A Message from the Dean of the College of Human Sciences
Dear Alumni, Faculty, Staff, and Friends,
Welcome to the College of Human Sciences E-Newsletter! Our goal is to keep you in touch with what’s happening in the college.
We are off to what I predict to be a very exciting and productive fall semester. Our undergraduate enrollment is over 2,700, and we had our largest graduate enrollment in the history of the college at 347. One of the university’s strategic initiatives is to increase our graduate enrollment, so we are right in sync with that goal. In addition, we continue to make a significant contribution to the university’s outreach and engagement efforts. Our faculty and students work together to make a positive impact on individuals and families in our community. We recently increased our outreach and engagement efforts at the college level by creating an associate dean’s position with this focus. Our efforts will soon stretch beyond our local community with the addition of a faculty member who holds a joint appointment with our college and the Texas AgriLife Extension Service.
Another of the university’s strategic initiatives is to increase our externally funded research. Our college is positioned to contribute to the accomplishment of this goal as well. Our increase in graduate students provides greater capacity for research. In addition, our outreach and engagement efforts often include a research element. We have also made improvements to our behavioral research-related facilities with a number of projects in process and several in the planning stages. Many of these improvements were made possible by our generous donors, and we thank each of you.
We are also grateful to all our community partners. One such partner, the Overton Hotel and Conference Center, held a ribbon-cutting ceremony for their 303-room property. Following the ceremony, the hotel held a celebratory gala designating the proceeds to establish a Restaurant, Hotel, and Institutional Management (RHIM) scholarship. In addition, the hotel is providing the RHIM program with a classroom in which to hold our hotel operations classes, and one of our faculty members serves on the hotel’s Executive Committee.
Since we want you to share the excitement of our college, I extend a personal invitation to you to attend a couple of our events during the fall semester. At our Distinguished Awards Luncheon on October 8, 2009, awardees will be recognized for their accomplishments, leadership, and advocacy for our college. Prior to the Texas Tech vs. Kansas State football game on October 10, 2009, we will have a college Homecoming Tent in Raider Village located west of the Mechanical Engineering building. Details about these events can be found in this newsletter.
We have several additional events and activities planned throughout the year, providing you with opportunities to network, see old friends, and just have a good time. I encourage you to attend and extend an open invitation to you to visit the college at any time.
Enjoy our E-Newsletter, and I look forward to seeing you and catching up!
Sincerely,
Linda C. Hoover, Ph.D.
Dean, College of Human Sciences