WT news includes Homecoming Week, Marmaduke center, teams

WTAMU Newsroom
·7 min read

WT Homecoming Week activities set for Oct. 6 to 14

CANYON — West Texas A&M University alumni will be dancing in the streets as WT celebrates Homecoming 2023. Themed “The Buff Playlist,” Homecoming events run Oct. 6 to 13, culminating Oct. 14 with the annual parade and WT Football’s game against Western New Mexico University.

“Homecoming Week is a special time of year for WT alumni, students, faculty, staff and the Buff community,” said Ronnie Hall, executive director of the WT Alumni Association. “We are excited for people to return to campus to celebrate their Buff pride and create fond memories with friends.”

Highlights will include:

The Phoenix: This celebration of WT’s Distinguished Alumni Class of 2023 will include a dinner and program, followed by jazz and desserts and takes place 6-9 p.m. Oct. 12 in Legacy Hall in the Jack B. Kelley Student Center, with the after-party scheduled to be held around Buffalo Fountain on the Charles K. and Barbara Kerr Vaughan Pedestrian Mall. Tickets are $75; tables are $600 to $1,500. Honorees are Gary Barnes, a transformative former WT administrator; and the late William E. “Bill” Semmelbeck, a beloved business professor emeritus.

Celebration of Color: Four WT alumni of color and three Amarillo community leaders will be honored at this dinner event at 6 p.m. Oct. 13 in Legacy Hall. Honorees will include civic leader Elisha Demerson; former star WT athlete Victor McGee; educator and comedian Milton Smith; nurse and educator Dolores Neal Thompson; civic volunteer Lilia Escajeda; and philanthropists David and Sherry Schaeffer. Tickets are $35; visit wtamu.edu/engagedcitizenship or call 806-651-8482.

Run with the Herd: WT Military and Veteran Services will host a 5K fun run around the WT campus at 8 a.m. Oct. 14.

Homecoming Parade: The Buff Playlist-themed parade will begin at 1 p.m. Oct. 14 and will follow a route from the First United Bank Center to the Sybil B. Harrington Fine Arts Complex along Russell Long Boulevard. For entry information, call 806-651-2651.

Countdown to Kickoff Block Party: Tailgating activities will begin immediately after the parade along 26th Street across from Bain-Schaeffer Buffalo Stadium on campus. The Alumni Association will host an open house, as well. The Buffs will take on Western New Mexico at 7 p.m. Oct. 14 in BainSchaeffer Buffalo Stadium. For tickets, visit gobuffsgo.com.

Student activities will include Paint the Town Maroon on Oct. 6, with students decorating windows and vehicles around the community; a “Tunes at Noon” karaoke party Oct. 10 and 11 in the JBK Commons; Homecoming King and Queen elections; a dodgeball tournament Oct. 11 in the Virgil Henson Activities Center; and Pigskin Revue, the annual spirit rally at 8 p.m. Oct. 13 in The Box.

For a complete list of activities, visit wtamu.edu/homecoming

John Marmaduke, former Hastings CEO, speaks at the grand opening of the newly renamed Marmaduke Internet Innovation Center on the campus of West Texas A&M University.
John Marmaduke, former Hastings CEO, speaks at the grand opening of the newly renamed Marmaduke Internet Innovation Center on the campus of West Texas A&M University.

WT Technology Center renamed for Marmaduke family

CANYON — A space central to the cutting edge of distance education at West Texas A&M University now has a new name. The Marmaduke Internet Innovation Center officially was renamed during a Sept. 29 reception celebrating WT’s status as a leader in online education since 1997.

The space was known for the last quarter-century as the Hastings Electronic Learning Center, located in the basement of Cornette Library and named for the iconic entertainment store empire that was headquartered in Amarillo and founded by Sam Marmaduke.

The Marmaduke Internet Innovation Center houses more than 350 top-of-the-line computers. The center is open daily and contains an open-access computer lab, five computer classrooms, two compressed video classrooms, a compressed video conference room, instructional support areas, offices and lounges. Several courses are taught in the center like computer information systems, art, music, science and physics. It also hosts many media training opportunities.

Forensics team members Isaac Doty, from left, Willa Brackin, Abigail Stilwell, Alejandro Mata and Ellie Lollar-Scott earned high honors at the recent Hill Country Swing speech tournament in San Marcos.
Forensics team members Isaac Doty, from left, Willa Brackin, Abigail Stilwell, Alejandro Mata and Ellie Lollar-Scott earned high honors at the recent Hill Country Swing speech tournament in San Marcos.

