College of Agriculture and Life Sciences celebrates faculty, staff and students
Annual ‘College Connect’ event honors outstanding achievements, new and promoted faculty
The Texas A&M College of Agriculture and Life Sciences honored faculty, staff and students at the annual “College Connect” awards event, held this year on Oct. 1 at the Shirley and Joe Swinbank ’74 AgriLife Center.
Guests gathered to celebrate the accomplishments of colleagues and students across the College. The ceremony recognized recipients of the Dean’s Outstanding Achievement Awards and The Association of Former Students College-Level Teaching Awards. The program highlighted faculty promotions and tenure and welcomed new faculty members who joined the College in 2026.
The ceremony also included remarks about the 150th anniversary of Texas A&M University by Julie Mosbo-Ballestro, university librarian and assistant provost, and Alexandra Rainey, executive director for strategic initiatives and signature programs.
Jeffrey W. Savell, Ph.D., vice chancellor and dean for Agriculture and Life Sciences, opened the ceremony by sharing updates on the College’s growth and goals.
“Agriculture and life sciences have been here since Texas A&M opened its doors in 1876, and our people are the reason we will be here for generations to come,” said Savell. “College Connect is our chance to celebrate that work and the people behind it.”
Patricia Klein, Ph.D., executive associate dean, led the celebration portion of the event.
“Our honorees include faculty, staff and students, and each of them has made a real difference for the people around them,” said Klein. “College Connect gives us a chance to say thank you.”
Looking for photos from College Connect?
Professional photos from the event are available for all to download.
The Association of Former Students College-Level Teaching Awards
Since 1982, The Association of Former Students has recognized faculty who exemplify teaching excellence, uphold rigorous standards and contribute to student success.
Receiving the 2026 College-Level Teaching Awards in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences are:
- Oral Capps Jr., Ph.D., executive professor, Regents Professor and Southwest Dairy Marketing Endowed Chair, Department of Agricultural Economics.
- Heather Eden, Ph.D., instructional associate professor, Arch H. Aplin III ’80 Department of Hospitality, Hotel Management and Tourism.
- Melissa Shehane, Ph.D., instructional associate professor, Department of Rangeland, Wildlife and Fisheries Management.
- X. Ben Wu, Ph.D., Presidential Professor of Teaching Excellence and R.H. Cintron University Professor for Teaching Excellence, Department of Ecology and Conservation Biology.
Dean’s Outstanding Achievement Awards
Since 2012, the Dean’s Outstanding Achievement Awards have recognized faculty, staff and students whose dedication and impact strengthen the College’s land-grant mission.
Teaching awards
- Early Career Teaching: Kaitlyn Weber, Ph.D., instructional assistant professor and assistant head of undergraduate operations, Department of Agricultural Economics.
- Academic Professional Track Teaching: Yuhua Farnell, Ph.D., instructional associate professor, Department of Poultry Science.
- Academic Professional Track Teaching: Miok Lee, Ph.D., senior lecturer, Department of Biochemistry and Biophysics.
- Tenure/Tenure Track Teaching: James Mjelde, Ph.D., professor, Department of Agricultural Economics.
- Educational Enrichment and Innovation: Heather Eden, Ph.D., instructional associate professor, Aplin Department of Hospitality.
Research awards
- Early Career Research: Ty Werdel, Ph.D., assistant professor, Department of Rangeland, Wildlife and Fisheries Management.
- Research: Reinaldo Cooke, Ph.D., Burkhart Endowed Professor for Beef Cattle Research, Department of Animal Science.
- Research: James Petrick, Ph.D., Research Fellow, graduate program chair and associate department head of research, Aplin Department of Hospitality.
Service awards
- Service: Kelly Kyle, instructional assistant professor, Aplin Department of Hospitality.
- Faculty Mentoring: Michael Arnold, Ph.D., professor, Department of Horticultural Sciences, and director of The Gardens at Texas A&M University.
- International Impact: Mary Katherine “Katy” Gonder, Ph.D., professor and department head, Department of Ecology and Conservation Biology.
- Administration: Amit Dhingra, Ph.D., professor and department head, Department of Horticultural Sciences.
Staff excellence awards
- Michael Liske, program coordinator II, Aplin Department of Hospitality.
- Theresa Nemec, administrator I, Department of Rangeland, Wildlife and Fisheries Management.
- Justin Wied, research associate, Department of Ecology and Conservation Biology.
Student relations award
- Khara Spears, academic advisor II, Dean’s Office.
Student awards
- Graduate Teaching: Shelby Kilpatrick, Ph.D., Department of Entomology, now an assistant professor at Kansas State University.
- Undergraduate Research: Dimitris Kalafatis, undergraduate student, Department of Biochemistry and Biophysics.
- Graduate Research: Khatereh Babakhani, doctoral student, Department of Nutrition.
Promoted and/or tenured faculty
The following College of Agriculture and Life Sciences faculty members were promoted or received tenure this year:
- Sanjay Antony-Babu, Ph.D., associate professor with tenure, Department of Plant Pathology and Microbiology.
- Gerald Burgner, Ph.D., instructional associate professor, Department of Horticultural Sciences.
- Salvatore Calabrese, Ph.D., associate professor with tenure, Department of Biological and Agricultural Engineering.
