Bradley Jakubowski named recipient of 2022 Excellence in Education Award
FAIRFAX, VIRGINIA (July 29, 2022) — The Irrigation Association is excited to announce that Bradley Jakubowski, of The Pennsylvania State University, is a recipient of the 2022 Excellence in Education Award, sponsored by Hunter Industries. This award recognizes an outstanding educator who teaches irrigation, water management and/or water conservation in affiliation with a two- or four-year institution and has a commitment to not only elevating the level of education but also promoting the field of irrigation as a viable and sustainable career to students.
Bradley Jakubowski is an instructor of plant and turfgrass. When he joined Penn State in 2017, he began to transform theory-based turf science and landscape irrigation courses by redeveloping them, nearly from scratch, to incorporate both instructional theory and hands-on troubleshooting and design. Jakubowski has developed entire courses around irrigation, water management and water conservation. During the pandemic, he transformed his garage into an irrigation instruction studio, complete with multiple camera angles and staged irrigation equipment.
“Bradley Jakubowski has shown an extraordinary commitment and dedication to the success of his students,” said IA CEO Natasha Rankin, MBA, CAE. “His efforts and creativity to ensure that both his in-person and remote students get valuable, hands-on instruction is continuing to help build a highly skilled irrigation workforce.”
Jakubowski is a regular presenter for trade associations and academic institutions and organizes three turfgrass conferences in Pennsylvania in cooperation with the Pennsylvania Turfgrass Council. Jakubowski has attended and presented at the IA landscape Faculty Academy events and currently serves on the Faculty Academy Planning Committee.
“I am greatly honored to be recognized by the Irrigation Association with the 2022 Excellence in Education Award. I feel fortunate for the opportunities I’ve had to work with students and practitioners from all walks of life in the areas of water and irrigation management,” said Jakubowski. “Empowering students with the knowledge of how irrigation, water management and conservation all work together to sustain our future is incredibly rewarding, and I am proud to be considered a part of this association and industry.”
In addition to Jakubowski, this year’s Excellence in Education Award was also presented to Charlie Abee, CAIS. These and the other 2022 IA award recipients will be honored during the 2022 Irrigation Show and Education Week in Las Vegas Dec. 5-9. More information about this and other IA awards and past recipients can be found at www.irrigation.org/awards.