CF Agribusiness Professor Honored with Distinguished Faculty Award

Tavis Douglass, associate professor and program manager of the Agribusiness program at the College of Central Florida, has received the prestigious Dale P. Parnell Distinguished Faculty award by the American Association of Community Colleges. This national honor recognizes faculty who support students inside and outside of the classroom, participate actively in college committees and go above and beyond in their commitment to student success.

Professor Douglass, who started as an adjunct at the college in 2012 and became full-time faculty in 2019, has utilized his extensive background in managing agricultural farms to revolutionize the Agribusiness program’s curriculum. At the college’s 103-acre Vintage Farm Campus, he has implemented hands-on, experiential learning with cutting-edge agricultural activities including the use of drones for crop data collection and the application of pesticides, as well as high-tech irrigation systems equipped with remote soil sensors and weather stations.

During the pandemic, Douglass creatively recorded over 140 lectures, significantly enhancing his students’ learning experience. He has also developed several invaluable partnerships with local and state agricultural organizations to enhance the program. As a longtime member of the Florida Farm Bureau, Douglass has leveraged the promotion of the Agribusiness program—the lone of its kind in the Florida College System—to reach more than 300 middle and high school agricultural instructors, along with 60,000 students to emphasize the benefits of state certifications.

Professor Douglass holds a Bachelor of Science in Agricultural Operations Management and a Master of Arts in Agribusiness Management from the University of Florida. His achievements include recognition as one of Ocala Magazine’s “40 Under 40” Future Leaders, Grow Gainesville Speaker of the Year and recipient of CF’s STARS Award for excellence and dedication in the classroom.

For more information about the Agribusiness program and other offerings at the College of Central Florida, visit www.CF.edu/Agribusiness.