Alumni Magazine/Spring 2012

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texas tech university

J ay V o l l e t

THe Gift of inspiration T o n y pac k

Driven to succeed Dr. Robert D. Morgan

Changing Lives

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from the dean There has been much debate recently on the worth of a college degree and the relevance of a liberal arts education. These discussions have been driven by concerns about student learning and employment opportunities for college graduates. The cost of a college education has intensified this scrutiny. The importance of these issues to the College of Arts and Sciences motivated the theme of this year’s magazine.

This conversation has been heightened by a number of recent publications, including the book Academically Adrift: Limited Learning on College Campuses by Richard Arum and Josipa Roksa. The authors presented a study that raised concerns about what students don't learn in college, based on their analysis of the Collegiate Learning Assessment (CLA), which measures critical thinking, analytical reasoning and writing skill. Results showed that about a D r . L aw r e n c e S c h o va n e c third of students made no significant gains in critical thinking and communication skills from their freshman to senior years. They did find, however, that those who majored in the traditional liberal arts — including the social sciences, humanities, natural sciences and mathematics — showed significantly greater gains in critical thinking, complex reasoning and writing skills than other students. In a follow-up study released this year, the authors found positive correlation between poor performance on the CLA and unemployment.

This is not the first time that benefits associated with a liberal arts education have been identified with skills that translate into successful careers. Students who enter a very competitive job market should be encouraged to know that a liberal arts degree develops a wide skill set that employers value.

The diversity of learning experiences and career opportunities are exemplified by the faculty, students and alumni featured in our magazine. Further, if you really want to know what can be done with an education provided by the College of Arts and Sciences, spend time with one of our alumni. Almost to a person they agree that the core values of the College of Arts and Sciences — the capacity to communicate, to think critically and to exercise creativity and imagination — prepared them well for the challenges they met after college.

As we prepared this magazine, we wondered if we were delivering what we espouse, so we sent out a web survey to about 10,000 alumni. The results of that survey, highlighted in the magazine, revealed that the great majority of our alumni believe they have achieved and benefitted from the skills and values that are central to the educational experience in the College of Arts and Sciences.

During this past year we saw the passing of Steve Jobs, a liberal arts advocate whose innovations reflected an understanding of subjects like history, the arts, sociology, business and communication. After introducing the iPad 2 in March 2011, Jobs said, “Technology alone is not enough. It’s technology married with liberal arts, married with the humanities, that yields us the results that makes our hearts sing.”

What we provide in Arts and Sciences may be hard to capture, but I’m convinced that we prepare students not just for their first job, but also for a lifetime of experiences and opportunities.

Dean

Lawrence Schovanec Ed i t o r

Philip Marshall Design

Hartsfield Design Richelle Detrixhe

P r i n c i pa l w r i t e r a n d e d i t o r i a l c o n s u lt a n t

Laura Gutschke Photography

Neal Hinkle Artie Limmer Philip Marshall Printer

Crafstman Printers, Inc.

table o f co ntents 2 Alumn i Survey Tony Pack

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D r i v e n to succeed

Jerry Goolsby, Ph.D.

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Jay Vollet, Ph.D.

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Susan Lang, Ph.d.

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Gary Harris, Ph.d.

7 Co n t i n u i n g th e le gacy o f exc ellenc e Th e g i f t o f ins p iratio n

Dy n a m i c f i rst-ye ar writing instructi on c r e at i n g a new e q uatio n

16 Ch a n g i n g lives

Robert D. Morgan, Ph.D.

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Marjean D. purinton, Ph.d.

a c ase f o r th e h umanities and th e arts marc lochbaum, ph.d.

r e a dy, se t, go ! fo r a ne w ge ne ratio n 22 department s •

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Development

About the Front and back covers

Wendell Jeffreys Amy Crumley

A handbill listing the goals of a liberal arts education is printed on the nineteenth-century cast-iron Washington press at the center of the English Department's LetterPress Lab. The lab, founded

by Drs. Ann Hawkins, Miles Kimball, Jennifer Snead and Curtis Bauer of English, along with Dirk Fowler of Fine Arts, is a collaborative workspace dedicated to hand-printing and book history. The press, cast circa 1870-1890, is typical of those used to print small-town newspapers across the West, and later to print

a d m i n i s t r at i v e s ta f f

Catherine Forrest This publication was made possible by the generous donations of alumni and friends of the College of Arts and Sciences.

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33 donor s & Alumni Contrib u tor s

fine books with great precision. The press and the whole lab are designed to teach students how books from Shakespeare to Dickens were laboriously made, and what effect the means of production had on what we read today.

Photography by Neal Hinkle

Feedback? Questions?

Email the editor at philip.marshall@ttu.edu

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The College of Arts and Sciences is committed to ongoing review and assessment of its programs and degree plans. A paramount objective of these activities is to ensure that those graduating with a degree from the college have had an educational experience that promotes, in addition to the necessary and requisite knowledge in one’s degree program, the broad essentials of a liberal arts education in areas such as critical thinking, effective communication, scientific and technological capabilities and a love of learning.

Individual course and program assessments are conducted annually, but we have not traditionally sought information on how effective the college has been in helping students further develop and achieve these broad, essential goals. To collect such data, a survey was sent in the beginning of 2012 to those with a bachelor’s degree from Arts and Sciences for whom we had a valid email address. Ten thousand surveys were sent, 1,200 alumni responded, and the overall results are presented here. Interestingly, we have responses from alumni that span more than a 40-year period, and there have been many changes in the composition of the college over that time (e.g., departments have split off to form the Colleges of Visual and Performing Arts, Mass Communication and Education). Not unexpectedly, some of our graduates have changed career paths over the years. In spite of such divergence and variability, alumni gave rather uniform opinions of how well we have been doing, and we are encouraged by the results we obtained.

Education is not a static enterprise, and we acknowledge that at times it is difficult to keep up with rapidly changing real-world situations and economic and societal demands, but in spite of these pressures the results of the survey indicate that through the years the strategic plans and adaptations within the college, numerous though they may be, have maintained a successful focus on broad “learning outcomes” essential for a liberal arts education.

We acknowledge room for improvement, and we will continue to engage in similar assessment activities.

