Daily Pioneer News

PLATTEVILLE - One of Kevin Bernhardt's guiding principles in educating students is "take 'em to the crash site." The phrase may seem odd coming from an agriculture professor, but it may be one of the reasons Bernhardt was awarded a 2003-04 Underkofler Excellence in Teaching Award. The four recipients of this year's Underkofler Awards, sponsored by Alliant Energy, were honored at a recognition ceremony on the UW-Madison campus Oct. 15.

Bernhardt, an associate professor of agribusiness, has been teaching at UW-Platteville since 1996, and he currently instructs farm management, agriculture pricing, agribusiness management and ag policy courses. He believes students need real-world experiences and hands-on simulations to complement the textbook theory they learn in class.

"I have a term that I use, 'take 'em to the crash site,' " he said. He got the phrase from an article written years ago by a dean of an engineering program who said students were lacking in practical application. "His point was... we need to take students back out to the crash site. We need to take them out so they take their textbook theory and apply it, sift through the rubble, find out what didn't work and re-engineer it so it does work," Bernhardt said. "That has always stuck with me."

In the courses he teaches, Bernhardt has had students work with real-word agriculture companies and farm operations to develop business plans or ag-marketing strategies. Recently, students helped Pioneer Farm research the feasibility of using different insemination methods at the UWP Swine Center, and students have worked on projects to help Pioneer Farm secure its milk prices.

Bernhardt adheres to other principles that help guide his teaching methods, among them his desire to "cause" students to learn. Bernhardt believes he has to be flexible to adjusting to different teaching tactics and motivation strategies for different groups of students.

"It's my responsibility as a teacher to cause [students] to learn. Every student in every class is going to respond in a different way," he said. Bernhardt serves as the faculty advisor for the UWP student chapter of the National Agri-Marketing Association, and advises many of UWP's agribusiness majors. In presenting him with his award Oct. 15, recently appointed UW System President Kevin Reilly noted Bernhardt's dedication to his students. "The student letters in support of his nomination repeatedly point to the commitment of time and energy Dr. Bernhardt brings to his advising role. They also point to his ability to inspire students to go above and beyond what they thought they could do," Reilly said.

With a split appointment, Bernhardt teaches half time in the UWP School of Ag and serves half time as a UW-Extension farm and risk management specialist. In this role, he helps farm owners modernize their dairy operations and also develops educational curricula for dairy producers nationwide.

Bernhardt earned his doctorate degree in agriculture economics from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. He now lives in Platteville with his wife Daneen and their four children: Joshua, 10; Jacob, 8; Ethan, 5; and Maria, 2. In their spare time the family likes to go fishing, camping and biking. The Underkofler Awards are named in honor of former Alliant Energy chairman James Underkofler. Four educators from UW System institutions in the Alliant Energy service area are awarded annually for teaching excellence. This year's other winners included: Eric Wilcots, UW-Madison; Howard Erlanger, UW-Madison; and Thomas Kleese, UW-Richland.

Contact: Kevin Bernhardt, associate professor of agribusiness, 608-342-1365, bernhark@uwplatt.edu

Prepared by: Dan Lehnherr, UWP Public Relations, 608-342-1194, lehnherd@uwplatt.edu