Tarleton Magazine - Spring 2015

The Tarleton State University Magazine

Spring 2015

NCAA Final Four The Tarleton Texans clinch a regional title and a historic season

A vision for Fort Worth Tarleton looks to expand with campus near downtown

The Steel Barn Sanctuary Lessons learned and lives changed

Volume 6 Number 1

Tarleton State University Magazine

Spring 2015 President Dr. F. Dominic Dottavio

Assistant Vice President, Marketing and Communications Harry Battson

Production Director Alyson Chapman

Associate Editor, Photographer Kurt Mogonye

Contributors Nate Bural, Jessee Horwedel, Mary Saltarelli

Design Molly Murphy Blank Canvas Graphic Design

Division of Advancement and external relations Box T-0415 Stephenville, TX 76402 254-968-9890

Vice President, Advancement and External Relations Dr. Kyle McGregor

Assistant Vice President, Development Janice Horak

Assistant Vice President, Advancement and External Relations Sabra Guerra is published three times a year by the

Department of Marketing and Communications Tarleton State University Box T-0730 Stephenville, TX 76402

On the Cover: Davene Carter (4), flying high for the Texans in the regular season finale versus Texas A&MCommerce in Tarleton’s Wisdom Gym, not only helped the Texans to a historic season but also earned an appearance at the nationally-televised Denny’s College Slam dunk contest.

Story on page 16.

Cover photo by Kurt Mogonye

A Tarleton education provides opportunities for a better future You can open that door with a gift to scholarships

www.tarleton.edu/giving

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Inside Texans advance to NCAA Final Four The Tarleton Texans clinch a regional title and a historic season

6 8 10 2

Ethiopian Outreach Applied Learning Experience opens door to whole new world for students

The Steel Barn Sanctuary Lessons learned and lives changed for Fosters Home children and Tarleton students

A vision for a Fort Worth campus Just 12 minutes from downtown Fort Worth, Tarleton looks to the future

Shorts

Briefs on O.A. Grant Building expansion; Marching band appearance in Chicago; New 3D maps; Texan football training at Fort Hood; and two recently approved engineering degrees.

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Professor’s challenge ignites student caring

Business professor Dr. Joanna Shaw challenges students to accomplish a project that would directly impact someone’s life.

Their answer to the challenge is amazing.

12 The Water Lawyer

Tarleton titan takes on environmental cases against corporate giants.

14 class notes

TEXANS 1

Tarleton celebrates O.A. Grant building expansion Chicago parade brings national television exposure

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Joining the celebration was Mrs. O.A. Grant (center) and officials from Tarleton and The Texas A&M University System.

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arleton opened a 34,000-square-foot expansion of the O.A. Grant Humanities Building, housing technologically up-to-date learning spaces and becoming a Tarleton icon with its cylindrical glass tower visible from Washington Street.

Now home to the Department of Communication Studies and University Writing Center, the expansion included renovating 12,000 square feet of existing space and adding two floors to bring the entire facility to three. The 40-yearold building was rehabilitated to keep up-to-date with current educational needs and trends.

From private video podcast rooms where students improve speaking and presentation skills, to “mediascape” rooms with top-notch technology for group collaboration, Tarleton students have facilities for success in the classroom and in their careers.

A large second floor balcony with WiFi Internet access and two smaller balconies provide outdoor settings for study, classes or projects. An outdoor amphitheater offers tiered seating for lectures, performances or space just to gather.

A Media Convergence Lab allows Tarleton students to hone their news-gathering and broadcast experiences.

The third floor broadcast studio has a background view of the campus, a green screen for image creation and a blackout curtain when needed. A Digital Motion Capture Lab features cutting-edge technologies for developing computer animation.

Congressman Charles Stenholm’s exhibit has found a permanent home within the Grant Building near the college dean’s suite.

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arleton State University’s marching band, The Sound & The Fury, made a nationally televised appearance when 135 students participated in the McDonald’s Thanksgiving Parade.

The lone marching band from Texas, The Sound & The Fury also was the only university band in the 81st annual parade in downtown Chicago, which drew an estimated four million television viewers.

One of 23 marching bands invited to participate, Tarleton’s marching band, under the direction of Dr. Gary Westbrook, is the second-largest in university history, and includes three drum majors, a feature twirler, color guard and woodwinds, brass and percussion sections.

Texans train alongside Army soldiers at Fort Hood

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or the first time in program history, the Tarleton football team broke from their preseason training routine to hold camp alongside U.S. Army soldiers at nearby Fort Hood.

The entire Texan football squad, coaching staff and athletic training crew teamed up with soldiers assigned to the Army’s 1st Battalion, 5th Cavalry Regiment “Black Knights” who led them in leadership and team-building exercises.

The training camp at Fort Hood was the first time any NCAA Division II football program collaborated with the U.S. Army, and second only to Division I Syracuse University holding camp at Fort Drum in upstate New York.

Go online!

Engineering programs gain state approval

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arleton gained approval for bachelor’s degree programs in electrical engineering and civil engineering within the College of Science and Technology from the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board.

The approval enables the university to admit students into the degree programs immediately.

The civil engineering program builds upon classes the university already offers in environmental engineering, water resources and hydrology. Graduates will be prepared for licensing as civil engineers and may seek employment or go on for advanced degrees. Civil engineering is projected to have a 19 percent growth rate nationally, and a slightly higher growth rate in Texas.

