The University of Arkansas has appointed Indian American scholar Rupesh Kariyat as co-director of the Wally Cordes Teaching and Faculty Support Center, where he will serve a three-year term.
Kariyat joins continuing co-directors Edward Holland, associate professor of geosciences, and Aysa Galbraith, teaching associate professor in the first-year engineering program.
He succeeds Hope Ballentine, who recently finished her three-year term at the center, which was established in 1992 to support faculty development, classroom innovation, and student success initiatives.
A scholar of Indian origin, Kariyat began his higher education in India, earning a bachelor’s degree in agricultural sciences from Kerala Agricultural University.
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He continued his academic studies in the United States, receiving a master’s degree in agronomy with an emphasis in plant breeding and genetics from the University of Wyoming, followed by a doctorate in plant biology focused on insect-plant interactions from Pennsylvania State University.
He later completed postdoctoral work at Penn State and ETH Zurich in Switzerland, and served as a National Science Foundation Vision and Change Teaching Fellow at Penn State.
Currently, Kariyat works as a professor in the Department of Entomology and Plant Pathology within the Dale Bumpers College of Agricultural, Food and Life Sciences. He also holds the Clyde H. Sites Professorship in International Crop Physiology and maintains affiliations with the university’s Cell and Molecular Biology and Environmental Dynamics graduate programs.
Before joining the University of Arkansas faculty in 2022, he served on the faculty at the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley.
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In his instructional role, Kariyat teaches courses in insect pest management, insect behavior, and chemical ecology, working directly with undergraduate, graduate, and honors students. His approach relies on personal connections and varied teaching strategies tailored to students with diverse backgrounds and learning needs.
His educational efforts have earned widespread professional recognition. Kariyat received the Entomological Society of America’s 2024 Distinguished Achievement Award in Teaching, was named the November 2024 Wally Cordes Chair, earned a Faculty Applause Award in 2025, and received a 2026 Outstanding Faculty Mentor Award.
His honors also include the national award for Excellence in Education from the American Society for Plant Biologists, a North American Colleges and Teachers of Agriculture Educator Award, and multiple teaching commendations from the center he now helps lead.
In his new leadership position, Kariyat aims to strengthen engagement among tenure-track and non-tenure-track faculty members while advocating for expanded recognition and rewards for teaching excellence across all career stages.