The Department of Animal Sciences will present 2005 Distinguished Animal Sciences Alumni Awards to six individuals Oct. 14. Recipients will be honored in three categories.

“This award was created to recognize the achievements of graduates from the animal sciences program and to recognize alumni for contributions to the industry, as well as to provide current students an opportunity to view the pathways to success taken by alumni,” says Alan Grant, head of the department.

“The six recipients recognized this year have demonstrated excellence in industry, academia, governmental service or other endeavors related to animal sciences. We are very pleased to honor them.”

There will be an awards ceremony at 2 p.m. Oct. 14 in the Animal Sciences Conference room, Room 3-113, Lilly Hall. The honorees will also be recognized at the Animal Sciences Alumni and Friends Homecoming Reunion on Oct. 15 in the Animal Sciences tent on the Purdue Memorial Mall.

The three recipients of the Lifetime Career Award are:

Hobart W. Jones, BS ’43, of West Lafayette, Ind., a professor at Purdue for 38 years, instructing about 5,000 students before he retired in 1988. He was a nationally recognized authority on swine management and housing, and this past May, National Hog Farmer magazine honored him as one of 50 people who have had the greatest impact on the pork industry. Jones received 10 teaching and counseling awards, and in 1980 he was named the Outstanding Teacher in the College of Agriculture. Also, the American Society of Animal Sciences honored him with the Animal Management Award in 1974, and Purdue honored him with the Hovde Award in 1973 for service to the rural people of Indiana.

Robert C. Peterson, MS ’54, of Sheridan, Ind., hired by Purdue in 1954 as the beef research leader at the Southern Indiana Forage Farm, now SIPAC, where he served for 11 years. In 1965, Peterson accepted the position of assistant superintendent at the Lynnwood Farm in Hamilton County. One of the major projects at Lynnwood was managing the Bull Test Station (Indiana Beef Evaluation Program). Approximately 300 bulls were consigned each year until the farm was sold. In addition to creating an excellent Simmental cow herd and conducting a variety of beef cattle projects, Peterson assisted with a swine performance program called the Pork Production Derby and a ram testing program. Peterson was superintendent of the station from 1967 until he retired in 1989. He has held offices in various beef producer organizations, is a member of the Indiana Livestock Breeders Hall of Fame, and has received numerous awards, including Indiana Outstanding Cattleman; Lifetime Achievement Award, Indiana Beef Cattlemen’s Association; Meritorious Service Award, Indiana Pork Producers; and the Oren Wright Outstanding Service to the Indiana Sheep Association.

Maurice L. (Mauri) Williamson, BS ’50, of West Lafayette, Ind. executive secretary of the Purdue Agricultural Alumni Association from 1953 to 1990. During his tenure, the association grew to a position of national prominence and became the model for other alumni groups. With his leadership, the National Agricultural Alumni Development Association was founded to provide education and support for professionals, volunteers and student leaders. Williamson was selected as an Honorary Lieutenant Governor in 1983, and he was chosen an Honorary Master Farmer in 1985 by Prairie Farmer magazine. He received the Certificate of Distinction from the Ag Alumni Association in 1990 and that same year he was chosen Honorary Commissioner of Agriculture and named an Honorary Lieutenant Colonel by the Indiana State Police. In recognition of his long and successful service to agriculture, Purdue established the Mauri Williamson Scholarship for Academic Excellence. Williamson continues to serve as the manager of the Pioneer and Home Show at the Indiana State Fair and is leading the drive to enhance the Center for Agricultural Science and Heritage.

Mid-Career Award recipients are:

Terrence M. Fleck, BS ’75, of Carmel, Ind., executive vice president of the Indiana Pork Producers Association and the Indiana Pork Advocacy Coalition for more than 15 years. He has increased corporate and grant support for the organization and has broadened the grassroots organization to include associated industries and a successful public affairs advocacy platform. He is a member of the American and Indiana Societies of Association Executives and is a board member for the Indiana Livestock Alliance and the International Association of Grace Ministries. Fleck was the director of public relations for the Indianapolis Livestock Market for two years after his graduation. Then he was a field and regional sales manager for Vigortone Ag Products. In 1983, Fleck became technical coordinator of the U.S. Feed Grains Council in Washington, D.C., and later he served as regional director for the U.S. Feed Grains Council in Vienna, Austria.

Angela L Siemens, BS ’83, of Smithfield, Ind., vice president of quality assurance for Smithfield Foods. She previously was a food technologist at Beatrice Foods and a process technologist with Oscar Mayer Foods. At Smithfield, she is responsible for management of all food safety programs in the $2.7 billion pork and meat processing company. Her honors include the Paul D. May Award for Service from the World Beef Expo and the Friends of the Cattlemen Award from the Wisconsin Cattlemen’s Association in 2000. In 1999, she was recognized as the Meat Processing Magazine Rising Star, and in 1996 and 1998 she received the Above and Beyond the Call of Duty Award from Kraft Foods. She is a member of the American Meat Science Association, American Society of Animal Science, and the Institute of Food Technology.

The Early Career Award recipient is Barbara A. Lintzenich, BS ’91, of Brookfield, Ill., who is the staff nutritionist at Brookfield Zoo in Chicago. Her responsibilities include overseeing the operation of the animal commissary and supervision of the staff. In addition, she assists in nutrition research at Brookfield Zoo. Lintzenich is a member of the Comparative Nutrition Society and the American Zoo and Aquarium Association (AZA), and serves as chair of the Nutrition Advisory group for AZA, as well as on the fundraising and membership subcommittees. She is also a member of the American Society of Animal Science, Alpha Zeta and Ceres Honorary Fraternity.