Sadie Roth, a doctoral candidate and instructor with Texas Tech’s Department of Natural Resources Management, has been named a recipient of the university’s 2026 Helen Devitt Jones Excellence in Graduate Teaching Award for Spring 2026, in the category of wildlife, aquatic and wildlands science management.
The recognition, among the institution’s prominent honors for graduate instructors, is awarded to part-time teachers who demonstrate exceptional classroom performance and scholarly promise. Roth teaches ‘Genetics and NRM’ (NRM 2307).
“Teaching this course has been a great experience for me,” Roth said. “There is so much joy in connecting with the students about a topic I am passionate about. I particularly enjoy watching them realize the ways in which they can use concepts from class in their future careers as resource managers.”
Roth’s award was formally presented during the university’s annual spring recognition ceremony last month, where recipients are honored for contributions that extend beyond coursework into mentorship and academic leadership. The prize is supported by the Helen Jones Foundation, a philanthropic entity that funds fellowships and scholarships aimed at cultivating the next generation of educators and researchers.
In other action, Roth was recently awarded an American Association of University Women Dissertation Fellowship, a prestigious, national award designed to support women scholars during their final year
In other action, Roth was recently awarded an American Association of University Women Dissertation Fellowship, a prestigious, national award designed to support women scholars during their final year of dissertation writing. Established in 1888, it is one of the oldest and largest non-institutional sources of graduate funding for women in the United States. The honor comes with a $25,000 stipend to offset living and educational expenses, helping recipients focus entirely on completing their doctoral degree.
Before arriving in West Texas, the Florida native completed her bachelor’s degree in integrated biology from the University of South Florida. Her master’s degree in wildlife, aquatic and wildlands science and management is from Texas Tech, broadening a research portfolio that now spans herpetology.
At Texas Tech, her academic trajectory has been guided by two academic leaders, Professor Kerry Griffis-Kyle and Associate Professor Matthew Barnes in the Department of Natural Resources Management.
Kerry Griffis-Kyle’s research centers on management driven questions related to biodiversity and conservation in arid and semi-arid systems. “Much of my lab's work is focused on evaluating how anthropogenic stressors are affecting wildlife, wetlands, wetland dependent species, and other sensitive natural resources and how we can modify management to mitigate these issues,” she said.
Separately, Barnes’ research program focuses on the ecology of environmental DNA (eDNA) and eDNA applications to improve fundamental ecological understanding about the distribution and dispersal of species, primarily in freshwater ecosystems.
In terms of Roth’s own research, her interest lies in the conservation and management of amphibians and reptiles using a holistic approach – including everything from population modelling, to landscape genetic approaches, to disease ecology – to support the health of and persistence of wildlife populations. She is expected to graduate in the Summer of 2027.
CONTACT: Richard Stevens, Chair & Caeser Kleberg Endowed Professor of Wildlife Conservation, Department of Natural Resources Management, Davis College of Agricultural Sciences & Natural Resources, Texas Tech University at (806) 834-6843 or richard.stevens@ttu.edu
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