From the Department Head
H
ello, from the Department of Agricultural Sciences! Your department is continuing to flourish. Enrollment has reached an all time high in agricultural sciences with 628 students currently pursuing undergraduate and graduate degrees. This growth is a reflection of the tremendous financial support received from the Agriculture Development Association and devoted friends of the department. We are hopeful we can maintain this momentum. Students are attracted to WTAMU because of the high quality of our graduates, faculty, staff and programs. New faculty have also joined us as assistant professors (see page 13). A donor has provided an extremely generous gift to the department that will fund a new endowed faculty position in beef cow-calf management. As the economy remains sluggish, these financial gifts are critical to the future of your Department of Agricultural Sciences as we continue to grow.
We are fortunate to have the continued support from our stakeholders, which aides in academic scholarship and faculty research and teaching. As student enrollment increases, we must continue to build our scholarship funds to continue to attract and recruit the best and brightest to WTAMU. I like to refer to the old adage, “A hand up, not a hand out.” All of the competitive teams housed in the department have done extraordinarily well this past fall and spring semesters. Students, faculty, graduate student coaches and advisers of these teams spend long hours preparing and traveling across the United States. They represent all of us, and I hope you are as proud of them as I am! Agricultural media and communication majors under the direction of Dr. Tanner Robertson constructed this newslettter, which represents the caliber of their work.
Please accept my personal invitation to attend our annual Ag Day Celebration on Sept. 8. Your department is doing well and we would like to personally thank you for your support regarding the Ag Day Celebration. Additional details are found throughout this newsletter. I encourage your continued support to the department. We are proud of our alumni, current students and those yet to become Buffaloes. You are always welcome to stop by and visit your department!!!
Dean Hawkins Head and Professor Department of Agricultural Sciences
Horticulture: Moore Than Growing Plants If you ask students in the Department of Agricultural Sciences what one of their favorite classes has been at WTAMU, many of them will answer “horticulture with Mrs. Moore!” Liz Moore received her bachelors degree in integrated pest management in 2001 and her master’s in plant, soil and environmental science in 2003, both from West Texas A&M University. In
the fall of 2006, Moore returned to the Department of Agricultural Sciences to teach horticulture as a part-time instructor. The opportunity was perfect for Moore. It combined her passion for horticulture with her love for working with college students. “I love to help students find their green thumbs,” Moore said. Horticulture counts as a core requirement for natural sciences. The class is designed to cover the basics of plants and teach students how to relate those basics to other aspects of agriculture, specifically, plant, soil and environmental science. Moore covers plant anatomy, water conservation,
facebook.com/wtagriculture
greenhouse production, landscaping and floral design. For the last three years, Moore has been in charge of two big fundraisers for the Plant, Soil and Environmental Science Program. For Valentine’s Day, Moore advises students who put their floral-design skills to work, offering a variety of floral arrangements for WTAMU faculty, students and staff to help with the fundraisers. She advises students who grow plants in the department’s greenhouse for the Spring Plant Sale, which provides practical experience to students. Moore also teaches a freshman seminar class for agricultural majors in fall semesters and manages the department’s greenhouse year round.
2