The first Leu Distinguished Lecture was in 1998 and served as the beginning of an annual lecture to honor the grassland heritage of Nebraska. Frank and Margaret Leu had a deep passion for education and vision for sustaining the stewardship of the Nebraska grasslands for future generations. Through the knowledge and insights of the Leu Distinguished Lecturers, Frank and Margaret Leu's vision is now and forever part of our grassland legacy.
Current and past year's Leu Distinguished Lecturers are listed below.
2023 — Alexander Smart
Protecting and sustaining South Dakota Grasslands
Dr. Alexander “Sandy” Smart has worked in grassland management for over 30 years. He received a BS degree in Soil Science in 1989 and an MS degree in Agronomy in 1992 from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and a Ph.D. in Range Management from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln in 2001. He joined the Animal and Range Sciences Department at South Dakota State University (SDSU) as an assistant professor of Range Science in 2001. He was promoted to full professor in 2011 and served as assistant department head of the Department of Natural Resource Management from 2019-2021. Since 2021, he has served as the Senior Agriculture and Natural Resources Program Leader for SDSU Extension. Throughout his career he has taught several range science course, conducted research in grazing managment and rangeland improvements, and performed outreach in support of the South Dakota Grassland Coalition. Most recently, he leads a team of Extension, NRCS, and the Mid-Missouri River Prescribed Burn Association in a woody plant control effort to protect South Dakota’s grasslands from eastern redcedar tree encroachment. He is an active member of the South Dakota Section of the Society for Range Management (SRM), has served and led national SRM committees, and was recently named a Fellow of SRM at the 2023 Annual Meeting.
2021 — M. Francesca Cotrufo
Advancing Understanding of Soil Organic Matter to Address XXI Century Wicked Challenges
Dr. M. Francesca Cotrufo is a professor in the Department of Soil and Crop Sciences at Colorado State University (CSU). She earned B.Sc. from the University of Naples, Italy and Ph.D. from Lancaster University, UK. Prior to join CSU in 2008, she worked as a professor at University of Campania, Italy. Dr. Cotrufo is a soil ecologist and biogeochemist, internationally recognized for her work in the field of litter decomposition and soil organic matter dynamics, and in the use of isotopic methodologies in these studies. She strives to advance understanding of the mechanisms and drivers of formation and persistence of soil organic matter, and their response to global environmental changes and disturbances. She uses this understanding to improve modelling of soil C-climate feedbacks to inform climate and land use policy and management. She also pursues applied research to innovate and increase throughput of soil carbon and health testing, and to propose soil management practices that regenerate healthy soils and mitigate climate change. As a scientist fully aware of the current and future challenges expecting humanity, Dr. Cotrufo is interested in promoting research education, and outreach activities to help mitigating the current human impacts on the Earth System and assure a better sustainable path for humanity. Dr. Cotrufo is editor of the journal Global Change Biology. To date she published over 130 peer-reviewed articles and several book chapters. She has been the recipient of the SSSA Soil Science Research Award, the CSU Provost 14’er Award for Faculty Excellence, and the ASA-CSSA-SSSA Mentoring Award. Recently, she was recognized as Nutrien Distinguished Scholar of Agricultural Sciences, SSSA Francis E. Clark Distinguished Lecturer, and CSU Distinguished Resident Ecologist.
2020 — Sam Fuhlendorf
Grassland Management in the Anthropocene: Should We Look to Aldo Leopold or George Jetson?
Dr. Sam Fuhlendorf is a Regents Professor and Groendyke Chair in Wildlife Management in the Department of Natural Resource Ecology and Management (NREM) at Oklahoma State University. He will be the 2020 Leu Lecturer for the CGS Fall Seminar Series and will be presenting on rangeland ecology, conservation, pyric herbivory, and monitoring.
2019 — Martin Massengale
A 25-year Review of the Center for Grassland Studies
Martin A. Massengale is President, Chancellor, Founding Director and Foundation Distinguished Professor Emeritus of the University of Nebraska. A native of Kentucky, he received his Bachelor of Science degree from Western Kentucky University and his master’s and doctorate degrees from the University of Wisconsin. A nationally renowned agronomist, Dr. Massengale has extensive teaching, administrative and research experience. He is a Certified Professional Agronomist and a Certified Professional Crop Scientist and has served as an agricultural consultant to Brazil, Mexico, Saudi Arabia, the U.S.S.R., Indonesia, Morocco, as well as throughout the United States. Dr. Massengale served on numerous boards of directors for larger financial institutions, insurance companies, hospitals, and communication organizations within the state. He currently serves on the Board of Directors of the Nebraska State Historical Society Foundation and the Lincoln Rotary Club #14 Foundation along with chair of its Investment Committee. Dr. Massengale was named Nebraskan of the Year in 2017.
2018 — Chuck West
Role of Forage Crops and Grazing in the Water-Limited Texas High Plains
West's current research concentrates on quantifying the water use of forage crops and pastures as affected by grazing management in an effort to integrate forages into row-crop systems as a way to reduce the use of irrigation water while sustaining profitability of Texas High Plains agricultural systems. His recent work is on integrating grazing systems into a cotton systems, and provide an analysis of the water footprint of beef stocker systems as affected by the inclusion of alfalfa in a predominant grass system. West received his bachelor of science and master's degree in agronomy from the University of Minnesota - St. Paul, and his doctorate in crop production/physiology from Iowa State University. He directs and coordinates the Texas Coalition for Sustainable Integrated Systems Research and the Texas Alliance for Water Conservation.
2017 — David Briske
A Rangeland Odyssey: From Equilibrium to Non-equilibrium and Beyond
David D. Briske is the T.M. O’Connor & Regents Professor in the Department of Ecosystem Science & Management at Texas A&M University. His scholarship and pedagogy have focused on the ecological function and management strategies of global rangelands throughout his career. His initial research addressed the physiology and demography of grasses, it then progressed to ecological resilience and climate change, and he is currently investigating rangelands as social-ecological systems. He served as the Editor-in-Chief of the journal Rangeland Ecology & Management from 2008 to 2015. He has edited and contributed to the volumes entitled Conservation Benefits of Rangeland Practices (USDA 2011) and Rangeland Systems: Processes, Management and Challenges (Springer 2017).
2016 — Paul Genho
Fifty Years: Looking Back, Looking Forward
Paul Genho is a Visiting Professor at the University of Florida, and an independent consultant to various agricultural firms. He served as President of Farmland Reserve, Inc., and Chairman of the Board of AgReserves, Inc. from 2005-2014, retiring from that position in June 2014. Prior to that, he managed Deseret Ranches of Florida for 17 years before moving to King Ranch in Texas where he was Vice President and General Manager for seven years. Dr. Genho has a doctorate in animal science from the Univeristy of Florida and has served in numerous leadership positions within the National Cattlemen's Beef Association, scientific, agricultural, and academic communities. He has over 50 years of experience in acquiring and managing agricultural properties worldwide.
2015 — Greg Lardy
Trends Driving Change in the Beef Industry
Dr. Lardy received his bachelor degree in animal and range sciences from North Dakota State University (NDSU), a master’s in animal and range sciences, ruminant nutrition from the University of Missouri, and a doctorate in animal science, ruminant nutrition from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. Prior to his current appointment as department head, he was the state beef cattle specialist at NDSU. Areas of expertise include cow-calf nutrition, beef cattle management, use of alternative feedstuffs in beef cattle diets, and forage supplementation.