Texas Tech officials this week announced the appointment of Josh Massey as assistant director of research facilities infrastructure and operations for the Davis College of Agricultural Sciences & Natural Resources, elevating a longtime research collaborator to a central role in guiding the college’s expanding footprint. Massey began his role on April 1 and will be based in the Davis College Dean’s Office.
'Josh's role will be to assist the college in ensuring that we are maximizing opportunities through efficient space utilization, identifying needs, and planning for changes within the college as we build the new Davis College building.'
The position, according to Dean Clint Krehbiel, is designed to support the college’s continued rise in research productivity while ensuring that its physical infrastructure keeps pace with growth and innovation. Massey will oversee a broad portfolio that includes laboratories, classrooms, greenhouses, farms and ranch properties, the operational backbone of one of the university’s most research-intensive colleges.
“We’re excited to have Josh join the team as we continue to expand our research, teaching, and outreach footprint in West Texas,” said Darren Hudson, Davis College Associate Dean for Strategic Initiatives & Assessment and the Larry Combest Endowed Chair for Agricultural Competitiveness in the Department of Agricultural & Applied Economics.
“Josh's role will be to assist the college in ensuring that we are maximizing opportunities for faculty, staff, and students through efficient space utilization, identifying needs, and planning for changes within the college as we build the new Davis College building,” he said.
In his new role, Massey is expected to coordinate closely with managers across off-campus research sites, including facilities near New Deal and Quaker Avenue, the Pantex farm and the 3R and 7R ranches. He will also lead efforts to modernize how research space is tracked and utilized, developing a comprehensive inventory system to guide decisions on renovations, reallocations and long-term planning.
College officials said the appointment reflects an increasing emphasis on efficiency and data-driven management. Massey will work with university operations teams to streamline maintenance and minimize disruptions to ongoing research, while also conducting on-site reviews of construction and expansion projects. Oversight of research equipment and identification of cost-saving opportunities will fall under his purview, along with support for emerging initiatives tied to research parks and innovation hubs.
Massey joins the Dean’s Office after serving as a research associate with the Texas Coalition for Sustainable Integrated System Research and the Texas Alliance for Water Conservation, both housed in the university’s Department of Plant & Soil Science.
In that capacity, he contributed to field-based studies on sorghum and long-term cotton-sorghum rotations, and collaborated with producers and economists on climate-smart agriculture and resource-use strategies. His work also included mentoring graduate students and postdoctoral researchers, as well as analyzing complex agricultural data sets.
Before arriving at Texas Tech in 2023, Massey held leadership roles at Oklahoma State’s agricultural research system, serving as senior station superintendent at the Cimarron Valley Research Station and as research program manager for the Field and Research Service Unit. He earned a master’s degree in agronomy from Kansas State University and a doctorate in soil science from Oklahoma State University in 2020.
CONTACT: Clint Krehbiel, Dean, Davis College of Agricultural Sciences & Natural Resources, Texas Tech University at (806) 742-2808 or Clint.Krehbiel@ttu.edu
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