Similarly, the electrical engineering program will draw upon current courses offered in signal processing, control systems, software applications, computer hardware and other electrical engineering principles. Tarleton will prepare electrical engineering students to serve targeted growth in the aerospace, defense, computer technology and energy industries, which thrive in the Dallas/ Fort Worth Metroplex. The program also will prepare graduates for graduate school and licensing in electrical engineering.

Electrical engineering jobs are projected to grow nationally by six percent over the next few years, but growth in Texas is predicted at 17 percent and in North Central Texas at more than 24 percent.

Interactive campus map provides 3D tours

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arleton has implemented its new online campus map, a richly interactive tool that will help guide students, parents, alumni and other visitors around campus, both online and in person.

The map was created in conjunction with concept3D, Inc., developers of the CampusBird interactive mapping platform.

Highlights of the Tarleton map include detailed photographs of residential and academic facilities, directions to on-campus dining spaces and reflections on the monuments and memorials on campus. The map is built on top of Google Maps, which enables users to zoom in or pan out to the level of detail desired, and includes 3D models, 2D overlays and street-view imagery.

To view the new maps, visit www.tarleton.edu/campus

Need more information?

Check out these resources.

For information about enrolling at Tarleton, go to

tarleton.edu/ becomeatexan

Discover ways to give back to your university at

tarleton.edu/giving

Check out the latest sports stats and information at

tarletonsports.com Reconnect with old classmates at

tarleton.edu/ alumniassociation For everything else, go to

tarleton.edu

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@tarletonstate Follow us!

TarletonState

texan facts

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Number of acres in Fort Worth donated to Tarleton State University by The Walton Group of Companies

100

Percent of job placement rate for accounting and nursing graduates

512

Number of beds in the new Heritage Hall residential facility

7,500

Number of hours Tarleton student organizations contributed to community service in 2014

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Tarleton grieves loss of Dr. Christopher Guthrie Dr. Christopher E. Guthrie, longtime Tarleton State University professor of history and head of the Department of Social Sciences, passed away Monday, Nov. 3. He was 65.

Guthrie joined the Tarleton faculty in 1982 as an assistant professor of history, teaching both undergraduate and graduate courses including the history of western civilization, the French Revolution and imperial Russia, and topics in modern European history. He married fellow Tarleton faculty member Dr. Teresa Davidian, head of Tarleton’s Department of Fine Arts, on June 19, 1998, in Boston, Mass.

Guthrie authored or had scholarly articles appear in more than 15 publications, including a book, The Legacy of John Tarleton: The History of Tarleton State University, 1899-1999. He reviewed and presented multiple papers at various conferences across the United States. At the time of his death, he was completing a book on Philippe Egalitý.

The Faculty Fellows selected Guthrie to give the inaugural Last Lecture, which drew more than 600 current and former students, faculty, staff and family members just weeks before his death.

Gillespie named to Chancellor’s Academy of Teacher Educators Dr. Joseph Gillespie, professor of kinesiology, is one of 11 faculty members in The Texas A&M University System named as a 2015 recipient of the Chancellor’s Academy of Teacher Educators.

The academy recognizes individuals who have made significant contributions to the field of teacher education and highlights the role of the A&M System in producing K-12 teachers for the state of Texas.

Gillespie, who came to Tarleton in 1973 as head track coach and assistant football coach, was chair of the Department of Health and Physical Education, athletics director and spent 16 years in university administrative capacities, including dean of the College of Education.

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Faculty Focus

Dr. Joanna Shaw

Professor’s challenge ignites student caring

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B y M a ry G . S a lta r e l l i

ssistant Professor Dr. Joanna Shaw challenged students in her Business Ethics class last fall to join together as a cohesive group and accomplish a project that would directly impact someone’s life. How students answered the challenge amazed and touched her, the project’s honorees, and even President F. Dominic Dottavio, who awarded Shaw a Tarleton Core Values Coin for Civility.

“I want students to learn that they can impact the world and that one small idea can snowball and grow,” Shaw said. “There is a disconnect between what goes on in class and the reality of the world. My job as a teacher is to tie in class material with what happens outside the classroom.”

The 23 students in Shaw’s class decided to honor two Environmental Service staff members who toil to maintain campus buildings every day. Students honored Rose Sullivan, who works in the College of Business Administration building, and Richard Dorman, who maintains athletics facilities.

Students wrote notes of appreciation to Rose and Richard and raised money for them as tokens of appreciation for their work. Word quickly spread across campus, and Shaw’s students collected

hundreds of personal notes of appreciation and $1,200.

Just before Thanksgiving last year, Shaw’s students invited Rose and Richard to a potluck breakfast during their 8 a.m. class. Students personally escorted them, made speeches and presented their collection of notes and donations to the honorees.

“It was heart-touching,” said Eduardo Rodriguez, a 49-year-old senior Business Administration major in the class. “And it gave me a lot of hope for our future to see Dr. Shaw creating tomorrow’s business leaders by teaching young students to care for others.”

Shaw, who is the new head of the Department of Management, Marketing and Administrative Systems, believes in building a “we mentality” in her classrooms so students learn “to network without their smart phones.”

“I try to make my classes personal. If you learn in a way that’s personal, it teaches you how to professionally interact,” Shaw said. “I believe in mentoring and talking to students—that’s why I’m a professor.”

Rodriguez said that Shaw really cares about her students, and that motivates them to succeed. Every Monday evening, Shaw and her husband, Cory, and their twin girls, Allie and Ella, invite eight to 12 Tarleton students to dinner in their home, where they sit down at the table together over a home cooked meal and share what is going on in their lives.

