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by patricksward

CALS Innovation in Teaching Award

I was recently awarded the UF College of Agricultural and Life Sciences (CALS) Innovation in Teaching Award. This award is given annually to faculty and “[r]ecognizes innovative teaching practices through the eyes of students.” In 2026, the award was given to six faculty members, out of the 600 or so faculty members in the College. I am truly honored and humbled by this recognition, because it is the result of a student nomination (validated by other criteria like course evaluations and a recommendation from my chair). Alena Poulin, FRE Communications Specialist, wrote a blog post about my award:

FRE Associate Professor Patrick Ward Recognized with CALS Innovation in Teaching Award 
by patricksward

Mr. Two-Bits

Like me, the original Mr. Two-Bits, George Edmonton, Jr., never went to the University of Florida. He attended the Citadel for two years, but with the US involvement in World Ward II, he joined the US Navy and flew F6F Hellcats in the Pacific theater. After the war, he settled in Tampa and sold insurance. In 1949, a friend gave him a ticket to see The Citadel play against the Florida Gators in the season opener for both teams. The Gators had lost five of their last six games the previous season, and were not expected to do a whole lot better in the 1949 season. When the fans booed the players and coaches even before the opening kickoff, Edmonson decided to try and boost the players’ morale by leading fans in a cheer: “Two bits! Four bits! Six bits! A dollar! All for the Gators, stand up and holler!” It may seem like a corny cheer in 2026, but evidently in 1949, it was quite catchy. The fans loved it, and the Gators won the game. Fans were so enthusiastic about it that Edmondson returned the next Saturday to lead the cheer again. He led the “Two-Bits” cheer at almost every home game for the next 60 years before retiring after the 2008 season, whose home finale was, of all things, against The Citadel again. UF finally made him an honorary alumnus in 2005, and he took to calling it his new alma mater.

George Edmonson, Jr. died in 2019 at the age of 97.

Since 2013, a lucky alum or student contest winner has been selected to be an honorary Mr. Two-Bits and join Albert the Alligator at midfield to lead the famous Two-Bits cheer during pregame festivities. The Florida Gators and the University Athletic Association made a video about the Mr. Two-Bits tradition featuring the late Mr. Two-Bits himself.

Since 2023, I have been honoring the Mr. Two-Bits legacy by dressing as Mr. Two-Bits on Fridays before Gator home games. The FRE Department communications specialist, Alena Poulin, wrote a blog post about this tradition, and we made a little promotional video.

by patricksward

A gender-responsive approach to designing agricultural risk management bundles

Click to access 136904.pdf

Here is a link to a recent project note on the potential for direct seeding of rice may reduce risks associated with rice cultivation in rained areas of eastern India. We find that a major issue is that women transplant their rice much later than men, primarily because of challenges that they face in accessing labor for transplanting operations. As a result, crop models predict that they get lower yields in expectation, and due to less predictable rainfall later in the monsoon season, their rice is also exposed to more production risk. 
 
In terms of next steps: We’re now looking at direct-seeded rice as a way to help address the labor-related challenges that women farmers face, because our simulations are showing that this could be beneficial in improving yields and reducing risks especially for (predominantly women) farmers who transplant later in the season.