None shone brighter at the annual 1890 Association of Research Directors Biennial Research Symposium than Dr. Lila Karki. The associate professor of agricultural economics was awarded the 2026 McKinley Mayes Mentoring Award on March 31 during the event’s awards banquet. The prestigious award recognizes an ARD member, or a research scientist, committed to mentoring early career faculty or students at an 1890 land-grant university.
“Dr. Karki has been an asset to UMES over the past six years as an agricultural researcher, extension specialist and most fitting for this award, a faculty member and mentor. He is deeply invested in his mentees and truly cares about their success,” said Dr. Moses T. Kairo, dean of UMES’ School of Agricultural and Natural Sciences.
In his 30 years of experience spanning industry, government and academia, Karki lead or collaborated on agricultural research projects with funding totaling more than $10 million. His research areas included: the economics of year-round forage and pasture production, agroforestry (alley cropping) practices, capacity building for small-scale and limited-resource producers, urban agricultural, heirs’ property and financial literacy.
Karki is committed to ensuring his mentees complete their degrees on time and are augmented by experiential learning and professional development opportunities, Kairo said. He has involved graduate students in research, scientific writing for co-authorship on peer-reviewed publications, and presenting findings through presentations at scholarly conferences. His mentees have earned awards at such activities.
More than 1,500 attendees gathered in New Orleans from March 28-31 to provide a forum for “interactions, knowledge sharing, building networks for expanded partnerships and to showcase the talents and achievements of the 1890 community.”
Gail Stephens, agricultural communications, University of Maryland Eastern Shore, School of Agricultural and Natural Sciences, UMES Extension, gcstephens@umes.edu, 410-621-3850.
Photo by Kara Nuzback, agricultural communications, University of Maryland Eastern Shore, School of Agricultural and Natural Sciences, UMES Extension, kanuzback@umes.edu.