“We want to give these college students a sense of family, because most of them are far from home,” Shaw said. “I want to be open when a student needs someone to invest in them with counseling.”

Shaw also strives to teach students community involvement. Through the honor society Delta Mu Delta and the Society for Human Resource Management, Shaw and Dr. Reggie Hall, assistant professor of management, initiated an annual community-wide drive, conducted by students, where they collect items for Ronald McDonald House in Fort Worth.

“Students learn that life outside of school can be rich and powerful when combined with an education,” Shaw said. “And that they can really impact people’s lives for the positive.”

To see a video about the class projects, visit www.tarleton/shaw.

To hear Dr. Shaw talk about her classes at Tarleton, visit www.tarleton/unscripted

Heroic student earns Good Samaritan Award Tarleton President F. Dominic Dottavio recognized the selfless actions of Blake Pryor during the annual General Assembly by presenting the 21-year-old student with the Good Samaritan Award for Extraordinary Humanitarian Service.

Pryor, a junior from Georgetown, Texas, majoring in criminal justice, was heralded by Round Rock Police as a hero when he stopped along a busy highway to aid a woman who was threatening to end her life atop an interstate overpass. Because of Pryor’s decision to stop and aid the complete stranger, he prevented the distressed woman from taking her own life, according to officers.

On hand for the presentation were the student’s parents, Glenn and Deneice Pryor, his grandmother, an aunt and his girlfriend.

Once he graduates from Tarleton with a bachelor’s degree in criminal justice, Pryor said he plans to enroll in a police academy President Dominic and pursue a career in law Dottavio with enforcement.

Blake Pryor

TIAER director tapped for Texas agriculture post Dan Hunter, former executive director for the Texas Institute for Applied Environmental Research (TIAER) at Tarleton, has been tapped as assistant commissioner for water and rural affairs within the Texas Department of Agriculture (TDA).

Texas Agriculture Commissioner and former Texas state representative Sid Miller, a Tarleton alumnus, announced Hunter’s appointment.

Hunter served two years as assistant director for TIAER before being named executive director in 2008. The institute was established by the Texas Legislature in 1991 to “provide national leadership on emerging environmental policy, especially agriculture water issues.” Hunter has worked with national constituencies, including federal agencies, Congress, and producer and consumer organizations.

Students from Shaw’s class demonstrated caring in their projects.

Dan Hunter

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B y M a ry G . S a lta r e l l i

hen Dr. Sandy Graham traveled to Ethiopia in northeast Africa eight years ago, the poor children she saw tugged at her heart.

“Their living conditions are way below poverty level. Many Ethiopians are homeless; they wear rags and can’t practice hygiene,” said Graham, professor of agricultural and consumer sciences. “Those who are fortunate to have homes live in metal and tin boxes with dirt floors, and they cook over open fires burning eucalyptus wood.”

After that initial eye-opening trip, Graham developed a program to help Ethiopians through a connection between Tarleton’s Texas Institute for Applied Environmental Research and Jewish Voice Ministries International.

Each fall, she takes Tarleton students to Gondar, a city and district in northwest Ethiopia. Students volunteer at temporary medical clinics run by the non-profit ministries, educating Ethiopians on improving their water quality and sanitation.

Ethiopian Tarleton students (from left) Demetrio Navarette, Alex Luce, Alyssa Lahmon and Jacob James prepare water filters for distribution.

For five days, Graham and her students distribute water filters and instruct citizens on proper use and care. For students, the Ethiopian Outreach Program opens the door to a whole new world as they are immersed in a culture far beyond what they know.

“If you watch the students, they transform right in front of you,” Graham said. “They go from unbelieving shock at the living conditions to an awareness that they can help people there.

Hopefully they come home feeling they can make a difference in the world.”

The filters students distribute are LifeStraws ©, manufactured by Vestergaard, an international company. One personal LifeStraw filters enough water to last a year.

In 2013, students distributed 3,500 filters. They asked Gondar residents to bring the used filters back in a year when the clinic returned and trade them in for new straws. Last fall, 36 Ethiopians returned their LifeStraws.

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Tarleton students and Dr. Sandy Graham (far right) pose with a group of Ethiopians.

To view a video about this project, visit www.tarleton.edu/lifestraws

Outreach

Applied Learning Experience

The used straws yielded important information that graduate student Kalyn Brymer collected during last year’s trip. She is compiling the data to determine if the straws are preventing illness caused by waterborne contaminates.

Brymer conveyed her conclusions in a scientific poster presentation in April at an agricultural education conference in The Netherlands. She believes her data will reflect that Tarleton’s outreach is having a positive impact on the people of Ethiopia and their sanitation and hygiene.

“My experiences in Ethiopia changed who I am and the way I feel about how one person or group can change things in the world,” Brymer said.

Undergraduate students earn three credits when they participate in the annual Ethiopian Outreach Applied Learning Experience and the program is open to students of all colleges and majors.

Junior International Business major Alex Luce said she experienced last year’s trip from a commercial perspective, because she learned about companies like Vestergaard that manufacture and distribute products for people in disadvantaged countries.

“When I realized I was there to make a difference for the betterment of the people of Gondar and Ethiopia, it made me excited for my future,” Luce said. “I know I have this opportunity, and I’ll be able to work improving other countries for the rest of my life.”

Tarleton student give a demonstration on using the water filters that provide clean water.

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Tarleton Mentor Cody Propps (left) helps Fosters Home resident Jarrett return his show pig to its pen after clipping it ahead of the Erath County Junior Livestock Show.

