Full House; Texas International Cotton School notches record turnout
An intensive educational program that focuses solely on all-things-cotton brought record-setting global attendance this summer to the High Plains as the Texas International Cotton School completed its thirty-first session in Lubbock.
"Thirty-two students "" half from 12 international destinations "" graduated in August from the program held at Texas Tech's Fiber and Biopolymer Research Institute," said Katie Meeks, communication coordinator for the scientific facility. Since its inception in 1989, 514 students from 59 countries and 16 U.S. states have attended the two-week course.
The sessions cover all aspects of cotton from the field to the fabric, Meeks said. Since its inception, the program has been a collaboration between the Texas cotton merchants who make up the Lubbock Cotton Exchange and the faculty and staff of Texas Tech's Department of Plant and Soil Science.
During the program participants are instructed by 31 experts from across the United States, learning about the cotton marketing chain, including seed production, breeding, farm production, harvesting, ginning, warehousing, merchandising, and textile manufacturing.
Broad swaths of U.S. and global trade of cotton are covered, so the students obtain an understanding of what is required to successfully participate in the U.S. cotton market and to deliver the cottons needed in diverse export markets, Meeks said
"They learn about the important quality attributes of cotton fibers and how these translate into processing efficiency and textile product quality," she said. "Throughout the program, they have repeated opportunities to interact with the cotton merchants of the Lubbock Cotton Exchange and the fiber and Texas Tech textile experts."
Written by Norman Martin
CONTACT: Katie Meeks, Communication and Recruiting Coordinator with joint appointment with the Fiber and Biopolymer Research Institute, Department of Plant and Soil Science, Texas Tech University at (806) 742-2838 x233 or katie.leigh@ttu.edu
1004NM11
Davis College NewsCenter
-
Address
P.O. Box 42123, Lubbock, Texas 79409-2123, Dean's Office Location:Goddard Building, Room 108 -
Phone
(806)742-2808 -
Email
kris.allen@ttu.edu