Written by Dr. Shelli Rampold, ALEC Faculty
The Agricultural Leadership, Education, and Communications (ALEC) department recently recognized and celebrated Dr. Carrie Stephens for her 20 plus years of service to the University of Tennessee. Stephens, who is currently a full professor of agricultural leadership in the department, is credited with modernizing what we know as today’s ALEC department. Her vision, skill, and endurance have been a driving force behind the growth and success of ALEC.
Stephens began her career as the first female agricultural education faculty in the state. She later stepped into the field of agricultural leadership, where she devoted much of her work to empowering women to succeed in leadership positions across the agriculture industry through her courses, research, and mentorship. Over the past twenty years, Stephens has also dedicated her career to service to the department and institute through her roles on student committees, as a graduate coordinator, and as a mentor to new faculty.
In honor of Dr. Stephens and her accomplishments, we asked those she has impacted around her to describe their experiences. Collectively, her colleagues and students noted her optimism and can-do attitude, her vision, her commitment to the department and the institute, her compassion, and her sense of humor as some of her defining attributes.
Christopher Stripling, ALEC Department Head, worked closely with Stephens as the second of only two faculty members when he first began his tenure in ALEC. “I remember when I first started here, and Carrie would come in all decked out in UT spirit for Big Orange Fridays. I’d see her coming down the hall in her checkered overalls and bright orange wig with a big smile on her face,” recalls Stripling. Long-time colleague and associate professor in ALEC, Jennifer Richards, reiterated these sentiments and described Stephens as having “effusive cheer and optimism.”
Dr. Stephens is also known widely for having a kind and supportive mentorship style with those around her. “I can’t tell you the number of times I walked into the office clearly upset, and Carrie always had a comforting word, encouragement, and just complete support,” said Richards. Students have also noted their appreciation of the supportive mentor style Stephens demonstrates. Colleen Baker, a former ALEC graduate assistant, said, “I appreciate Dr. Stephens so much as a person because she is always supportive and uplifting, which is especially nice in an advisor.”
Our department has grown substantially over the past twenty years, and Stephens has been and continues to be a driving force behind that growth. The ALEC department is set to launch a new PhD program in the spring, which has been a vision of Stephens for twenty years. “She has undeniably been the shepherd of graduate education in our department,” said Stripling.
We are thankful for Dr. Stephens and the profound impact she has on our department and university.