The

Steel Barn Sanctuary that Tarleton Mentors Built B y K U R T M O G ONY E

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ust north of Stephenville off Highway 108 sits a steel barn where lessons are learned and lives changed.

Four volunteers guide 15 Fosters Home boys and girls in raising livestock for show, teaching skills and responsibilities in caring for pigs, lambs, goats and rabbits.

Started by community volunteer Ricky Caudle, the project benefits from Tarleton Mentors Cody Propps, Izzy Ostert and Lindsey Rogers. Tarleton Mentors, established in 2007 by students who enjoyed working with livestock, unites students of varied academic disciplines as volunteers at Fosters Home.

Cody Propps (left) gives a lesson to Fosters Home children, Bethany and Jarrett, in how to properly exercise their pigs.

The Mentors connect to children with issues ranging from neglect and abuse to abandonment. The partnership has a major impact on both the college students and the Fosters youths.

“When we began volunteering we hoped to see the kids compete as normal 4-H’ers,” Propps said. “Our goal was to have the kids live as normal a family-oriented life as we could.”

Propps plans to teach, and credits his volunteer work with showing him how “to teach all kinds of kids. These kids have experienced a horrible background. Some have amazing stories to tell, some you don’t want to hear. It’s about being able to relate to these kids with perceived problems and behavior issues. I’m still learning from them, and what these kids have taught me the most is to love all kids.”

One evening in mid-January as Propps and fellow mentors prepared for the Erath County Junior Livestock Show, 17-yearold Matthew Chapman, a Stephenville High School junior, gazed intently at his mentor’s hand strokes, as his clippers neatly trimmed a pig’s head and snout. “Can I try?” asks Matthew. Like a seasoned showman, he smoothes the edges to a perfect trim before brushing the show pig and releasing him back to the pens.

Two days later, Matthew and the Fosters Home Show Team, armed with the know-how to guide their prized animals in the ring past the discerning eyes of the judge, showcased their livestock, winning ribbons.

From left, Fosters Home resident Matthew gets help clipping his pig from Tarleton Mentors Cody Propps and Lindsey Rogers.

“This is the first year we had every single kid and every animal make the sale at county,” said Ostert, a first-year Tarleton Mentor and sophomore pre-vet major. “We didn’t have any goats place below fourth.”

A few weeks later, the Mentors loaded the trailer and hauled the Fosters’ livestock to major shows, including Fort Worth and San Antonio, where two pigs and a goat advanced through the first sift. “Having done it against the better competition at a major show,” Propps said, “that was perfect for them.”

Interest in the program is growing and the donation of a steer will enable one young girl, who has developed a keen sense of responsibility and work ethic with smaller animals, to take on the steer project.

James, a Fosters Home resident has taken on a livestock project for the past seven years with the help from the Mentors.

“We also have a couple summer pigs the boys will get to show at the Texas State Fair,” Propps said. “There’s a group of boys, all five will be seniors, so we want to go out with a bang. We’ll take lambs and pigs to the State Fair for the first time ever.”

After receiving his bachelor’s degree in May, Propps plans to pursue a master’s in educational administration and continue volunteering. “The thing about teachers, we don’t do it for our own success. We do it to make a change and have an impact on a child’s life.”

“We’re not just here for the stock show,” Propps said. “After show season, I’ve been to these kids’ choir concerts, a soccer game and a band recital. We’re ultimately there to give our support like a normal family, and show our love for them.”

“You see the kids in their best moments and their worst moments,” Ostert says, “and they just look up to you. I work and go to school but I’m my happiest when I’m here at the barn with the kids.”

For the children entering the show ring, the volunteers have an enormous impact, said Fosters Home’s Derrick Bam, vice president of children’s services. “The Tarleton Mentors give our children a sense of perspective. They bring this mindset to our kids: ‘I can think about my future and this is what the future looks like.’”

“A lot of them don’t believe they’ll graduate high school, and the idea of going to college is often beyond them,” Bam continued. “Having the Mentors gives them a living example of future possibilities after putting forth hard work and taking responsibility.”

David Asbill, Fosters Home’s chief operating officer, says the Tarleton Mentors have aided behavioral changes and provided a sense of stability in the children’s lives.

“Because a lot of our kids come from traumatic backgrounds, which can cause mistrust with other humans, it’s easier for them to take the first steps with a show animal,” Asbill said.

“Through the Mentors, they learn about relationships and can start trusting again.”

That steel barn sanctuary, where it began with just three goats and three girls, has left Ricky Caudle amazed. “I start to get choked up when I talk about these Tarleton students. For them to go to school, work, then come to the barn and help out here, become a part of these kids’ lives. They love these kids like their own family.”

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B y H a r ry B atts o n

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magine driving along the Chisholm Trail Parkway, just 12 minutes from downtown Fort Worth, when on the horizon you spot a singularly impressive academic building surrounded by a bustling new community. Tarleton flags fly from poles along the lane at the hub of a new vibrant education and economic development.

Entering the building, you are impressed by the sense of motion, of organized activities, as students quietly walk toward state-of-the-art teaching classrooms, a learning commons library, a café. Signs point you to the writing center, laboratories and student services.

That’s the view planners and Tarleton officials are constructing as they prepare for a new Tarleton campus in Fort Worth on 80 acres of land donated by The Walton Group of Companies.

