Wayne F. Keim

Degrees Awarded

• B.S. University of Nebraska – 1947
• M.S. Cornell University – 1949
• Ph.D. Cornell University – 1952
• Years at CSU – 1975 to 1992

 

Awards and Recognition

• Fellow, American Association for the Advancement of Science, 1960
• Best Teacher Award, Purdue University, 1965 & 1968
• Fellow American Society Agronomy, 1968
• Harbison-Danforth Teaching Award, Purdue University, 1970
• Agronomic Education Award, American Society of Agronomy, 1971
• President, Crop Science Society of America, 1984
• Fellow, Crop Science Society America, 1985
• Fellow, National Assoc. of Colleges and Teachers of Agriculture, 1987
• Agronomic Service Award, American Society of Agronomy, 1991

Dr. Wayne F. Keim is truly an agronomic legend.  In his 45 year career of teaching, research and administration at Cornell, Iowa State, Purdue, and Colorado State universities he made superior contributions as a teacher, researcher, and administrator.

Throughout his career Wayne has been a champion of students.  He personally motivated many talented young people to choose careers in

 

scientific agriculture.  He is particularly proud of the large number of students who, after taking his genetics course at Purdue, chose genetics as a career.  He remains in close contact with many of them and delights in telling of their career successes.  Even in retirement his interest in the training and development of young men and women has not waned.  You can often find him in our Department coffee room visiting with students and asking those thought provoking questions about the student’s future plans.

He certainly earned “legend” status by his teaching achievements alone, but there is much more to his story.  In 1975 he was named Head of the CSU Department of Agronomy where he began retooling the Department so it could move into an elite leadership position in soil and plant science teaching and research.  Dr. Keim enjoyed the challenges of serving the Department at CSU during the decade when undergraduate and graduate enrollments and faculty member numbers reached all-time highs.  He was instrumental in developing a huge international presence for the Department.  It was also the days of “blue sky” salaries, where he always hoped things would turn out okay by the end of the fiscal year!  Sometimes it was close!

Using his great people skills, Wayne was able to make significant additions to the Agronomy faculty.  To this day he remains very proud of the people “he hired” at CSU.  Wayne brought esprit de corps to the Department by encouraging both old and new faculty members to excel in their professions and to become active in their professional scientific societies.  Things as simple as encouraging attendance at professional meetings, even if the person was not giving a paper that year, brought about a new attitude.  He also saw to it that modern copying equipment was purchased, which although was a simple thing, brought about an attitude of “we are on the move”.  The Department also purchased its first computer during his tenure as Head.

Dr. Wayne Keim is truly a legend in so many ways.  Thank you Wayne for the boost you gave to the agronomic profession locally, regionally, and nationally.