Wittenburg-Britton Endowed Scholarship

Initiated by Dr. and Mrs. Carlton Britton to honor their parents and their ranching heritage and awarded annually to Range Management students.

Dr. and Mrs. Carlton Britton initiated the Wittenburg-Britton Endowed Scholarship to honor their parents and their ranching heritage. Mr. Dan Griffis and the Hemphill Wells Foundation made the initial contribution with other contributions from family and friends.

Dr. Britton was raised on the old Block Ranch, which at the time was a sheep operation, north of Capitan, New Mexico. He graduated in range management from Texas Tech with a B.S. in 1968; and, a M.S. in 1970 under the direction of Dr. Henry A. Wright. Rebecca Wittenburg Britton was raised on a sheep ranch near Lometa, Texas and graduated from the University of Texas. Rebecca taught English at Coronado High School before retiring in 2005. The Brittons have four children: Dr. Gretchen L. Britton of Philadelphia; Jennifer R. Britton-Turnbow M.BA. of Austin; Matthew C. Britton of Lubbock; and Leah S. Britton-Lainos of Athens, Greece.

Dr. Britton's work has been in the broad area of range management with a special interest in fire ecology. Since receiving his Ph.D. in Range Science in 1975 from Texas A&M, he has done research in the northern desert steppe while on the faculty at Oregon State University and research across Texas, New Mexico, and Mexico while on the faculty at Texas Tech University. Dr. Britton's focus has centered on research that is useful to the ranching and land management communities in the areas of brush control, grazing management, animal nutrition, and basic range ecology. He took a small sample of seed, increased it plus conducted many studies that eventually led to the release of WW-B.Dahl old world bluestem. Prior to his retirement as Director of the Fire Ecology Center, he oversaw the graduate student fire boss who conducted the largest prescribed fire ever done safely in the nation for the Bureau of Land Management.

The Brittons have a long and devout interest in education and a commitment to providing scholarships to deserving and dedicated students at Texas Tech University. Scholarship awards are limited to Range Management majors. The number and amount awarded annually varies.

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