Dermot Hayes, professor, Pioneer Chair in Agribusiness, and Charles F. Curtiss Distinguished Professor in Agriculture and Life Sciences, was honored by Iowa State's 25 Year Club for his 35 years with the university. Resuming its annual in-person banquet to honor members reaching notable anniversaries, the 25 Year Club gathered on Feb. 28 at the Scheman Building to celebrate 110 Iowa State faculty and staff -- a group that represents a combined 3,260 years of university service.
Club president Rob Wallace, associate professor of ecology, evolution and organismal biology, said holding the banquet is a return to tradition after last year's banquet was canceled due to pandemic precautions. Instead of the banquet, those honored last year received a voucher for a free meal at a local restaurant. No matter their role on campus, long-serving employees are essential to Iowa State, Wallace said. While change is constant and necessary on a university campus, the institution also is steeped in history. Faculty and staff with decades of experience help navigate that balance between old and new, making the long view clearer, he said.
Hayes gave as his notable achievement, accomplishment or milestone as “Teaching Econ 101 to the Ag Business students for more than 30 years," and his favorite memory as "The day I found out I was going to be tenured.”
Congratulations, Dermot!