UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — Noel Habashy, associate teaching professor and coordinator of the international agriculture minor in Penn State’s College of Agricultural Sciences, was a recipient of the 2025 United States Department of Agriculture Excellence in College and University Teaching in Food and Agricultural Sciences Award in the regional category.
The award, given by the USDA in partnership with the Association of Public and Land-Grant Universities, recognizes excellence in agricultural sciences teaching and student engagement. The regional award includes a $2,000 stipend to enhance teaching at the recipient’s university.
The awards, which have been given each year since 1992, are selected from a competitive pool of exceptional candidates nominated by their peers and administrators.
“I could not be happier that Dr. Habashy’s work has been recognized with this national award,” said Deanna Behring, assistant dean and director of Ag Sciences Global in the college. “He has a tremendous record of innovative classroom teaching and constantly uses his continued scholarship in cultural humility and community engagement to inform his teaching.”
Habashy joined Penn State in 2017 as an assistant teaching professor and was promoted to associate teaching professor in 2024. He has taught more than 1,000 students in classes on global agriculture, global food security and international development.
He regularly teaches the courses INTAG 100N: Everyone Eats: Hunger, Food Security and Global Agriculture and INTAG 490: Senior Seminar, among other courses. He also co-developed an open-source online textbook under the same title, which has reached nearly 11,000 readers.
In course reviews, students have noted that Habashy ensures courses are relevant to diverse majors by using varied teaching methods and tools, and that his conversational style is inviting, encouraging participation while maintaining a constructive feedback environment.
“Noel often calls on students by name, which is impressive given the large class sizes, and affirms and validates what each student shares, adding to or embellishing as appropriate,” said Timothy Kelsey, professor of agricultural economics and associate department head, who sat in on Habashy’s class and was one of those nominating him for the award. “I am struck by how welcoming and affirming this process feels, with students eagerly participating.”
His colleagues said that Habashy continues to make a positive impact on students through his instruction and mentoring. As an academic adviser to students in the international agriculture minor, one of the minors with the largest enrollment in the college, he advises 50 to 75 students on their academic goals and future career plans. Additionally, he has advised an undergraduate honors thesis and helped 12 undergraduate teams present research posters at Penn State’s Undergraduate Research Exhibition.
Beyond the classroom, Habashy co-advises EARTH House, a living learning community on the University Park campus for students interested in food, agriculture and natural resources. To foster interdisciplinary partnerships, he initiated meetings with the coordinators of Penn State’s global health and humanitarian engineering programs to launch a dialogue series exploring critical topics in global development.
In addition, Habashy has published research on international development, local community perspectives on global partnerships, global learning, and the scholarship of teaching and learning. He has extensive intercultural experience, having lived in five countries — Canada, Costa Rica, Egypt, Honduras and the U.S. — and worked in or visited more than 40 other nations.
Another nominator of Habashy for the award was his colleague, Melanie Miller Foster, associate teaching professor of international agriculture.
“In more than a decade of knowing and working alongside Dr. Habashy, I can say without hesitation that he embodies the qualities of an outstanding teacher,” she said. “He is innovative, reflective, and above all, deeply dedicated to the success and well-being of his students.”