James Knight honored with emeritus status
James Knight, professor of animal sciences in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences at Virginia Tech, has been conferred the title of professor emeritus by the Virginia Tech Board of Visitors.
The emeritus title may be conferred on retired faculty members who are specially recommended to the board by Virginia Tech President Tim Sands in recognition of exemplary service to the university. Nominated individuals who are approved by the board receive a copy of the resolution and a certificate of appreciation.
A member of the Virginia Tech community for more than 49 years, Knight made significant research contributions to reproductive biology in pigs and in fertilization and embryo growth and development, resulting in more than 200 peer-reviewed scientific abstracts and journal publications.
Knight co-authored a book that was selected by Choice Magazine of the American Library Association for Outstanding Academic Books for 1990–91. In addition, he served on numerous grant review panels including the National Institutes of Health, U.S. Department of Agriculture, and other funding agencies.
Knight received numerous awards as an educator, including the inaugural Diggs Teaching Scholar Award, the W.E. Wine Award, the CALS Certificate of Teaching Excellence, the Virginia Tech Gamma Sigma Delta Teaching Award of Merit, the Southern Region United States Department of Agriculture Excellence in College and University Teaching Award, and induction into both the Academy of Teaching Excellence and the Academy of Faculty Service at Virginia Tech. In the classroom, he taught a wide variety of undergraduate and graduate courses in reproductive biology reaching more than 8,000 students.
Throughout his career, Knight served as a permanent member of the departmental Promotion and Tenure Committee, mentoring a vast majority of junior faculty and conducting most of the teaching evaluations of the academic unit.
Knight received his bachelor’s degree in animal sciences from the University of Louisiana at Lafayette and a master’s and doctoral degree in reproductive physiology from the University of Florida. He completed postdoctoral work at the University of Missouri.
Written by Emily Southern, a senior majoring in multimedia journalism and student writer for Virginia Tech Marketing and Communications
