Texas A&M College of Agriculture and Life Sciences celebrates achievements

The Texas A&M University College of Agriculture and Life Sciences celebrated faculty member career milestones and honored recipients of the Dean’s Outstanding Achievement Awards and Association of Former Students awards on April 29 in a virtual ceremony.

The ceremony was officiated by Patrick J. Stover, Ph.D., vice chancellor of Texas A&M AgriLife, dean for the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, and director of Texas A&M AgriLife Research.

“Not only are we recognizing excellence in teaching, research and service, but we are recognizing how that excellence was achieved in the midst of very trying circumstances,” Stover said.

“Our faculty and staff rose to the occasion in delivering on our mission, serving our students and stakeholders in the midst of the pandemic,” he added. “The excellence achieved by all our award winners reflects the excellence we’ve seen all across the College.”

New faculty

Six new faculty members joined the College in 2020-2021:

• Caleb Boardman, lecturer and livestock judging coordinator, Department of Animal Science.
• Lauren Coheley, Ph.D., instructional assistant professor, Department of Nutrition.
• Leslie Kelso-Winemiller, Ph.D., instructional associate professor, Department of Ecology and Conservation Biology.
• Yong Liu, Ph.D., assistant professor, Department of Agricultural Economics.
• Sarah Schobert, lecturer and horse judging team coach, Department of Animal Science.
• Briana Wyatt, Ph.D., assistant professor, Department of Soil and Crop Sciences.

Tenured and promoted faculty

Several tenure-track faculty members earned tenure and promotion to associate professor in the past year:

• Claudio Casola, Ph.D., Department of Ecology and Conservation Biology.
• Michelle Lawing, Ph.D., Department of Ecology and Conservation Biology.
• Holli Leggette-Archer, Ph.D., Department of Agricultural Leadership, Education and Communications. 
• Junjie Zhang, Ph.D., Department of Biochemistry and Biophysics.

And, two faculty members earned the title of full professor:

• Theresa Murphrey, Ph.D., Department of Agricultural Leadership, Education and Communications.
• Matthew Taylor, Ph.D., Department of Animal Science.

Among non-tenure-track faculty, four people earned a promotion. Those promoted to instructional associate professor:

• Kalu Senarath Dharmasena, Ph.D., Department of Agricultural Economics.
• Angela Durko, Ph.D., Department of Recreation, Park and Tourism Sciences. 
• Kati Stoddard, Ph.D., Department of Plant Pathology and Microbiology.

Furthermore, Craig Coates, Ph.D., Department of Entomology, associate dean for inclusive excellence within the College, was promoted to instructional professor.

Association of Former Students college-level teaching awards

Since 1982, the Texas A&M University Association of Former Students, AFS, has honored superior teachers who maintain high expectations, ensure academic rigor, motivate students and contribute to students’ overall development.

Receiving an AFS College-level Teaching Distinguished Achievement Award this year were:

• Andy Herring, Ph.D., John K. Riggs Beef Cattle Professor, Department of Animal Science.
• Theresa Murphrey, Ph.D., professor, Department of Agricultural Leadership, Education and Communications.
• Kati Stoddard, Ph.D., instructional associate professor, Department of Plant Pathology and Microbiology.

Dean’s Outstanding Achievement Awards

Since 2012, the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences’ Dean’s Outstanding Achievement Awards have celebrated the accomplishments and excellence of faculty, staff and students. The award winners’ dedication to excellence and their positive impacts are crucial to fulfilling the College’s land-grant mission.

• Administration: Cliff Lamb, Ph.D., department head, Department of Animal Science.
• Advising and Student Relations: Cecilia Tamborindeguy, Ph.D., associate professor, Department of Entomology.
• International Impact: Reinaldo Cooke, Ph.D., associate professor, Department of Animal Science.
• Service: Tonya Shepherd, Ph.D., senior research associate, Department of Entomology.

Research awards

• Early Career Research: Ky Pohler, Ph.D., assistant professor, Department of Animal Science.
• Research: Luis Tedeschi, Ph.D., professor, Department of Animal Science.

Teaching awards

• Early Career Teaching: Julie Howe, Ph.D., associate professor, Department of Soil and Crop Sciences.
• Educational Enrichment and Innovation: Shawn Ramsey, Ph.D., professor and assistant head for undergraduate programs, Department of Animal Science.
• Teaching: Susan Scott, associate department head and lecturer, Department of Recreation, Park and Tourism Sciences.

Staff excellence awards

• Austin Johnson, facilities coordinator III, Department of Biochemistry and Biophysics.
• Carla Smith, administrator II, Department of Entomology.
• Jamie Norgaard, administrator I, Dean’s Office.

Student awards

• Graduate Research: Charles Farber, Department of Biochemistry and Biophysics.
• Graduate Teaching: Trent Schwartz, Department of Animal Science.
• Undergraduate Research: Walker Crane, Department of Soil and Crop Sciences.

Stover concluded the presentation by congratulating the award winners.

“You are an inspiration to me and certainly an inspiration to everyone within the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences,” he said.

“I want to reiterate, all of our faculty and staff have risen to the occasion this past year and you all deserve recognition,” he added. “You have my heartfelt thank you for all that you’ve accomplished this past year.”