The “very, very generous gift” was announced by Tarleton President Dominic Dottavio at a Sundance Square event in downtown Fort Worth that included Fort Worth Mayor Betsy Price, State Rep. Craig Goldman, City Councilman Jungus Jordan, Texas A&M University System Chancellor John Sharp and Walton CEO Bill Doherty.

In his remarks, Doherty explained that Walton is a family-owned and operated company founded by his parents, Patrick and Maureen, who that day, Dec. 8, was celebrating her 75th birthday.

A Vision for a Fort Worth 10

Artist’s concept of a fully developed campus.

Doherty cited the value his parents, who had never gone to college, placed on education. “My mother and father instilled in me and my siblings the principles of getting an education, of doing the right thing, of success, of setting goals and making plans in order to attain those goals.”

With its generous donation, Walton has shown its commitment to the community and Tarleton. Walton strongly believes that the university campus will add to its master-planned community along the Chisholm Trail Parkway that benefits all local stakeholders.

“Walton is proud to support Tarleton’s new campus, and we are confident that its presence will greatly enhance the local community while bringing even more jobs, economic development and educational opportunities to the booming Chisholm Trail Parkway growth corridor,” said John Vick, South USA regional president for Walton Development & Management.

Tarleton seeks $55 million in state funding for a 125,000 square foot classroom and administration building during this legislative session. The city of Fort Worth and the North Texas Tollway Authority will partner with Tarleton and Walton to make the project a reality.

While Tarleton has provided classes in Fort Worth since 1978 and now offers 48 undergraduate, graduate and certificate programs, the university leases space in several locations. As the only public university in Fort Worth providing undergraduate and graduate programs, Tarleton’s current enrollment of 1,600 is expected to nearly double to 3,000 by 2020.

The new campus will provide state-of-the-art teaching facilities and expanded student services. It will enable the university to enhance the student-focused experience and academic quality for undergraduate and graduate students.

Campus

Participants at the announcement of the Walton 80-acre gift at Sundance Square in Fort Worth were (from left): Walton CEO Bill Doherty, Texas A&M System Chancellor John Sharp, Fort Worth Mayor Betsy Price, Tarleton President Dominic Dottavio, Fort Worth City Councilman Jungus Jordan, State Representative Craig Goldman and Walton South USA Regional President John Vick.

Later phases will add academic buildings, including space for the prestigious medical laboratory science program, a student union and dining hall, and other student service and recreation/health facilities.

The goal is to create a campus feel that fosters collegiality and a sense of community, one that engenders Tarleton pride among faculty, staff and students, and spreads that pride—planting the Tarleton flag in Fort Worth.

“This transformational gift, for the university and for our students,” said President Dottavio, “opens the gates of new opportunities for future students in the same way and in the same spirit as the legacy from our founder, John Tarleton.

We are most appreciative of Walton’s most generous donation.”

As Walton CEO Doherty said, “We’re very proud to be associated with your university. Now let’s move forward and build a great campus.”

View the donation announcement and vision for the future of Tarleton in Fort Worth at www.tarleton.edu/walton The Tarleton Mobile Welcome Center in downtown Fort Worth, under the old courthouse.

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Texans The Water Lawyer Tarleton titan takes on corporate giants B y H a r ry B atts o n

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cott Summy (’86), nationally and reverentially dubbed “The Water Lawyer,” earned his reputation representing common citizens and public entities against corporate giants.

“Millions of people drink clean water now as a result of the litigation that I have generated,” says Summy, the Dallas attorney with Baron and Budd who has recovered more than a billion dollars in settlements with international corporations. “You can’t put a value on human health.”

Summy played a key role in the 2010 BP Gulf of Mexico oil spill settlement, gaining millions of dollars for affected people and businesses. In 2012, he concluded a national class action settlement with Syngenta, a multinational company based in Sweden, on behalf of public water providers struggling with the intrusion of atrazine in their water source. Recently, Summy filed one of the first cases in the U.S. against Monsanto to remove

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polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) from public schools.

Summy’s path to prominence began early in his career when, late on an August Friday afternoon in 1995, he accepted a phone call from a man in North Carolina who told him that he had been drinking a chemical called Methyl Tertiary Butyl Ether (MTBE) in water at his home. “I had no clue what MTBE was, but I told him that I would come meet with him.”

The meeting, which involved dozens of people from two trailer parks, led to a lawsuit against Conoco for allowing MTBE, an additive to gasoline, to leak into drinking water.

After a jury found Conoco grossly negligent, Summy settled the suit for $36 million.

Days later, he was called to a news conference in California to launch an effort to ban MTBE. Summy ended up representing the city of Santa Monica and over 200 other public entities, including the largest groundwater provider in

the U.S., New York-based Suffolk County Water Authority, against the nation’s major oil companies—cases that cemented his reputation as The Water Lawyer.

A high school field trip to the Tarrant County courthouse convinced Summy that he wanted to become a trial lawyer. When a high school friend’s father, who had attended Tarleton, recommended that the two consider the university, they decided to check it out.

“I certainly needed financial help to go school,” Summy recalled. “I was awarded the Dick Smith Scholarship, and I immediately made up my mind to attend Tarleton. That scholarship did wonders for me.”

A political science major, he particularly appreciated Dr. O. A. Grant and Dr. Harold Walton. “They were just phenomenal professors. The thing I really loved about it was that they gave you such individual attention.”

At Texas Tech Law School, he felt prepared to compete with students from the larger, better known universities.

“I felt like I was as equipped or better equipped to perform in law school as they were,” he said. “I credit Tarleton for preparing me for the rigors of law school.”

