Shuangyu Xu, assistant professor in the School of Natural Resources, received the CAFNR Golden Apple Award Thursday, Nov. 14, 2024, in a surprise ceremony led by Bryan Garton, Senior Associate Dean and Director of Academic Programs, Sonja Wilhelm Stanis, Associate Director of the School of Natural Resources, and staff from CAFNR’s Office of Academic Programs.

To be eligible for the Golden Apple Award, professors must exhibit clarity, variability and enthusiasm in their instruction. Faculty must be accessible to students, helpful, personable and act as a mentor. They should provide multiple opportunities to learn and clearly established objectives and expectations.

“Currently, Dr. Xu is SNR’s sole professor of tourism, a discipline which represents the second largest industry in the state of Missouri,” said nominator Pat Market, Director of the School of Natural Resources. “As such, she is a high-profile representative of her discipline across the state as well as nationally. Her research, which has an international reach, is also becoming well known and consumes much of her time. She is a rising start in her field.”

In addition to praise by her students for her enthusiasm, passion for her work and course materials, Xu has also attended teaching workshops and engaged in the scholarship of teaching. This year, Dr. Xu’s paper was accepted by the Journal of Hospitality & Tourism Education, exploring faculty members’ role in fostering students’ sense of belonging during short-term study abroad experiences.

“Dr. Xu embodies the qualities that a teacher aspires to — she is inspirational, an industrious role model and a good citizen to the School of Natural Resources (SNR),” said Market. “She began her teaching career with all of those attributes and continues to hone them with every year she is in a classroom.”