August 2022
ACCOMPLISHMENTS AND AWARDS
Graduate Fellowship Awards

  • William Leslie Jones '30 Borlaug Graduate Scholarship: Amber Sells, Agricultural Economics.

  • Dr. Brock Faulkner '04 Borlaug Graduate Scholarship: El Jirie Baticados, Biological and Agricultural Engineering.

  • G. Rollie White Trust COALS Endowed Graduate Fellowship for the Borlaug Scholars Program: Devon Boland, Biochemistry and Biophysics.

  • G. Rollie White Trust COALS Endowed Masters Graduate Fellowship: Christina Griffith, Agricultural Economics, and Miguel Cervantes, Animal Science.

Graduate Assistantship Awards

  • DOW-AGLS Graduate Assistantship in Plant Protection: Harrison Coker, Soil and Crop Sciences.

  • Walter and Wilma Bush Graduate Assistantship: Molly Smith, Animal Science.
DEAN'S TEAM UPDATES
Faculty Affairs
Dean's Open Office Hours
  • Dr. Jeff Savell and Dr. Patricia Klein will start hosting Dean's Open Office Hours in September. Sign up for a time and day, and contact Kelsey Agnew if you have any questions.
New Faculty Members
  • Elizabeth Belshe, instructional assistant professor, ECCB.
  • Alice Brandao, instructional assistant professor, ANSC.
  • Kaitlyn Dinges Weber, instructional assistant professor, AGEC.
  • Paul Feldman, assistant professor, AGEC.
  • Lucas Garcia, instructional assistant professor, AGEC (McAllen Campus).
  • Shraddha Hegde, visiting assistant professor, RWFM.
  • Bruce Herbert, professor, ALEC.
  • Heather Kennedy-Eden, instructional assistant professor, RPTS.
  • Danielle Krueger, lecturer, NUTR.
  • Hyunjung Lee, visiting assistant professor, NUTR.
  • Jacob Lucero, assistant professor, RWFM.
  • Lacey Luense, assistant professor, ANSC.
  • Randy Lund, instructional assistant professor, ALEC.
  • Navreet Mahal, lecturer, HORT.
  • Jill Nelson, instructional assistant professor, POSC.
  • Ly Nguyen, instructional assistant professor, AGEC (McAllen Campus).
  • Rafael Quijada Landaverde, visiting assistant professor, ALEC.
  • Mani Rouhi Rad, assistant professor, AGEC.
  • Chrystol Thomas-Winston, instructional assistant professor, AGEC.
  • Melissa Shehane, instructional assistant professor, RWFM.
  • Heidi Vanden Brink, assistant professor, NUTR.
  • Zhihong Xu, associate professor, ALEC.
  • Samuel Zapata, associate professor, AGEC (McAllen Campus).
New Faculty Orientation
  • Thursday, Aug. 18, 12:30–4:45 p.m. in AGCT 201 or via Teams: RSVP.
Upcoming Deadlines and Dates
Faculty Development Leave
  • Planning to submit a Faculty Development Leave application? Make sure to submit by your departmental deadline — these vary but are usually before mid-September. 
  • Dr. Linglin Xie is our College representative on the university’s Faculty Development Leave Committee. Feel free to reach out to Dr. Xie at linglin.xie@ag.tamu.edu if you have any questions about the application. 
Promotion and Tenure
  • Recordings of the College, Texas A&M University, Texas A&M AgriLife Research and Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service workshops on the promotion and tenure process are available at faculty.aglifesciences.tamu.edu.
  • Promotion and Tenure Zoom Hours for Committee Chairs and Staff: Committee chairs and staff involved in the promotion and tenure process are invited to visit come-and-go Zoom hours 10-11 a.m. every Friday through Sept. 23 to ask questions and join the discussion.
Academic Affairs
Graduate Programs
  • Teaching Assistant Training Institute is required for new teaching assistants—more dates and information are available at the Teaching Assistant Institute website. 
  • New Graduate Committee Faculty (GCF) System: The Graduate and Professional School launched a new GCF System. Details and a user guide are available at grad.tamu.edu.
  • A graduate student orientation session is scheduled on Friday, Aug. 19. Visit the Graduate and Professional Studies page for information.
  • The Graduate and Professional School is accepting requests for the Graduate Recruitment, Enhancement and Travel (GREAT) Program:
  • Funding to supplement awarded external national fellowships, federal training grants and federal research grant supplements promoting diversity.
  • Funding to cover travel expenses for prospective fellows to visit our campus. 
  • Visit the GREAT Program page for more information.
Undergraduate Programs
  • The College is hiring a new program coordinator for international programs.
  • The administration of the Environmental Studies program and two University Studies concentrations, Environmental Business and Leadership, has moved from PLPM and ALEC to the College of Arts and Sciences. Academic advisors in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences will continue to advise the students in these programs. 
  • Saturday, Oct. 1, proposals for fall 2023 faculty-led study abroad programs and proposals for spring/winter 2023 international field-trip programs are due to the College. Contact Dr. Mary Bryk if you have any questions.
  • A Math Learning Center satellite site may be available on west campus in fall 2022. More details will be forthcoming. For more information on the main campus Math Learning Center, visit mlc.tamu.edu.
STUDENT UPDATES
Inclusive Excellence
  • Do you know an underrepresented minority undergraduate student in a STEM major that is interested in research? The LSAMP (Louis Stokes Alliance for Minority Participation) Scholar Howdy Week informational session will be held on Monday, Aug. 22, 3-4 p.m., in AGLS 129. Please encourage undergraduate students who may benefit from this program to RSVP. 
Student Success and Development
  • Prospective student information sessions occur weekly on Fridays. Students can register for a visit with a recruiter.
College of Agriculture and Life Sciences Student Council
  • The student council will be awarding scholarships soon. Recipients will be named on the council's social media.
  • Follow the student council on Facebook and Instagram.
  • Visit the council website at tamucoalscouncil.com.
HUMAN RESOURCES UPDATES
Professional Development
LinkedIn Learning
A reminder that LinkedIn Learning is available for free to all Texas A&M AgriLife employees. This month's featured courses include:

