West Texas A&M news in brief on new research, national honors

CANYON — It's been a busy news cycle for West Texas A&M University (WT), with lots of developments to be thankful for ahead of the Thanksgiving holiday week. Here are just a few of those developments.

WT’s Bigham Named TAMUS Regents Professor

WT's Dr. Gary Bigham has earned one of the most prestigious honors in The Texas A&M University System. Bigham, dean of WT’s Terry B. Rogers College of Education and Social Sciences, was named one of 14 Regents Professors during the TAMUS Board of Regents’ Nov. 9 meeting.

Bigham and his fellow recipients were recognized for their exemplary performance during 2022- 23 and throughout their career. Additionally, 13 agency service, extension or research professionals were named Regents Fellows.

Bigham said he is “honored beyond what any words can convey” by the appointment. “I will strive every day to fulfill the responsibilities associated with this naming,” Bigham said. “This meritorious award represents the culmination of my life’s work and is the pinnacle of my career.”

The Board established the Regents Professor Awards program in 1996 and the Regents Fellow Service Awards program in 1998 to recognize employees who have made extraordinary contributions to their university, or agency, as well as to the people of Texas. Regents Professors are awarded a stipend and a special commemorative medallion bearing the seal of the A&M System. To date, 306 Texas A&M system faculty members have been recognized with the Regents Professor Award — including 12 at WT — and 188 agency professionals have received the Regents Fellow Service Award.

Bigham, a Lockney native, was inspired to enter education by his admiration of a high school agriculture teacher. After beginning his degree at WT, Bigham completed his bachelor’s in agricultural education at Texas Tech University. After two decades in public schools, Bigham joined the WT faculty, where he has served as director of the University’s educational leadership doctorate program and superintendent certification. Bigham has presented his research at local, regional, state, national and international conferences, events, and workshops. He has also presented professional development workshops for teachers, administrators and school board members.

WT Meat Judging Team wins national championship

WT's meat judging team secured its first-ever national championship in a Nov. 12 competition at the Tyson International Contest in Dakota City, Nebraska. The team took first in beef grading, pork judging, reasons and total beef; second in specifications; and fourth in lamb judging and total placings. Its score of 4,230 is the second-highest core ever recorded by a WT meat judging team.

“Winning the first national championship in program history in the most competitive season of meat judging I have ever witnessed was legendary,” said coach Dr. Loni Lucherk, WT’s Gordon W. Davis Chair in Meat Judging in its Department of Agricultural Sciences. “I am so excited for this win to catapult the program and put us on the map as a dominant meat judging school, but more excited to see how this program impacts students to go out in the industry and strive to be champions in life.”

WT topped its closest competitor, Texas Tech University, by 32 points. Other competitors included Oklahoma State University, Texas A&M University and Kansas State University.

Among individual results, Ryan Heitschmidt, a junior animal science major from Nazareth, ranked fifth overall, fifth in pork judging, third in beef judging, fourth in total placings and fifth in reasons. He also won the Rachel Hamilton Memorial Award and was named to the All American second team.

The team won its first national contest in October at the prestigious American Royal Meat Judging contest, where it set a school record. Lucherk was named the Davis Chair in Meat Judging in 2021, following a $3.75 million gift from Dr. Gordon W. Davis, a Lubbock businessman and former educator.

WT researchers explore ways to combat teacher burnout in new publication

As worries continue to rise nationwide over teacher shortages, three WT professors recently published research into the importance of self-care in making sure educators can stave off burnout.

“Keeping Your Wits About You: Reframing Self-Care for Teachers” recently was published in “English in Texas: A Journal of the Texas Council of Teachers of English Language Arts” by WT’s Dr. Russell Miller, the Lanna and Bob Hatton Professor of Education and executive director of educator preparation; Dr. Teri Bingham, professor of education; and Dr. Crystal Hughes, associate professor of curriculum and instruction and director of candidate performance; as well as Hayden Maas, a second-grade teacher at Avondale Elementary School in the Amarillo Independent School District.

