Agromedicine director wins national Professional Recognition Award

Dr. Robin Tutor Marcom (ECU photo)

Dr. Robin Tutor Marcom, director of the North Carolina Agromedicine Institute, has received a national award for her work in educating North Carolina employers and workers on pesticide safety.

Tutor Marcom was honored with the American Association of Pesticide Safety Educators (AAPSE) Professional Recognition Award earlier this year. The award is a culmination of the work Tutor Marcom and her team have done since 2009 to ensure that agricultural workers and their employers understand and follow the strict rules on the use of respiratory protection for anyone using pesticides labeled for respiratory protection in agricultural production. Tutor Marcom focused on disseminating information and regulations from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

“Knowing that others value our work not just now but for the past 12 years is especially meaningful,” Tutor Marcom said. “Among all of the things I’ve done in my career, it is one of the bodies of work that I’m most proud of, and to know that others also value it means a great deal.”

The N.C. Agromedicine Institute is a University of North Carolina inter-institutional institute whose partners are East Carolina University, N.C. State University and N.C. Agricultural and Technical State University. The institute also partners with the agricultural community, other universities, businesses, health care organizations, governmental agencies and other organizations to identify and address health and safety risks of farmers, foresters, fishermen, their families and communities in North Carolina. Tutor Marcom leads the institute, which is led by ECU and housed at the West Research Campus in Greenville.

The timing of the Professional Recognition Award, Tutor Marcom said, was even more poignant because of the additional challenges to ensuring pesticide safety that the pandemic presented.

“As early as the end of February 2020, I became aware that agricultural operations were not going to be able to comply with these rules due to the inability to obtain respiratory protection as respirators were diverted to health care,” Tutor Marcom said. “Operations were also not able to obtain in-person medical evaluations required prior to using respirators due to restrictions on in-person visits.”

Tutor Marcom and her team immediately alerted the N.C. Department of Agriculture & Consumer Services, the EPA and other agencies.

“Our work to bring attention to PPE shortages, obtain changes in policy and work behind the scenes to make sure farmers and farmworkers had what they need to be safe amidst a global pandemic has been especially challenging,” she said.

Tutor Marcom and institute employees work across the state to ensure the health and safety for one of North Carolina’s largest industries. She said the award represents the institute’s commitment to the difference agricultural workers make to our daily lives.

“In the day-to-day scheme of things, it is definitely not about me or the institute — it is about the individuals working in agriculture,” she said. “To be recognized by my peers from other states and a national organization is also very humbling. I have to say I cried when I received the news; I had no idea and was so very touched. I work with great people who share my zeal for educating farms about pesticide safety.”

Dr. Robin Tutor Marcom, director of the North Carolina Agromedicine Institute, hands protective masks and disinfectant wipes to Tracy Taylor, owner of Stone Mountain Farms in Vilas. (Photo courtesy Appalachian State University)

The institute’s reach goes beyond those directly involved in the farming and agriculture communities. Tutor Marcom also acknowledged leadership in the Division of Health Sciences for allowing her the freedom to pursue solutions for the agricultural community in tangible ways. The institute also takes opportunities to teach medical students and other students in the division about agricultural safety and health through the course MPH 6036 Fundamentals of Agromedicine. Tutor Marcom and Jessica Wilburn, AgriSafe nurse coordinator, recently taught respiratory protection to the Hawaii Department of Agriculture as well.

“To think that our work transcends nationally is phenomenal,” Tutor Marcom said, “and to be able to expand capacity of future providers in the field is especially important and supported by administration and collaboration with other colleges and departments on campus.”

When the EPA expanded its safety regulations for pesticides in 2009, Tutor Marcom was contacted by state groups concerned that no other organization had the means to help ensure that the new rules were learned and followed. The institute worked closely with the N.C. Tobacco Trust Fund and Pesticide Environmental Trust Fund to develop a respiratory protection program — the only organized state response in the nation.

“We have literally trained individuals from all the U.S. states, territories and many native American reservations using the model we developed,” Tutor Marcom said. “I had no idea that one phone call would change my life. To know that others value our work and see us as the “go-to” organization for expertise in the field is such an honor.”

Tutor Marcom’s passion for service to the agricultural community and for teaching others about the importance of safety come from a family entrenched in farming and a love of working with the earth.

“I grew up on a multi-commodity farm in Orange County, N.C., that my grandparents purchased in the early 1900s. It supported them for their lifetime and eight of their nine children for their lifetimes,” she said. “I married a sharecropper’s son that returned to farming after retiring from the military. My son and his wife are farmers, and my grandchildren are growing to love the farm.

“For the past 21 years, I’ve been able to blend my personal passion with my professional commitments. It the best of both worlds. The people who live and work in agriculture are so dedicated to their work and care so much about not just what they do but ensuring that they take good care of the land and the environment. It is my honor to serve them.”

Tutor Marcom carries those roots with her wherever she goes to serve and as she leads the N.C. Agromedicine Institute.

“I take service and being a voice for all who work in agriculture very seriously,” she said. “The day that I can’t be of service to them is the day I need to retire and go home. I believe that I and the institute as a whole have an incredible responsibility to give voice to those who work in agriculture and are often invisible. I call this giving face to our food — we need to realize it didn’t just appear, but came due to the toil of many, many others.”