Finally, if you contributed to this survey, our many thanks for helping us with this effort.

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Alumni S u rvey

L TH UM AT N I AN WHO d EE AG AR R REE AG TS a n d d O R S T R O N G LY H A S : SCIENCE DEGREE S

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- Philip H. Marshall, Ph.D., Editor

“My undergraduate education changed my life forever: it turned on a light that hopefully will not be extinguished until I am.” alumnus Quote 2

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92% 88% 88% 84% 84% 72% 71% 65% 65%

I n c r e a s e d a n d r e f i n e d m y a b i l i t y t o t h i n k c r i t i c a l ly

I n c r e a s e d m y a b i l i t i e s a n d m o t i vat i o n to become a lifelong learner

Helped me to become a more effective c o mm u n i c a t o r ( w r i t t e n a n d o r a l )

I n c r e a s e d m y c r e at i v i t y a n d enhanced my sense of discovery

Im p r o v e d m y c u lt u r a l l i t e r a c y a n d k n o w l e d g e

H e l p e d m e b e t t e r u n d e r s ta n d s c i e n t i f i c and technological developments

In c r e a s e d m y awa r e n e s s a n d u n d e r s ta n d i n g o f r e g i o n a l , n at i o n a l , a n d g l o b a l i s s u e s

I n c r e a s e d m y r e s p e c t a n d a p p r e c i at i o n f o r d i v e r s i t y

strengthened my ethical character

“ Words cannot describe how much my undergraduate education developed my understanding of the world and of myself.� alumnus Quote

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D r i v e n Written By: Laura Gutschke Photography By: Artie Limmer

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On the road to joining the Dallas-area family automotive business, Tony Pack determined to study a broad curriculum. His interests in political science proved to have an unexpected influence in his career success.

"I took some political science classes from Professor Roger Schaefer, and besides being an outstanding instructor, he showed me how politics has an impact on the business world,” Pack said.

Pack (1984, B.A., Political Science, minor, Spanish) has leveraged that political science acumen in both professional and personal endeavors. Today he is vice president and dealer principal at Five Star Ford of North Richland Hills, one of four dealerships owned by Tony’s father, Sam Pack. The younger Pack also is vice president for dealerships within the Pack Auto Group in Carrollton, Lewisville and Plano.

Five Star Ford in North Richland Hills has won numerous Ford Motor Company awards and is recognized as the No. 1 volume seller in Texas and one of the Top 10 dealerships in the nation in sales.

Pack also relied on his political insight when he lobbied Texas legislators on behalf of public education funding during the 2011 Legislature as a member of the Birdville Independent School District Foundation for Education Excellence.

C a p i ta l E d u c at i o n After living in Dallas the move to Lubbock was quite a change.

"I enjoyed my four years in Lubbock. I have told others many times it was the best four years of my life,” Pack said.

While in Lubbock he spent time with an aunt and uncle who lived there. He also recalls fond friendships he formed both on and off campus.

While attending Texas Tech, Pack decided to rejoin his father’s automotive business after graduation. He spent most of his breaks from school working part-time at the dealerships.

In his academic studies, Pack learned how politics affect business, how lobbyists work and how important it is for business owners to work effectively with local and state governmental agencies. Consumer protection laws and fuel economy regulations are two examples of federal regulations impacting the auto industry.

“Even a businessman like me has to be involved in the political spectrum so that I can positively influence business on behalf of consumers,” Pack said. “Every aspect of business is affected.”

R e v v i n g U p H i s C a reer Upon graduation, Pack returned to the Dallas-Fort Worth area to work.

“I was never pressured to join the family business. It was my choice,” Pack said. “One of the advantages to working in the family business is being immediately associated with a highly respected organization.”

The senior Pack celebrated 32 years in business this year.

“My dad’s reputation is second to none. He has an outstanding reputation, and is the recipient of prestigious state and industry awards,” Pack said.

The younger Pack, even before attending college, worked in every area of the business, from the entry-level position of detailing cars in the make-ready department to helping customers in sales and service. That hands-on experience solidified in Pack an enthusiasm for the busi-

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ness. He also learned that if you take care of the customer the business will grow and flourish.

He has lived that business model ever since.

“You have to have a passion for this business. Once you get into it, you can’t deny it,” Pack said.

In 1994, Pack enrolled in the National Automobile Dealers Association’s 12-month general managers training program. A year later, he took over the management of the North Richland Hills dealership, which today employs 243 people. In total, the Sam Pack Auto Group has more than 600 employees.

Since joining the business, two dramatic trends have impacted his industry: the strengthening of competition within the automakers and Internet shopping.

“With those two factors, consumers have a lot more choices, and they have a lot more knowledge when buying a vehicle,” Pack said.

Because customers are wellinformed like never before, one of Pack’s day-to-day responsibilities is ensuring that all employees fully embrace and carry out the company motto of “taking care of business.”

“What that means is we do what it takes to take care of customers,” Pack said.

While following in his father’s large footsteps has been a challenge, Pack believes he brings to the business unique strengths that dovetail with his father’s.

“I believe one of my strengths is to assist the employees of our dealerships to utilize their talents. I help them believe in their talents and find ways to enhance those talents to be successful,” Pack said. "This is what Texas Tech did for me too."

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T o n y pa c k a n d h i s fat h e r , s a m pa c k

O u t s i d e I n t ere s t s Besides his career, Pack is involved in many community activities.

These include serving on the board of the Texas Automobile Dealers Association, three local chambers of commerce and a local food bank.

His biggest passion, however, is advocating for education, in part because he and his wife, Louisa, have two children: Carly, 11, and Macy, 8. Pack is a board member of the Foundation for Education Excellence, which raises grants for schools in the Birdville ISD. “Without the grants some of the things that help in education would not be available, such as a science lab, or even something that may be helpful in physical education,” Pack said.

He also is a liaison for Shannon Learning Center, Birdville ISD’s alternative high school.

"The students and teachers at this school are really trying to work with each other and make the best of their situation. To help teachers get the funding they need for a special project is very rewarding,” Pack said.