“Teaching is an emotionally, cognitively, and even physically demanding career choice with benefits that feed the soul but starve the wallet. Some teachers enter the profession like an inferno impacting young lives with fervor, only to have their flame extinguished after a few years,” the researchers wrote. “Others follow a calling that slowly depreciates into a job, they are comfortable in, but passionless about.”

In their article, the researchers point out that 77 percent of teachers have “seriously considered” leaving the profession and 72 percent have taken steps to leave, according to a 2022 survey. That study found that six in 10 planned to move to a different career within five years. The researchers found that teachers are facing constant changes in expectations, including new curriculums, new trainings and new procedures, as well as higher student to-teacher ratio. Educators also are concerned that their salaries are too often lower than private-sector positions,despite teaching positions requiring degrees and certifications that aren’t required in other fields.

The WT researchers all are faculty members in the Terry B. Rogers College of Education and Social Sciences.

WT wins national honor for grounds maintenance

WT's grounds team recently was recognized as one of the best in the country.

WT was presented an honor award in the University and College Grounds — Large (500+ acres) category by the Professional Grounds Management Society’s Green Star Awards at its annual conference in Louisville, Kentucky.

This awards program brings national recognition to grounds maintained with a high degree of excellence. The Green Star Awards competition complements other national landscape award programs that recognize outstanding landscape design and construction. During the awards celebration, PGMS presented four grand awards, its highest honor, as well as 12 honor awards.

WT’s SSC Services for Education grounds team manages approximately 350 acres on the main campus, including eight synthetic turf fields and a 70-acre cross-country course.

“WT is proud to have received this special award,” said Stan Pena, assistant vice president for facilities. “We continue to make significant milestones with our campus beautification efforts to provide beautiful and safe grounds for our students, faculty, staff and visitors.”

For a full list of 2023 Green Star winners, visit pgms.org/page/2023GreenStarWinners.

WT professor part of team studying conflict resolution in communication

A WT professor has joined colleagues from around the country in publishing groundbreaking research into conflict management.

Dr. Leslie Ramos Salazar, WT’s Abdullat Professor of Business Communication and Decision Management in the Paul and Virginia Engler College of Business, was part of a team of experts who published “The Power of Assertive Communication in Conflict Resolution: Insights from Verbal Statements” in the highly regarded International Journal of Conflict Management.

Also contributing were Dr. Steve Winer, director of the Institute for Relationship Communication; Amy M. Anderson, professor of communications at Spokane Community College; and Michael Busch, a seasoned consultant.

"Conflict is an inherent component of any relationship, often accompanied by intense emotions like anger,” Ramos Salazar said. “Unresolved conflicts can lead to adverse outcomes, including relationship dissatisfaction, emotional abuse, and even relational dissolution, such as divorce. These repercussions can significantly impact individuals' mental well-being and overall quality of life.”

The study examined the verbal coding system developed by Dr. Winer, who meticulously analyzed over 4,000 video recordings of high-conflict situations involving anger in personal relationships spanning 15 years. This coding system revealed that using assertive verbal communication statements can yield positive conflict outcomes and enhance relationship satisfaction.

Those assertive statements were generally classified as “I-You” statements for the research, such as, “I’m angry with you for not helping me clean up our room. I want you to do your part, and I want to work this out with you.”

“It was perceived as likely to be listened to, effective at resolving conflicts, and instrumental in maintaining satisfactory relationships,” Ramos Salazar said. “The ‘I-You’ statement conveyed clarity, directness, honesty and respect, enabling the expression and understanding of authentic feelings. It also communicated a mutual willingness to collaborate in resolving the conflict.”

In the study, 175 university student participants from Texas and New York responded to survey questions exploring their perceptions of conflict in classroom and roommate interpersonal settings from the receiver's perspective. Additionally, participants ranked six distinct verbal communication statements based on their assertiveness, passiveness, and aggressiveness levels: “We,” “I-You,” “Question-Why,” “But,” “I” and “You.”

This article originally appeared on Amarillo Globe-News: WTAMU news in brief on new research, national honors