College of Agriculture & Natural Resources Department of Community Sustainability

Aaron McKim, Associate Professor in the Department of Community Sustainability, was selected as the national 2026 Distinguished Agricultural Teacher Educator Award winner from the American Association for Agricultural Education (AAAE). The Distinguished Agricultural Teacher Educator award seeks to recognize faculty who have significant accomplishments in the field including leadership, experience, and scholarly impact to improve agricultural education. To be eligible for most national AAAE awards, individuals must have won that award at the regional level. McKim won the Distinguished Agricultural Teacher Educator award in the North Central Region in 2024.

McKim has been active in the agricultural education space for 16 years in a variety of capacities including as a high school agricultural educator, graduate student, and now faculty member at MSU. McKim attributes his passion for agricultural education to his own positive experiences in school.  “An agricultural education program started in my high school my sophomore year and the teacher was Mr. Gary Geswein. The community I found within agricultural education was instrumental to my academic success, personal growth, and identity development. I felt compelled to lead a high school program as an agriculture teacher to offer students the same beneficial community I found,” says McKim.

Notably, McKim follows in the footsteps of the late Donald Meaders, a celebrated MSU agricultural education scholar, who won the AAAE Distinguished Agricultural Teacher Educator award in 1988. The Department of Community Sustainability hosts an endowed award after Dr. Meaders and his wife that supports Agriculture, Food, and Natural Resources Education students in the unit. The legacy of agricultural education excellence at MSU is not only echoed in the recognition McKim and Meaders both received from AAAE, but advanced with McKim leading several initiatives to support innovative agricultural education around Michigan.

In his current and future work, McKim seeks to address issues in agricultural education related to teacher success and retention as well as innovative approaches to engage students in agricultural learning opportunities. One of McKim’s future directions his research team is exploring is expanding “land-based learning,” which partners high school students with local farmers across Michigan to solve on-farm sustainability challenges.

McKim emphasizes the scale of impact with his agricultural education work saying, “I’ve had the chance to interact with most of the 165 AFNR teachers in Michigan. My interactions have included leading workshops, being a course instructor, leading agriculture teacher certification, chairing MA programs, or developing a tool they use to help organize their curriculum. These teachers impact 10,000+ students daily and I take pride knowing I’ve played some small part in the work they do to cultivate the same beneficial community I experienced in agricultural education.”

McKim acknowledges the community that has supported the successful career this award celebrates, saying “I’d like to thank my wife Lauren and son Lincoln for being a tremendous support system and the AFNR Education Team at MSU for their collaboration and commitment to agricultural education. I’ve been so fortunate to work with amazing people through research, teaching, service, and outreach; I’ve learned so much through each collaboration and cannot express how appreciative I am for each person.”

Reflecting on what this award means to him, McKim says “An award like this provides an opportunity to reflect on all the people who have inspired me, and to pause and be appreciative for the impact they have made. This award is also a jolt of energy, inspiration to continuing pushing forward. AFNR Education in Michigan is strong and we continue to grow, expand, and innovate. I am proud to be part of this amazing community.”