WT news: Ag gets $6 million boost, new school deans, scholarship winner
New $6 million state allocation to help establish WT as global food animal production leader
CANYON — As part of a record $1.19 billion in new spending approved by Gov. Greg Abbott for The Texas A&M University System, West Texas A&M University will receive $6 million to continue establishing the Center for Advancing Food Animal Production in the Panhandle — $3 million per year over the next two years.
CAFAP enables WT students to specialize in animal health, animal care, animal nutrition and pre- and post-harvest food science/food safety. The annual economic impact of beef and dairy cattle in the Texas Panhandle exceeds $20 billion.
The new funding will help ensure a steady and affordable supply of essential food products to consumers; address beef, dairy and pork producer needs; and optimize water-use technologies in the High Plains by funding an academic and industry team, with post-graduate students, to provide solutions. The requested funding also will allow the Center to expand its nontraditional agricultural education services through partnerships with state and federal agencies, producer groups and local school districts.
“Beyond the training of University students in the classroom, WT’s exceptional faculty and facilities are used in partnership with youth organizations such as FFA, 4-H and educational camps, as well as commercial entities and industry groups for educational programs and events,” said Dr. Kevin Pond, dean of the Paul Engler College of Agriculture and Natural Sciences. Pond said that WT, located in the heart of food animal production, has an obligation to serve the people and industries in this region.
The additional $6 million approved in June will allow for a 35 percent increase in undergraduate and graduate students training in beef, dairy and pork agriculture in WT’s Paul Engler College of Agriculture and Natural Sciences, as well as Texas A&M College of Veterinary Medicine’s Veterinary Education, Research and Outreach. VERO is the unique 2+2 veterinarian training program housed at both WT and Texas A&M University. The funding also is expected to double the number of veterinary students receiving clinical and experiential training from WT and VERO faculty.
Since 2016, more than $100 million has gone into expanding WT’s agricultural programs, including the construction of WT’s Agricultural Sciences Complex, which contains the Happy State Bank Academic and Research building; the Caviness Meat Science and Innovation Center; the Piehl-Schaeffer Pavilion and the Bain Event Center; and The Charles W. “Doc” Graham ’53 DVM, The Texas A&M University System Center, which encompasses VERO and TVMDL. Relatedly, Texas A&M AgriLife Research and Extension Center of Amarillo announced in May 2022 that it would move to the northeast corner of WT’s campus, thanks to $30 million in funding from the Texas A&M University System Board of Regents. Construction is slated to begin in early 2024.
Texas A&M VERO student selected for exclusive fellowship
A Texas A&M veterinary student who is studying Bovine Respiratory Disease (BRD) with researchers at the Texas A&M School of Veterinary Medicine & Biomedical Sciences’ (VMBS) Veterinary Education, Research, & Outreach (VERO) program in Canyon was among the 13 students from around the world to be selected for a Veterinary Student Research Fellowship (FFAR Vet Fellows).
Ali Olsen-Gerlach is a second-year veterinary student from Wichita Falls in the VMBS’ 2+2 Doctor of Veterinary Medicine program, through which a small cohort of students spend the first two years of their veterinary educations at VERO, which housed on the West Texas A&M University campus in Canyon.
The 2023 FFAR Vet Fellows program, issued by the Foundation for Food & Agriculture Research (FFAR) and the American Association of Veterinary Medical Colleges (AAVMC), was developed to address the global need for research that tackles how population growth, climate change, emerging infectious diseases, and antimicrobial resistance threaten sustainable livestock production.
The awarding organizations seek to promote veterinary training that includes mutispecies medicine, animal science, and public health.
Olsen-Gerlach is conducting research on BRD with Dr. Robert Valeris-Chacin, assistant professor at VERO, and Dr. Paul Morley, professor and director of food animal research at VERO. BRD is the most common illness in beef cattle and a major problem for the industry that requires treatment with antibiotics. Her research evaluates how these commonly used antibiotics impact bacteria in healthy cattle — beyond preventing BRD — to provide producers with new information that can increase their antibiotic stewardship efforts.
“Ali has been a great contributor in the VERO lab this summer, where she worked hard on her assigned research as well as helping with other projects being conducted by our team,” Morley said. “We are hoping that she is able to continue as part of our research team after this project is completed.”
Jeffreys named new dean of WT’s College of Nursing, Health Sciences
CANYON — West Texas A&M University’s head nurse is the new dean of the University’s College of Nursing and Health Sciences. Dr. Holly Jeffreys — who has led WT’s Department of Nursing since August 2020 — will take over as the College’s dean Aug. 1.
Jeffreys, who also is WT’s High Plains Christian Ministries Foundation Professor in Nursing Leadership, steps into the role following the departure of Dr. J. Dirk Nelson, who left WT in June to become the founding dean of Abilene Christian University’s restructured College of Health and Behavioral Sciences.
