Note to Editors: Photos of Jim Evans with K-State students and administrators are available by contacting Mary Lou Peter-Blecha at mlpeter@ksu.edu.

Released: February 24, 2006

K-State Honors Leader in Ag Communications

MANHATTAN, Kan. -- James Evans was awarded the Kansas State University Distinguished Service in Agriculture Award for Teaching and Research in a ceremony Feb. 23 on the K-State campus.

Evans is one of the pre-eminent leaders in agricultural communications in the United States.

“Dr. Evans has been the major builder of agricultural communications programs in this country and has had a profound effect on numerous scholars in this field,” said Kristina Boone, head of K-State’s Department of Communications who nominated Evans for the award.

Evans began his career as the associate farm director for WBAY Radio and Television in Green Bay, Wis., after graduating from Iowa State College with a bachelor’s degree in agricultural journalism in 1954. He also served in the U.S. Air Force as a career counselor and an information services officer from 1955 to 1956.

Prior to earning a master’s degree at the University of Chicago in 1961, Evans was the associate broadcast director and assistant account executive at Aubrey, Finlay, Marley and Hodgson Inc. Advertising in Chicago, from 1957 to 1960.

In 1962, he became the head of teaching and research in the Agricultural Communications Department at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and earned a Ph.D. in communications in 1968. Evans then served as the head of the Office of Agricultural Communications and Education at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign from 1985 to 1995. In that position, he administered academic programs involving more than 140 students in agricultural communications, agricultural education and extension education. Evans also oversaw communications support for the College of Agriculture.

Evans’ research has focused on rural communications education, rural-urban communications, communications systems and methods in agriculture, and communications in agricultural development. His research has resulted in several published works.

In 1970, he helped students form the American Association of Agricultural Communicators of tomorrow to promote the professional goals of future agricultural communicators. He served as the national ACT adviser for about 25 years, influencing the careers and professional development of hundreds of students across the United States. There are now 16 ACT chapters, including a very active chapter at K-State.

Since 1980, Evans has helped conceive and develop a program to improve access to literature about the communications aspects of food, agriculture, natural resources, rural affairs and related topics. This program, the Agricultural Communications Documentation Center (ACDC), now contains 27,000 documents involving agricultural communications in more than 100 countries.

Evans, who is now retired, serves as an emeritus professor in the University of Illinois Agricultural Communications and Journalism Department. He continues to maintain the ACDC and is involved with family, church, and local activities with his wife, Marlene.

“I am truly grateful for the effect he has had on my career and the role model he has provided to me for mentoring others. His passion for agriculture and communications has distinguished him as a true scholar,” Boone said.

-30-

K-State Research and Extension is a short name for the Kansas State University Agricultural Experiment Station and Cooperative Extension Service, a program designed to generate and distribute useful knowledge for the well-being of Kansans. Supported by county, state, federal and private funds, the program has county Extension offices, experiment fields, area Extension offices and regional research centers statewide. Its headquarters is on the K-State campus, Manhattan.

Story by:
KaCee Thompson
kct@ksu.edu
K-State Research& Extension News