Edward Deckard brings the real world to the classroom and makes a positive student experience his top priority. Deckard teaches several plant sciences courses, including three with wife and NDSU instructor, Brenda Deckard.

“My heart is in teaching and learning,” he said. “There is a saying, ‘What comes from the heart, enters the heart of students.' So, I relate the content of my courses to the forces shaping the world, which also influence our smaller world.”

Deckard engages students in lively discussions and tries to help students see things from different perspectives. His goal is to help each student succeed in academics and life. He often engages his students by touching on topics outside the world of plant sciences. 

“I sincerely care about each student, not just class academics, but as a person with goals, hopes and dreams,” Deckard said. “I love what I do. I try to help a student get to a place where their heart resides and where they will love what they do. I try to have discussions about resilience, the importance of community, judgement of self and others, the fallacy of chasing perfection or the importance of balance, the power of listening from the heart and that we are all more than we appear.”

Deckard earned his bachelor’s degree in agronomy in 1965 from Purdue University in Indiana. He earned his doctorate in agronomy and crop physiology from the University of Illinois-Champaign in 1970.  He joined the NDSU faculty in 1970.