WT Forensics Team competes in Hill Country Swing

CANYON —The West Texas A&M University forensics team took home several awards as part of the Hill Country Swing, two days of tournaments held in San Marcos. According to 1910 PR, the team tied for third overall in team sweepstakes in the first tournament, held Sept. 23 at Texas State University.

Isaac Doty, a senior sociology major from Lubbock, placed third in communication analysis. Alejandro Mata, a senior political science major from Hereford, placed third in persuasion with a speech based off his McNair Scholar research on code switching in forensics, and Abigail Stilwell, a senior psychology major from Henrietta, placed fifth in persuasion. Willa Brackin, a freshman digital communication and media major from Thicket, placed fifth in program oral interpretation.

The team took second place overall in the second tournament, held Sept. 24 at Texas State and hosted by the University of Texas.

Doty won communication analysis in the UT tournament and placed fifth in extemporaneous speaking, in which Mata reached the finals. Doty also earned fifth place in informative speaking. Stilwell and Mata placed first and second in persuasion. Brackin took sixth in program oral interpretation, and Stilwell and Mata placed third and fourth, respectively, in prose. Ellie Lollar-Scott, a freshman theatre performance major from Amarillo, also competed both days in informative speaking and prose.

"The team is off to a great start this season,” said Dr. Kelsey Abele, director of the forensics team and assistant professor of communication studies. “The first tournament is always an adventure because we're so early in the process of learning what makes a speech tick and looking forward to revisions for the next trip."

The team — housed in the Department of Communication in the Sybil B. Harrington College of Fine Arts and Humanities — will help host two major events on campus this fall: a special forensics-team-focused reunion during WT’s Homecoming on Oct. 14 and the annual Guy P. Yates high school tournament from Oct. 20 to 21.

West Texas A&M University's meat judging team took reserve champion honors at the Eastern National Meat Judging Contest in Wyalusing, Pennsylvania. Team members and coaches include, back from left, Dr. Loni Lucherk, Megan Miller, Parker Franz, Caleb Olfers, Ryan Heightschmidt and Colt Edrington; and, front from left, Noah Harrell, Juan Carlos Buentello, Mikayla Hudnall, Madison Colvin, Elijah Mathis, Payton Ownbey, Bryce Hutson and Megan Eckhardt.

WT Meat Judging Team earns top honors at national competition

CANYON — West Texas A&M University’s internationally successful meat judging team recently was named reserve champion at a national competition.

The team scored highly across the board at the Eastern National Meat Judging Contest hosted by Cargill in Wyalusing, Pennsylvania, ranking first in beef grading, second in pork judging, third in beef judging and in reasons, fourth in specs and fifth in placings.

Ryan Heitschmidt, a junior animal science major from Nazareth, ranked No. 6 individually. Madison Colvin, a senior agricultural education major from Bryan, ranked No. 7. Eli Mathis, a junior agribusiness major from Covington, ranked No. 9.

Alternates Mikayla Hudmall, a junior animal science major from Lorenzo; Noah Harrell, a junior agricultural education major from Colorado City; and Megan Miller, a junior agribusiness major from Silver City, New Mexico, also ranked highly.

Meat judging programs are the most effective tool for the recruitment and development of future meat science technologists. Meat judging is much more than just the determination of the quality and lean meat yield of a carcass or wholesale cut; the program serves as a training tool to develop young leaders in the meat and livestock industries.

“This team has dedicated countless hours of time for practice, and each of them has exhibited exceptional work ethic and determination,” said coach Megan Eckhardt. “Meat judging has provided for these students a new lens on another important aspect of our agricultural industry.”

The team also is coached by Dr. Loni Lucherk, WT's Gordon W. Davis Chair in Meat Judging in the Paul Engler College of Agriculture and Natural Sciences.

The team was the highest-ranked team among Texas universities that competed Sept. 23, including Texas Tech University, Texas A&M University, Angelo State University. Teams from six other states also competed. Other team members include Juan Carlos Buentello, a senior animal science major from Angleton; Colt Edrington, a junior agribusiness major from Grandview; Parker Franz, a junior animal science major from Burlington, Colorado; Bryce Hutson, a junior agricultural communications and media major from Idalou; Caleb Olfers, a junior animal science major from Fredericksburg; and Payton Ownbey, a junior animal science major from Whitney.

In 2022, the team was named international champion at the Intercollegiate Meat Judging Conference in Wagga Wagga, Australia.

This article originally appeared on Amarillo Globe-News: WTAMU news in brief for Oct. 3