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K-State Today

February 28, 2022

Megan Ronnebaum and AJ Tarpoff recognized as Professional Staff and Professor of the Week

Submitted by Faculty Senate

Ronnebaum and Tarpoff

Megan Ronnebaum, program/project consultant in the finance department, and AJ Tarpoff, associate professor and extension specialist in the animal sciences and industry department, were recognized as Professional Staff and Professor of the Week at the Feb. 26 men's home basketball game.

Faculty Senate, the Office of the President, K-State Athletics and the Division of Communications and Marketing wish to recognize their contributions to K-State.

Ronnebaum has gone above and beyond the regular duties assigned to her in the transition to being fully online and adjusting to the presence of COVID-19. She worked tirelessly over the summer and fall, staying late after work and working weekends to ensure things ran smoothly. Ronnebaum quickly became an invaluable asset to the Student Success Center and throughout the College of Business. What has truly stood out this year is her ability to quickly adapt and be innovative during the pandemic to design and lead programs in a virtual environment, including employer networking, mock interviews, Meet the Firms, etc. She is a master of Zoom technology and used her creativity to host virtual events with 200-plus attendees as well as develop the Employer Network Hub to replace in-person tabling in the building atrium. Due to her work, the college consistently receives positive comments from employers on how well-organized events have been since the beginning of the pandemic. In addition, Ronnebaum volunteered to take on additional responsibility to provide relief to another team member dealing with difficult circumstances. Ronnebaum is an exceptional team member and always willing to help her colleagues. 

A K-State alumnus, Tarpoff returned to campus as the beef extension veterinarian in 2016 after several years in practice. He was promoted to associate professor in 2021. Tarpoff has a 70% extension, 20% research and 10% teaching appointment. While in practice, his focus was herd-based cattle production medicine, research field trials, hands-on feedlot employee training, disease surveillance and mitigation, and Federal Import/Export duties. At K-State, he works closely with producers, practicing veterinarians, and members of industry to bring relevant extension and education that improves cattle health and the productivity of the beef industry. Tarpoff's work has been recognized by the American Society of Agricultural and Biological Engineers and the Midwest Section of the American Society of Animal Science.