Baker honored with honorary American FFA Degree

MACOMB, Ill. — Western Illinois University Professor Emeritus Andy Baker was recognized with the honorary American FFA Degree, a national award given to individuals or organizations for exceptional services to agricultural education or the FFA.

“This recognition is the greatest honor you can receive from the National FFA Organization, so it is very endearing to me as my wife and I plus our own children were FFA members,” Baker said.

“I had the opportunity to pursue my love of agriculture not through production agriculture, but by teaching the subject and preparing others who have the desire to teach this subject to others.”

Baker retired from WIU in June after spending 11 years as the director of the School of Agriculture.

He said he always strived to treat students fairly and educate them not only in agriculture, but leave them with a new perspective.

“All of my WIU students that graduated from the agricultural education program have received a plaque stating, ‘Students may not remember what they were taught, but they will always remember how they were treated,’” he said.

“This has been my philosophical approach throughout my tenure as a teacher educator. Make sure you listen to your students and always find and identify their potential.”

Throughout Baker’s career, there have been many advancements in agriculture, but he said there is one philosophy that has remained constant: the three-circle agricultural education model.

The three circles encompass classroom instruction, FFA and supervised agricultural experiences — and those tenets will remain strong at WIU, Baker said.

“As an agricultural education teacher, use the FFA and SAE to enhance your classroom instruction through FFA career development and leadership events, as well as allow your classroom instruction to expand student agricultural opportunities through supervised agricultural experiences,” he said.