During the 2011Texas Legislature when severe cuts to education were discussed, Pack went to Austin to visit with Representatives Kelly Hancock, Vickie Truitt and Florence Shapiro. The purpose of the trip was twofold: to learn firsthand their positions on the issues and share his views on education’s impact on social and economic progress.

“I wanted to express my voice as a businessman and a father of two so that they understood the importance of keeping a strong and viable education system,” Pack said.

Looking back, Pack credits his degree studies for giving him a firm foundation upon which to build a career and become an effective community volunteer.

“My political science experience helped me to understand the political bureaucratic influences that are involved with the legislators.

It also helped me in knowing how our political decisions are made,” Pack said. “The trip to Austin was a really good experience as we witnessed what our legislators do.”

A c a d e m i c H i g h l i g h t s o f J e r r y G o o l s b y, P h . D .

After earning his Ph.D., Jerry Goolsby’s academic career began in 1987 as an assistant professor of marketing at Oklahoma State University. Three years later, he joined the marketing faculty at the University of South Florida. He received his current appointment at Loyola University as the Hilton/ Baldrige Distinguished Chair in Music Industry Studies and Professor of Marketing in 2001.

Written By: Laura Gutschke Photography By: Philip Marshall

Continuing the

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of excellence Professor Jerry R. Goolsby (1974, B.A., History; 1984, M.B.A., Marketing; 1988, Ph.D., Marketing) advises his students at Loyola University to find a mentor, someone who will nurture them through life.

Goolsby speaks from experience. He credits his transition from an inarticulate, undisciplined “redneck kid” to a chaired professor of marketing largely to the influence of Otto Nelson, a retired Texas Tech University history professor.

Nelson taught Goolsby in 1973 and 1974.

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Q : Wh e r e w e r e y o u r a i s e d ?

“Dr. Nelson took a personal interest in me. I often tell people that, had it not been for him, I would be working on a transmission under a shade tree,” Goolsby said.

Instead, Goolsby is a nationally recognized expert in systems management and marketing and is a passionate supporter of musicians and their rights. He has garnered numerous teaching awards, published articles in prestigious academic journals and consulted around the world, helping companies correct organization-wide systems integration problems.

He also has served several terms on the board of the Memphis Chapter of the Recording Academy, best known for the Grammy Awards but also instrumental in all facets of the industry.

Goolsby considers most gratifying his efforts with organizations serving children. One was an award-winning project with two inner-city public schools in Florida that he helped increase their percentage of students on grade level from 30 percent to almost 100 percent. Another was reducing recidivism in a children’s services agency in Delaware.

But, being an inspirational teacher and mentor like Nelson remains a passion for Goolsby. In honor of his mentor, Goolsby created The Professor Otto M. Nelson Undergraduate Scholarship in 2010.

Following is a Q&A with Goolsby. He shares his story in the hopes of inspiring others to honor their mentors through scholarships.

(Goolsby:) Lubbock on 45th and Avenue L. I went to Hodges, O.L. Slaton and Lubbock High.

Q : H o w d i d y o u e n d u p at T e x a s T e c h ?

I came from a blue-collar family of modest means. I am the first person in my family to graduate from college. I went to Tech because I could afford it. I am so grateful that I even had a chance to go to college. It changed my life.

Q: How did Nelson inspire you?

He would spend untold hours nurturing me — helping me rewrite papers and clarifying my thoughts. He was supportive, while being neither condemning nor demeaning.

Excellent faculty members are true professionals and dedicated to high levels of excellence. Dr. Nelson showed me, for the first time in my life, what it is like for someone to be devoted to something passionately, in his case modern European history. I shudder to think of what I would score today on a final exam in his classes, but I still carry his sense of righteousness and purpose, his commitment to excellence and his professionalism with me. I owe him for that inspiration. The inspiration stuck.

A friend once told me that an education is what is left when you forget most of the facts. He was right.

Q: How did you become an expert in the business of music?

I often refer to myself as a “recovering musician.” I played professionally for many years and worked for a retail music company following my undergraduate training and during my MBA program. I build guitars when I have time. I play my 1959 B-3 Hammond organ occasionally.

A b ov e P h oto co u rt e sy o f J e r ry g o o ls by

G o o lsby (c e n t e r , i n bl ac k ) at t h e o r g a n w i t h t h e " t r av e l i n g sa l e sm e n " i n 1 9 67, a n d G o o lsby at t h e sa m e o r g a n i n h i s h o m e i n 2 0 1 2 .

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A friend once told me that an education is what is left when you forget most of the facts. He was right.

Q: Did Dr. Nelson influence your teaching style?

I model much of my teaching style after Dr. Nelson, who demanded that we read extensively (often entire books) and write voluminously. The most common complaint today among employers is the lack of critical thinking and writing skills among new employees. Requiring rigor, challenging students and grading written assignments takes much time and energy, which is why many faculty members would rather give multiple-choice tests and lecture from the textbook. Reading , studying , learning , thinking , critiquing , criticizing and then articulating thought is the most successful process in education. Dr. Nelson used that method.

He stretched us.

Q : What a r e y o u r c u r r e n t d ay- t o - d ay responsibilities?

I work between 60 and 80 hours a week. I run the MBA Program at Loyola, support several nonprofit organizations and am often called to attend meetings to represent the university. I only teach two nights a week, but preparing for class, grading assignments and advising students takes a lot of time.

I try to keep up with scholarship and read many books. The university allows me to do some limited consulting outside the university, which puts me on airplanes a lot, often overseas.

I do not watch television.

Q : What c l a s s e s d o y o u t e a c h ?

Q . Wh y d i d y o u c r e at e t h e s c h o l a r s h i p ?

I wanted Dr. Nelson to know how much I appreciated and respected what he did for me. I also wanted his name to be honored forever at Texas Tech. I want a promising undergraduate student to benefit from the legacy of excellence that I enjoyed.

I hope the recipients of the scholarship feel the same obligation and later in their lives fund a scholarship in the name of a professor who took an interest in them — passing down that legacy to subsequent generations.

Q : Wh y s h o u l d a l u m n i s u pp o r t i n f l u e n t i a l teachers?

