The Texas A&M 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. 5.
The “College Connect” event at the Shirley and Joe Swinbank ’74 AgriLife Center was kicked off with remarks by Jeffrey W. Savell, Ph.D., vice chancellor and dean for Agriculture and Life Sciences.
“This year, we welcomed a record-breaking freshman class as well as new faculty, staff and department heads,” Savell said. “In times of change, it is even more important to live our Aggie Core Values and invest in our people.”
Savell’s remarks were followed by a celebration ceremony led by Patricia Klein, Ph.D., executive associate dean for the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences.
“Our people and their accomplishments are what truly define us,” Klein said. “Together, we’ve achieved new milestones and made a positive impact on our community.”
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. Receiving AFS College-level Teaching Distinguished Achievement Awards this year in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences are:
- Karen Beathard, Ph.D., instructional associate professor, Department of Nutrition.
- Katherine Carson, Ph.D., instructional assistant professor, Department of Soil and Crop Sciences.
- Senarath Dharmasena, Ph.D., instructional associate professor, Department of Agricultural Economics.
- Christopher Kerth, Ph.D., associate professor, Department of Animal Science.
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: Sushil Paudyal, Ph.D., assistant professor, Department of Animal Science.
- Teaching: Juliana Rangel Posada, Ph.D., professor, Department of Entomology.
- Teaching: Victoria Salin, Ph.D., professor, Department of Agricultural Economics and Chair of the Intercollegiate Faculty of Agribusiness.
- Educational Enrichment and Innovation: Jennifer Gillett-Kaufman, Ph.D., instructional associate professor, Department of Entomology.
Research awards
- Early Career Research: Adela Oliva Chavez, Ph.D., assistant professor, Department of Entomology.
- Research: Nithya Rajan, Ph.D., professor, Department of Soil and Crop Sciences.
- Research: Yuxiang Sun, Ph.D., professor and associate head for graduate programs, Department of Nutrition.
Service awards
- Service: Robert Strong Jr., Ph.D., associate professor, Department of Agricultural Leadership, Education and Communications.
- Faculty Mentoring: X. Ben Wu, Ph.D., professor, Department of Ecology and Conservation Biology.
- International Impact: Mian Nadeem Riaz, Ph.D., instructional associate professor and associate department head for undergraduate programs, Department of Food Science and Technology.
- Administration: Kathrin Dunlap, Ph.D., instructional professor and associate department head for academic programs, Department of Animal Science.
Staff excellence awards
- Staff Excellence: Loren Burns, program manager, Agribusiness, Food and Consumer Economics Research Center, Department of Agricultural Economics.
- Staff Excellence: John Chivvis, virtual engagement specialist, Office of the Vice Chancellor and Dean.
- Staff Excellence: Terry Lovingshimer, operational manager, Department of Biochemistry and Biophysics.
Student relations award
- Student Relations: Stephanie Webb, director for Agricultural and Natural Resources Policy Internship Program, College of Agriculture and Life Sciences.
Student awards
- Graduate Student Teaching: Daniel Pilgreen, graduate assistant, Department of Hospitality, Hotel Management and Tourism.
- Undergraduate Research: Aidan Holman, student research assistant, Department of Entomology.
- Graduate Research: Morgan Thompson, graduate assistant, Department of Entomology.
Promoted faculty
Faculty members earning promotion were:
- Kathrin Dunlap, Ph.D., instructional professor, Department of Animal Science.
- Vishal Gohil, Ph.D., professor, Department of Biochemistry and Biophysics.
- Gabe Hamer, Ph.D., professor, Department of Entomology.
- Rick Harwell, Ph.D., associate professor of the practice, Department of Hospitality, Hotel Management and Tourism.
- Tatyana Igumenova, Ph.D., professor, Department of Biochemistry and Biophysics.
- Russ Jessup, Ph.D., professor, Department of Soil and Crop Sciences.
- Leslie Kelso-Winemiller, Ph.D., instructional professor, Department of Ecology and Conservation Biology.
- Jessica Light, Ph.D., professor, Department of Ecology and Conservation Biology.
- Russell McGee, instructional associate professor, Department of Biological and Agricultural Engineering.
- Bill McKinley, instructional professor, Department of Horticultural Sciences.
- Max Menzies, Ph.D., instructional associate professor, Department of Agricultural Economics.
- Chad Nelson, Ph.D., instructional associate professor, Department of Agricultural Leadership, Education and Communications.
- Elizabeth Jane Pishko, Ph.D., senior lecturer, Department of Biochemistry and Biophysics.
- Juliana Rangel Posada, Ph.D., professor, Department of Entomology.
- Carey Satterfield, Ph.D., professor, Department of Animal Science.
