,” he said.

In the past year alone, Smith has been a co-author on six book chapters or textbooks (published or currently in-press) and three peer-reviewed journal publications and has presented at nine international, national or regional education meetings, according to a nomination letter written by Gregory Ruegsegger, assistant professor of health and human performance and chair of the College of Education, Business, and Allied Health’s Research, Creative, and Scholarly Activity Committee.

Ruegsegger noted that among Smith’s best work is his recently published textbook, “Beyond the Basics: Children’s Literature for the Elementary Teacher.” The book, which at the time of Smith’s nomination had been adopted by instructors in seven states, is a foundational text for undergraduate education majors in language arts and literacy and a professional development resource for practicing teachers. It features resources for immediate use by teachers in addition to addressing current hot-button topics related to teaching classic literature, controversial texts and genre study, Ruegsegger wrote.

“I am thrilled that our textbook has been adopted for university classes nationwide,” Smith said. “This textbook is a unique addition to the existing literature as it goes beyond basic content about children's literature. It includes read-aloud lesson plans, guiding questions, discussion questions, extension activities, implications for practitioners and recommended texts for classrooms.”

Smith added that he is looking forward to the release of an edited text this fall that will support faculty success in higher education.

Ruegsegger indicated that Smith routinely collaborates with other UWRF faculty. In fact, three of his recent publications involved UWRF faculty as co-authors. The publications highlight how his broad expertise and scholarly interest can have an impact on the larger field of education, Ruegsegger wrote.

Smith co-authored “Integrating Social Studies Through the Read-Aloud” with Ad Hoc Instructor Mckenzie Rabenn, a published chapter on preparing teacher candidates to teach developmental word study with former Associate Professor of Literacy Education Amy Frederick, and another chapter on the connection between theory and practice in teaching in linguistically diverse settings with Frederick and Teacher Education Professor Dean Vesperman.

“With his colleagues, Dr. Smith has created many best practices used in teacher preparation programs,” wrote Ruegsegger, who characterized Smith as a “phenomenal scholar.”

Smith also has worked with several emerging scholars in the field, including mentoring and supporting numerous doctoral candidates and has served UWRF since 2018 as coordinator of the Master of Science-Elementary Education Program and in 2023-24 as interim coordinator of the Master of Science-Reading Program.

Genuine concern for the teaching profession motivates Smith in his pursuit of research and publishing opportunities.

“My scholarly activity,” Smith said, “allows me to explore impactful practices, disseminate new information and advocate for meaningful change within teaching and classroom spaces.”