In his career, as he repeatedly went up against Ivy League corporate attorneys, Summy also felt that Tarleton helped him develop the confidence to succeed. “When I was a student at Tarleton, I had a lot of meetings with professors and got a lot of guidance about what I needed to do to prepare to be a lawyer. They just gave me a lot of confidence in moving forward as a law student.”

Embarking on this career has affected millions of people. “So having an impact, a large impact, on human health through drinking water and other environmental issues that I’m involved in, is what really makes the job— and makes it worthwhile.”

To listen to Summy talk about his career and his time at Tarleton, visit www.tarleton/summy

Scott Summy, Profile Baron & Budd, Principle Head of the Environmental Litigation Group Tarleton State University, Bachelor of Arts, cum laude, 1986, Political Science Texas Tech University School of Law, Juris Doctor, 1990 Best Lawyers in America, 2006-2015 Editions Texas Super Lawyers (Thompson Reuters, 2003-2013) Finalist – Public Justice Trial Lawyer of the Year (2009, 2013) Wife, Lenna – met when he was a senior at Tarleton and she was Miss Wayland University, a contestant for Miss Texas. Actively engaged in running two nonprofit corporations that she cofounded: Supreme Court Youth Organization and Scholars and Athletes Serving Others (SASO).

Three children: Ashley, attending Baylor University, active in Pi Phi Sorority Hunter, senior at Southlake Carroll Senior High – committed to play basketball at University of San Diego Fielder, seventh grader, at Southlake Carroll Middle School, plays on elite basketball team: Team Texas Nonprofit Organization: Supreme Court Youth Organization, Sponsors elite basketball teams competing nationally All original team members (originating in fourth grade) offered Division I scholarships Favorite Saying: “You Can’t Teach Hungry” Favorite Tarleton Memory: The friends that I established, going out to eat all over town, going to the $1 movie Monday nights, attending Tarleton athletic events, we had a blast doing that.

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s s a l C tes � N ’89 ’68 ’87

Randall R. Childers, B.A.A.S. in industrial

technology, was reappointed to the Texas Industrialized Building Code Council to oversee the enforcement of state standards. Childers is a certified building inspector, residential combination inspector, building plans examiner and building code official, working for the City of Waco. A member of the International Code Council, he also is a board member of the International Association of Building Officials and a board member and past president of the Building Officials Association of Texas.

Millie Hughes-Fulford, B.S. in biology,

directs the Hughes-Fulford Laboratory in the Veterans Affairs Medical Center in San Francisco. The lab’s goal is to understand the mechanisms that regulate cell growth in mammals. The former astronaut lives on Kauai in Hawaii.

’75

Susan Haynes, B.S. in agricultural business,

’76

Patricia A. Maurer, M.Ed. in school

’77

Terry Pilgrim, B.S. in agriculture education,

has become the director of preschool at the KinderCare Christian Preschool at Graham Street Church of Christ in Stephenville. Haynes previously served as a principal and teacher for early childhood through 12th grade and has taught special education, physical education and secondary English.

leadership, is head of preschool and lower school at Trinity School in Midland, Texas. She has spent 47 years in education, and is married to Dr. William Maurer, director of the Bynum School.

is coordinator of industrial programs at Weatherford College. He oversees the welding, heatingventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) and electrical programs, as well as equine classes.

’78

Larry Mitchell, B.S. in plant and soil science, is administrator of the Grain Inspection, Packers and Stockyard Administration, regulating the grain and livestock industries. A fifth generation Texas farmer, he was appointed deputy administrator of farm programs in the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Farm Service Agency under President Bill Clinton. He left federal service in 2001 to become chief executive officer of the American Corn Growers Association but returned in 2011 as associate director of the USDA’s Office of Advocacy and Outreach prior to taking his current position in 2012.

Reggie Underwood, B.S. in animal science, has been

named Vice President of Sales, Nutritionals, for the Southern and Eastern Regions of Verdesian Life Sciences.

Underwood has served as national sales manager for SFP and worked in sales and managerial roles for Ciba-Geigy, Helena Chemical Inc. and Albaugh Inc.

’85

Kelli Horry, B.B.A. in marketing, has been

named Vice President – Mortgage Lending for TexasBank Stephenville. Upon graduation, Horry began work at the former Stephenville Bank and Trust Co., staying with that institution until 2009, when she and her husband, Bob, and son, Bradley relocated. Her new position brings her back to Stephenville.

14

Jeff Ripley. B.S. in agribusiness, is interim

Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service associate director for county programs in College Station. Previously an extension agent in Tom Green and Travis Counties, Ripley has been district extension administrator in Corpus Christi.

’90

Stan Coppinger, M.A., has been appointed

’92

Ron Adams, B.S. in chemistry, has joined

director of the University Scholars Program at East Texas Baptist University. A professor of English, Coppinger previously directed the honors program at LeTourneau University. In addition to his master’s degree from Tarleton, he has a bachelor’s degree from Biola University and a Ph.D. from Baylor.

Horn, a distributor of specialty ingredients and raw materials, as a member of its technical sales team in Composites and Fabrication Materials. Adams serves South Texas and South Louisiana. He formerly worked for Ashland Performance Materials as a composite and pultrusion technical service expert, working closely with customers to support product development and raw material replacement for cost reduction projects and production efficiency enhancement. Adams is a Certified Composite Technician.

