A Manchester College professor known for taking his students on down-and-dirty research treks into rivers and streams has been named Indiana's professor of the year.

Jerry Sweeten was one of 38 teachers from across the nation who received national awards Thursday from the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching and the Council for the Advancement and Support of Education.

The 56-year-old Sweeten heads the environmental studies program at Manchester College about 30 miles west of Fort Wayne.

He regularly leads his students on research trips to rivers and streams in Alaska, Florida and Indiana to study endangered fish, freshwater mussels and other animals.

Manchester President Jo Young Switzer says Sweeten is a rare instructor who links scholarship to active student research.