Texas Tech University

DAVIS COLLEGE
2024-25 in Review

Teaching & Learning  Research & Innovation  Outreach & Engagement  International Programs  Pursuit of Prime

Teaching & Learning


Enrollment - 2024 Enrollment of 3,298 Students, up 64% since 2015


Graduate Rates - 4-year 43.5%, 6-year 72.1%


Retention Rates - 1-year 84.6%, 3-year 77.2% (University, 84.9% and 71.4%)


New, First-Year Students - Fall 2024: 604, up 127% since 2015


SCH - Total SCH 31,847 with total course enrollment of 10,419


Scholarships - Total of $11.2M awarded across 5,300 scholarships with an average award of $2,177 per scholarship


Online Enrollment - 3% of students are online only, 60% take at least one online course


Internships and Study Abroad - Approximately 50% of graduating seniors report participating in an internship; 7% report participating in study abroad

215 students participated on a competitive team for Davis College in 24-25. The following teams won national championships:

  • Livestock Judging
  • Wool Judging
  • Meat Animal Evaluation
  • Ranch Horse
  • Brayden Henry, Agricultural & Applied Economic and General Business
  • Audrey Crawford, Natural Resources Management
  • Cheyene Wedeking, AgriBusiness
  • Ashlyn Rockey, Agricultural Education
  • Eyian Polk, Animal Science
  • Ryan Hess, Agricultural Communications and Media Strategies
  • Caroline Leach, Agricultural Communications
  • Austin DeBerry, Agricultural & Applied Economic
  • Cade Haggard, Animal Science
  • Ashlynn Rogers, Agricultural Education
  • Emily Smith, Agricultural Communications
Bar graph displaying the number of courses sorted by Strategic Resource Group

National Teaching Awards

  • John Rayfield, Outstanding Teacher, American Assoc. for Agricultural Education


College & University Teaching Awards

  • Catherine Simpson, Davis College Teaching Award
  • Kylie Harlan, Davis College Instructor Award
  • Catherine Simpson, Hemphill-Wells New Professor Excellence in Teaching
  • Darren Hudson, Chancellor’s Excellence in Teaching
  • Kathryn Nelson, President’s Excellence in Teaching
  • Anastasia Stellato, TTU Alumni Association New Faculty Award
Top Gradient

Research & Innovation

Proposals - 171 Submitted for $51.5 million (through July 15)

Awards - 119 Awards for $14.6 million (through July 15)


Funding Sources (FY25 and FY25 YTD in $ million)

SOURCE FY24 FY25 % OF TOTAL (25)
Federal 5.6 4.3 29.69
Federal Pass Through 3.7 2.8 19.23
Non-Profit 5.9 5.1 35.19
Industry 1.7 1.1 7.37
State 0.7 0.5 3.41
TTU/College 0.7 0.4 2.56
International 0.5 0.3 1.7
Foundation 0.5 0.0 0.0
Local 0.0 0.1 0.85

Bar graph displaying the amounts of funding for each academic department, divided by federal, state, non-profit, industry, and other funding sources

Bar graph displaying the amounts of funding for each Strategic Resource Group, divided by federal, state, non-profit, industry, and other funding sources

Bar graph displaying publications and presentations by each academic department

Bar graph displaying publications and presentations by each Strategic Resource Group

New Postitions in Professional Societies

  • Clint Krehbiel - President, American Society of Animal Science
  • Kristin Hales - Board of Directors, American Society of Animal Science
  • Leehu Loon - Director, Council of Landscape Architectural Registration Boards
  • Todd Brashears - President, Association for International Agricultural and Extension Education


National Research Awards

  • Kristin Hales - American Feed Industry Association, Ruminant Nutrition Research Award
  • Bradley Johnson - American Society of Animal Science, Animal Growth and Development Award
  • Mindy Brashears - American Meat Science Association, Signal Service Fellow Award
  • Courtney Meyers - American Association for Agricultural Education, Outstanding Researcher Award
  • Lam-Son Phan Tran and Luis Herrera-Estrella - Clarivate Most Highly Cited Researchers
  • Clint Boal - US Geological Survey Cooperative Research Units, Safety Excellence Award
  • Thomas Dobbins - American Society of Animal Science, Meat Science and Muscle Biology Young Scholar Award
  • Sarahi Morales Vanegas - Journal Article of the Year, Journal of International Agricultural Education and Extension
  • Laura Fisher - Kika de la Garza Fellowship, U.S. Department of Agriculture
  • Amy Boren-Alpizar - Jack Everly Journal Award, NACTA