Karen Munoz , B.S. in education, was named an

Outstanding Principal of the Year for Region 14. Principal of Cooper High School, Abilene, for the past 10 years, she previously served as principal at Ortiz Elementary. In addition to her Tarleton degree, she has a master’s from Abilene Christian and a doctorate from Texas Tech.

Steve Sturtz, B.S. in agricultural education, lives in

San Angelo, where he raises border collies and goats.

He served as a judge at the 2015 Brown County Youth Fair market goat division. He has served as an extension agent and is involved with youth as a livestock mentor and volunteer with 4-H and FFA.

Toby Virden, B.S. in agricultural development, is station manager and morning broadcaster for KRUN-AM in Ballinger in the Abilene area. He provides news, weather and sports and handles regional and national sales for the country station.

’94

DeWayne Burns, B.S. in agricultural services

and development, won election to the District 58 State Representative’s seat and is participating in the legislative session. A Cleburne native, Burns is a business investment manager. His family owns and operates a cattle ranch. He previously worked as a legislative analyst for state representatives and in the Texas Department of Agriculture.

Julie Gardner, B.S. in home economics, has been named the health specialist for a collaborative program between The Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service and the Scott & White Health Plan. Gardner has been AgriLife Extension family and consumer sciences agent in Coryell County since 1999. She previously was 4-H and Youth Development agent in Williamson and Grayson counties and an assistant agent for home economics in Lamar County.

Charles Redman, B.S. in agricultural business, has been named Schleicher County agent for the Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service. Redman previously worked for Glendarroch Homes of Fort Worth. He grew up in Saint Jo and was involved in the 4-H youth development program and FFA.

’95

Philip Montgomery, B.S. in exercise and sports studies, has been named head coach of the University of Tulsa football team after having been offensive coordinator at Baylor University since 2008.

Montgomery began coaching at Tarleton in 1996 as a graduate assistant. He joined the Stephenville High School staff under Art Briles, later joining Briles in 2003 at the University of Houston and then at Baylor.

Jason Hall, B.S. in agricultural business and M.B.A. in accounting, has been named chief financial officer of Behringer Harvard Opportunity REIT II, Inc. He continues as senior vice president and chief accounting officer for the company. He has been the principal accounting officer and treasurer since 2010. Hall began with the company in 2005 as an SEC reporting manager. Prior to that, he was controller with Aegis Communications group and is a certified public accountant.

’97

James Buck Gilcrease, M.Ed., has been

’98

Eva Bark, M.B.A., has been named Human

named superintendent of the Alvin Independent School District. He previously served as superintendent of the Hillsboro and the Haskell Consolidated Independent School Districts, as well as a principal, teacher and coach. He has been the legislative chair for the Texas Association of School Administrators.

Resources Director at Killeen Independent School District. Bark joined the ISD in 1995 as a professional personnel specialist and was promoted to coordinator for professional personnel in 2004. She previously was an interview supervisor for the Texas Employment Commission.

Randi Mitchell, B.B.A. in marketing, has been named District Director for Congresswoman Kay Granger, R-Texas, 12th Congressional District. Based in Fort Worth, she oversees the district office’s daily operations. Honored in 2009, she received the 40 Under 40 distinction from the Fort Worth Business Press, and in 2012 she participated in Leadership Fort Worth.

’02

Tarleton and later was an assistant professor in social work at the university. Prior to her current position, Lanning was a senior director for Safe Horizon, a New York nonprofit to aid victims of human trafficking. She is the former director of the New Jersey Anti-Trafficking Initiative.

Brian Lixey, M.B.A., is leading Bank SNB’s new Fort Worth branch team as Market President. Lixey has more than 18 years of banking and management experience, having served as a senior commercial loan officer and vice president of commercial banking.

’05

Shawntay Sparks-Hubbard, B.S. in nursing, is associate professor of nursing and director of the bachelor of science in nursing program at Howard Payne University. She obtained a master’s degree from the University of Phoenix in 2008 and currently is working toward her doctorate. She has worked as a registered nurse at CHS/Abilene Regional Medical Center and program coordinator at Comanche County Medical Center as well as a program chair at Texas State Technical College.

’09

MuShawn D. Smith, B.S. in political science, is an Army Captain, serving as a logistics capabilities development analysis officer in the Science and Technology Branch of the Combined Arms Support Command’s Sustainment Battle Lab. He is a graduate of the Combined Logistics Captains Career Course and Capabilities Development Course.

’10

John Craft, ED.D., was named Superintendent of Killeen Independent School District. He had been deputy superintendent since 2012, and previously served as a physical education and biology teacher, assistant principal and principal.

’13

Larry Adams, B.S. in criminal justice, has been promoted from Sergeant to Patrol Captain with the Woodway Public Safety Department. A Navy veteran, Adams has been with the department since 1999, previously serving as a K9 handler and field training officer. Certified as a Master Peace Officer, he is the accident reconstruction specialist for the department and a member of the Special Weapons and Tactics team. He is working toward his master’s degree in criminal justice at Tarleton.

Kyla McKenzie Lynch, B.S. in agribusiness and M.S. in

management and leadership ’14 has passed her insurance license test. She is a financial adviser at Capital Choice in Waco.

Amanda Ogle, B.S. in communications, works in the Fort Worth office of Brown, Dean, Wiseman, Proctor, Hart & Howell LLP Law Firm and received a scholarship from the University of North Texas Frank W. Mayborn Graduate Institute of Journalism.

Trent Anderson, B.S. in agribusiness, has

been promoted to district manager of the El Paso office of Professional Service Industries. Anderson has 17 years of experience in commercial construction and was branch manager of the El Paso office.

