WT news in brief: Upcoming talks, ag professorships, school rankings

WTAMU Newsroom
·7 min read

Top AT&T leader Jennifer Van Buskirk to offer insight at WT’s Sigman Series

CANYON — One of the most powerful women in telecommunications will headline West Texas A&M University’s Stan Sigman Leadership and Innovation Series in an Oct. 12 event.

Jennifer Van Buskirk, executive vice president and general manager–mid-markets for AT&T, will speak at 10 a.m. Oct. 12 in Legacy Hall inside the Jack B. Kelley Student Center on the Canyon campus.

Jennifer Van Buskirk, executive vice president and general manager–mid-markets for AT&T, will speak at 10 a.m. Oct. 12 in Legacy Hall inside the Jack B. Kelley Student Center on the Canyon campus.
Jennifer Van Buskirk, executive vice president and general manager–mid-markets for AT&T, will speak at 10 a.m. Oct. 12 in Legacy Hall inside the Jack B. Kelley Student Center on the Canyon campus.

The event is free and open to the public.

“Jennifer Van Buskirk is a powerful and inspiring technology leader at AT&T, a leading telecommunications company with worldwide reach,” said Dr. Amjad Abdullat, dean of the Paul and Virginia Engler College of Business. “While Jennifer's journey is inspiring for all of our students, her experiences in growing the reach and impact of technology will be particularly inspiring for women. Jennifer has many insights on leadership and innovation that are sure to resonate with the Texas Panhandle and campus communities.”

The series, named for a late alumnus and supporter of WT, was made possible through gifts from Sigman’s former AT&T colleagues. The gifts also established the Stan Sigman Scholarship Endowment and the Stan Sigman Endowed Professorship in Business, held by Dr. Jeffry Babb.

Van Buskirk also will hold a private session with College of Business faculty and students and record an episode of the Sigman Leadership and Innovation podcast.

WT Distinguished Lecture Series to feature 5 nationally known speakers in the fall

CANYON — West Texas A&M University’s Distinguished Lecture Series will host five nationally known speakers during the fall, including two renowned poets, a Western historian, a major corporate leader and an innovator in dyslexia research. DLS events are free and open to the public.

Up first is poet Aaron A. Abeyta, who offered a reading at in Legacy Hall in the Jack B. Kelley Student Center on the WT campus.

Then, Microsoft executive Sandra Lopez, who has been named a top woman in media and technology, will speak about “Career Empowerment and Leadership through Diversity, Respect and Inclusion.” Lopez’s speech will begin at noon Oct. 4 in the Alumni Banquet Hall. Lunch is provided.

Dr. Jack M. Fletcher, a research professor in the University of Houston’s Department of Psychology, will speak at 8:30 a.m. Oct. 5 in Legacy Hall in the Jack B. Kelley Student Center on WT’s Canyon campus.
Dr. Jack M. Fletcher, a research professor in the University of Houston’s Department of Psychology, will speak at 8:30 a.m. Oct. 5 in Legacy Hall in the Jack B. Kelley Student Center on WT’s Canyon campus.

Up next is the 11th annual Helen Piehl Distinguished Lecture, featuring dyslexia expert Dr. Jack M. Fletcher on “The Reading Brain: Understanding the Science of Dyslexia.” The speech and workshop will run from 8:30 a.m. to noon Oct. 5 in Legacy Hall and will have a virtual option. Major sponsors of this event are Helen Piehl, the WT Distinguished Lecture Series, and the Terry B. Rogers College of Education and Social Sciences. Registration is required.

This year’s installment of the Dorothy Patterson Poetry Series will follow, featuring poet Chad Abushanab. The poet, teacher and electronic musician will read his work at 7 p.m. Nov. 1 in the Sybil B. Harrington Fine Arts Complex Recital Hall.

The final DLS event of the semester will feature Dan Flores as the headliner of the Garry L. Nall Lecture in Western Studies. Flores, the A.B Hammond Professor Emeritus of Western History at the University of Montana, will speak at 7 p.m. Nov. 2 in Legacy Hall. The event is co-hosted by the Center for the Study of the American West and the Distinguished Lecture Series.

“On behalf of the Distinguished Lecture Series, I am honored to welcome and support these five speakers to WT this semester,” said Dr. Emily Kinsky, Jenny Lind Porter Professor of Communication and chair of the DLS committee. “The Distinguished Lecture Series is an absolute gem for WT and the Canyon and Amarillo community, and I hope people in the area take advantage of the opportunity to hear these impressive speakers as they visit our campus.”

For information about these events, visit the Distinguished Lecture Series website.

Oklahoma historian's work wins CSAW’s Outstanding Western Book

CANYON — A book exploring generations of intermarriage between whites and Indigenous populations — and how and why those relationships were celebrated, then hidden — is the 2023 Outstanding Western Book from the Center for the Study of the American West at West Texas A&M University.

