It is time to welcome in 2021!
I hope this letter finds you recharged and refreshed from the time spent with loved ones over the winter break! The New Year provides an opportunity to start fresh, while learning from 2020.
2020 was a year of great challenges for our Nation, State, University and College. First, I would like to commend all the faculty, staff and students in our College. Quality instruction and interactions continued while wearing masks, distancing ourselves and sanitizing regularly. During the fall semester there was no evidence of COVID-19 spread in the classroom environment. Job well done! The leadership of WTAMU made many tough decisions while supporting academic excellence - even during the pandemic. Thanks is deserved for the hard work of Provost Neil Terry and Vice President Angela Spaulding and their respective staffs for the effective monitoring and tracking of COVID-19 across our campus community. Employees of SSC kept our buildings and classrooms sanitized and hand sanitizer dispensers filled. We are appreciative of all involved in helping to keep us safe.
As I have underscored many times, this University and this College are unique. Unique in attitude, determination and physical location creating an environment that brings out the best in people. With this backdrop, our success continues to only be limited by our imagination. As we begin this new semester, we are delighted to return to campus for face-to-face instruction and hands-on experiential learning. While several classes are online, most will be traditionally taught with 50% classroom/ laboratory occupancy for social distancing and the strict use of masks as we protect each other.
We will continue to utilize Zoom to record lectures that can be made available to those who are exposed or quarantined due to COVID-19. Let’s continue to adhere to the protective measures that were successful last fall. With vaccinations and increased herd immunity, the light at the end of the tunnel becomes brighter. We are excited to have similar enrollment in the College as we had last spring, before COVID-19. Most institutions across the state and nation have reduced enrollments. During the fall semester, over one hundred prospective students and their families visited campus and our programs. Our future enrollments really look good!
This spring will mark the beginning of the renovations of the Natural Sciences Building! This $4M project will renovate and expand laboratories for teaching and research. During the last biennium, the College received State legislative appropriations for the establishment of a Center for Advancing Food Animal Production in the Panhandle. We are currently working with the TAMU System and industry partners to complete the legislative appropriations request. The spring will be very busy and rewarding as we mold the future of the Paul Engler College of Agriculture and Natural Sciences!
I remain truly grateful for the opportunity to serve you as the Dean. The positive attitude, strong work ethic and can-do spirit continue to be an integral part of the fabric that makes people of the Panhandle strong and makes members of the WTAMU community resilient as we strive for excellence.
To keep informed with happenings in our College, please view the weekly Buff Brief each Monday morning and view posts on social media from our individual departments, programs groups and students. During this spring semester, we will continue to have regular written correspondence so that everyone is on the same page. My door is always open and I am available by email, text and phone. Our College would not be successful without staunch support from University Leadership, a great Dean’s Team, great Department Heads and great faculty, staff, students, alumni and friends.
Thanks for all you do!
Looking forward to a wonderful, prosperous and gratifying 2021.
Kevin Pond