Avaloy Lanning, B.S. in social work, has been named the executive director for the Bennington County (Vermont) Coalition for the Homeless. She obtained a degree from

Contact us

Send your alumni and class updates to Tarleton State University: Box T-0730, Stephenville, TX 76402 media@tarleton.edu (254) 968-9460

Texans 15

Texans advance to

NCAA Final Four , enjoy historic season The Final Four

―it’s where every team starts the season aspiring to be. The 2014-15 Tarleton Texans got there!

In one of the most memorable men’s basketball seasons in Tarleton’s treasured history, the Texans set a school record with 31 wins, nailed down its first ever outright Lone Star Conference Championship and slam dunked the NCAA Regional Championship Tournament in Wisdom Gym. What a year!

16 Texans

Despite losing in the national semifinal, the Texans, among 319 Division II programs, enjoyed the aura of March Madness and danced into the Final Four for just the second time in the program’s senior college era.

Ranked seventh in the nation, the Texans bowed out in the national semifinal held in Evansville, Ind. to Indiana University of Pennsylvania, 72-68. In the quarterfinals, the Texans overcame a slow start to best Mount Olive, 77-59.

The Final Four loss concluded the historic season with a 31-4 record. Tarleton’s tradition of maintaining an excellent fan base continued as the Texans drew the largest crowds in the Lone Star Conference and among the Top 10 in Division II. Winning the LSC championship and the conference tournament’s No. 1 seed, Tarleton held a No. 1 ranking in the NCAA South Central Region and earned the right to host the regional tournament at Wisdom Gym for the third time.

The architects of that remarkable success, head coach Lonn Reisman and associate head coach Chris Reisman, again relied on scoring defense as the Texans entered the post-season tournament allowing just 60.2 points per game. They finished the 2014-15 campaign ranked third in the nation in that statistical category at 60.5 ppg.

“We had an outstanding season and I thank God for the opportunity to experience it with this excellent group of young men,” Reisman said after the season-ending semifinal loss, which concluded collegiate careers for seniors Davene Carter, Damion Clemons, Malcolm Hamilton, Mercedes Lane, and Mo Lee, the LSC’s Most Valuable Player.

Under Reisman’s guidance the Texans have amassed an impressive 59-7 record over two seasons and have reached the NCAA D-2 playoffs 12 of the last 14 seasons. This year’s squad also added 31 victories to Reisman’s 589 career wins at Tarleton, tying for 16th all-time among Division II coaches.

“For me, this is a once-in-a-lifetime experience,” said Dallas-native Clemons, who was named to this year’s LSC All-Defensive Team, at the post-game press conference. “I wouldn’t say we were just happy to be here, we wanted to win it all, but we got this far and it was a great season.”

“This is a tremendous group of young men who represented Tarleton extremely well, not only on the basketball court but in the communities in which they played,” said Tarleton President F. Dominic Dottavio. “We enjoyed the thrills of their accomplishments, and have great expectations for their futures.”

Renew your

Homecoming 2015!

Come home to Tarleton on October 17.

purple!

Save the date

Join the Tarleton Alumni Association today and help more students realize the impact of a Tarleton education.

Every dollar of TAA memberships goes directly to scholarships for students.

Annual membership      

Loyalty $50 Joint Loyalty $75 Century Club $100 Joint Century Club $150 Purple Century Club $500 Joint Purple Century Club $750

Benefits of joining the TAA  Access to membership to the Tarleton Rec Sports Center  Free Tarleton alumni swag  Discounts to hotels and rental cars

To learn how to join or renew, go to www.tarleton.edu/org/alumniassociation or call the Alumni Center at (254) 968-9682.

Connected for Life

The official Tarleton ring story The official ring of Tarleton State University embodies the pride and possibility that have built our heritage of excellence and achievement since 1899.

It is a lasting symbol of your lifelong connection to that heritage and the people and experiences that are your Tarleton State University.

This beautiful, commemorative ring has a unique and meaningful design. The top of the official ring is adorned with the traditional border of the University seal encircling the Tarleton “T”. The sides reflect the university—the campus gates and cannon surrounded by the oaks and antique lamp posts on one side, and on the other, the impressive architecture of the administration building.

The Tarleton State University class ring was the first ring in the world to feature series numbering as part of the design. As graduates and alumni order the new ring, a series number is etched into the outside of the ring adding to the tradition and meaningful achievements it represents.

The official Tarleton State University ring serves as a constant reminder of the lifelong friendships and achievements that you have gained. The official ring also tells the world that you are loyal to the Tarleton heritage and proud to be affiliated with the prestige and distinction reserved for Tarleton alumni. Congratulations on your outstanding accomplishments and welcome to the Tarleton State University alumni family.

You’ve earned the right to wear the official Tarleton ring...wear it well!

To order call 1.800.854.7464 or visit www.jostens.com In addition to the traditional design, new options will be available for students in the coming year.

Box T-0570 Stephenville, TX 76402 (2 54 ) 968- 9000 | www.tarleton.edu

Deja View One of the most symbolic gateways to the Tarleton State University campus are the east rock gates located at the intersection of Military Drive and McIllhaney Street, seen here in 1976.

Today, this gateway provides entry to the Trogdon House and Alumni Island, which is being transformed into a campus pedestrian plaza featuring a tribute to the university’s founder and a nod to Tarleton’s rich traditions.

For more information on the Alumni Island Renovation,visit

www.tarleton.edu/renovations/alumni-island.html