TIFTON, Ga. — Deidre Martin, chief development officer at Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College, received the E. Lanier Carson Award for College Administrators, during recent faculty recognition programs.

Usually presented at the Honors Day ceremony in April, the awards were announced at various meetings across campus in the recipient’s school of study or office unit.  Honors Day was cancelled by the COVID-19 pandemic as ABAC and the other 25 colleges and universities in the University System of Georgia taught classes online for the final weeks of the spring semester and the entirety of the summer term.  ABAC plans to return to in-person instruction when the fall semester begins on Aug. 12.

Employed at ABAC for the past five years, Martin had a long career at the University of South Carolina Aiken where she was the Vice Chancellor for Advancement before moving back to the family farm near Omega.  Under her leadership, fundraising totals have increased for the past three years at ABAC.

“Every day, I am given the opportunity to be part of an organization where the work we do is transforming lives,” Martin said.  She received her bachelor’s degree from Berry College, her Master’s degree from Georgia State University, and her Education Doctorate from the University of South Carolina. Erin Porter, an associate professor of agricultural engineering, received the top award presented to a faculty member at Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College when she recently received the W. Bruce and Rosalyn Ray Donaldson Award for Teaching Excellence.

Other award recipients honored included: Clayton Riehle, administrative assistant in the Office of Technology Services, received the Roy R. Jackson, Sr., Award for Staff Excellence; Frank Flanders, associate professor of agricultural education, received the W. Bruce and Rosalyn Ray Donaldson Excellence in Advising Award; and Jason Scott, associate professor of wildlife, received the W. Bruce and Rosalyn Ray Donaldson Award for Excellence in Student Engagement.