Virginia Tech’s College of Agriculture and Life Sciences recently recognized alumnus Mark Cline as its Outstanding Recent Alumni of the year.

Cline — who received his bachelor’s degree in animal and poultry sciences in 1999, his master’s degree in 2002, and his Ph.D. in 2005 in the same field — was also recognized this year by the Department of Animal and Poultry Sciences as its outstanding recent alumnus. The event was held at The Inn at Virginia Tech and Skelton Conference Center on March 16, 2012.

A professor at Radford University since 2002, Cline has a stellar record of excellence in teaching, research, and service. Cline has an exemplary history of securing grant funding, generating significant and important research scholarship, and mentoring students for subsequent success in top graduate and professional programs. The fact that he does all this while teaching up to 18 credit hours per semester make it all the more admirable.

Cline has a passion for teaching and brings an original and innovative approach to his classroom that emphasizes critical thinking and understanding instead of rote memorization.

“I am very grateful to my past professors at Virginia Tech,” Cline said. “There, I learned to believe in myself and how to do science. I attribute my professional successes as a ‘teaching’ professor because I mimic how my past professors inspired me to reach for higher levels. Through my ongoing research collaborations with APSC faculty, Virginia Tech continues to inspire me.”

In 2008, Cline received the Radford University Foundation Distinguished Creative Scholar Award, the highest honor bestowed by the university for original research. In 2011, he was awarded the College of Science and Technology’s Excellence in Teaching Award. He has developed significant new insights into understanding appetite regulation and is developing a nationally recognized program in obesity research. He has published 38 peer-reviewed research articles in the past five years, all with undergraduate students as co-authors.

 

 

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