Newsletter Issue 19, February 2021

From the Interim President and Founding Director

I am happy to report that the Hagler Institute for Advanced Study is thriving during these unusual times. Collaborations between currently active Fellows of the Institute, faculty, and students at Texas A&M are ongoing. The Institute, furthermore, has now received its nominations for Fellows for the 2021-2022 academic year. Our Faculty Advisory Board of nine A&M University Distinguished Professors are evaluating nominees under the auspices of Professor Ed Fry with support from the institute's staff, and some recruiting by the colleges has begun. The Institute is planning a magnificent gala celebration for February 2022, that will include the official induction of the 2020-2021 and the 2021-2022 Fellows.   Texas A&M University, serving more students than any other university in Texas, recently surpassed $1 billion in total annual research funding. This makes Texas A&M not only unique in Texas, but places Texas A&M within a small set of elite national universities. Moreover, during the Institute's nine years, the number of national academy members on A&M’s faculty increased from eleven to forty-eight. The Hagler Institute contributed to this increase, directly and indirectly. Of the 49 Fellows who have completed their visits to the Institute, eleven, or 22 percent, joined A&M’s permanent faculty. If this percentage holds, of the additional 31 scholars currently active in the Institute, seven will eventually join A&M’s faculty, and all are national academy members or enjoy equivalent status in their professions. These prospective additions do not even count the influence of future Fellows. Using only this single measure, the Hagler Institute is clearly an important factor contributing to the international reputation of Texas A&M University. Stay safe, and best wishes.  John L. Junkins

Vision 2020: Creating a Culture of Excellence

Vision 2020, a strategic plan for Texas A&M, outlined 12 imperatives to move Texas A&M from a regional place of prominence to one of national and international recognition. Vision 2020 was the brainchild of Eddie Joe Davis ’67, who was then president of the A&M Foundation. He formed a four-person executive team, which eventually established a committee of approximately 250 individuals representing various aspects of Texas A&M. This committee produced the Vision 2020 document approximately two decades ago. One of the imperatives was to elevate the faculty and student quality, but there were no guidelines on how to achieve this objective. John L. Junkins, University Distinguished Professor of Aerospace Engineering and now Interim President of Texas A&M, had an idea about how to help accomplish this goal. He proposed a new Institute that would continually bring top scholars to Texas A&M. The idea won the favor of the university, and what is now called the Hagler Institute for Advanced Study was established. Now in its ninth year, the Hagler Institute brings the world’s outstanding scholars to Texas A&M for up to one year in residence and provides scholarships for students to work with these accomplished individuals. The Institute serves all colleges, thereby elevating academics across the entire university. So far, the Hagler Institute has brought 80 accomplished visionaries to Texas A&M— dramatically elevating the quality of our faculty and students. Two of the original four people who led the Vision 2020 effort were its co-directors, Jon L. Hagler ’58 who committed a $20 million endowment to guarantee the Institute's permanence, and Ray M. Bowen ’58, former President of Texas A&M University. Both are members of the Institute's External Advisory Board, and have been since its inception. Their devotion to ensuring the progress of the Hagler Institute is evidence of the Institute’s importance to advancing academic excellence at Texas A&M University.

Dr. Ray M. Bowen '58 pictured as he participates in a strategic planning discussion at the Hagler Institute's External Advisory Board meeting.

See the new video about Vision 2020 and learn about the overarching importance of this strategic guide.

Click here to watch the Vision 2020 video

Hagler Fellow Updates

Timothy A. Judge Hagler Fellow 2020-21 The pandemic continues, and so does the work of the Hagler Institute, albeit temporarily from afar. The Institute has always sought to team top scholars with rising star junior faculty and students at Texas A&M. Timothy A. Judge is holder of the Joseph A. Alutto Chair in Leadership Excellence at Ohio State University. He is also a 2020-2021 Hagler Fellow and the first holder of the Trisha and L.C. “Chaz” Neely ’62 Hagler Institute for Advanced Study Chair in the Mays Business School. Judge has been virtually collaborating with two professors and two graduate students at Texas A&M. These contacts followed a planning session that Judge had with the Department of Management leadership, including discussion of a potential outdoor-based executive leadership program. Tyler Sabey, assistant professor of management at A&M, is designing a study with Judge on leadership and subordinate power. Judge and Anthony Klotz, associate professor of management, are undertaking an investigation to advance leadership theory. Two students have been awarded Hagler Institute Fellowships to work with Judge, and each of them have provided him with research plans for prospective joint projects.   We are all looking forward to the day when in-residence visits can easily resume. Until then, our technology is serving us well, as evidenced by Tim Judge and other Hagler Fellows.

