Courtney Gibson, an associate professor within Texas Tech's Department of Agricultural Education & Communications, has been named the 2022-2023 president of the university's Faculty Senate, an elected assembly of representatives of the tenured and tenure-track faculty members and librarians. Authorized by the Texas Tech Board of Regents in 1977, the faculty senate is an advisory body to the university's president.  

“The opportunity to serve in such an important role on our campus is truly an honor,” Gibson said. “Representing the faculty body at the university level, especially as we embark on the 100th anniversary of Texas Tech, is so exciting, and I look forward to exploring and advocating for faculty issues that will allow us to continue to grow in the next 100 years to come.”

Looking ahead, her priorities are to focus on the issues most pressing to the faculty in the coming year. “While I'm eager to hear what issues the faculty body and our senators are most interested in prioritizing, my thoughts right now are on faculty mental health support and resources, tenure and promotion guidelines and protections, and graduate student support and resources,” she said. 

The Lubbock native teaches a variety of courses focused on visual communication, graphic design, and print layout, as well as utilizing online media and the historical and theoretical foundations of agricultural communications. Her research broadly centers on developing and enhancing student creativity, the impact and importance of visual communication and graphic design for agriculture, social media strategy, and risk and crisis communication.

Recent honors for Gibson include the American Association of Agricultural Education Distinguished Agricultural Communications Educator Award (2022), Western Region AAAE Outstanding Early Career Member Award (2019), Davis College Student Advising Award (2017), Association of Communications Excellence Award of Excellence in Academic Programs (2017), and the Helen DeVitt Jones Excellence in Graduate Teaching Award (2014).

Gibson, who joined the Texas Tech faculty in 2015, received her bachelor's, master's and doctorate degrees in agricultural communication from Texas Tech. Prior to her doctoral program, she spent four years teaching junior high social studies and served as the social studies department chair at Houston's Harmony School of Innovation.

CONTACT: Scott Burris, Chair, Department of Agricultural Education & Communications, Davis College of Agricultural Sciences & Natural Resources, Texas Tech University at (806) 834-8689 or scott.burris@ttu.edu

0719NM22 / Editor's Note: In a related honor, Sandra Addo, Program Manager For Diversity & Graduate Student Recruitment within Davis College, is the new president of the Texas Tech Staff Senate