This story was first published in the CASNR NewsCenter. See the original article here.
Eight standout faculty and staff members were honored for service and support of Texas Tech University's College of Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources Thursday (Aug. 19) during a special evening ceremony at the Department of Animal and Food Sciences livestock arena.
The 2021 CASNR award recipients from the Department of Plant & Soil Science were:
- Rosalyn Shim, Assistant Professor - International Impact Award
- Alicia Thomas, Instructor - Student Advising Award
- Jaspreet Kaur, Post Doctoral Research Associate - Research Staff Award
On Friday (Aug. 20) morning CASNR faculty participated in a retreat at the university's McKenzie-Merket Alumni Center that focused on a tactical synergy discussion led by Matthew Barnes (NRM); Courtney Meyers (AEC) and Katy Schroeder (AFS); a CASNR research report from Texas Tech's Office of Vice President for Research &Innovation; and a CASNR faculty equity advocate, ADVANCE program review by Jyotsna Sharma, a professor of plant ecology and conservation.
A following presentation included a review of Texas Tech research priorities, which included a discussion of current areas for research that the Office of Research and Innovation has been developing with the help of focus groups across campus. The speakers included CASNR Associate Dean for Research Christy Bratcher as moderator, along with Luis Herrera-Estrella with the Institute of Genomics and Crop Abiotic Stress, and Monty Christian, Executive Director of Marketing Strategies with the Office of Vice President for Research and Innovation. An overview of the college was provided by CASNR Interim Dean Cindy Akers.
The day before (Aug. 19), CASNR leaders met with members of the CASNR Advisory Board for a half-day meeting at the newly renovated Texas Tech Dairy Barn. The session included a state-of-the-college presentation by Akers. In addition, the program included a presentation on Texas Tech's new four focus research areas by Bratcher, followed by breakout sessions. Topics outlined were energy, climate change, one health, and rural resiliency.