Jill M. D. Motschenbacher, MEd, PhD
Associate Professor of Practice in Soil Conservation
School of Natural Resources

Students can build an intellectual foundation for problem-solving and managing challenges by viewing contrasting ideas and perspectives as ‘stunning patterns of colorful transformation’. Increasing discipline knowledge in production agriculture by developing tangible connections between scientific principles, food and fiber system development, and events in human history is a necessary step for modern scientists as they strive to develop resilient systems. Building on students’ scientific knowledge to learn and reflect on the parallel influences of social, economic, and civil structures affecting ecological system functioning, food security, cultural sovereignty, and environmental health enables students to fully grasp the historical foundations, motivations, advances, and outcomes of global and local agricultural systems across time. In life, developing resilience in food production systems can be comparable to a ‘dynamically rotating mosaic’ of solutions, which should all be embraced as instinctive innovative strengths. Resilience, from a personal viewpoint, is a learned skill that centers on exposure and experience. The core highlight of my academic scholarship centers around teaching resilience in agriculture, exposing individuals to diverse facets that define the realities of communities across the world, and providing experiences for students to reflect on the cause-and-effects of their own problem-solving trials.

Background Information: My teaching and mentoring approaches are shaped by over 25 years of professional experience and academic study in the disciplines of agriculture, engineering, and education. Much of my agriculture-related work and experience has been in field-crop production systems located in and around the United States (Arkansas, Iowa, Tennessee, North Dakota, Minnesota), and locations in Kenya, Uganda, the Philippines, and, in the near future, Namibia. I have multi-year experience working and living with populations of adult learners, first-generation college students, active military personnel and Veterans, Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC), LGBTQIA+ communities, New Americans, academic scholars, domestic and international farmers, K-12 students, and college students from a range of rural-to-urban backgrounds. My collection of rich living experiences has strengthened my ability to explain balanced insights into situations which encompass diverse people, beliefs, economic structures, and food systems. I use these experiences as inspiration to investigate, analyze, and instruct students about practical methods towards creating resilient agricultural systems and food secure communities.

Please RSVP to Sarah sarah.thorell@unl.edu by April 15th. Pizza Lunch.