Rate My Professor Shannon Arnold

Shannon Arnold is a Professor in the Department of Agricultural and Technology Education at Montana State University, with expertise in extension and non-formal education. She earned her Ph.D. in Agricultural Education from the University of Florida in 2007, M.S. in Agricultural Education from Texas A&M University-Commerce in 2003, and B.S. in Animal Science from Texas A&M University. Prior to her academic career, Arnold worked for ten years in the agricultural industry, including roles as a dairy herdsman, reporter for the USDA Agricultural Marketing News Service, regional supervisor and outreach educator for a cattle genetics company, and high school agriculture teacher. These experiences fueled her pursuit of advanced education in extension and her current position at MSU, where she holds a 75% teaching appointment focusing on extension and non-formal education for youth and adults, outreach programming for agricultural professionals, program development and evaluation, and equine-guided education.

Arnold teaches courses such as Women in Agriculture and advises students interested in agricultural communications, leadership, and extension careers. Her research interests include non-formal education, agritourism, and extension professional development. Key publications include "Farm to Forum: Exploring Agritourism as a Site for Tactical Rhetorics" (2025), "Extension Education Trends and Research Needs" (2022), "Influences on Agricultural Agents' Decisions to Remain in an Extension Career" (2010), "Career Influences of Agricultural Extension Agents" (2010), and "Are Land-Grant Universities Promoting the Tripartite Mission? Extension's Online Presence" (2012). She received the 2021 Distinguished Agricultural Extension Educator Award from the American Association for Agricultural Education and serves as the Western Region Director for the North American Colleges and Teachers of Agriculture. Arnold leads the Montana Agritourism Fellows Program funded by Western SARE (2022-2025), which established the Montana Agritourism Association and organized conferences to promote sustainable agritourism. She also received a 2025 Montana Department of Agriculture Specialty Crop Block Grant for assessing agritourism impacts.