We are pleased to present our 2025 CFAES Alumni Award Recipients
Each fall, the College of Food, Agricultural, and Environmental Sciences Alumni Society Board hosts the CFAES Alumni Awards recognizing a distinguished few of our more than 46,000 living alumni. Their contributions and achievements in their chosen fields are creating a lasting impact locally and globally.
This year, we celebrate five individuals for their extraordinary successes and service. With backgrounds and careers spanning landscape policy and governance, Ohio cooperative communities, sustainability, Extension Education, and food safety, this year’s honorees not only exemplify how alumni sustain life but also what it means to be a Buckeye for life.
Join us on Friday, October 3 to celebrate these exceptional alumni. To register for this complimentary event, visit go.osu.edu/CFAESHomecomingWeekend
International Alumni Award
Gulsah Ozcan Sinir
MS ’10 Food Science
Bursa, Türkiye
Gülşah ÖZCAN SİNİR obtained BS in Food Engineering from Trakya University in Türkiye, where is her home country. Gülşah awarded a prestigious scholarship from the Turkish Ministry of Education and attended The Ohio State University from 2008-2010, earning Msc. in Food Science. Gülşah earned her PhD from Bursa Uludağ University in 2016. She worked as a research and teaching assistant during her PhD and had post-doctoral studies at both Bursa Uludağ University and the Ohio State University. Gülşah is working as an Associate Professor of Food Science at Bursa Uludağ University. She was also hold an associate scientist position for 4 months at the J. Heyrovský Institute of Physical Chemistry, CAS in the frame of the EU Researcher Mobility Project to develop rapid and non-destructive analytical methods for foods with SIFT-MS in 2022.
Dr. ÖZCAN SİNİR’s research interests are optimizing mass spectrometry methods for the determination of the geographical origin of a food product and adulteration, food flavor release from different matrices, and various fruit and vegetable processing techniques.
She is holding the Associate Chair position of the Department of Food Engineering in Bursa Uludağ University since 2023. She contributes quality and accreditation commissions, serves as a jury member in graduate student recruitments, and takes an active role in the curriculum development committee of the department.
Over her career, she has interacted with nearly 900 students in the classroom; 10 national and international research projects; taught 9 undergraduate and 3 graduate classes; published 28 peer-reviewed journal articles; written 5 book chapters; and delivered more than 25 research talks at prestigious science conferences; 1 patent application.
Gülşah lives with her husband, 6 and 12 years old daughters in Bursa, Türkiye. They like to travel both domestic and across the world and discover ancient ruins and eat traditional foods.
Distinguished Alumni Award
Steve E. Reinhard
BS ’91 Agricultural Economics, Agricultural Education
Bucyrus, Ohio
Steve Reinhard grows corn, soybeans, malting barley, hay, and wheat with his brother, Tim, in Bucyrus, Ohio. He is a ninth-year director and currently serves as Past Chair of the United Soybean Board and Executive Committee. He previously served as Chair, Vice Chair, Treasurer and Demand Action Team Chair on the executive committee.
Steve is a member and past chair of the Ohio Soybean Council and past chair of the Ohio Expo Center and State Fair. He is also a member of the Ohio Soybean Association, Ohio Corn Growers, and the Crawford County Farm Bureau and Cattlemen’s Association. Steve was previously an agricultural education teacher and FFA advisor. He served inthe Ohio House of Representatives, as a county commissioner, and was a volunteer firefighter for 23 years. Steve is an active member of the Martin Luther Lutheran Church.
Steve believes market development and determining the value of technology are issues facing the soybean industrytoday. He believes new industrial uses, new food uses, and new market development are opportunities for the industry.
Distinguished Alumni Award
Dr. Bruce McPheron
BS ’76 Entomology
Kenton, Ohio
Bruce McPheron became an entomologist at the age of 11, and he has The Ohio State University to thank. A chance encounter with insect displays at the Union County Fair led to entomology projects in Ohio 4-H, and the die was cast.
Bruce completed his undergraduate education in entomology at Ohio State in 1976, and he went on to earn a masters and doctorate in entomology at the University of Illinois – with a break in the middle to serve Ohio 4-H as a 4-H educator in Clermont County, Ohio. A 25-year career at Penn State University followed, where his Ohio State roots led him to wear red socks under his blue pants for many Saturdays over the years.
During his time at Penn State, his research took him around the world working to develop genetic tools to understand the movement of important agricultural pests. He served as dean of the College of Agricultural Sciences at Penn State before returning home to Ohio State to serve as dean and vice president in CFAES. Bruce became Ohio State’s executive vice president and provost in late 2015, a position that he held for nearly 6 years.
Returning to his roots, he rejoined the Ohio State Entomology faculty for the final 3 years of his career, with an opportunity to once again teach undergraduate students. Bruce was honored as an elected fellow of both the Entomological Society of America and the American Association for the Advancement of Science for his contributions to science and higher education.
