AMES, Iowa—Teaching all people about the importance of agriculture and the many ways that it overlaps with daily life is Katie Hartmann’s passion.
Hartmann, the newly hired adjunct assistant professor and agricultural education extension specialist at Iowa State University, looks forward to providing an agricultural education that all students and Iowans can access.
“I’m interested in educational equity and making sure that all communities are reached, rural and urban, migrant and indigenous,” said Hartmann. “If a community doesn’t have equal access to agricultural education and agricultural extension, then that can really impact all aspects of their life.”
Hartmann earned her Ph.D. in educational equity at Colorado State University, where she studied extension educators in indigenous communities in the West, including forming collaborations with the 1994 Tribal Land-Grant Colleges and Universities Program.
She teaches in the Science with Practice program, where students gain real world experience by working alongside faculty and staff in university research laboratories, farms, greenhouses and other places.
“Katie brings a unique skillset and experiences that position us well to advance the university mission of serving all Iowans,” said Michael S. Retallick, professor and chair of the Agricultural Education and Studies Department at Iowa State University. “Her previous work as an educator, researcher, and partnership builder will be an asset.”
According to Hartmann, agriculture overlaps with health, culture, tradition, family, economics and society. She looks forward to serving Iowans and the north central region of extension.
“I feel that my work in the west was really successful on the regional level, and now that I’m in Iowa, I look forward to reaching the diverse and urban communities of the Midwest,” she said.
Katie and her husband, Michael Martin, live on a small diversified farm near Boone, where they keep a variety of animals and pets. Martin is an associate professor in Agricultural Education and Studies.
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