Texas Tech University

Robert R. Reed – T.V. Munson Scholarship in Viticulture

The Robert R. Reed-T.V. Munson Scholarship was established by various contributors in 1988. The scholarship is awarded to graduate and undergraduate students majoring in horticulture with a minimum 2.5 GPA.

Robert R. Reed was instrumental in the development of grape production and wine making in the South Plains area. He had taught viticulture courses from 1978 to 1984. He and Dr. Clinton McPherson tested over 200 varieties of grapes and selected five or six varieties suitable for this area and were planted in the 1970s. In 1976, they broke ground and laid the cornerstone for the building of Llano Estacado Winery.

Thomas Volney Munson, often referred to simply as T.V. Munson, was a horticulturist and breeder of grapes in Texas. In 1888, Munson was the second American, after Thomas Edison, to be named a Chevalier du Mérite Agricole by the French government.

While primarily remembered as horticulturist, Munson was interested in a variety of fields. He is credited with several inventions, including a primitive helicopter. He became recognized as a botanist as well as a viticulturist. He wrote Native Trees of the Southwest under the direction of the United States Department of Agriculture and submitted a similar thesis in 1883 to satisfy requirements for the master's degree at the Kentucky Agricultural College.

Munson died on January 21, 1913 in Denison, Texas.

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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