Texas A&M center named for Hood Family Foundation
Board of Regents approves new name of center focused on sustainable agriculture, forestry solutions
The Texas A&M University System Board of Regents on Thursday voted to commemorate $5 million in support from the John and Sally Hood Family Foundation by renaming a Texas A&M center focused on sustainable solutions for agriculture and forestry industries based on unbiased science.
The newly named Hood Family Center for Greenhouse Gas Management in Agriculture and Forestry was launched in 2023 as a joint center of Texas A&M AgriLife Research and Texas A&M University in College Station.
The center brings together expertise across Texas A&M to advance the abilities of agriculture and forestry systems to meet a modern paradigm of safe, affordable food and fiber production on thriving working lands.
“We are immensely grateful for the generous support of the Hood Family, which paved the way for this important work,” said G. Cliff Lamb, Ph.D., director of AgriLife Research. “Texas A&M AgriLife is committed to leading new discoveries, technologies and emerging practices that benefit the state, the U.S. and the world.”
An investment in the future of agriculture and forestry
The $5 million endowment from the Hoods, John ’90 and his wife, Sally ’92, aided in the formation of the newly named center.
“We were really impressed with their work and felt it was a chance to change the world for our kids and grandkids,” said John Hood. “This is a tangible way to use technology and biotechnology to make a difference.”
“The generous support from the Hood family is critical to our mission,” said Nithya Rajan, Ph.D., director of the center and an agronomy and agroecology professor, Department of Soil and Crop Sciences in the Texas A&M College of Agriculture and Life Sciences. “We are turning science into producer-ready solutions that strengthen soil health, reduce input costs and keep working lands productive for generations.”
The center focuses on converging research, teaching and extension efforts with ongoing research on the sustainability of emerging practices like carbon capture in Texas soils and crops. These unbiased research efforts aim to improve soil health and function as well as resilience against increasing environmental and biological stressors.
