Gretchen Mafi, professor and the Ralph and Leila Boulware Endowed Chair in Oklahoma State University’s Department of Animal and Food Sciences, recently received two honors from the American Meat Science Association for her leadership in student development and meat science education.

At the association’s Reciprocal Meat Conference in June, Mafi was presented with the Intercollegiate Meat Judging Meritorious Service Award for her outstanding contributions and lifelong dedication to the Intercollegiate Meat Judging Program.

AMSA also established the Dr. Gretchen Mafi Mentor Recognition Fund, which will support meat judging programs and further Mafi’s impact by investing in student mentorship, leadership development and educational opportunities.

Mafi joined OSU’s animal and food sciences faculty in 2006 and has spent two decades teaching animal and meat science courses while coaching the nationally renowned OSU Meat Judging Team. Under her leadership, the program has built on its reputation as the most decorated in the country, with 19 national championships since its founding in 1926.

“Dr. Mafi has built a remarkable legacy at OSU, but her greatest impact is on her students,” said Richard Coffey, head of animal and food sciences. “She has an exceptional ability to build confidence and help students grow into leaders in the classroom and beyond.”

Mafi said meat judging provides students with an educational experience that extends far beyond technical training.

“Meat judging is much more than learning to evaluate carcasses and cuts,” she said. “It teaches students how to think critically, make confident decisions under pressure, communicate and defend those decisions effectively.”

Meat judging also connects students to a network that can shape their careers, she added.

“The relationships students build through meat judging with peers, alumni and industry professionals become lifelong sources of mentorship, opportunity and friendship,” she said.

Central to Mafi’s work as a professor and coach is a personalized approach to mentoring.

“My philosophy has always been to help students become the best version of themselves,” she said. “Every student has different strengths, goals and challenges, so mentoring isn’t about creating identical outcomes. It’s about helping everyone discover what they’re capable of achieving.”

For Mafi, both honors reflect the importance of investing in people.

“Receiving the Intercollegiate Meat Judging Meritorious Service Award is incredibly humbling because it comes from a community that has shaped so much of my professional life,” she said. “Having a mentorship fund established in my honor is equally meaningful because it reflects the value of investing in people and supporting future students long after I retire.”

Mafi credits the Ferguson College of Agriculture’s collaborative environment and strong industry support as key factors in her fulfilling career.

“OSU has given me the opportunity to combine everything I’m passionate about — teaching, mentoring and service — while working alongside exceptional colleagues and students,” she said. “Watching students grow into confident professionals and leaders has been the greatest privilege of my career.”

Mafi said she hopes her legacy will be defined less by accolades and more by the lives she has impacted.

“I hope my legacy is measured more by the people I’ve had the privilege to mentor,” she said. “If my students leave with confidence, integrity, curiosity and a commitment to serving others, then I’ll consider my career a success.”