George Shook, emeritus professor of dairy science and Corey Geiger BS’95 dairy science were recognized for their achievements by the University of Wisconsin–Madison College of Agricultural and Life Sciences (CALS) on Thursday, Oct. 19 at its annual honorary recognition banquet and ceremony.
CALS presented its Honorary Recognition Award to Geiger and its Distinguished Service Award to Shook.
These are the highest honors bestowed by the college. The Honorary Recognition Award, now in its 114th year, recognizes individuals who have made significant contributions to their professions, their communities and the university. The Distinguished Service Award, first given in 1994, recognizes meritorious service by CALS faculty and staff members.
Corey Geiger
Geiger made a career of assessing the information and leadership needs of the dairy industry as managing editor of Hoard’s Dairyman. He has worked tirelessly to bring the best scientific, managerial and policymaking information to dairy producers and their organizations and led the launch of Hoard’s Dairyman China. Geiger has been involved in youth development initiatives since his CALS undergraduate days, and his resume boasts a lengthy list of key leadership roles in organizations such as the Wisconsin Holstein Association, Holstein Association USA, World Dairy Expo, Alpha Gamma Rho, and others. In addition to his professional contributions and leadership roles, Geiger operates his six-generation family farm and published two award-winning books centered on family, farm life and America’s Dairyland. Geiger recently took a position as Lead Industry Analyst – Dairy at CoBank, one of the largest private providers of credit to the U.S. rural economy.
George Shook
Since arriving on campus as a graduate student in 1963, George Shook MS’65 PhD’67 has devoted his career to promoting, serving and supporting the dairy industry in the state of Wisconsin. After becoming a faculty member in 1967, Shook undertook the UW’s mission of research, teaching and outreach. His research contributions were many, including the development of a mammary health score used internationally for both herd management and genetic improvement. His teaching accomplishments made him an invaluable member of the faculty. It was his goal to create lifelong learners, and he pushed the envelope on teaching methods of the time. He encouraged the independent study of course materials in order to maximize face-to-face discussion between students and professors. This method is now recognized as the flipped classroom model, which is used across CALS, the UW and universities worldwide. A passionate mentor, Shook provided guidance to hundreds of undergraduate and graduate students over his career.