- Katherine Carson, Ph.D., instructional associate professor, Department of Soil and Crop Sciences.
- Sapna Chitlapilly Dass, Ph.D., associate professor with tenure, Department of Animal Science.
- Heather Eden, Ph.D., instructional associate professor, Aplin Department of Hospitality.
- Steven Evans Jr., senior lecturer, Department of Rangeland, Wildlife and Fisheries Management.
- Jacquelyn Grace, Ph.D., associate professor with tenure, Department of Ecology and Conservation Biology.
- Holli Leggette, Ph.D., professor, Department of Agricultural Leadership, Education and Communications.
- Rika Muhl, Ph.D., senior lecturer, Department of Rangeland, Wildlife and Fisheries Management.
- Sakiko Okumoto, Ph.D., professor, Department of Soil and Crop Sciences.
- Reza Ovissipour, Ph.D., associate professor with tenure, Department of Food Science and Technology.
- Mian Riaz, Ph.D., instructional professor, Department of Food Science and Technology.
- Sarah Schobert, senior lecturer, Department of Animal Science.
- Melissa Shehane, Ph.D., instructional associate professor, Department of Rangeland, Wildlife and Fisheries Management.
- Kati Stoddard, Ph.D., instructional professor, Department of Plant Pathology and Microbiology.
- Ann Wehman, Ph.D., associate professor with tenure, Department of Biochemistry and Biophysics.
- Chia-Shan Wu, Ph.D., instructional associate professor, Department of Nutrition.
- Shuyang Zhen, Ph.D., associate professor with tenure, Department of Horticultural Sciences.
Faculty members who went through tenure review upon hire
- James Cain, Ph.D., associate professor and Boone and Crockett Chair in Wildlife Conservation and Policy, Department of Rangeland, Wildlife and Fisheries Management.
- Michael Chao, Ph.D., associate professor, Department of Animal Science.
- Jerrad Legako, Ph.D., associate professor, Department of Animal Science.
- Stacy Vincent, Ph.D., professor and department head, Department of Agricultural Leadership, Education and Communications.
- Scotty Yang, Ph.D., associate professor, Department of Entomology.
New faculty
New faculty members joining the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences in 2026 include:
- Stephen Bello, assistant professor of the practice, Aplin Department of Hospitality.
- Katherine Bumgardner, visiting lecturer, Department of Nutrition.
- James Cain, Ph.D., associate professor and Boone and Crockett Chair in Wildlife Conservation and Policy, Department of Rangeland, Wildlife and Fisheries Management.
- Weston Floyd, professor of the practice, Department of Soil and Crop Sciences.
- Derrick Grunwald, Ph.D., assistant professor, Department of Plant Pathology and Microbiology.
- Benjamin Hampton, Ph.D., instructor, Department of Agricultural Economics.
- Steven Jackson, Ph.D., visiting instructional assistant professor, Department of Nutrition.
- Krysti Kelley, Ph.D., assistant professor, Department of Agricultural Leadership, Education and Communications.
- Abdelaziz Lawani, Ph.D., assistant professor, Department of Agricultural Economics.
- Toby Lepley, Ph.D., associate professor of the practice, Department of Agricultural Leadership, Education and Communications.
- Diego Martinez, Ph.D., assistant professor, Department of Poultry Science.
- Tairsa Mathews, Ph.D., assistant professor of the practice, Department of Agricultural Economics.
- Gregory McKee, Ph.D., associate professor, Department of Agricultural Economics.
- Conner McKinzie, lecturer, Department of Animal Science.
- Brice Milliorn, visiting lecturer, Department of Agricultural Economics.
- Barry Mulholland, Ph.D., assistant professor of the practice, Department of Agricultural Economics.
- Felicity Newell, Ph.D., assistant professor, Department of Ecology and Conservation Biology.
- Jean Parrella, Ph.D., assistant professor, Department of Agricultural Leadership, Education and Communications.
- Robert Pellegrino, Ph.D., assistant professor, Department of Animal Science.
- Cody Rose, Ph.D., assistant professor of the practice, Department of Agricultural Economics.
- Marco Rudar, Ph.D., associate professor, Department of Animal Science.
- Diana Solis Burton, visiting lecturer, Department of Rangeland, Wildlife and Fisheries Management.
- Gabriela Sosa, Ph.D., assistant professor of the practice, Department of Rangeland, Wildlife and Fisheries Management.
- Richard Stebbins, Ph.D., instructional associate professor, Department of Agricultural Economics.
- Wantanee Suntikul, Ph.D., instructional associate professor, Aplin Department of Hospitality.
- Stacy Tomas, Ph.D., instructional assistant professor, Aplin Department of Hospitality.
- Courtney Turner, Ph.D., instructional assistant professor, Department of Horticultural Sciences.
- Dawson White, Ph.D., assistant professor, Department of Ecology and Conservation Biology.
- Brandon Woo, Ph.D., visiting lecturer, Department of Entomology.
- Fernando Yamamoto, Ph.D., associate professor, Department of Rangeland, Wildlife and Fisheries Management.
- Scotty Yang, Ph.D., associate professor, Department of Entomology.
Awards photos will be available following the event at tx.ag/CollegeConnect2026Photos.
