J. Michael Rodriguez 17

For Gilbert Kroening, 28 years of service to SIUC finally paid off when he received one of the highest honors in the field of agriculture.

Kroening and an SIUC professor and an SIUC administrator were placed on the Alpha Zeta Centennial Honor Roll in honor of the 100th anniversary of the founding of the agricultural fraternity. The three were chosen from 500 applicants nationwide by Alpha Zeta for their significant contributions to agriculture.

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I consider this the highest recognition in terms of my peers, said Kroening, who served as the dean of the College of Agriculture from 1974-86.

Alpha Zeta, the world’s oldest agricultural fraternity founded Nov. 4, 1897, selected 100 Alpha Zeta members and 100 non-members to be honored.

The fraternity sought candidates who represented the depth, breadth and diversity of its 95,000 members. The persons honored embodied leadership, scholarship, fellowship and character Alpha Zeta’s four standards.

Those honored were Kroening, professor and chairman of the Department of Animal Science/Food and Nutrition; Dr. James Tweedy, vice chancellor for Administration; and retired professor Keith Leasure.

Kroening was recognized for determining methionine-cystine requirements for baby pigs in 1965. He also added the departments of agribusiness economics, agricultural education and mechanization, and food and nutrition to the college programs at SIUC. Kroening established the office of International Agriculture at SIUC with projects in Zambia and Pakistan.

Some of those people (the winners) were Noble Prize winners and obviously quite well-known, Kroening said. I think that since two of us were graduates of here, Tweedy and I, we had good professors, and I believe we have had a lot of good people since then.

Recipients of the Alpha Zeta Centennial Honor Roll were recognized during a special luncheon Aug. 8 at the 1997 Summit on Food, Fiber and the Environment in Columbus, Ohio. Each recipient received a limited edition Alpha Zeta Centennial Honor Roll medallion.

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Tweedy served as dean for the College of Agriculture between 1986 and 1992, and has been with SIUC for 31 years. He said that having two professors and one administrator from SIUC receive this honor may help the College of Agriculture gain the recognition that he feels it deserves.

I rank this award near the top, Tweedy said. I’m really proud receiving this award, and I hope it enhances the school to get the recognition it deserves.

Tweedy was noted by Alpha Zeta for receiving the College of Agriculture Fellowship Award from Michigan State University in 1965. His other honors include receiving an honorary doctorate degree from St. Petersburg Agrarian State University and serving on the Illinois Attorney General’s Agricultural Law Advisory Council in 1988-89.

Kroening, Tweedy and Leasure were honored among such individuals as the U.S. Deputy Secretary of Agriculture Richard Rominger, U.S. Sen. Richard G. Lugar, and Clifford Hardin, former U.S. Agriculture Secretary.

It’s an award to be aspired to, Jennifer O’Brien, communications coordinator for Alpha Zeta, said. I overheard some of the judges, and they said that there were hard choices to make.

Kroening said that winning the award shows the nation that SIUC has a reputable agriculture program.

(The award) indicates that we have a good program, he said, and that our students can compete with any in the nation.