Texas A&M College of Agriculture and Life Sciences bestows honors

The Texas A&M University College of Agriculture and Life Sciences honored faculty, staff and students with Dean’s Outstanding Achievement Awards, recognized Association of Former Students teaching awards and celebrated faculty member career milestones on Oct. 13.

The ceremony in the Shirley and Joe Swinbank ’74 AgriLife Center was introduced by Jeffrey W. Savell, Ph.D., vice chancellor and dean for Agriculture and Life Sciences.

“Our people and their accomplishments are what make our College of Agriculture and Life Sciences exceptional,” Savell said. “Their commitment to living out the core values of Texas A&M has created a College we are proud of and pushes the envelope of agriculture and life sciences. I’m honored to work alongside these outstanding people.”

Association of Former Students college-level teaching awards

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

Annually, The Association of Former Students provides support and funds to reward outstanding teachers in the College. Receiving an AFS College-level Teaching Distinguished Achievement Award this year are:

• Rodolfo Cardoso, Ph.D., associate professor, Department of Animal Science.
• Kevin Conway, Ph.D., associate professor, Department of Ecology and Conservation Biology.
• Mollie “Megan” Reynolds, Ph.D., senior lecturer, Department of Biochemistry and Biophysics.
• Robert Strong, Ph.D., associate professor, Department of Agricultural Leadership, Education and Communications.

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.

Teaching awards

• Early Career Teaching: Ashleigh Faris, Ph.D., instructional assistant professor, Department of Entomology.
• Teaching: Jessica Leatherwood, Ph.D., associate professor, Department of Animal Science; and Julie Howe, Ph.D., professor, Department of Soil and Crop Sciences.
• Educational Enrichment and Innovation: Donna Lee Sullins, Ph.D., instructional assistant professor, Department of Recreation, Park and Tourism Sciences.

Research awards

• Early Career Research: Anjel Helms, Ph.D., assistant professor, Department of Entomology.
• Research: Binayak Mohanty, Ph.D., professor, Department of Biological and Agricultural Engineering; and Shaodong Guo, Ph.D., professor, Department of Nutrition.

Service awards

• Service: Yuxiang Sun, Ph.D., professor, Department of Nutrition.
• Faculty Mentoring: Micky Eubanks, Ph.D., professor, Department of Entomology.
• International Impact: Rabi Mohtar, Ph.D., professor, Department of Biological and Agricultural Engineering.
• Inclusive Excellence: Kathrin Dunlap, Ph.D., instructional associate professor and associate department head, Department of Animal Science.
• Administration: Aaron Tarone, Ph.D., professor and associate department head, Department of Entomology.

Staff excellence awards

• Amy Carwile, senior administrative coordinator I, Department of Animal Science.
• Jennifer Houston, senior business administrator I, Business Services, College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, servicing the Department of Animal Science and Department of Poultry Science.
• Cheryl Yeager, senior business administrator I, Business Services, College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, servicing the Department of Biological and Agricultural Engineering.
• Student Relations: Lesley Gleason, program manager, Department of Poultry Science.

Student awards

• Graduate Student Teaching: Francesca Antillon, graduate teaching assistant, Department of Biochemistry and Biophysics.
• Graduate Research: Zheng “Jenny” Li, Ph.D., former student, Department of Ecology and Conservation Biology.
• Undergraduate Research: Grace Bodine, former student, Department of Soil and Crop Sciences.

New faculty

New faculty members joining the College in 2021-2022 were also recognized. Those include:

• Anthony Baffoe-Bonnie, Ph.D., assistant professor, Department of Agricultural Economics, Texas A&M Higher Education Center at McAllen.
• Fay Belshe, Ph.D., instructional assistant professor, Department of Ecology and Conservation Biology.
• Alice Brandao, Ph.D., instructional assistant professor, Department of Animal Science.
• Kaitlyn Weber, Ph.D., instructional assistant professor, Department of Agricultural Economics.
• Paul Feldman, Ph.D., assistant professor, Department of Agricultural Economics.
• Lucas Garcia, Ph.D., instructional assistant professor, Department of Agricultural Economics, Texas A&M – McAllen.
• Shraddha Hegde, Ph.D., visiting assistant professor and Accountability, Climate, Equity and Scholarship, ACES, Fellow, Department of Rangeland, Wildlife and Fisheries Management.
• Bruce Herbert, Ph.D., professor, Department of Agricultural Leadership, Education and Communications.
• Heather Kennedy-Eden, Ph.D., instructional assistant professor, Department of Recreation, Park and Tourism Sciences.
• Danielle Krueger, Ph.D., lecturer, Department of Nutrition.
• Grace Lee, Ph.D., visiting assistant professor and ACES Fellow, Department of Nutrition.
• Jacob Lucero, Ph.D., assistant professor, Department of Rangeland, Wildlife and Fisheries Management.
• Lacey Luense, Ph.D., assistant professor, Department of Animal Science.
• Randy Lund, Ph.D., instructional assistant professor, Department of Agricultural Leadership, Education and Communications.
• Navreet Mahal, Ph.D., lecturer, Department of Horticultural Sciences.
• Jill Nelson, Ph.D., instructional assistant professor, Department of Poultry Science.
• Ly Nguyen, Ph.D., instructional assistant professor, Department of Agricultural Economics, Texas A&M – McAllen.
• Rafael Quijada Landaverde, Ph.D., visiting assistant professor and ACES Fellow, Department of Agricultural Leadership, Education and Communications.
• Beth Silvy, Ph.D., instructional assistant professor, Department of Rangeland, Wildlife and Fisheries Management.
• Mani Rouhi Rad, Ph.D., assistant professor, Department of Agricultural Economics.
• Chrystol Thomas-Winston, Ph.D., instructional assistant professor, Department of Agricultural Economics​.
• Melissa Shehane, Ph.D., instructional assistant professor, Department of Rangeland, Wildlife and Fisheries Management​.
• Heidi Vanden Brink, Ph.D., assistant professor, Department of Nutrition​.
• Zhihong Xu, Ph.D., associate professor, Department of Agricultural Leadership, Education and Communications​.
• Samuel Zapata, Ph.D., associate professor, Department of Agricultural Economics, Texas A&M -McAllen.

Promoted and tenured faculty

Tenure-track faculty members earning tenure and promotion to associate professor were:

• Rodolfo Cardoso, Ph.D., Department of Animal Science.
• Susie Dai, Ph.D., Department of Plant Pathology and Microbiology.
• Joseph Veldman, Ph.D., Department of Ecology and Conservation Biology.
• Sarah White-Springer, Ph.D., Department of Animal Science.
• Jessica Yorzinski, Ph.D., Department of Ecology and Conservation Biology.

Faculty members earning the title of full professor were:

• Muthukumar Bagavathiannan, Ph.D., Department of Soil and Crop Sciences.
• Shaodong Guo, Ph.D., Department of Nutrition.
• Julie Howe, Ph.D., Department of Soil and Crop Sciences.
• Nithya Rajan, Ph.D., Department of Soil and Crop Sciences.
• Rebecca Seguin-Fowler, Ph.D., Department of Nutrition.
• Hojun Song, Ph.D., Department of Entomology.
• Yuxiang Sun, Ph.D., Department of Nutrition.
• Tryon Wickersham, Ph.D., Department of Animal Science.