Professor Brian Warnick Recognized for Excellence in Training Tomorrow's Teachers

For more than two decades, Professor Brian Warnick has helped prepare the educators who bring career and technical education and skills to classrooms across Utah and beyond.

That work has earned him recognition from the Association for Career and Technical Education as its 2027 Region V Teacher Educator of the Year. Region V includes the 11 western states, plus the Dakotas, Nebraska, Kansas, Alaska, Hawaii, and Guam.

The award recognizes outstanding CTE teacher educators who demonstrate innovation, commitment to students, and dedication to strengthening career and technical education in their institutions and communities.

“I have been truly blessed throughout my career to work with remarkable students and colleagues,” said Warnick, a USU professor of agricultural education in the S.J. & Jessie E. Quinney College of Agriculture & Natural Resources. “Helping prepare and support Career and Technical Education teachers has been incredibly rewarding, especially knowing the impact they will have on their own students and communities.”

Warnick knows firsthand the impacts excellent high school and middle school teachers can have on students, because he taught agriculture in the Box Elder School District for seven years before earning his doctorate at Oregon State University and then joining the faculty at Utah State in 2004.

At USU, Warnick has helped prepare educators in agricultural education, technology, and engineering education, as well as family and consumer sciences education. His work has included teaching courses in instructional methods, curriculum, assessment, and leadership, as well as supervising student teachers and mentoring graduate students.

Warnick has also held several leadership roles at the university. He served as associate dean for academic programs and student services from 2014 to 2022 and later as CTE director and head of the Department of Technology, Design and Technical Education from 2022 to 2024.

In those roles, Warnick supported curriculum development, statewide partnerships, stackable credential initiatives, and efforts to expand access to technical education throughout Utah.

Today, Warnick continues that work as a professor of agricultural education, helping prepare educators to lead engaging, high-quality CTE programs and equip their students for success in school, careers, and their communities.

“Brian brings the same commitment to his teaching and mentoring that he brought to his leadership roles,” said Becki Lawver, head of the Department of Applied Sciences, Technology & Education. “Having started his career as a high school agriculture and science teacher, he understands firsthand the difference a great CTE teacher can make in a young person's life. He has spent his career preparing and supporting both classroom teachers and Extension educators who will make that same difference for their students and communities. As a colleague, Brian is incredibly dependable, generous with his time, and always willing to take on whatever is needed. He doesn't seek recognition for what he does. He simply cares deeply about students, teachers, and the future of career and technical education.”

Warnick is one of five finalists for the 2027 ACTE Teacher Educator of the Year national award. The national winner will be announced during the ACTE Awards Gala on Dec. 2.