The reputation of the university comes almost entirely from the research scholarship of the faculty. Excellent faculty members conduct meaningful research, teach with conviction and engage in service to the community that enhances the reputation of the university — all three. They are tireless in their dedication and work very hard.

Teaching is what makes the most meaningful difference in the lives of students. I only remember maybe a half dozen professors from my undergraduate education, and all were excellent. The true test of teaching effectiveness may not occur for 40 years.

Universities, academies and funding agencies bestow accolades on researchers, but alumni have a duty to acknowledge those faculty members who changed their lives.

Q : What a r e s o m e o f y o u r p r o j e c t s b e n e f i t i n g musicians?

The vast majority of musicians know very little about business.

I have spent the last 10 years educating musicians about business, supporting musicians’ rights and raising money to support indigent musicians.

I primarily teach MBA students how to engrain a customer focus in organizations. I also teach courses in systems thinking and organizational effectiveness.

Q: How do you describe your teaching style?

I do not believe that my students are my “customers”; rather, I believe they are “co-production agents” – we are jointly tasked with satisfying the demands of those we serve after college. I am here to educate them, not make them happy.

I measure my success by students who have been out of school five or more years. I get gratifying email messages at least monthly from former students thanking me for changing their lives. I always tell them to thank Dr. Nelson, because I am just doing for them what he did for me.

Q : What i s y o u r a d v i c e t o c u r r e n t s t u d e n t s t o achieve personal and professional success?

First, I urge my students to throw a brick through their television and be a sponge for knowledge. They should read voraciously. My experience suggests that from data comes information, from information comes knowledge and from knowledge comes wisdom.

There is no substitute for wisdom.

Second, I admonish students to embrace values, especially those tested values that have served mankind well.

Third, I urge them to find mentors who will share their experiences and wisdom.

Wisdom is the engine of life, values are the fuel and experience is the journey. Dr. Nelson showed me wisdom and was a role model for me in my journey. I will always owe him. I just hope other Tech alumni do the same for a teacher who changed their lives.

It is the least we can do.

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A professor’s lectures on cell biology were like a gift for Jay Vollet (1969, B.A., Biology/Chemistry; 1970, M.S., Cell Biology/Biochemistry) during his senior year.

“He literally ignited my interest in cell biology in my two classes under him,” Vollet said. “Studying cells was like having the chance to look into the mysteries of life.”

Those illuminating lectures by Dr. Jerry D. Berlin eventually led Vollet to a rewarding career working with leading researchers developing new treatment therapies for cancers, rheumatoid arthritis and other medical conditions.

And now, Vollet is paying the gift of inspiration forward. He and his wife, Lucy, in 2011 created a planned gift that at his death will create an endowment to fund two professorships. The endowment is the first of its kind for the Biology Department.

honoring mentors

One of the professorships will be named the John J. Vollet, III Endowed Professorship. The other will be the Robert Wright Armstrong, Sr. Endowed Professorship in honor of Vollet’s grandfather. Armstrong (1892-1966) was a World War I and II veteran, vice president and head of The Fort Worth & Denver Railroad and served on the Texas Tech University Board of Regents from 1961 to 1966, the last two years as chairman.

“My grandfather was the largest influence in my life. He was my role model. I always wanted to honor him and his contributions to Tech when he was chairman,” Vollet said.

Vollet, who was raised in Fort Worth, would accompany his grandfather to Lubbock for Homecoming when the board was meeting.

“I loved the campus, students and friendly West Texas people. In addition, many friends were going to Tech, which made it easy,” Vollet said.

He soon made his own connections to Texas Tech, including serving as vice president and president of Phi Kappa Psi Fraternity. As a student, Vollet had a general idea that he wanted a career in medicine, but the encouragement of Dr. Berlin led him to pursue the study of cell biology for his master’s degree. Dr. Berlin was a professor at the university from 1968 to 1987.

“He really made everything exciting,” Vollet said. “He had a research program and offered me a research fellowship.”

Vollet soon aspired to a career in medical research and academics. After receiving his master’s degree at Texas Tech, he earned a Ph.D. in cell and molecular biology from Kansas State University. He then completed a National Cancer Institute Postdoctoral Fellowship in the Department of Virology at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston.

fortuitous timing

Vollet entered the study of cell biology as significant advances in unlocking genetic code were about to come.

“The last 30 years of discovery in cell biology have been incredible,” Vollet said.

After his studies, Vollet in 1976 accepted a position as an assistant professor of clinical microbiology at The University of Texas Medical School in Houston. He worked predominantly in a lab for the next five years. He authored 22 scientific papers on the role of cell surface receptors in controlling cell function, cell transformation in normal and cancer cells and the role of viruses in gastroenteritis.

“This made for a lot of fun when people asked me what I do. I said that I studied diarrhea,” Vollet said.

The work was rewarding, but lacked much opportunity to lecture.

“I was teaching only three hours a year — and that was not credit hours. That was maybe teaching from 9 a.m. to noon one day of the year,” Vollet said.

As a research grant funding his position was coming to a close, Vollet was offered in 1982 a health sciences associate position with Upjohn, which eventually became known as Pfizer. The change marked the start of a 28-year career in the organization working with physicians, teaching hospitals and more than 100 different U.S. biotechnology and Japanese pharmaceutical companies in the development of new treatment therapies, primarily in oncology.

“I got to be challenged in always being exposed to new scientific information and utilizing it in my work,” Vollet said. “I traveled to Japan in one position, and met many U.S. biotech companies involved in cutting-edge research that might be developed into products that met unmet

medical needs. I loved the study of oncology because it is truly understanding how a cell works.”

In 2010, Vollet retired from Pfizer as a senior oncology consultant, having earned numerous management and sales awards.

He now is a medical sciences liaison in immunology for UCB Inc., a Belgium biotech company where he is based in Dallas. His responsibilities include initiating, monitoring and completing clinical trials of compounds to lead to U.S. Food and Drug Administration approval.

The extensive investment of time and capital involved in the research, development and clinical usage of a medication often is not fully appreciated by the general public, Vollet said.

“I tell people it is like drilling for oil. For every gusher, you have a lot of dry holes,” he said.

helping future researchers

Vollet’s connections to his alma mater have continued to thrive through the years.

