Former L-S ag instructor receives ISU teaching award

A former Lynnville-Sully agriculture teacher was among the faculty and staff announced as a 2015 award winner by the Iowa State University College of Agriculture and Life Sciences on Feb. 3.

Dr. Tom Paulsen, an assistant professor in agricultural education and studies at Iowa State, was awarded the Early Achievement in Teaching Award.

For the past seven years, Paulsen has mentored more than 130 students who went on to become high school agriculture teachers. He is described as a teacher of teachers and taught high school agriculture education classes for 21 years before going to Iowa State. He also provides oversight for the Iowa State Ag 450 Farm, which is the only student-managed farm at a land grant university in the nation.

Paulsen got his start in agriculture education when he served as an agriculture instructor at Lynnville-Sully High School from 1987-1992. He recalled the area as being a “fantastic place to live and teach.” During his time at L-S, the agriculture education program grew from 29 students in the spring of 1988 to over 105 students when Paulsen left in 1992.

“We completely revised the curriculum to reflect a broad view of the agriculture industry and built the greenhouse,” Paulsen said. “We had tremendous parental and community support during that time.”

While at L-S, Paulsen also served as the head JV/assistant varsity football and basketball coach, working with Emory Stewart, Dave Walkup, Bob Scandridge, and Mark Watts in football and Glenn Fiihr and Dave Schmitt in basketball. His wife, Michelle (Micki), taught special education and driver’s education. She was also an assistant volleyball coach under Launi Dane.

“I always felt like the Lynnville-Sully community was a wonderful family,” Paulsen said. “My wife, Micki, and I talk of our great memories there often.”

After leaving his first teaching and coaching job after five years at L-S, Paulsen and his family moved to Carroll, where he started a new shared agricultural education program between Carroll Public High School and Kuemper Catholic High School.

While at Carroll, Paulsen completed his master’s and PhD degrees in agricultural education at Iowa State. He also completed an educational administration license from ISU as well. In 2000, he was the Iowa Teacher of the Year, and while on sabbatical, he had the opportunity to visit Lynnville-Sully.

“Unfortunately, we have not had the chance to visit the school since,” Paulsen said, adding he’ll be supervising a student-teacher in Newton this spring and hopes to get a chance to visit the L-S area then.

When they moved to Carroll, Paulsen said his wife was the school-to-work coordinator and taught multiple occupa-tions, internships, and physical educa-tion. After working for the Area Health Education Center (AHEC) for a few years, she is now teaching special education in the Paton-Churdan School District.

Paulsen ended up teaching at Carroll for 16 years before going to Iowa State University in 2008. In 2011, he received the North American Colleges and Teachers of Agriculture Graduate Student Teaching Award at a conference in Edmonton, Canada. This is recognition at the international level for his commitment to, and excellence in, college teaching and the scholarship of teaching and learning.

Paulsen coordinates the Agriculture and Life Sciences Education Program for Iowa State where he works closely with student teachers, cooperating teachers, and members of the School of Education. Paulsen’s research focus deals with the collegiate agriculture capstone experience and the supervision of instruction in agricultural education.

Paulsen and his wife have three kids. Their daughter, Marissa, works in Washington, D.C., for a sports marketing company and worked at the Super Bowl last weekend. Their son Drew works at the Hard Rock Casino in Sioux City in the Anthem live event venue as an audio technician and stagehand. Their son Alex is a junior at Morningside College studying religion, philosophy, and nonprofit management and swimming on the swim team.

 

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