Cameron Jack

Friends of IPM Awards

The mission of the Southern IPM Center is to champion the development and adoption of integrated pest management (IPM), the science of managing pests while protecting people, the environment and economy. Each Regional Center engages broadly with stakeholders to identify and address regional pest priorities in agriculture, communities and natural areas.

Since 2003, the Southern IPM Center (SIPMC) has worked with USDA, Land Grant universities, Extension, and many other partners in promoting and facilitating the development and implementation of IPM in many settings across the region.

Many of these partners have contributed to the region’s well-being for years or even decades.

IPM Educator Award

The IPM Educator Friends of IPM award recognizes a teacher or group of teachers who successfully teach IPM techniques with successful educational programs that have inspired others to practice IPM

Dr. Cameron Jack

Cameron Jack, University of Florida
Dr. Cameron Jack is an Assistant Professor in the Entomology and Nematology Department at the University of Florida. He specializes in apiculture and researches insect and fungal pests of honey bees.

Dr. Jack emphasizes IPM principles in all nine undergraduate and graduate courses he teaches at the University of Florida. His course “Beekeeping I, ”a favorite among undergraduate students,” highlights the importance of using IPM principles to reduce pesticide dependence and control honey bee pests. His passionate advocacy for IPM is evident in his lectures and inspires the next generation of scientists and IPM practitioners.

Outside the classroom, Dr. Jack offers effective, practical lectures, online and in person, to beekeepers, growers, and the general public through the University of Florida’s “Master Beekeeper Program.” Over 4,500 people have learned about IPM in apiculture from Dr. Jack because of the Master Beekeeper Program.

Dr. Jack participates in train-the-trainer programs for University of Florida Extension Agents and Florida Apiary Inspectors. During these training events, Dr. Jack shares beneficial IPM techniques, such as monitoring strategies for honey bee pests and how to select appropriate control treatments.

Although he has no formal Extension appointment, Dr. Jack promotes IPM principles in all Extension activities and tools he creates. He readily answers emails from beekeepers worldwide, writes pest control fact sheets for beekeepers, and teaches workshops on managing biological stressors of honey bee colonies using IPM practices.

Dr. Jack also significantly impacts Extension through IPM articles and presentations. In 2021, Dr. Jack authored a refereed manuscript on the IPM of the Varroa destructor mite, a devastating biological threat to honey bees that has recently expanded its range into Australia. As a result, Australian beekeepers frequently contact Dr. Jack for his valuable input on how best to control and slow the spread of the Varroa destructor.

a sign of honey bee varroa mite, Georgia Department of Agriculture, Bugwood.org

Dr. Jack has delivered over 190 IPM-focused presentations to beekeepers and other stakeholders at association meetings ranging from regional groups to state assemblies. Dr. Jack’s instructive presentations advance IPM knowledge and promote the value of IPM to a wide audience.

Despite his relatively short career, Dr. Jack has published several impactful Extension documents that equip stakeholders to utilize IPM principles to monitor and control honey bee pests. Since publication, his articles have been viewed nearly 40,000 times.

Through his courses, outreach programming, and Extension articles, Dr. Jack’s diligent efforts and extensive educational reach champion the adoption of IPM in the state of Florida and the southern region.

2024 Professional Awardees

IPM Hall of Fame: Dr. Gene Reagan* (posthumous award), LSU AgCenter
IPM Hall of Fame: Dr. Phillip Kaufman, Texas A&M
IPM Hall of Fame: Dr. Brian T. Forschler, University of Georgia
IPM Hall of Fame: Dr. Jawwad Qureshi, University of Florida
Pulling Together: Emerging Viruses in Cucurbits Working Group
- Led by Dr. Rebecca Melanson, Mississippi State & William (Bill) M Wintermantel, USDA-ARS
IPM Communicator: Mr. Elmer W. Gray, University of Georgia
IPM Educator: Dr. Cameron Jack, University of Florida
IPM Implementer: Mr. Dan Killingsworth, Environmental Security Pest Control
Future Leader: Dr. Tommy Butts, University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture