Provided

W. Ronnie Coffman, left, and the president of the American Society of Agronomy, Lee Sommers of Colorado State University.

W. Ronnie Coffman, international professor and chair of plant breeding and genetics and director of International Programs for the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences at Cornell, has received the American Society of Agronomy's (ASA) 2005 International Service in Agronomy Award.

He received the award for his outstanding contributions to agronomy through education, national and international service and research at ASA's annual meeting, Nov. 6-10, in Salt Lake City.

Coffman is co-director of the Agricultural Biotechnology Support Project with active projects in West Africa, East Africa, South Asia and Southeast Asia. Previously he served as associate dean for research and as director of Cornell's Agricultural Experiment Station and as a plant breeder at the International Rice Research Institute in the Philippines. A member of the Cornell faculty since 1981, Coffman earned his B.S. (1965) and M.S. (1967) degrees at the University of Kentucky and his Ph.D. (1971) from Cornell.

ASA is an educational organization that helps its members advance the disciplines and practices of agronomy by supporting professional growth and science policy initiatives.