Texas Tech University and Amarillo College signed an institution-to-institution memorandum of understanding (MOU) today (Nov. 16) to enable the success of community college transfer students who want to focus on horticulture.

"Texas Tech University is committed to providing access and opportunity for students in West Texas," said Texas Tech President Lawrence Schovanec. "This partnership with Amarillo College helps to further that priority. We look forward to helping these students achieve their academic goals and earning a bachelor's degree, whether online or on the Texas Tech campus."

The need for the MOU arose from a meeting between Texas Tech and Amarillo College to further develop programs for students in STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) areas at Amarillo College who intend to transfer to Texas Tech, specifically those who intend to get a horticulture-based degree through Tech's Department of Plant and Soil Science.

Amarillo College's new associate degree program in horticulture will become available for the first time in fall 2018, and by then it will be supported by a grant-funded greenhouse and new laboratory facilities currently under construction on the panhandle campus.

The agreement between Amarillo College and Tech is expected to open the doors for collaborative research among faculty and students of both schools, projects to be jointly undertaken at Amarillo College's greenhouse and at university facilities in Lubbock. Clay Taylor, the director of academic partnerships for Tech's eLearning & Academic Partnerships, will continue to work with departments at both Amarillo College and Texas Tech to develop additional pathways.

There are several positive points to the agreement, officials note. Amarillo College graduates will be familiar with Tech's Plant and Soil Science faculty before they transfer or they may choose to pursue a bachelor's degree at Tech completely online, remaining in Amarillo and fulfilling lab requirements there. Founded in 1929, Amarillo College is a public community college that offers 143 degree and certificate programs to an academic enrollment of some 10,000.

CONTACT: Eric Hequet, Department Chair, Department of Plant and Soil Science, Texas Tech University at (806) 742-2838 or eric.hequet@ttu.edu

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