University Research Awards

  • Catherine Simpson - Texas Tech Institute for Studies in Pragmatism, Cross-Disciplinary Research Award
  • Dale Woerner - Barnie E. Rushing Jr. Distinguished Researcher Award
TITLE STUDENT FACULTY ADVISOR
In Vitro Analysis of the Effects of Alternative Forage Options for Water Limited Environments Emily Brown Aaron Norris
Effects of Transdermal Melatonin on the Stress Response of Horses Experiencing Transport Jeanin Fassbender Whitney Crossland
Genetic Diversity Assessment of Cotton Landraces with Variable Oil Content and Photoperiod Sensitivity Maximum Gudino Rosalyn Shim
A Review of Diversity in the Agricultural Workforce Through Analysis of Company Websites Marexy Guerra Jason Headrick
Genetic complementation of decussate mutants in Arabidopsis thaliana using DECUSSATE alleles from rice (Oryza sativa) Madeline Haden Benildo de los Reyes
U.S.-Mexico GM corn Trade Dispute William Hall Stephen Devadoss
Quantifying the Irreplicable Health Benefits of Consuming Red Meat in the Underprivileged Community in Lubbock and its Surrounding Area Elizabeth LaCroix Mark Miller
Investigation of the Impact of Consumer Storage Practices and Packaging Type on Quality and Refrigeration Shelf-Life of Ground Beef Purchased from Commercial Retailer Ashlynn Messer Jerrad Legako
Increasing Economic Value of the Lamb Industry through Value-Added Processing Techniques of Meat Products Libby Mosley Mark Miller
Developing biodegradable and durable disposable cutlery from agricultural crop residues Marissa Portillo Kalavathy Rajan
Evaluating diets of native fishes in the Red River with implications for conservation Gavin Saenez Jane Rogosch
Addressing adipocyte progenitor cell profiles in a comparative model of periparturient metabolic disease Matthew Self Clarissa Strieder-Barboza
Comparative Analysis of the Efficiency of Cecal Digestion in Equine Specimens in Relation to Ad Libitum Grazing vs Non-Ad Libitum Feeding Abagail Squire Aaron Norris
Evaluating the Effects of Long-term Semi-Arid Pasture Management Practices on Soil Physical Quality Indicators Jake Todd Sanjit Deb
Top Gradient

Outreach & Engagement

Agricultural Education & Communications

  • Laura Fischer
  • Courtney Gibson
  • Kylie Harlan
  • Jason Headrick
  • Lindsay Kennedy
  • Courtney Meyers


Animal & Food Sciences

  • Jhones Sarturi
  • Wendy Scott


Natural Resources Management

  • Nathan Gill


Plant & Soil Science

  • Haydee Laza
  • Joey Young

16 courses = 836 students

  • FFA Area Career Development: 1,564 students and 238 teachers
  • FFA State Contests: 2,214 students and 503 teachers
  • 4-H, Judging Camps, and Youth Ambassador Events: Approximately 2,500 students

Davis College exit survey shows that 15% of graduates were influenced by their high school ag science teacher to attend Texas Tech.

Davis College faculty were a part of

  • 12 magazine articles and newsletters,
  • 538 oral presentations including 38 keynote addresses,
  • 41 lectures, and
  • 48 workshops,

reaching 1,000 stakeholders.

  • Vikram Baliga
  • Mindy Brashears
  • Stephen Devadoss
  • Laura Fischer
  • Nathan Gill
  • Darren Hudson
  • Lindsay Kennedy
  • Courtney Myers
  • Muntazar Monsur
  • Catherine Simpson
  • Lindsey Slaughter
  • Krishna Jagadish
  • Leslie Thompson
  • Kirk Williams
  • Joey Young

National Awards

  • John Rayfield - Texas FFA, Distinguished Service Award
  • Peter Dotray - Weed Science Society of American, Outstanding Extension Award
  • Lindsay Kennedy - The Agriculturalist, 1st Place, National Agricultural Communicators of Tomorrow and People’s Choice Award, Ag Media Summit

College and University Awards

  • Conrad Lyford, Syed Badrudozza, and Heidi Brady - President’s Excellence in Engaged Scholarship Award
  • Joey Young and Rudy Ritz - President’s Emerging Engaged Scholarship Award
  • Vikram Baliga - Davis College Outreach & Engagement Award
Top Gradient

International Programs

Amy Boren-Alpizar - Fulbright Fellow, Peru

Benildo de los Reyes - Fellow, Balik Scientist, Philippine Department of Science and Technology

Conrad Lyford - International Research Exchange Program, Reciprocal Exchange, Ghana

52 student participants

England, Botswana, and Germany - Darren Hudson

Spain - Conrad Lyford and Mahfuz Rahman

Greece - Chelsea Hatch and Davis Lawver

Costa Rica - Jyotsna Sharma

Chile - Kirk Williams

Top Gradient

IN PURSUIT OF PRIME

Davis College has raised $23 million since September 1, 2024.

Major Donations / Commitments

Ranch Management Program

  • Helen Jones Foundation
  • CH Foundation
  • The Bridwell Foundation

Ranch Horse Team Barn

  • Terry Crofoot

Fern Lee Fink (bequest gift) to benefit:

  • Davis College Graduate Fellowships in Water Conservation
  • Davis College Viticulture and Enology Research
  • Davis College Horticulture and Sensory Gardens
  • Davis College Therapeutic Riding Center
  • TTU School of Veterinary Medicine
  • National Ranching Heritage Center

Goals for FY 2026

  • Davis College Building - Texas Tech University has committed up to $30M in matching funds
  • Fully Fund the Ranch Horse Team Barn (major lead donor)
  • Fully Fund the Gordon W. Davis Meat Lab Renovation and Expansion (two lead donors)
  • Continue building toward funding for other major initiative in the Prime Campaign

Learn more about the PRIME campaign

Davis College of Agricultural Sciences & Natural Resources

  • Address

    P.O. Box 42123, Lubbock, Texas 79409-2123, Dean’s Office Location: Goddard Building, Room 108

  • Phone

    (806)742-2808
© 2026  Texas Tech University Jul 2, 2026 6:28 PM