The James and Rachel Graham Scholarship Endowment was established by Jim and Rachel Graham in 2013. The scholarship is awarded to both undergraduate and graduate students in the Department of Plant and Soil Science.

Dr. James (Jim) Graham received a Bachelor of Science degree in Agricultural Science in 1963, from what is now the Department of Plant and Soil Science. As an undergraduate, he worked on cotton-related projects at the Texas Agricultural Experiment Station (today's Texas AgriLife Research and Extension Center) in Lubbock. He continued his education, gaining both a master's and Ph.D. in Agronomy from the University of Wisconsin in Madison.

Jim joined Monsanto in 1966 as a research specialist. There, he advanced from researcher to field developer to manager. He was involved in the technical development and sales support of the herbicides Lasso and Roundup on the East Coast, directed researchers and other company personnel in the United States, Canada, Asia, South America and Western Europe, and ran the licensing program for fungicides and herbicides.

In 1975, Jim transferred to Wilmington, Delaware, to serve as a product development associate. For three years he was responsible for technical development and sales support for Lasso and Roundup in 10 mid-Atlantic and New England states. He then transitioned to management in 1979 when he moved to Indianapolis to oversee a seven-person product development team. Three years later he returned to Monsanto headquarters, first to work as director of ag product development and later as director of the plant protection research program. In that latter position, he managed 120 scientists researching and developing crop protection products.

Jim took his management skills overseas in 1992. From Monsanto's corporate headquarters for Western Europe in Brussels, Belgium, he served as Director of Ag Technology. For five years he led a 70-person research, product development and registration group. One of his tasks was navigating the process of having agricultural products approved by each country's regulatory agency. Jim returned to St. Louis in 1997 to run the licensing program for fungicides and herbicides for a year. From 1998 to 1999 he worked on the global cotton team.

Jim officially retired in 1999, but he continues to research part-time at company headquarters in Saint Louis, Missouri, and makes four or five trips to Lubbock each growing season to monitor fields involved in studies to improve water-use efficiency of cotton, working with a team at the AgriLife Research Center.

Retirement gave Jim the time to enjoy further his pastimes of reading and tending his ornamental landscaping at home. He and his wife Rachel live in Creve Coeur, Missouri, a suburb of St. Louis. The couple has two grown sons, James Todd and Jon.

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Contact

Alex Yack
Alex.Yack@ttu.edu
Senior Director of Development
806.742.2802

Matt Williams
matt.williams@ttu.edu
Director of Development
806.742.2802

Shelbey Havens
shelbey.havens@ttu.edu
Assistant Director of Development
806.834.1108