At the Regional Sites

Senate & Legislative Ladies Tour Fredericksburg Regional Site

By Joshua Blount, Editor

The Texas Tech University System recently hosted the Senate & Legislative Ladies Clubs at the Hill Country University Center, home of the Texas Tech University at Fredericksburg Regional Site. The Senate & Legislative Ladies Clubs were founded in early 1927 with the goal of providing a social outlet for the wives of Texas legislators during the biennial legislative session and fostering a non-political environment that encourages friendship among its members. The event allowed the Texas Tech System to showcase some of its noteworthy programs, while also allowing the Senate & Legislative Ladies to learn about the opportunities that are afforded to students within the institution.

President Lawrence Schovanec and Janet Tornelli-Mitchell welcomed the Senate & Legislative First Ladies. Including First Lady Janet Tornelli-Mitchell, the hostesses of the event included Bobette Lange, Patti May, Terri Duncan, Elisabeth Burrows, Jacklyn Perry, Barbi Biederman and Kelly Fox. Also in attendance was Melanie Hart, vice provost for the regional sites.

Kathryn Button, professor in the College of Education, spoke about the TechTeach Across Texas program which is a statewide initiative with school districts and community colleges. The TechTeach Across Texas program is a one-year teacher preparation program that combines clinical experiences with online courses. The program allows community college transfer students with an Associate of Arts in Teaching to complete a Bachelor of Science degree and earn teacher certification in one calendar year. In the Hill Country TechTeach program, teacher candidates complete a full year of student teaching at Fredericksburg Elementary or Fredericksburg Primary schools. The goal is that the school district will hire graduates to be teachers.

In addition to learning about the benefits provided to students pursuing a degree in teaching, the Senate & Legislative Ladies also learned about how TTU at Fredericksburg benefits the local wine industry. The System hosted a Ladies Luncheon & Tour at Grape Creek Winery for the Senate & Legislative Ladies where the ladies learned about the Plant & Soil Sciences programs offered in Fredericksburg. William Brown, dean of the College of Agriculture and Natural Resources, spoke about additional academic partnerships he is interested in pursuing in the Texas Hill Country region. Ed Hellman, professor of Viticulture, highlighted the Plant and Soil Science Programs offered at Texas Tech University at Fredericksburg, including the new Bachelor of Science in Local Food and Wine Production Systems and the Viticulture and Enology degree. The event concluded with a wine tasting at Hye Meadow Winery where owner Mike Batek, a graduate of the Texas Tech Viticulture Certificate Program, talked about his career in the wine industry and his new award winning wines.

TTU at Fredericksburg was proud to host the Senate & Legislative Ladies event and showcase the programs and opportunities they offer. Kelly Fox, director of the Fredericksburg and Highland Lakes Regional Sites, stated, "The ladies clubs visit the major universities during each legislative session. It's an honor to represent and highlight programs that the Texas Tech University System provides across the state and to host such a prominent and influential organization. We strive to make to excursion both informative and fun so they'll keep coming back."

ABOUT TEXAS TECH UNIVERSITY REGIONAL SITES

You don't have to live in Lubbock to pursue a degree from Texas Tech University. Seven unique regional teaching sites extend our reach across the state so that your educational goals can be achieved from anywhere. With the programs offered, you can prepare for a variety of careers without leaving your home community. The degrees earned from Texas Tech regional sites are the same as those earned on the main campus in Lubbock.

ABOUT THE TEXAS TECH UNIVERSITY SYSTEM

The Texas Tech University System is comprised of four component institutions—Texas Tech University, Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center, Angelo State University and Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center El Paso—which are impacting the lives of individuals not only in West Texas, but across the entire state, country, and the world.

 

 

 

The Senate & Legislative Ladies

 

 President Schovanec welcomes the Senate & Legislative Ladies