Andrew P. Feinberg Hagler Fellow 2020-21 What is the impact on the human body of long duration spaceflight missions—exposed to radiation, lower gravity, less exercise, and other aspects of space travel? To help answer this question, astronaut Scott Kelly spent a year on board the International Space Station, spending more time in space than any other person. What is particularly interesting to researchers about Kelly is that he has an identical twin brother, Mark, who was on Earth while Scott was in space. Comparing their bodily changes during the time that Scott was in space provides clues about what health scientists should examine more closely in the future. Among the key researchers studying the Kelly twins was Dr. Andrew P. Feinberg, the Bloomberg Distinguished Professor of Medicine, Biomedical Engineering, and Mental Health at Johns Hopkins University. Feinberg spent a week in weightlessness to design protocols for studying the Kelly twins. Feinberg and his team focused on epigenetic changes in the twin’s genomes using two types of white blood cells. They studied methyl groups, chemical modifications that are added to DNA through methylation. Some immune response genes showed changes in methylation near their promoters in Scott, which is consistent with changes in the activity of those genes measured by other investigators in the study. There were no profound epigenetic changes in either Scott or Mark, which is good, because such changes can adversely affect gene function.   Feinberg is a 2020-2021 Fellow of the Hagler Institute, but the COVID-19 pandemic has delayed his visits to Texas A&M. Nevertheless, he is collaborating with A&M faculty and students in A&M’s College of Medicine.

Henry Rousso Hagler Fellow 2019-20 Hagler Fellows are chosen only from those scholars and leaders whose work is of the highest caliber. Because of this, they are often called upon to handle and oversee monumental tasks.  World-class historian and 2019-2020 Hagler Fellow, Henry Rousso, has been appointed by Emmanuel Macron, the president of France, and Prime Minister Edouard Philippe, to head a team for the creation of the Memorial Museum of Societies Facing Terror. Rousso has already presented a report providing the concept details, and he is now charged with drafting the cultural and scientific program and specifications by spring 2022. The museum is scheduled to open in 2027. The joint memorial and museum, to be located in Paris, will be devoted to all victims of terrorist acts that struck the French territory and the French people (in France and abroad) since approximately 1960.  The museum will provide opportunities for educational, civic, and multidisciplinary scientific research.  Rousso’s March 2020 Preparatory Report to The Prime Minister explains how the Memorial Museum will be a catalyst for recognition and reparation, justice, and truth. The museum will raise public awareness, educate, and highlight acts of heroism and solidarity, while paying tribute to victims of terrorism. The report captures the importance of the museum: “Knowledge is a vector of memory. Honoring victims means understanding why they have been victims, giving meaning to their ordeal and encouraging the possibility of overcoming it. It is helping to transform an experience of death into an experience of life.” Rousso, the directeur de recherche de classe exceptionelle, French National Centre for Scientific Research in Paris, France, redefined the study of the link between history and memory and historical trauma with his 1994 book, The Vichy Syndrome. He received France’s National Order of Merit in 1995. At Texas A&M, Rousso will collaborate primarily with faculty and students in the Bush School of Government and Public Service.

