Ephraim Muchada Govere, director of the Soil Research Cluster Lab in the Department of Ecosystem Science and Management, was recently named as a recipient of the College of Agricultural Sciences 2016 William Henson Diversity Award.

"He has demonstrated commitment to fostering an environment in which the values of diversity and multiculturalism are understood, developed and promoted," wrote his nominator. "That is shown by the cultural events Govere organizes for his department, the staff he has hired and the university events in which he has been involved."

However, his promotion of diversity goes beyond the college and the university. He has given cultural talks to every elementary school in State College through the Global Connections international speakers program, and he has participated in cultural-diversity panel discussions at Mount Nittany Medical Center to help healthcare providers develop cultural skills to provide care for an increasingly diverse Penn State student, faculty and staff population.

Govere, who teaches AG160: Introduction to Ethics and Issues in Agriculture each summer, was an invited speaker for the Eastern Analytical Symposium and Exposition in 2015. His topic was "What is Your Cultural Competence Level as a Laboratory Manager?" Since he gave the presentation, he has been asked to contribute diversity articles by several groups, including the Association of Laboratory Managers.

He also published an academic paper titled "Toward Culturally Competent Scientists: As International Collaboration Becomes Increasingly Common, Researchers Must Work to Limit Their Own Biases and Let Cultural Diversity Enhance Their Work." He was recently approached by the commissioning editor of the Analytical Scientist -- a publication distributed worldwide - to write a diversity paper addressing cross-cultural competence.