Justin Kastner

A professor at Kansas State University (KSU), past honors program director (2013-2016), and ordained minister, Justin Kastner helps others in their academic, career, and life development. Dr. Kastner leads activities for several academic units at KSU, offers holistic perspectives on pedagogical innovation, and provides experiential learning through the Frontier Field Trip (FFT) model. Dr. Kastner holds graduate degrees from the United Kingdom and Canada (PhD, University of Guelph; PgDip, University of Edinburgh; MSc, London South Bank University) and teaches and publishes in a range of domains: the global food system and trade policy, economic history, the history of public health, veterinary history, globalization and cross-border cooperation, environmental health, multidisciplinary thinking and writing, and the theory and practice of interdisciplinary scholarship. He has designed, pioneered, and taught several graduate and undergraduate courses on the main KSU campus (in the College of Veterinary Medicine as well as the University Honors Program), the KSU Olathe (Kansas City) campus (in the School of Applied and Interdisciplinary Studies), and online (through KSU's Global Campus). A Truman (1997), Fulbright (1998-1999), and Rotary (1999-2000) scholar with experience in local government (city commissioner, 1995-97, in Manhattan, Kansas) and global governance (World Trade Organization, Geneva, 2000), Dr. Kastner is committed to public service. He has superintended $2.5M in STEM (e.g., U.S. Departments of Homeland Security and Agriculture) and capacity-building (USDA Cochran program) training-grant programs for foreign governments (Egypt, Thailand, Malawi, Kenya, Uganda, Honduras, El Salvador, Guatemala, St. Lucia, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Grenada, and Paraguay). The Frontier Field Trip (FFT) model, pioneered with Dr. Jason Ackleson (Virginia), is operationalized in these trainings and, most notably, in several student-centered excursions. Indeed, many students have uniquely fed their intellectual curiosity through participation in memorable FFTs to international trade ports of entry, private-sector firms, policymaking offices, libraries, and museums from coast to coast. FFTs typically feature skill-development activities in interdisciplinary thinking, problem solving, and writing; opportunities to connect with fellow students and mentors; and, supremely, a refreshing chance to (re)discover the joy of scholarship. Recognizing that the present is rooted in the past, FFTs often include archival research, creative re-enactments of key public health events, and other history-themed activities focused on the agriculture and food system. Past FFTs have involved visits to California to learn about the history and management of critical water infrastructure, as well as creative mystery-themed reenactments of historically significant foodborne and waterborne outbreaks. One of the most recent FFTs (the 43rd in the history of the program) involved travel to the National Library of Medicine, where public health and pre-med students found some remarkable primary source documents including one authored by a medical professor who was an inspiration for Arthur Conan Doyle's Sherlock Holmes! Dr. Kastner currently serves as a member of the College of Veterinary Medicine caucus in K-State's Faculty Senate. Separate from his K-State duties, the Rev. Dr. Kastner is an ordained priest (Anglican Church in North America, diocese of Churches for the Sake of Others), and routinely gives talks related to faith and life purpose.