He and his wife are members of the Texas Tech University Chancellor’s Council. In addition, Vollet’s children, J.J. Vollet and Barbara Vollet McCoy, earned degrees in Restaurant, Hotel and Institutional Management at the university.

When he reflected on his career, Vollet said he was inspired in part by his grandfather’s example of showing tribute to those of influence. The elder Armstrong named Hulen Hall after his mentor Lt. Gen. John Hulen (1871-1957), a military commander, railroad administrator and former Texas Tech director. Armstrong also helped the university secure a railroad steam locomotive that is now on display at the Ranching Heritage Center.

Vollet also sees his gift to his alma mater as a way of ensuring the success of future generations of researchers and students in health care and aiding the university in its drive to attain Tier 1 National Research University status.

“I have a life-long interest in education.

Texas Tech does not get the state support it needs, thus it requires outside support.

Both professorships will support the teaching and research goals of Biology at Tech so students can have opportunities,” Vollet said.

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Written By: Laura Gutschke Photography By: Philip Marshall

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first-year writing instruction

While word processing programs have eased the physical burden of writing in the last two decades, cutting and pasting text is only the beginning of what computer technology is doing to change FirstYear Composition (FYC) classes at Texas Tech University.

The year 2012 marks the 10th anniversary of the English Department’s progressive model of conducting FYC classes (ENGL 1301 and 1302) with both in-class and online instruction. This hybrid strategy maximizes the merits of both forms of instruction for the benefit of students, instructors and researchers.

Each week, FYC students attend one 80-minute class session led by an instructor who discusses rhetorical theory, academic writing and research skills and strategies. During class, students also work on assignments to help them apply what they are learning, said Susan Lang, Ph.D., FYC director.

Outside class, students complete at least one weekly writing assignment submitted online in the Raider Writer course management system designed, managed, maintained and updated by composition faculty and staff.

“The fact that we’ve created an in-house electronic submission, distribution, evaluation, storage and reporting system — a program management system — for FYC sets us apart from all other programs in the nation. The hybrid class structure was instituted to give students more time to experience the iterative and time-consuming process of college-level writing,” Lang said.

Students receive feedback from four to six instructors throughout the semester. One instructor will evaluate a student’s brief writing assignments, peer critiques and end-of-semester writing reviews.

Major drafts are evaluated by two or three instructors, and the student earns the average of the grades given by two of the instructors.

“While writing for more than a single, known instructor is a discomforting experience for many students, it serves as a valuable introduction to professional writing, where many

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audience members remain unknown to a writer,” Lang said.

The vast database (more than 1 million assignments, feedback and grades, and counting) enables program administrators to identify and react quickly to trends in students’ writing. One notable issue Lang and others across the country have identified is that in the last five years, students are coming into the program less prepared to read, analyze and write about college-level material.

“What students do in their K-12 education has far more of an impact on their writing skills” than text messages and other short forms of social media communication, Lang said.

The goal of the hybrid strategy is to help students become better critical readers, thinkers and writers, all essential skills for completing college degrees and entering the workforce.

Graduate students also benefit from the hybrid strategy because of the networking of instructors. New instructors can be assigned to subgroups with more experienced peers. And, Raider Writer enables instructors to collaborate on their evaluation and feedback of writing assignments via features that enable real-time chat and the ability to view each other’s comments on student assignments.

Instructors’ work in the classroom and online is evaluated by Lang and assistant program directors; all instructors also attend professional development workshops and complete other assignments to improve their teaching prowess.

“We can evaluate what students are learning and how instructors are responding to student writing in time to actually improve the experience during that semester. No one else that I know of has that ability to respond to the learning situation that quickly,” Lang said.

Recent acquisition of more robust data mining software will enable even more qualitative and quantitative research in the coming years. Such research will be used to improve the instruction of firstyear writing students at Texas Tech.

mic University Writing Center Aids All Writers On the solitary journey of writing, the University Writing Center (UWC) at Texas Tech University serves as a compass.

Each school year, eight to 10 UWC tutors provide about 2,500 face-to-face tutorials and another 1,500 one-on-one online sessions to all Texas Tech University writers, from freshmen to faculty, said Kathleen T. Gillis, Ph.D., UWC director.

“The most important service we can provide is to offer an intelligent and interested reader to writers,” Gillis said.

The University Writing Center has been providing free writing tutorials since 1992. The service also enables the department’s graduate students to gain experience in one-on-one teaching.

Because the mission of the UWC is to increase clients’ writing knowledge, the tutors do not edit drafts. Instead, they provide instructional feedback on a paper’s focus, organization, development, logical flow, documentation, sentence clarity and style, grammar and mechanics.

“We can help writers identify where the communication is breaking down and why,” Gillis said.

For inexperienced writers, the UWC staff can help them explore their ideas and find focus early in the process.

“For a lot of young students, we provide a service that not only teaches them how to interpret and respond to college-level assignments, we also help them to develop their academic voice,” Gillis said.

Her best advice for all writers, regardless of experience, is “to trust in the process and to value it for the learning that will come with an iterative writing process,” she said.

After all, fortune is found in the journey, not just at the final destination.

A b o v e : K at h l e e n T. G i l l i s , P h . D . , U W C D i r e c t o r L e f t: Su s a n L a n g , P h . d . , FYC D i r e c t o r

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CREATIN

G A N

Written By: Laura Gu tschke Photography By: Ph ilip Marshall

“Dim” and “lagging” are terms used often in the national media to summarize American students’ math scores compared to peers in industrialized countries.

Texas Tech University researchers are working to reverse that trend with the West Texas Middle School Math Partnership (WTMSMP), a major five-year initiative funded by a $6.2 million National Science Foundation grant.

The project launched Jan. 1, 2009. Texas Tech researchers are collaborating with Angelo State University, Sul Ross State University and University of Texas of the Permian Basin; Texas Educational Service Center Regions 15, 17 and 18; and Lubbock Independent School District. Collectively they serve 200,000 students in an 84,000-square-mile area.

The goal is to improve students’ math achievements by training middle school teachers to have a deeper understanding of math and hone their teaching skills.