Jeffreys said she is “truly honored” to be named dean. “I do not take the responsibility lightly,” Jeffreys said. “I know the graduates from our college play a critical role in the overall health and success of the people in and around the Texas Panhandle. I am thankful for the opportunity to work alongside a strong administrative team and look forward to leading our college forward in accomplishing the mission and realizing the vision of WT 125: From the Panhandle to the World.”
Jeffreys, in addition to her work at WT, is a prominent Panhandle-area nurse practitioner and a WT graduate whose love of nursing developed while watching her father, a pastor and volunteer hospital chaplain, visit patients weekly.
“I loved watching my dad serve others, but when I saw the nurses going up and down the hallways from room to room using these amazing skills that helped patients both physically and mentally, I knew that was what I wanted to become,” Jeffreys said. “The nurses could make the saddest patients smile, the maddest patient become kind again, and the hurting patients feel more comfortable by just being present.”
Jeffreys completed her bachelor and master of science in nursing at WT, and she completed her doctorate in nursing practice at the University of Texas.
As dean, Jeffreys will oversee one of the University’s most acclaimed Colleges. Established in 1972 and graduating its first students in 1974, WT’s Department of Nursing currently provides about 70 percent of nurses employed throughout the Texas Panhandle. In 2021, the Department of Nursing officially moved to the Harrington Academic Hall WTAMU Amarillo Center, 720 S. Tyler St., a strategic shift to increase the University’s already sizeable impact on healthcare in the Texas Panhandle. The Amarillo Center now houses 250 undergraduate bachelor of nursing students and about 20 nursing faculty and staff. In its 25,000 square feet, the Baptist Community Services Nursing Education Floor includes state-of-the-art simulation labs and other innovative educational spaces.
In 2014 Jeffreys was appointed to serve on the Health Care Advisory Board for Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick where she continues to serve today. Jeffreys also serves as president of the Bushland Independent School District school board, president-elect for the Texas Deans & Directors for Professional Nursing Programs, and legislative ambassador for the Texas Nurse Practitioner Policy Council. She serves on the board of directors for the Texas Association of Rural Health Clinics and the Harrington Cancer Health Foundation as well as on the advisory board for the Texas Board of Nursing and the Northwest Texas Small Business Development Centers. Jeffreys has been named a University of Texas distinguished nursing alumni, Texas Nurse Practitioner of the Year, and Texas State Excellence Award Winner from the American Association of Nurse Practitioners. Most recently, she was honored as one of the Great 25 Nurses of the Texas Panhandle.
Dr. Angela Phillips, WT’s Mike Wartes Professor of Nursing and Health Sciences, will serve as interim associate dean. Dr. Collette Loftin, professor of nursing, will serve as interim head of the Department of Nursing.
Gary Bigham named dean of WT’s Rogers College of Education, Social Sciences
CANYON — A career educator with strong Panhandle ties has been named the new dean of the Terry B. Rogers College of Education and Social Sciences at West Texas A&M University. Dr. Gary Bigham, a 15-year veteran of WT who spent 20 years in teaching and administration in the public school system, officially will begin his duties Aug. 1 following approval from The Texas A&M University System.
“I am honored and humbled by the trust that WT’s top administration has placed in me,” Bigham said. “I take the responsibilities associated with my selection most seriously.”
Bigham fills a position made open following the decision of the College’s longtime dean, Dr. Eddie Henderson, to return to the classroom, as announced in October. Bigham said he hopes to build on the long legacy of the Rogers College of Education and Social Sciences.
“At the core, I want this college to be the place where anybody seeking a degree in any of our fields — whether it’s education, psychology, criminal justice, political science, public administration, emergency management or the like — that we’re their first choice,” Bigham said. “I want us to have an active presence in the field, not only the place schools turn to for guidance and assistance, but for any of the social-science disciplines that fall within our fields of study.”
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.
He began his teaching career in Amherst, then moved to Springlake-Earth, where he served as an elementary and junior high principal before being elevated to superintendent. Along the way, he completed a master’s in agricultural education and a doctorate in educational leadership, both at Texas Tech.
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.
In addition to teachers and school administrators, the Terry B. Rogers College of Education and Social Sciences is responsible for the preparation of school psychologists, social work professionals, and students for graduate programs in psychology, sociology, the law and public services and administration, as well as direct engagement with the community through its programs in criminal justice and emergency management administration. The College currently serves more than 1,700 students, making it the second-largest College at WT. It includes three departments: the Department of Education; the Department of Political Science and Criminal Justice; and the Department of Psychology, Sociology and Social Work.
Bigham will oversee all areas of the College, bringing to the fore the skills he learned as a public school administrator and those he has developed during his time at WT.
“When I started working on my master’s degree,” Bigham said, “I had two professors who encouraged me to get a principal’s certification, and I had no idea that I would develop the passion for educational leadership that I did.
“Opportunity comes about whether you walk through the door or not, and I decided to walk through that door.”
This article originally appeared on Amarillo Globe-News: West Texas A&M University news in brief for week of July 30
