Texas Tech University

Vision & Mission Statements

Davis College of Agricultural Sciences & Natural Resources

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Vision Statement

Davis College will empower, elevate, and transform lives to address the challenges of a changing world.

Mission Statement

Davis College develops global leaders through innovative teaching, research, and scholarship while engaging with diverse communities to improve the world's food, fiber, and natural resources.

Values

  • Integrity: Value a personal commitment to honesty and accountability.
  • Relationships: Maintain personal relationships as we interact with students and their families, colleagues, staff, alumni, and the community.
  • Spirit: Foster a can-do attitude through service.
  • Empowerment: Develop leaders through high impact experiences.
  • Innovation: Conduct research that addresses issues relevant to the community, state, nation, and world.
  • Inclusion: Create an environment that makes everyone an important part of the college's success.
  • Engagement: Work in local and global partnerships to solve problems.

Davis College Strategic Guidance

  • Davis College will grow industry and private partnerships to provide guidance/input and resources to accomplish our academic, research and engagement goals. Public and private partnerships will focus on endowments and contracts/agreements to support undergraduate and graduate student scholarships, international experiences for students, internships, graduate assistantships, mentoring programs with industry representatives, research space and projects, faculty positions, and other activities.
  • Davis College will increase transdisciplinary collaborations across TTU Colleges and beyond, to meet the needs of a global society. Establish partnerships across the TTU System to build modern curriculum and strengthen research outcomes especially with federal agencies.

Davis College Strategic Priorities

Strategic Priorities identify areas of vital importance to the state, region, country and world. These are areas of focus where Davis College, in collaboration with others, can bring together the teaching, research and outreach missions of the various departments, colleges and disciplines within Davis College and beyond to address real world challenges.

Student Success & Leadership – We aim to create opportunities for our students to succeed through high impact learning that includes research and service learning and career training. Our goal is to develop successful leaders who think critically and communicate effectively. Students in our college develop expertise and soft skills through internships, leadership programs like the Matador Institute of Leadership Engagement (MILE), Governmental Internship Programs, collaborations with industry, and other high impact experiences.

Rural Economic & Societal Sustainability – The resilience of rural areas and populations which support agricultural and natural resource activities is a critical issue for our state, region and the nation. Working inside and beyond Davis College, we focus on improving rural sustainability in several areas, including natural resources, energy, health, education, and technological development of rural communities.

Water & Soil Health – Water availability and water use efficiency in the face of changing agriculture are vital to the economy and society of Texas. Davis College proactively focuses on several aspects of water management, from housing a leading genomics laboratory that focuses on tolerance to water and salt stress to research centers that focus on water-efficient cropping, landscaping, forages and animal care, and irrigation methods to minimize water waste. Soil health is the capacity of soil to sustain plants, microbes, animals, and humans. Soil chemistry, physics, microbiology, and other suitability aspects are important in native environments, production systems, landscapes, and anything else that uses soil. Understanding these relationships and interactions can inform management decisions now and adaptations in the future.

Natural Resources & Wildlife – Davis College brings together education, research and outreach to address the challenges of natural resource management focusing upon a diversity of topics related to wildlife and range conservation and management, aquatic resource sciences and conservation, and application of geospatial technologies to solve natural resource problems. Faculty and students within Davis College work closely with private landowners, public natural resource agencies, collaborators at other universities, and regionally invested stakeholders to address relevant questions related to sustainable conservation and management of our natural resources. Collectively, our emphasis areas strategically use cutting edge technologies to provide viable solutions to stakeholders for conserving terrestrial and aquatic wildlife, managing rangeland resources, managing watersheds to protect water resources, surveilling wildlife health and disease and controlling invasive species.

Agricultural Commodities – Texas supports a vibrant agricultural economy, leading the United States in cattle and cotton production and ranking second in wine production. Davis College has been and will continue to be a leader in education, research, and outreach in the improvement of production and fiber quality in cotton. This research includes identification of novel tolerance mechanisms to stress, the development of plant-based plastics and other bioproducts, development of precision production practices, and development of innovative methods of identifying and improving cotton fiber quality. Further, a thriving animal science program focuses on nutrition, animal well-being, genetics, and physiology in cattle, horses, sheep, goats, and swine.

Improving Quality of Life – Quality of life is a qualitative standard of health and happiness that are experienced throughout one's life and can be described individually and as a community. Davis College has several programs that benefit individuals and communities and add to quality of life. The companion animal program studies the interactions of dogs and other companion animals with the people who rely on them. The viticulture and enology program teaches students the science of grape production and winemaking while integrating with commercial vineyards in Texas. Other research centers focus on natural resource preservation, beautification of landscapes and green spaces, and communications with the local and regional communities.

Food Security & Safety – The quality and availability of food is vital to a growing global population, and Davis College leads research in food science and safety through an interdisciplinary approach to address the issues of food security and safety through science, economics, education, and communication.

Davis College Leadership Roles

  • Develop policies and procedures to promote the hiring and retention of the highest quality faculty and staff.
  • Recognize and support the importance of the creative process and the goal of excellence in all we do.
  • Invest in teams that deepen the integration across mission areas and disciplines to demonstrate global leadership in addressing priority issues by valuing cross-mission and interdisciplinary collaborations.
  • Grow new, and continue to improve existing, student leadership development programs to expand the learning outcomes of undergraduate and graduate students.
  • Participate in university, state, and national leadership programs to build leadership skills of faculty and staff members.
  • Fully engage the Davis College and departmental advisory committees to develop and utilize proactive approaches for identifying the highest priority issues facing the stakeholders we serve.
  • Invest in dedicated co-working spaces (renovated Dairy Barn) to stimulate collaborations across all colleges at Texas Tech. The Davis College Grants Office will be located in the renovated Dairy Barn.
  • Conduct exit interviews with all departing faculty and staff.
  • Increase the number of named endowed chair and professorships during the strategic planning period until 2025.
  • Continue and improve a Faculty Fellows Development Program, a 9-month program for pre-tenure faculty which covers the aspects of how to become a successful faculty member.