“Our primary focus is on continuing education classes. While teachers usually go to a half-day or full-day workshop, we have developed three intensive, two-week summer courses to help them really understand math and then be able to transfer that understanding into the classroom,” said Gary Harris, Ph.D., professor of mathematics at Texas Tech.

Early data indicate that the researchers are on the right track for effecting improvement in students’ comprehension of math.

The Middle School Factor WTMSMP is focusing on students and teachers in the sixth, seventh and eighth grades because recent international tests indicate American fourth graders are making gains. But American eighth graders, especially girls, continue to struggle, Harris said.

“Something is happening between fourth and eighth grade,” he said.

This shortcoming is at a time in students’ lives when nurturing their interest in careers related to science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) is critical.

“If students have lost interest in STEMs by the start of high school, it may be too late,” Harris said.

Part of the challenge of teaching middle school students is appreciating the issues they face. The National Forum to Accelerate Middle-Grades Reform has described the ages 11 through 14 as a “hormone-fueled, socially-charged, technology-obsessed time of life.”

Gary Harris and julie tilton

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(L to r): Julie Tilton (Project Director), Gary Harris, (Professor and Principal Investigator), Samantha Fulcher (New Deal Middle School), Raegan Higgins (Assistant Professor and Co-PI) and Amber Calhoun (Lubbock Cooper Middle School).

EW Equ ation In addition, the National Academy of Sciences reported in 2009 that more than half of math teachers in grades five through eight neither majored in the subject nor are certified to teach it. By contrast, a study comparing middle school math teachers in the United States and China, whose eighth graders are top performers on international math tests, revealed that Chinese teachers have a much deeper conceptual understanding of math than their American counterparts, Harris said.

Formula for Effective Teaching The professional development programs teachers take to maintain certification often are short-term and focus only on classroom management or on one or two specific learning strategies.

The WTMSMP intensifies professional development with three graduate-level summer courses each worth 48 contact hours. The courses are offered at each of the four university campuses to ensure easier access. The partnership also hosts retreats and conferences and maintains a website (www.wtmsmp.math.ttu.edu) and Facebook group page.

Amber Calhoun, who teaches Algebra I to ninth graders at Lubbock Cooper High

School, welcomed the challenging curriculum.

She enrolled in the WTMSMP because many algebraic concepts are introduced in eighth grade math.

“I was really interested in the idea of furthering my understanding of the reasoning

to student questions and easily identify student misconceptions and errors.

Many more research findings will be forthcoming as the faculty and staff continue to work with middle school teachers. A major challenge is determining

behind the math concepts – the whys and hows of what we teach,” Calhoun said.

So far she has taken Course 1, which focuses on numbers. Course 2 is on measure, and Course 3 addresses basic probability and statistics concepts.

During the courses, educators also discuss self-efficacy, which is the impact of a person’s beliefs about their ability to effect change.

“We had a one-day side workshop about self-efficacy and understanding that what we feel about what we know does come across to students,” Calhoun said. “The kids know when you are skimming through a subject because you really don’t understand it.”

the best tool for measuring student’ math achievement, which has been the focus of many academic conferences in the last few decades. But, Harris and his colleagues are preparing to make meaningful input on that subject too.

“Preparing future math teachers is one of the most, if not the most, important functions of a mathematics department in any publicly supported university.

Unfortunately, it is often overlooked in mathematics departments that emphasize traditional mathematics research. I have devoted the last 15 years of my career to seeing that this is not the case at Texas Tech. The WTMSMP project represents the culmination of these efforts to date, and should provide a springboard for future math teacher development and support initiatives within our department,” Harris said.

Positive Direction Preliminary data on participants in Courses 1 and 2 indicate that the teachers are improving their math knowledge and are empowered to develop more meaningful teaching examples, react flexibly

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Lives

Changing Written By: Laura Gutschke Photography By: Artie Limmer

Morgan’s Research Shows a Way to Improve Outcomes for Offenders with Mental Illness

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in his work with offenders in the criminal

justice system, Robert D. Morgan, Ph.D., is in search of good evidence about how to change lives.

As the John G. Skelton, Jr. Regents Endowed Professor in Psychology at Texas Tech University, he seeks evidence of best practices in forensic and correctional mental health services.

What interventions reduce the clinical symptoms of offenders with mental illness, improve their behavior while incarcerated and ensure their successful re-entry into society?

Defining such interventions and developing a way to implement them across institutions is important to Morgan because of his firsthand experience treating offenders.

How the Interest Developed

“I think the general public would be most surprised by the fact that treatment does work. Simply locking up offenders with no treatment does not,” Morgan said.

He and colleagues have secured more than $600,000 in research grants, including funds from the National Institute of Mental Health and the National Institute of Justice. They also have developed a comprehensive treatment model called Changing Lives and Changing Outcomes that has shown promising results in a pilot program.

“I can treat offenders. I have touched a thousand lives in my career as a clinician, but if I put out really good research that gives clinicians effective tools, then the number of people I can help across the country goes up exponentially,” Morgan said.

Following the

Morgan began working with offenders at the United States Clues Penitentiary at Leavenworth, Kansas, during an internship for After coming to Texas Tech in 2000, Morgan established a research lab that his master’s degree in clinical psychology from Fort Hays also benefits graduate students. His research has progressed from a wide-angle State University, awarded in 1993. view of forensic psychology to a zooming in on effective interventions for “I just loved the work — the challenges and offenders with mental illness. Morgan also is director of forensic services with the clinical issues presented by the inmates,” said Lubbock Regional Mental Health Mental Retardation Center, where he directs Morgan, who earned a B.S. in psychology in 1991 a postdoctoral fellowship program. from University of Nebraska at Kearney.

Psychologists know of effective tools for assessing and treating criminals and He has worked with offenders whose crimes range for addressing mental illness, but when an offender has a mental illness such as from shoplifting to murder. schizophrenia, bipolar disorder or major depression, the research-based treatment “Offenders think differently than you and I. Most strategies are less clear, Morgan said. people, when they accidentally bump each other on the Research by Morgan and his colleagues suggests that an effective strategy street, they apologize and say, ‘Excuse me.’ The offender needs to address both issues concurrently. thinks differently about that experience. ‘That person “You cannot simply treat mental illness and expect that to reduce crime. We was in my space, that person was disrespecting me,’” know there are a whole lot of people with mental illness who never get involved Morgan said. in crime,” Morgan said. “Thus, to effectively treat offenders with mental illness we Morgan saw a need for additional research need to treat both clinical issues: mental illness and criminal propensity.” in correctional interventions, so he pursued Part of his research also has evaluated the effectiveness of telehealth services a Ph.D. in counseling psychology at compared to face-to-face interventions.