Stefan H.E. Kaufmann Hagler Fellow 2018-19 Stefan H.E. Kaufmann, 2018-2019 Fellow of the Hagler Institute, is one of the world’s premier specialists on infectious diseases. In his 2009 book, The New Plagues: Pandemics and Poverty in the Globalized World (Haus), Dr. Kaufmann predicted threats of pandemics. His recently published book in German, titled (English translation) COVID-19 and Threats of Pandemics, How They Evolve and How to Respond, explains how microbial pathogens cause disease and how immunity against infectious diseases is generated. It also covers different types of anti-infectives and vaccines. The book addresses the current COVID-19 crisis, including discussion of different intervention measures ranging from diagnostics to antivirals and host-directed therapy to vaccines. The chapter on the rise of antimicrobial resistance covers both hospital settings and agriculture, notably industrialized meat production. The book, which will be distributed to high school students across Germany, ends with recommendations about how to prevent future pandemics and the rise of antimicrobial resistance. Kaufmann refers to these guidelines as the “4 R’s": Recognize what happens, i.e., identify local outbreaks by epidemiologic surveillance. Restrict what happens, i.e., control spread of outbreak.  Research what happened, i.e., determine transmissibility and virulence of the pathogen and susceptibility of the human host for the rational design of diagnostics, drugs, and vaccines. Remove what could happen, i.e., predict novel pathogens with pandemic potential and prevent their emergence before an outbreak can occur.   Once a reduced pandemic threat allows, Kaufmann will be returning to continue his collaborative research work with faculty and students in A&M’s College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences.

William Marras Hagler Fellow 2014-15 On New Year’s Day, 2021, Ohio State University promoted some of its research accomplishments during the Sugar Bowl, in which Ohio State played Clemson in football playoffs. The promotion consisted of a video about William Marras’ research on spinal and back pain. Learn more about Dr. Marras’ work and see the broadcast video at the following link.

Click here to watch the video featuring Dr. William Marras

Dr. Marras, a 2014-2015 Fellow of the Hagler Institute, uses a multidisciplinary approach to understand and alleviate back discomfort. He personally sets a high multidisciplinary standard, for he is both an engineer and a surgeon. He uses his analytical skills to study the causes of spine disorders, develops procedures to address them, and even engages in back surgery required to implement them. Marras, a member of the National Academy of Engineering, holds the Honda Chair in the Department of Integrated Systems Engineering and is the director of the Spine Research Institute at The Ohio State University. He holds joint academic appointments in the Department of Orthopedic Surgery, the Department of Neurosurgery, and the Department of Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation. At Texas A&M, Marras worked with faculty and students in the Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering in the College of Engineering.

Hagler's Heroes: Kay ’02 and Jerry Cox ’72

Kay ’02 and Jerry Cox ’72, through their foundation, were the first to provide an endowment for the Hagler Institute for Advanced Study to bring Fellows to the A&M campus. Their donation of $500,000, matched by the institute, is one of several important gifts from the Cox family to Texas A&M University.

Pictured are Kay ’02 and Jerry Cox ’72.

Kay and Jerry Cox are passionate supporters of the Mays Business School, where Jerry obtained his bachelor’s degree in finance. They established an endowed chair for that college and provided support for improvements to offices and classroom space. They are also devoted sports enthusiasts. Jerry Cox has served as president of the 12th Man Foundation, and the Cox family provided support for the Cox-McFerrin Center for Aggie Basketball. After finishing his degree at Texas A&M, Jerry continued his education by earning a master’s degree in theological studies from Houston Baptist University. He was awarded an honorary doctorate of laws from Pepperdine University. Kay Cox received a master’s in educational psychology from Texas A&M in 2002. Among his many awards and involvements with Texas A&M, Cox was inducted into the Corps of Cadets Hall of Fame, and he has been named a Distinguished Alumnus of Texas A&M.   When Clifford Fry joined the Institute as Associate Director in September 2013, he visited with alumni listed as advocates for the Institute for Advanced Study. His purpose was to explain how the Institute was devoted to ultimate academic excellence, that it operated in such a way as to elevate all colleges, and that the Institute was key to more rapid advancement in the academic reputation of Texas A&M. Clifford’s first advocate visit was with Jerry Cox at his offices in Houston, where Cox is president and chairman of Cox & Perkins Exploration Inc. After hearing about the Institute’s successes and future plans, Jerry Cox committed his support that very day for an endowment to support a Fellow, with no restriction as to any particular field of study. For being the first to endow support for Fellows of the Hagler Institute for Advanced Study, Kay ’02 and Jerry Cox ’72 are hereby recognized as Hagler Heroes.

If you have news to share, please send articles, suggestions, or other information to: Dr. Clifford L. Fry, Associate Director Hagler Institute for Advanced Study at Texas A&M University cfry@tamu.edu