Pursell endowed professor of horticulture, Donald Eakes, was named Educator of the year by the Professional Landcare Network Academic Excellence Foundation. This June will mark the 24th year that Eakes has taught at Auburn University.
Eakes teaches multiple classes and advises the Professional Landcare Network Student Chapter.
It's a professional club where students do community service, fundraising and interact with the green industry, Eakes said.
The club has professionals come talk to the students and takes students to tour their offices and job sites.
The students compete annually in a student career days event.
Eakes was named Educator of the Year for the first time.
"For me it just confirms what I do," Eakes said. "It just reaffirms maybe spending extra time with them more than just in the class room, those kind of things are important to me because I think there's more to getting an education than just the nuts and bolts that come out of a textbook."
The Academic Excellence Foundation is a foundation that gives out scholarships every year and also has the award for professors.
They work for the green industry and do a lot with the legislation, Eakes said.
Since 1998, they've given about $730,000 in scholarships to 720 different students, Eakes said.
Eakes is a hard but thorough teacher, said Jeff Sibley, department head of the department of horticulture.
"The plant classes that he teaches are very systematic and are a key foundation for understanding how to identify plants not just in his classes, but from there forward," Sibley said.
Sibley and Eakes were students together in the early 80s and then Eakes was Sibley's major professor for his master's degree from 1992-1994.
"His care for students is beyond comprehension," Sibley said. "I've just never seen anyone in my years sacrifice as much personally on the behalf of the students and I've witnessed him do that."
The award is a national recognition across all universities for this particular discipline, Sibley said.
Eakes teaches small trees, shrubs and vines; landscape construction; nutritional requirements for horticultural crops and a class that is part of the Professional Landcare Network Student Chapter at Auburn University.
"I think he is a wonderful man, his character is phenomenal and he's just one of the professors that was a mentor to a lot of us as student's and he's somebody that we can just go to," said Kira Chaloupka, senior in horticulture. "His class is probably the hardest class that we have to take as horticulture students and I think almost every student would agree with that, but it's definitely one that I've learned the most in and I've been able to apply it to my life as far as using it in the industry and jobs." Eakes's students were the ones that nominated him, with help from some of the faculty members.
"It's important to me because it comes from professionals in the green industry that have been successful," Eakes said. "It has been a humbling experience." Students made a video for Eakes, showing their appreciation for him as a teacher.
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