OSU Agriculture names Chris Eck recipient of Whatley Award
Thursday, February 5, 2026
Media Contact: Dean Ruhl | Communications and Media Relations Specialist | 405-744-9152 | dean.ruhl@okstate.edu
Oklahoma State University named Dr. Chris Eck the 2025 recipient of the James A. Whatley Award for Meritorious Research in Agricultural Sciences by the OSU Division of Agricultural Science and Natural Resources.
Eck, an associate professor in the OSU Department of Agricultural Education, Communications and Leadership, received the prestigious award during the OSU Agriculture Appreciation and Awards Luncheon.
“It’s an honor,” Eck said. “I look at the list of people who won it in the past, and I’m just honored and humbled to be considered with that group. It feels good to have your work recognized.”
Eck’s research aims to improve agricultural education by developing effective teaching practices for instructors. The goal is to enhance agricultural literacy among high school students and teachers. Before pursuing his advanced degrees, Eck was a high school agriculture teacher in Florida, where he experienced firsthand the problems he now works to solve.
“It was always neat to help students become better consumers of agricultural products and understand the agricultural industry at a higher level than they previously did,” Eck said. “When I came to work on my graduate degree at OSU, a big part of my research focused on making sure teachers are prepared to be effective in doing this.”
Eck also focuses on integrating STEM into agricultural education. With this work, he hopes to highlight integral STEM components that are naturally present in typical agricultural coursework.
This research agenda focuses tightly on effective ways to implement STEM into school-based agricultural education, teacher preparation and the development of pedagogical content knowledge. From this, Eck’s research encompasses agricultural educators and college faculty related to STEM teaching and learning.
“Ultimately, the goal is to make an impact on current high school students and their preparedness for both college and career readiness,” Eck said.
His work has appeared in conference proceedings and presentations, a published book chapter and seven appearances in popular publications.
“The results of Dr. Eck’s work are going to have a long-term impact as it connects to the pedagogy from early education of young people through their college education,” said Dr. Scott Senseman, associate vice president of Oklahoma State University Ag Research. “His research is enabling teachers to have access to new and innovative tools that will impact STEM education and the students that they teach for many years to come. The influence and training that he is providing undergraduate research scholars and his growing graduate student program will ensure that his positive influence will continue to leave an indelible mark on the future of agricultural education.”
Eck also prioritizes working as a mentor for research students. He has served as a mentor or co-mentor for seven undergraduate research scholars, the advisor for an undergraduate honors thesis, a committee member for 22 master’s student committees, a member for 12 Ph.D. committees and an advisor/chair of seven Ph.D. committees, to name a few.
“Working with those graduate students is really the most fulfilling for me,” Eck said. “I really enjoy helping them find their passion area and working through their projects and helping them prepare for the next step.”
To date, Eck has published 50 peer-reviewed journal articles. He has received the Southern Region Outstanding Early Career Member award from the American Association for Agricultural Education and the Outstanding Beginning Scholar award from the Association for Career and Technical Education Research. He earned the Outstanding Kahler AAAE Dissertation award in 2017.
Eck directs the department’s Curriculum for Agricultural Science Education training, a professional development program for secondary agricultural education teachers nationwide. Last year, he was named the CASE Host of the Year.
“Dr. Eck is one of the hardest working people I know,” said Dr. Shane Robinson, professor and department head in agricultural education, communications and leadership. “He is a ferocious scholar and tireless in his pursuit of excellence. The amount and quality of research scholarship he produces each year is staggering.”
The Whatley Award, first presented in 1982, is awarded annually and recognizes outstanding research contributions to the advancement of the agricultural sciences.
Whatley, in whose name the award is presented, was an animal geneticist who became director of the Oklahoma Agricultural Experiment Station system and dean of the Division of Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources, which is comprised of the OSU Ferguson College of Agriculture and two state agencies: OSU Extension and OSU Ag Research. Whatley served OSU for 41 years.
“Dr. Eck stands alone regarding his accomplishments in the professoriate as an early-career faculty member,” Robinson said. “To me, he is exactly the type of person who should be recognized with this prestigious award.”