A professor emeritus of youth development has been honored by the University of Wisconsin-River Falls. Francis Ginther was named the 2022 Wisconsin Distinguished Agriculturalist by the school's College of Agriculture, Food and Environmental Sciences.
Ginther spent 30 years as a 4-H youth development agent, with 23 of those years with Pierce County, where he guided one of the largest 4-H programs in Wisconsin consisting of nearly 900 community club members and more than 200 adult volunteer leaders.
Over the course of his career, Ginther planned, coordinated, and conducted hundreds of youth experiential learning events including camps, field trips, conferences, adult and youth leadership trainings, and countless fair educational activities. He was instrumental in training over 100 4-H interns in partnership with fellow extension faculty, promoting extension and agricultural education as a highly relevant and successful career path. Frank Ginther also served multiple years as the academic department chair for the UW-Extension Department of Youth Development and was chair of the Committee of Professors for the Youth Development Section of the Department of Extension Faculty.
His work with extension earned Ginther the Distinguished Service Award in 2003 and the Colleague of the Year Award in Colleague Development in 2015. In 2014, he and the Pierce County 4-H staff team were recognized with the National Excellence in 4-H Club Support Award for their Multicultural Leadership Day program. Ginther was also honored with the National 4-H Meritorious Service Award in 2018.
CAFES Dean Dale Gallenberg presented Ginther with the award during the college's 56th annual scholarship and awards program.
Categories: Wisconsin, Education