This award is presented in recognition of a department that has made unique and significant contributions to the university’s teaching mission. It carries a $25,000 prize to be used for the enhancement of teaching. The Department of Plant and Soil Science won the award in 2000.
Roadmap to Effective Distance Education Instructional Design, developed by Drs. Cindy Akers and Chad Davis, won the Educational Project “Gold” Award given by the Association for Communications Excellence (ACE).
The Roadmap was also selected as Outstanding Professional Skill Award winner for the Division. This project also received an Honorable Mention Award in the Excellence in Distance Education Competition by the American Distance Education Consortium (ADEC).
The project was a multi-institutional effort between TTU, Texas A&M, the University of Florida, and Iowa State University; it was funded by a USDA Higher Education Challenge Grant. The course can be viewed at http://deidtrainer.ifas.ufl.edu/roadmap.htm.
Second Annual Juried Exhibit at TTU’s International Cultural Center featured graduate student’s Jessica Bieber photograph entitled “Jagged Plow.” The photograph was taken while Bieber was participating in a class field trip near Cuauhtemoc, Mexico.
Approximately 60 agricultural communications students participated in a regional Agricultural Communicators of Tomorrow (ACT) Conference hosted by TTU, Feb. 25-26. Students from Kansas State, Oklahoma State, and Texas A&M participated in the conference. Wyman Meinzer, the Official Wildlife Photographer of Texas, was among a distinguished group of speakers who engaged the students in lively presentations and workshops. Doctoral student Melinda Findley worked closely with Drs. Cindy Akers, Chad Davis, and David Doerfert in planning the event. The ’04-’05 TTU ACT executive officer team includes: Samantha Yates from Tarzan (President), Jerod Foster from Paradise (Vice President), Ashley Lehmberg from Mason, (Secretary), and Wes Durham from Kress (Treasurer).
Dr. Warren C. Conway received Educator of the Year Award at the 40th Annual Meeting of the Texas Chapter of The Wildlife Society held in Amarillo, Texas. Conway received his Ph.D. degree at TTU in Wildlife Science in 2001. His dissertation topic was "Breeding Ecology of Shorebirds in the Playa Lakes Region of Texas". He also received his Master of Science degree in the Department of Range, Wildlife, and Fisheries Management in 1997. Conway is currently an Assistant Professor of Wildlife Management in the Arthur Temple College of Forestry at Stephen F. Austin State University. The citation for this award noted Conway’s sincere interest in his students and his untiring efforts to insure that they receive the best possible professional education.
Angela Reid, a senior Wildlife and Fisheries Management major, received the Colin Caruthers Memorial Scholarship at the 40th Annual Meeting of the Texas Chapter of The Wildlife Society held in Amarillo, Texas. The scholarship, sponsored by the Dallas Ecological Foundation and Mr. and Mrs. Tommy Caruthers, is in memory of Colin M. Caruthers (1972-1990). This scholarship is awarded annually to the State’s top-ranking wildlife student. Reid currently serves as the president of the Range, Wildlife, and Fisheries Management Student Club at TTU and is active in a number of other organizations through CASNR.
The TTU chapter was recognized at the 40th Annual Meeting of the Texas Chapter of The Wildlife Society held in Amarillo, Texas for its efforts in providing professional development opportunities to members. The group was one of four student chapters across the state to receive this new honor. The Student Chapter Professional Development Award is sponsored by Germania Insurance Company and the Texas Wildlife Association.
Lindsay A. Smythe, graduate student in the Department of Range, Wildlife, and Fisheries Management, was awarded 2nd place in the Clarence Cottam Award Competition at the 40th Annual Meeting of the Texas Chapter of The Wildlife Society held in Amarillo, Texas.
Smythe’s presentation was entitled "Effects of Tebuthiuron and Grazing on Grassland Birds in Eastern New Mexico." Three of the eight individuals who entered in the competition represented TTU. Clarence Cottam was the first Director of the Welder Wildlife Foundation in 1955. To help commemorate his accomplishments and preserve his legacy, the Welder Wildlife Foundation helped create and support the annual Clarence Cottam Award competition. The competition is open to graduate students from all universities in Texas who present research results at the Chapter’s annual meeting.
The Agricultural Economics Association sold 2200 bags of fertilizer this year. The fertilizer was delivered by the Ag Eco students on February 26th. This is an annual event to raise funds for the Agricultural Economics Association activities which include providing competitive scholarships and an annual trip.
The Spring trip of the Ag Eco Association will take place this year from March 14 through March 17. And advisor and 22 students will be traveling to Chicago, Illinois. While there, they will visit the headquarters of ADM in Decatur, IL, the Chicago Board of Trade, the Chicago Mercantile Exchange, and the Federal Reserve Bank.
Dr. Sam Mohanty and Dr. Don Ethridge attended the USDA Agricultural Outlook Forum in Washington, D.C., February 24th and 25th. Over 1400 people from the U.S. and other countries attended. Many topics were covered in the 2-day forum, including the outlook for U.S. and global agricultural commodities, the growing market for ethanol, and federal budgets for commodity supports and research.
