The Texas A&M University System

News

From the Co-Chairs   Wayne and Phyllis Prescott

On Monday, Nov.14, 2005, your Century Council co-sponsored an information and appreciation event honoring State Senator Judith Zaffirini.  It took place on the campus of Texas A&M International University (TAMIU) in Laredo and was well attended by the local community, many friends and employees of The Texas A&M University System, and several members of the Chancellor’s Century Council.  It was a pleasant evening involving a general reception and remarks from John White, chairman of the Board of Regents, Dr. Stanton Calvert, vice chancellor for governmental relations, Dr. Ray Keck, president of TAMIU, and your chancellor, Dr. Bob McTeer. 

What many do not realize is that TAMIU was a two-year institution (Laredo State College) as recently as 1982 with an enrollment of approximately 1,000.  Now it is a prestigious institution of higher learning, awarding bachelor’s, master’s, and doctoral degrees on a 200-acre campus, with an enrollment of over 6,000.  This growth occurred due to the positive vision, foresight and management of many, but Senator Zaffirini was certainly among the most influential in TAMIU’s success.

We hope and trust your holidays went well, and we look forward to seeing all of you at the annual meeting in Dallas, March 30th.

—Phyllis and Wayne

In Memory

We regret to announce the passing of these valued friends and members of the Council:

Student Advisory Board trip to D.C.

Twenty-six members of the Chancellor’s Student Advisory Board (CSAB) went to Washington, D.C., Jan. 8-11 to learn about government functions and to meet with officials representing Texas. The CSAB goes to Washington or Austin each spring on trips funded by the CCC.

“The money that was invested in this trip was very worthwhile,” said one student leader. “It has truly inspired me to push even harder to improve my A&M school because of all it does for the students.”

Read more....

Around the System

Ida Clement Steen of San Antonio has been appointed to the A&M System Board of Regents. Steen, a former teacher and school administrator, is a director of Frost Bank as well as its parent company Cullen/Frost Bankers, Inc. She serves as a trustee of the Santa Rosa Children’s Hospital Foundation Endowment Fund and is a sponsor of the Charity Ball Association. Steen is an advisory council member and past chairman of the board of the San Antonio Academy. She has served as a trustee of both the Ecumenical Center for Religion and Health and of the Southwest Texas Methodist Hospital Foundation. A native of Kingsville, Steen received a bachelor’s degree from Trinity University. She is married and has three children. Her term will expire Feb. 1, 2011.

The A&M System Board of Regents in December authorized the creation of a System-level Office of Technology Commercialization and named Guy K. Diedrich to the new position of vice chancellor for technology commercialization.

Diedrich, a 1988 graduate of  Texas A&M University, has been managing director of the university’s Technology Commercialization Center (TCC) since 2004. The center is the link between the certain products developed by researchers in the A&M System’s nine universities, seven agencies and health science center and the industry partners who make the products commercially viable.

The names of three candidates have been forwarded to the Board of Regents for consideration for the presidency at West Texas A&M. The candidates have been interviewed and the regents are expected to name a finalist at their January 26-27 meeting. The candidates are Gary A. Moore, provost and senior vice president for academic affairs, Jacksonville University (Florida); J. Patrick O’Brien, dean of the College of Business Administration, Loyola University of New Orleans; and William L. Perry, vice provost and professor of mathematics at Texas A&M.

The $4 million in renovations at the Institute of Biosciences and Technology in Houston have begun in preparation for receiving embryonic mouse stem cells under the Texas Institute for Genomic Medicine, and the design phase is under way for the new $14 million TIGM building in the research park at Texas A&M. In addition, TIGM has submitted proposals for two grants totaling $60 million from the National Institutes of Health, which will be awarded this summer.

Jackie Rudd, a Texas Agricultural Experiment Station wheat breeder in Amarillo, is hoping that whole wheat tortillas will someday put more dollars in producers’ pockets and satisfy consumer needs at the same time. Tortillas and related products including tortilla chips, tostadas and taco shells, led to a record-breaking $6.1 billion tortilla industry in 2005, but research on wheats aimed at the traditional bread industry is further ahead than that on wheat varieties bred for tortillas and similar products. In the near future, Texas wheat producers likely will be able to market wheat with specific attributes, such as enhanced nutrition, extended shelf life or gluten-free properties. This spring, research teams will talk to millers, bakers, tortilla manufacturers and other customers about what it will take to get them to use more wheat, the most widely grown crop in the state.

Texas A&M International University’s College of Business Administration was ranked second in the nation in offering the “Greatest Opportunity for Minority Students” by The Princeton Review. The ranking was based on the percent of minority faculty and students and student assessment of resources for minority students, how supportive the culture is of minority students and whether fellow students are ethnically and racially diverse.

Texas A&M University at Galveston will present varied and unusual spring events, ranging from kayaking and bird watching to historical tours, as part of its Elderhostel program designed for adults age 55 and older. The university’s Elderhostel Program, now in its 16th year, is aimed at enriching the lives of senior adults who participate, in addition to providing educational opportunities. All programs begin on Sunday afternoon with a check-in and registration followed by a mixer at a local restaurant.  The programs end by Friday noon. Participants reside in motels or RV parks, and all meals and fees are provided. Costs depend upon specific programs but range from $556 to $796 per person double occupancy; slightly more for singles. For more information, call Lynn Smith or Judy Wern (409) 740-4934 or go to tamug.edu and click on outreach programs.

Jim Hull, state forester and director of the Texas Forest Service, says this winter’s fire season is the worst he’s seen since he became state forester 10 years ago.  As of Jan. 15, 244,283 acres had burned in Texas, more than the total burned in all of 2005. About 300 TFS personnel are assigned to the fires, with another 702 out-of-state personnel from 37 states working under the direction of the agency.  Supplementing the personnel are 32 helicopters, eight tankers, 13 air tactical aircraft, 130 dozers and 53 fire engines.

WELCOME! New Members