Dr. Caleb Stair, Instructional Assistant Professor in the UF/IFAS Food and Resource Economics Department, received the 2025 Outstanding Teaching of a Course Award from the Southern Agricultural Economics Association (SAEA) during their annual meeting in Irving, Texas.

The purpose of the award is to recognize distinguished contributions of individuals to the profession of agricultural economics. Stair receives this award for his course AEB 4126 Agricultural and Natural Resource Ethics.

A service course, Stair’s class is offered to students of all majors and colleges. The class frequently has students from environmental science, computer science, economics, and beyond interacting and bringing their own insights into class discussions of timely ethical issues in this field.

“It is an opportunity for students to showcase what opinions they have about different issues society is facing,” Stair states. “The course is taught with a discussion-based approach. I prioritize student interaction and engagement through moderated conversations rather than passive learning. This method encourages open conversation and free thought where there is a clash of different ideas (in a respectful manner of course).”

Stair’s engaged approach to this course is evident from the reactions of his students.

“Dr. Stair was very passionate about the topics in the ethics class,” said Savannah Bailey, a senior in Food and Resource Economics and former student in the class. “He made it a class where we could speak about our beliefs with no judgement. His ethics class allowed me to think about what I believe and why I believe it when it comes to topics in the agricultural sector.”

Congratulations to Dr. Stair on a well-deserved award. On this accomplishment he states, “I am honored to receive this award, and I want to express my gratitude to everyone who supported me. Getting to meet and interact with approximately 130 new people every semester is the best part of my job.”

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