- Endang Septiningsih, Ph.D., professor, Department of Soil and Crop Sciences.
- Susanne Talcott, Ph.D., professor, Department of Food Science and Technology.
- Jason West, Ph.D., professor, Department of Ecology and Conservation Biology.
- Lanying Zeng, Ph.D., professor, Department of Biochemistry and Biophysics.
- Yvette Zhang, Ph.D., professor, Department of Agricultural Economics.
Promoted and/or tenured faculty
Tenure-track faculty members earning tenure and promotion were:
- Courtney Daigle, Ph.D., associate professor with tenure, Department of Animal Science.
- Andrea Ettekal, Ph.D., associate professor with tenure, Department of Agricultural Leadership, Education and Communications.
- Maria King, Ph.D., associate professor with tenure, Department of Biological and Agricultural Engineering.
- Dzmitry Kurouski, Ph.D., associate professor with tenure, Department of Biochemistry and Biophysics.
- Amanda MacFarlane, Ph.D., professor with tenure, Department of Nutrition, Institute for Advancing Health through Agriculture, Texas A&M AgriLife Research.
- Joshuah Perkin, Ph.D., associate professor with tenure, Department of Ecology and Conservation Biology.
- Catharine Ross, Ph.D., professor with tenure, Department of Nutrition.
- Peyton Smith, Ph.D., associate professor with tenure, Department of Soil and Crop Sciences.
- Courtney Suess-Raeisinafchi, Ph.D., associate professor with tenure, Department of Hospitality, Hotel Management and Tourism.
- Isabel Vales, Ph.D., associate professor with tenure, Department of Horticultural Sciences.
- Dara Wald, Ph.D., associate professor with tenure, Department of Agricultural Leadership, Education and Communications.
- Alex Wong, Ph.D., professor with tenure, Department of Plant Pathology and Microbiology, Institute for Advancing Health through Agriculture, Texas A&M AgriLife Research.
- Zhihong Xu, Ph.D., associate professor with tenure, Department of Agricultural Leadership, Education and Communications.
New faculty
New faculty members joining the College in 2022-2023 were also recognized. Those include:
- Wen Chang, Ph.D., assistant professor, Department of Hospitality, Hotel Management and Tourism.
- Po-Ju Chen, Ph.D., professor, Department of Hospitality, Hotel Management and Tourism.
- Connor Clark, Ph.D., assistant professor, Department of Hospitality, Hotel Management and Tourism.
- Dan Eichler, assistant professor of the practice, Department of Hospitality, Hotel Management and Tourism.
- Huy Gip, Ph.D., ACES assistant professor, Department of Hospitality, Hotel Management and Tourism.
- Mary Katherine Gonder, Ph.D., professor and department head, Department of Ecology and Conservation Biology.
- Shradde Hegde, Ph.D., assistant professor, Department of Rangeland, Wildlife and Fisheries Management.
- Wenzhe Jiao, Ph.D., ACES assistant professor, Department of Ecology and Conservation Biology.
- Kashi Kafle, Ph.D., assistant professor, Department of Agricultural Economics.
- Melissa Koff, lecturer, Department of Biochemistry and Biophysics.
- Seockmo Ku, Ph.D., assistant professor, Department of Food Science and Technology.
- Rafael Landaverde, Ph.D., assistant professor, Department of Agricultural Leadership, Education and Communications.
- Marissa Lepper, Ph.D., assistant professor, Department of Agricultural Economics.
- Liqing Li, Ph.D., assistant professor, Department of Agricultural Economics.
- Emiliano Lopez Barrera, Ph.D., assistant professor, Department of Agricultural Economics.
- Erica Macon, Ph.D., assistant professor, Department of Animal Science.
- Clay Mathis, Ph.D., professor and department head, Department of Animal Science.
- Grace Melo, Ph.D., assistant professor, Department of Agricultural Economics.
- Kelsi Opat, Ph.D., instructional assistant professor, Department of Agricultural Leadership, Education and Communications.
- Reza Ovissipour, Ph.D., assistant professor, Department of Food Science and Technology.
- Humberto Perotto, Ph.D., associate professor, Department of Rangeland, Wildlife and Fisheries Management.
- Simon Somogyi, Ph.D., professor, Department of Agricultural Economics.
- Kathryn Szerlag, Ph.D., assistant professor, Department of Soil and Crop Sciences.
- Babak Taheri, Ph.D., professor, Department of Hospitality, Hotel Management and Tourism.
- Ty Werdel, Ph.D., assistant professor, Department of Rangeland, Wildlife and Fisheries Management.
- Ziteng Xu, Ph.D., assistant professor, Department of Poultry Science.
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