The late Joseph W. Keaschall, the late William (Bill) Robert Raun and the late James J. Vorst, University of Nebraska–Lincoln alumni, received the Department of Agronomy and Horticulture 2024 Alumni Lifetime Achievement Award. They will be honored at the department’s Spring Banquet at the Nebraska East Union on Friday, April 4, 2025.
This award is the highest honor bestowed upon graduates of the department who have made significant contributions to their community, state and nation through professional service, public service and/or civic engagement.
Keaschall was a successful corn breeder for 32 years at DuPont Pioneer, now Corteva Agriscience, and was responsible for developing one of the parents of the highest-volume hybrid ever sold in the United States. He played a key role in developing systems for the conversion of conventional lines to contain and express biotech traits, such as insect resistance. His research focused on improving drought tolerance and enhancing and stabilizing crop yields in Nebraska and globally. He helped develop Aquamax, a drought-tolerant product, and gained expertise in precision phenotyping. He was passionate about teaching, motivating and leading students, farmers and employees.
Keaschall grew up on a crop and livestock farm near Ravenna, Nebraska. He earned a bachelor’s degree in agronomy with high distinction in 1978 and a master’s degree in plant breeding and genetics in 1980, both from Nebraska. In 1983, he earned a doctorate in plant breeding and genetics at Purdue University, specializing in sorghum breeding.
After graduating from Purdue University, he went to work for Corteva Agriscience.
In 2016, Keaschall joined the Department of Agronomy and Horticulture faculty as a plant breeding professor of practice with the goal of inspiring and educating future plant breeding scientists and research associates.
Raun was a world-renowned contributor to the understanding of nitrogen efficiency, soil spatial variability and precision seed orientation efforts. He contributed to the development of the GreenSeeder, a precision hand planter designed for marginal landscapes in Africa, Central and South America. He was a key member of the team that developed the GreenSeeker nitrogen sensor, a handheld sensor used in agriculture to monitor crop health, assess nitrogen needs and optimize fertilizer application rates across fields worldwide.
Raun grew up in Minden, Nebraska. He earned a bachelor's degree in agronomy and turf management in 1979, and a master’s degree in agronomy and soil fertility in 1982, both from Oklahoma State University. In 1985, he completed his doctoral degree in agronomy and soil science at Nebraska.
From 1985 to 1991, Raun served as a regional maize agronomist for the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center in Guatemala and Mexico. He joined the Department of Plant and Soil Sciences at Oklahoma State University in 1991, where he was named the Regents Professor of Plant and Soil Sciences, Melvin and Mary Jones Distinguished Professorship of Agronomic Sciences and the Walter R. Sitlington Chair in Agriculture.
Vorst was a founding father of the International Certified Crop Adviser program, established by the American Society of Agronomy in 1992. Renowned for his expertise in learner-directed, competency-based education, Vorst led the development of the learning objectives, protocols and exams for certifying agronomy professionals to demonstrate their agronomic knowledge. Today, the CCA program is the largest and most recognized agriculturally oriented certification program in North America and has expanded internationally, reaching countries such as India.
Vorst also led the development of guides used nationally for Technical Service Provider training for the United States Department of Agriculture Natural Resources Conservation Services.
Born on the family farm in Cloverdale, Ohio, Vorst earned his bachelor’s degree in agricultural engineering from Ohio State University in 1964 and completed his master’s degree in agronomy and turf management also at Ohio State in 1966. He earned his doctoral degree in crop physiology and production from the University of Nebraska–Lincoln in 1969.
Vorst was a professor of agronomy at Purdue until his retirement in 2009.
Full biographies of award recipients are available at https://agronomy.unl.edu/our-people/alumni/alumni-lifetime-achievement-award-2024/
This award was founded in 2016 to recognize alumni who have enhanced the reputation of the department and the university by distinguishing themselves in their careers. Honorees are selected by the Agronomy and Horticulture Alumni Advisory Council.