  • Overcome Overthinking (Video, 36 minutes)
  • Melody Wilding, the author of "Trust Yourself: Stop Overthinking and Channel Your Emotions for Success at Work," goes over the most common types of overthinking and details how to tell the difference between deep thought and overthinking. She shares techniques for creating psychological distance from your thoughts and reframing how you look at situations. Plus, get tips for avoiding common pitfalls, including how to avoid overthinking when you're under pressure.
  • Creating Positive Conversations with Challenging Customers (Video, 30 minutes) 
  • In this course, Myra Golden shares approaches that can help you reframe conversations and use your words and actions to put a positive slant on an otherwise negative situation. Learn how to use empathy and pacing to foster a sense of connection with customers.
Employee Wellness
Guidance Resources
OUR MISSION IN ACTION
Each month, we highlight faculty and staff who have embodied the Aggie Core Values and demonstrated their immense dedication to advancing the mission of the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences in teaching, research and service.
Teaching

This summer, Dr. Kevin Conway, associate professor in the Department of Ecology and Conservation Biology, and Dr. Adrienne Brundage, instructional assistant professor in the Department of Entomology, led a multidisciplinary study-abroad trip to Trinidad. Conway and Brundage traveled with 12 undergraduate students from diverse majors to remote northeastern Trinidad to conduct field research projects on biodiversity and forensics. Since the late 1980s, this three-week study abroad course has taken students to the Caribbean and is the university's longest-running international opportunity for undergraduates. Conway and Brundage have taught this course in Trinidad three times, in 2018, 2019 and 2022.

Research

Dr. Susie Dai, associate professor in the Department of Plant Pathology and Microbiology, was the principal investigator in a major breakthrough in the remediation of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, or PFAS. Also known as "forever chemicals," PFAS are industrial pollutants that have dispersed across world ecosystems and into human bloodstreams. In July, Nature Communications published findings from Dai's team describing the new bioremediation technology for PFAS.

Service

Angel Jaramillo, the manager of alumni and donor engagement for the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, goes above and beyond to enrich outreach with former students in the College through a variety of outlets. She is innovative in donor stewardship and ensures that the spirit of the College is maintained in every interaction. Jaramillo is invested in our students; she has taught a section of AGLS 125 and is always available to field questions from current students as they transition into former student status. 

Have a colleague in mind we should feature?
Email us at aglifesciences@ag.tamu.edu to nominate someone.