“Born of Lakes and Plains: Mixed-Descent Peoples and the Making of the American West” is the latest from historian and University of Oklahoma professor Dr. Anne F. Hyde, a Pulitzer Prize finalist.

“Born of Lakes and Plains: Mixed-Descent Peoples and the Making of the American West” is the latest from historian and University of Oklahoma professor Dr. Anne F. Hyde, a Pulitzer Prize finalist.
“Born of Lakes and Plains: Mixed-Descent Peoples and the Making of the American West” is the latest from historian and University of Oklahoma professor Dr. Anne F. Hyde, a Pulitzer Prize finalist.

Hyde will give a reading and accept her award at a Jan. 23 event in the Hazlewood Lecture Hall in Panhandle-Plains Historical Museum, 2503 Fourth Ave. in Canyon.

“It’s thrilling to be an award winner, especially on a topic that’s this difficult,” Hyde said.

CSAW has given the Bonney McDonald Outstanding Western Book Award annually since 2019.

“Born of Lakes and Plains,” also a finalist for the 2023 Stubbendieck Great Plains Distinguished Book Prize and a 2023 American Book Award winner from the Before Columbus Foundation, tracks five American families across generations as they “first bridged then collided with racial boundaries,” according to Hyde’s publishing house, W.W. Norton.

Couch, Robinson professorships established in WT Department of Agriculture

CANYON — Two new professorships named for legends of agricultural education have been established at West Texas A&M University.

Dr. Lance Kieth, associate dean of external relations and recruiting for the Paul Engler College of Agriculture and Natural Sciences, will serve as the Couch Family Professor of Extension Education, named for John and Lennis Couch and daughters Annette and Dr. Martha Couch, who spent 36 years working for Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service.

Dr. Lance Kieth, left, and Micheal Semler have been named, respectively, the Couch Family Professor of Extension Education and the Dr. Bob and Cleo Robinson Professor of Livestock Judging at West Texas A&M University. They are seen celebrating their appointments during Ag Day on Sept. 9 with Cleo and Dr. Bob Robinson.
Dr. Lance Kieth, left, and Micheal Semler have been named, respectively, the Couch Family Professor of Extension Education and the Dr. Bob and Cleo Robinson Professor of Livestock Judging at West Texas A&M University. They are seen celebrating their appointments during Ag Day on Sept. 9 with Cleo and Dr. Bob Robinson.

Michael Semler, animal sciences instructor and livestock judging coach, will serve as the Dr. Bob and Cleo Robinson Professor of Livestock Judging, named for a legendary extension agent and longtime WT professor and internship coordinator and his wife.

“Dr. Martha Couch and Dr. Bob Robinson made a legendary impact in the Texas Panhandle through their long-term service to Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service. They worked closely together for many years, and their commitment to the region’s students is unmatched,” said Dr. David Lust, head of WT’s Department of Agricultural Sciences. “Dr. Lance Kieth and Michael Semler share that passion for helping students, and we are excited that these professorships can help continue the tradition of service to students.”

The professorships were established following gifts of $125,000 or more to the College through the historic, $125 million One West comprehensive fundraising campaign. This brings the total of endowed professorships and chairs in the College to 14, nine of which having been established since 2021.

U.S. News & World Report ranks WT among best schools in West

CANYON — West Texas A&M University once again is one of the top schools in the West, according to newly released rankings from U.S. News & World Report.

WT ranked at No. 20 among Best Value Schools among schools in the West. The University rose to No. 56 in the magazine’s Regional Universities (West) list, up one from 2022-23, and WT also placed at No. 27 in the list of Top Public Universities in the West. WT also ranked among Best Undergraduate Engineering Programs, Best Bachelor of Science in Nursing Programs and Top Performers on Social Mobility.

“We are pleased by the spotlight U.S. News and World Report annual rankings continue to shine on WT’s academic degree programs,” said Dr. Neil Terry, executive vice president and provost. “Providing quality degree options that earn national recognition while maintaining cost-effective pricing is a competitive advantage for many of our majors.”

U.S. News’ Best Colleges rankings provide data-driven information and guidance to help prospective students and their families understand their higher education options. U.S. News' directory of institutions contains each school's rankings data and key characteristics about majors, campus life, costs of attending, and more. Users can filter schools by selected academic and non-academic characteristics along their priorities. Only academic data from U.S. News’ surveys and reliable third-party sources are used to calculate each ranking factor.

In an effort to place more emphasis on social mobility and outcomes, new factors were added to this year’s rankings, including first-generation graduation rates, first-generation graduation rate performance and proportion of college graduates earning more than a high school graduate. The definition of social mobility changed this year in the National Universities ranking to include first-generation graduation rates, in addition to Pell-recipient graduation rates.

Earlier this year, WT earned 11 total Best Program accolades for online programs, including the No. 1 online bachelor’s programs for veterans and the No. 3 online MBA program for veterans.

This article originally appeared on Amarillo Globe-News: WTAMU news in brief on lectures, professorships, rankings