Oklahoma State University, which he “Telehealth has some advantages over face-to-face – it can be provided over a earned in 1999. greater distance at a cheaper cost. And, it has less security issues related to the transporting of prisoners,” Morgan said.

New Initiatives

Morgan and his colleagues’ Changing Lives and Changing Outcomes is a six-month pilot program that involves working with 10 probated offenders at Lubbock County correctional facilities. The goal is to reduce criminal and psychiatric recidivism of offenders with mental illness in advance of their community release.

The researchers have run five cycles of the program during the last three years to gather data. Morgan and his colleagues now are applying for funding for a full-scale randomized clinical trial.

Since joining Texas Tech, Morgan has stayed true to his mission to fill in the research gaps in forensic psychology. He has published extensively and presented at numerous conferences.

Morgan also is nurturing a new generation of forensic psychologists and researchers, such as mentoring 16 doctoral students. One is Nicole

Gross, a second-year doctoral candidate who recently received about $100,000 in funding to examine cognitive styles in persons with mental illness that effect treatment engagement, psychiatric recovery and criminality.

The professor also mentors undergraduate students such as Sean Mitchell. While pursuing a bachelor’s degree in psychology and Spanish, Mitchell collects data for other researchers and graduate students in the research lab and is completing a study on the relationship between criminal thinking and suicide.

“I really value two things – the productivity we have in the research lab, and my relationship with the students. Seeing their involvement, growth, development and excitement when they do good research is very rewarding,” Morgan said.

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H o n o r s U n d e r g r a d u at e R e s e a r c h F e l l o w s h i p :

a case for the

Humanities Arts Original Story By: Marjean Purinton; Edited By: Laura Gutschke Photography By: Philip Marshall

and the

Dr. Marjean D. Purinton, Professor of English and Associate Dean of the University Honors College, was determined that during the 2011-2012 academic year more students studying the humanities and the arts would become engaged in undergraduate research.

A new mentoring initiative is enabling more undergraduates studying the humanities and the arts to engage in research.

“Students should be afforded opportunities to ‘peek behind the curtain’ of research and scholarship activity in their fields and not have to wait until graduate school to stumble into what it takes to be a scholar/ teacher,” said Marjean D. Purinton, Ph.D., professor of English and associate dean of the University Honors College.

Growing undergraduate research in 2011-12 academic year was a goal for Purinton, the administrator to whom the Honors College Undergraduate Research Fellowship Program (URF) reports.

With the help of URF coordinator Donna Srader, Purinton invited Honors College students majoring in English to work with her in undergraduate research. Four students accepted the challenge: Leslie A. Aguilar, Mariana Alvarez, William Baker and Jeremy

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Tow. They are pursuing individual research-based projects that enrich their degree program coursework and encourage them to explore post-baccalaureate education.

Purinton is mentoring these students and helped them render projects for presentation at the annual Undergraduate Research Conference at Texas Tech University and the annual 2012 Great Plains Honors Council meeting in Kansas.

“All too often, undergraduates erroneously believe that ‘research’ applies only to STEM disciplines (science, technology, engineering and mathematics), perhaps to business and some social sciences. I believe undergraduates in the humanities and the arts need to recognize that those fields are based on a legacy of research and that academic success or progress in those fields relies on solid scholarship,” Purinton said.

She expects that the undergraduate students' sharing of their work at the Undergraduate Research Conference will inspire other students and faculty will see ways in which more students in the humanities and the arts can be engaged in undergraduate research. She also hopes that more undergraduates attend the conference to support their peers and gain inspiration and confidence to pursue research and scholarship themselves.

Purinton also is encouraging more faculty in the College of Arts and Sciences to be aggressive and pro-active in convincing undergraduates in the humanities and arts that they can participate in research.

“I think in some respects that the quality of our future graduate students and professionals depends on our commitment to undergraduate research activities. With graduate programs seeking ways to move students through their programs more efficiently and with less expense, it will become increasingly important for undergraduate programs to give promising students initial experiences in research and scholarship in their fields,” Purinton said.

Jeremy Tow is an English major and history minor. His project of creative nonfiction is based on archival materials in the Sowell collection in the Southwest/ Special Collections Library and it reconstitutes Dust Bowl-era accounts. Tow is planning to present his project at the spring Conference on the Sowell Family Collection in Literature, Community and the Natural World. A Lubbock native, Tow is particularly interested in how local residents coped with the natural challenges of drought in the early 20th century. He hopes to submit his project as a writing sample for graduate school programs in creative writing.

Leslie M. Aguilar is bound for a Masters in Fine Arts program, and she seized the opportunity to engage in undergraduate research to craft a collection of poems about the struggles experienced by a Latina writer to maintain diverse relationships with friends, family and a cultural heritage. Aguliar’s minor in Spanish enables her to write bilingual poems for this collection. In her research presentation, Aguliar will include an account of her writing process, including what experiences and knowledge influenced her poetic creations. Aguilar is from Abilene, Texas.

Mariana Alvarez is an English major pursuing a Spanish minor.

From San Benito, Texas, Alvarez aspires to law school, and her URF project involves case studies in which evidence corruption plays a significant role in acquitting defendants.

She expects her research will enrich her understandings of the protocols for the chain of evidence. She would like to contribute solutions to ensuring erasure of evidence corruption.

A sophomore English major, William Baker accepted Dr. Purinton’s invitation to pursue undergraduate research to work on a project that combines his interest in medicine and literature. With a minor in chemistry, Baker aspires to medical school, and he is researching the influences of late 18th century medical practices on British Romantic-period literature, a project engendered from Dr. Purinton’s research on her book project Staging Ghosts and Grotesques: British Romantic Techno-Gothic Drama. Baker’s project will focus on the ways in which quackery in discourse and in practice is displaced upon literary works that interrogate and mock quackery as medicine. Baker hails from Amarillo, Texas.

