Superior teaching, academics recognized by Society for Range Management
College of Agriculture and Life Sciences faculty, students earn top awards at international meeting
Faculty and students of the Texas A&M College of Agriculture and Life Sciences received top awards and recognition at the annual Society for Range Management meeting held recently in Monterey, California.
Established in 1948, the Society for Range Management, SRM, is an international, professional scientific society and conservation organization dedicated to studying, conserving, managing and sustaining rangeland ecosystems worldwide.
Teaching and leadership awards
Humberto Perotto, Ph.D., associate professor and Joan Negley Kelleher Endowed Professor in Ranch Management in the Department of Rangeland, Wildlife and Fisheries Management, received the 2026 SRM Fellow Award, one of the organization’s most prestigious honors.
The title of Fellow is conferred to members in recognition of exceptional, dedicated service to the organization and its efforts to advance the science and art of range-related resource management.
Perotto was also recognized as the Outstanding Associate Editor for Rangeland Ecology and Management, the society’s peer-reviewed academic journal.
The Rangeland Science Education Council Outstanding Undergraduate Teaching Award went to Ben Wu, Ph.D., professor and R.H. Cintron University Professor for Teaching Excellence in the Department of Ecology and Conservation Biology. The award recognizes Wu’s established legacy of fostering intellectual curiosity, engaging students and producing lifelong impacts.
Jacob Lucero, Ph.D., assistant professor in the Department of Rangeland, Wildlife and Fisheries Management, received the Rangeland Science Education Council Early Career Undergraduate Teaching Award, recognizing his excellence in teaching and advising undergraduate range students.
John Walker, Ph.D., professor emeritus in the Department of Rangeland, Wildlife and Fisheries Management, was recognized as the incoming president of SRM. Jeff Goodwin, Ph.D., director of the Texas A&M Center for Grazinglands and Ranch Management and assistant professor in the Department of Rangeland, Wildlife and Fisheries Management, was SRM’s outgoing president.
Students take team, individual honors
The Texas A&M Range Club plant identification team took fourth place in the rangeland plant identification competition that included students from 22 universities across the U.S., Mexico and Canada.
First through third place were taken by universities from Mexico and Canada, making the Texas A&M Range Club plant identification team the top-performing team in the U.S.
“This top ranking is a testament to these students’ hard work, diligence and passion,” said Perotto, who also serves as faculty adviser to the Texas A&M Range Club. “They are helping expand Texas A&M’s national academic reputation as a leading rangeland management program.”
Plant identification team members include Garrett Purcell, Jake Chapman, Jessica Sebastian and Monica O’Hara, all undergraduate students in the Department of Rangeland, Wildlife and Fisheries Management.
Connor Ties, doctoral student in the Department of Rangeland, Wildlife and Fisheries Management, took top honors in the doctoral research poster competition for his work, “Mapping Vegetation Cover Change from the 2024 Texas Panhandle Fires.”
Edward Rhodes, doctoral student in the Department of Rangeland, Wildlife and Fisheries Management and research specialist with the Texas Water Resources Institute, earned second place for his oral research presentation, “Déjà vu: Are we heading towards another Dust Bowl on the Southern High Plains?”