Throughout his career, he was constantly supported by his wife Marilyn (Turner), whom he met putting up a 4-H booth at the Hardin County Fair, his children Neale and Brenna, and many, many colleagues.
Meritorious Service Award
Dr. Thomas B. Turner
BS ’70 Animal Sciences
Somerset, Ohio
Dr. Thomas B. Turner’s impact on the Ohio beef industry and young people is far reaching. His dedication to education and developing youth has been a lifelong commitment. Dr. Turner has taken his love of the beef industry, which was a passion as a child and made it his career.
Throughout his career after graduating from Ohio State in 1970, Dr. Turner was dedicated to livestock improvement and the development of students. From his position as an extension agent in Clinton County to receiving a PhD from the University of Tennessee, followed by a State Extension position at Virginia Tech, he came full circle, returning to Ohio State in 1979 where he coached 32 Intercollegiate Livestock Judging Teams that included 266 students. Dr. Turner is the longest serving coach in the 122-year history of the Ohio State program and the second longest in the history of the program in the United States. As students, these young people were All Americans, High Individuals and collectively won numerous contests including the National Contest. As graduates they are doctors, lawyers, college deans, company presidents, PhD’s, MBA’s, veterinarians, teachers, salespeople, farmers, commodity executives and a host of other careers in and out of the livestock industry.
Dr. Turner was instrumental in developing an endowment program to secure the longevity of The Ohio State University Livestock Judging program opportunity and has raised over 1.6 million dollars from alumni, breeders and industry affiliates in donations and trust funds. This is by far the most successful judging team endowment in the nation and is precedent setting.
Dr. Turner touched the lives of over 3,000 students in the classroom through his teaching of Introductory Animal Science, Beef Production, Applied Quantitative Genetics, Genetic Improvement of Beef Cattle, Livestock Evaluation and Selection as well as student advising, both undergraduate and graduate level, throughout his career
Industry wide activities include serving as President of the Ohio Cattlemen’s Association and Ohio Shorthorn Breeders Association and terms on the Ohio Beef Council Operating Committee, American Shorthorn Association board of directors and he currently serves on the ASA Foundation Board.
Dr. Turner has been honored with the Industry Service Award, Industry Excellence Award and the Environmental Stewardship Award from the Ohio Cattlemen’s Association, awarded the Perry County Conservation Farmer of the Year and was inducted into the Ohio Agricultural Hall of Fame.
Dr. Turner has judged more than 1,000 shows over his career throughout the U.S. as well as Canada, Australia, New Zealand and England. A highlight was meeting Her Majesty the Queen at the English Royal where he selected the Burke Trophy Interbreed Champion and the trophy was presented by the Queen.
Young Professional Achievement Award
Dr. Kristy Shaw
BS ’14 Animal Sciences
Pleasantville, Ohio
Dr. Kristy Shaw was raised in Hocking County, Ohio on a family-owned beef cattle farm. She was very active in 4H and FFA and earned her FFA American Degree. She attended The Ohio State University for her undergraduate studies, where she obtained a Bachelor of Science degree in Agriculture, majoring in Animal Sciences in 2014. She completed her Doctor of Veterinary Medicine (DVM) degree at OSU as well, graduating in 2018. Throughout her time at OSU she participated in a variety of internships including working on a whitetail deer farm, The Columbus Zoo and Aquarium, The Ohio Cattlemen’s Association, The National Cattlemen’s Beef Association, and Select Sires.
Following graduation Kristy joined a mixed animal veterinary practice in Southeastern Ohio for a year and a half. Kristy joined the Ohio Department of Agriculture (ODA) in 2019 as a field veterinarian with the Division of Meat Inspection where she covered the southwestern region of the state. In the fall of 2021, she transferred to ODA’s Division of Animal Health as the Emergency Preparedness and Disease Programs Coordinator.
In December of 2021 she stepped into the role of Assistant State Veterinarian (ASV), a position which she still holds today. In her role as the ASV she oversees the field operations team, assists with oversight and management of the Animal Health division, coordinates meetings, exercises and talks both internally and with external stakeholders and industry, and is an active participant in the National Assembly of State Health Officials (NASAHO) and the United States Animal Health Association (USAHA). She is also a member and on various committees within the American Veterinary Medical Association, Ohio Veterinary Medical Association, and the American Association of Bovine Practitioners.
Other boards and committees she has been a part of including the OSU CFAES Alumni Board, OSU Center for Emerging and Infectious Diseases Advisory Board, and the National Animal Disease Preparedness and Response Program Consultation Board. Lastly, Kristy stepped into the role of Acting State Veterinarian within ODA for 6 months during 2025 while the current State Veterinarian was on extended military deployment. While in that role, she assisted with a variety of Division wide activities including the ongoing Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza (HPAI) response in Ohio, Emergency disease preparedness planning for Foot and Mouth Disease, African Swine Fever, and New World Screwworm as well as budget, personnel, and program oversight.
Kristy and her husband, Brice, have two sons and currently reside in Fairfield County.