Texas Tech regents name new Horn Professor, 2 new degrees on the horizon
ODESSA — Professor Nikhil Dhurandhar was recognized with the highest honor a faculty member can receive at Texas Tech University, being approved as a Horn Professor by the Texas Tech System Board of Regents during their meeting on Thursday.
The meeting is being hosted on the Texas Tech Health Sciences Center Odessa campus Thursday and Friday, with regents also authorized several other academic items for Tech, including new degree offerings.
The journey to become a Horn Professor
Professor Nikhil Dhurandhar was awarded a Paul Whitfield Horn Distinguished Professorship — commonly referred to as a Horn Professor. The regents voted unanimously in favor of granting Dhurandhar the designation.
According to the governing documents of the board, the distinguished professorship "recognizes scholarly achievement and outstanding service" to the university.
Dhurandhar, who has a bachelor's degree in chemistry, a master's in nutrition and food sciences and a postdoctoral degree in nutrition and clinical nutrition, joined the faculty in 2014 as the chair of the Department of Nutritional Sciences, Tech Provost Ronald Hendrick told the board.
During his tenure, Dhurandhar has established three obesity management programs in India and three more in the United States, according to the regent's agenda book. Dhurandhar has also written 175 publications and is featured in the Stanford University list of the top 2% of researchers with the most publications being cited internationally.
Dhurandhar has also been awarded 40 research grants totaling over $3.2 million, with some research funding coming from the National Institutes of Health and the National Science Foundation.
On top of his many accolades and leadership roles, Dhurandhar is also the Helen Devitt Jones Endowed Chair, Hendrick said.
According to the governing documents, receiving the designation named after the first president of Texas Tech involves many layers. Dhurandhar's nomination came to the Provost by either a college dean, department chair, or another Horn Professor who convened a special committee to review the applicant and his works in order to make a recommendation to Tech President Lawrence Schovanec.
The president then made the decision to approve the nomination for final approval by the board of regents, who unanimously approved the nomination.
Dhurandhar now joins the 92 faculty members who have received the designation since 1966. Only 25 of 92 are active faculty members on campus.
New animal health and personal finance degrees coming soon
Regents also OK'd a proposal to submit to the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board two new degree offerings - a master of science in animal health and industry and online delivery of a Ph.D. program in personal financial planning for certification.
The master's degree will be taught face-to-face on the Lubbock campus as well as an online offering. The program will offer both thesis and non-thesis options and is projected to have 17 students enrolled at the end of five years.
The program will cost the university $87,000 over the course of five years, with $36,000 of the cost funding scholarships. Nearly $1 million over a five-year course will go to fund the new degree, with it being entirely funded by new funding formulas and tuition and fees.
Adding an online modality to the already existing Ph.D. program for personal finance planning will add no additional cost to the university and, Tech would receive over $1.5 million of funding from new funding formulas and tuition and fees.
Mateo Rosiles is a journalist covering Breaking News and Trends in Lubbock and around the area. He also covers the academic side of Texas Tech, the Texas Tech University System and the Board of Regents. Send him news tips at mrosiles@gannett.com.
This article originally appeared on Lubbock Avalanche-Journal: Texas Tech regents name new Horn Professor, 2 new degrees on horizon