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Marc Lochbaum, Ph.D.

Ready

Set

Go!

With childhood obesity a growing national concern, researchers in the Department of Health, Exercise and Sport Sciences are conducting new community outreach programs to get youngsters moving.

Marc Lochbaum, Ph.D., associate professor of exercise and sport psychology, and Jeff Key, M.Ed., instructor and personal fitness and wellness coordinator for the department, are collaborating on the initiative. Undergraduate students also are an integral part of the programs.

Following is a Q&A interview with Lochbaum and Key about their initiative to instill in youngsters a long-term interest in fitness and movement.

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Q. What outreach programs are being offered to the community?

Q. How do the community outreach programs also benefit your students?

(Lochbaum:) We have three.

(Lochbaum:) Our undergraduates earn course credit and hands-on experience because they are the teachers in these outreach programs. In effect, they get to find out if they really want to teach elementary and junior high physical education. It is a great real-life experience with academic credit.

Active Character is a leadership and physical activity program for fourth and fifth graders. For 10 weeks, children engage in field sports and participate in small lectures concerning leadership development.

Fun & Fit is a physical activity program for home-schooled children, ages 3 to 12. The children ages 3 to 7 engage in motor skill drills and fitness activities, and the older kids learn a different sport every two weeks.

The third program involves young adults who visit the Burkhart Center for Autism Education and Research on the Texas Tech University campus. A small group of young adults with developmental disabilities such as autism and Down Syndrome participate in fitness activities and sport playing in the Exercise Science Center Gym. Q. Why did you become interested in researching exercise sciences?

(Lochbaum:) I am a physical activity enthusiast and a professor, so over time my research interests migrated to exercise psychology. I have examined children and young adults with autism in my research, and my wife, Mary, and I also home school our children, ages 4 to 15. The Fun & Fit program, which Key runs, helps home-schooled children be around peers.

(Key:) I became interested in physical education while at Lubbock Christian University. I have been teaching for 26 years. In my current positions at Texas Tech, I hire and train 30 graduate students each year to teach about 2,300 undergraduate activity classes. I also have presented at state and national conferences.

I also have begun to infuse into the outreach programs undergraduates interested in research. For example, they measure parental attitudes and record complex measures of continuous activity for a week on the children. And, one of our graduate students conducted research on parents’ attitudes toward teaching physical education at home.

Q. What progress have you made so far?

(Lochbaum:) Our goal is to foster movement. We have data that demonstrated we were getting young children to move more than 2 miles in 55 minutes.

Our plan is to measure and track obesity over time in these new programs. In addition, with the Active Character program, we are going to look at if the children who came attended school more, did not get into trouble, etc. compared to children who did not participate.

Q. What has been the youngsters’ feedback so far?

(Lochbaum:) We did a survey of the elementary students in the Active Character program, and on the question “Do you think Active Character helped you to be a better student,” some of the comments were “Yes, it teaches you to be responsible,” “I learned about respect” and “learned to get along with everybody.” Their survey showed the students really enjoyed working with Texas Tech students.

Undergraduate Feedback on the Active Character program Following are comments from some of the undergraduates who served as teachers in the Active Character program.

“From day one I realized that this program had massive potential to grow into a very successful system where we learned new strategies and ideas of how to teach our students in the most effective ways while our students learned from us how to be better members of society through the application of sport practice.”

– Dustin Lenord, Lubbock “Active Character has been an extremely positive and pleasant experience for me thus far. The kids seem to enjoy Active Character much more than your average classroom because it is their choice to be there.”

– Sandy James, Lubbock

“I have really bonded with the members of my team.

I knew at the start I would develop relationships with these kids, but I did not expect to develop this strong of a bond with them.”

– Hannah Davenport, Lubbock “After the first couple of weeks you start to notice certain students drifting towards their ‘favorite coach.’ To me that shows the greatest achievement of trust on our parts as educators.”

– Michael Lara, Lubbock

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Departments BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES

Resea r c h Pr oje c ts In vo lve M or e St ude nts The department continues to expand ways graduate and undergraduate students participate in research-related activities as part of their education in living sciences.

In April 2011 the Texas Tech University Association of Biologists (TTUAB), one of two graduate student organizations in the Department of Biological Sciences, hosted its 2nd Texas Tech Annual Biological Sciences Symposium.

The gathering highlights research from colleges and universities across the region and fosters collaboration.

The success of the symposium played a part in the TTUAB being named the Outstanding Graduate Student Organization of the Year at Texas Tech for the second consecutive time.

In addition, more than 100 undergraduates benefited from hands-on involvement in research in 2011 by either taking a research course or participating in undergraduate research programs administered by the biological sciences faculty in conjunction with the university’s Center for the Integration of Science Education and Research, the Honors College or the Center for Undergraduate Research.

Other News • Research Funding – The department received more than $3.5 million in 2011 research funding, a notable increase compared to 2010.

Making Upgrades on Way to Tier 1 Research Universi ty As part of Texas Tech University’s campaign to become a Tier 1 Research University, the department is reshaping programs by modernizing facilities and adding new faculty.

The most recent upgrade to the department’s facilities and equipment was celebrated in October 2011 with the opening of the computational chemistry center. The facility’s 1164-core Dell cluster computer system was funded by a National Science Foundation grant. Texas Tech funded the renovations to the two-level, 2,200-square-foot room, which includes 15 work areas for use by research staff and students.

In the last two fiscal years, upgrades worth about $1 million have been made in the department’s basic instrumentation for instruction and research, including a new laboratory for separations and mass spectrometry.

• Faculty Spotlight – In 2011, John Zak, Ph.D., former department chair and current associate dean of the College of Arts and Sciences, won a President’s Excellence in Teaching Award, Robert Bradley, Ph.D., professor and associate department chair, was named the College of Arts and Sciences Outstanding Science Researcher, and Michael Dini, Ph.D., was recognized with a Professing Excellence Award for the second consecutive year.

In the last five years the department has hired five faculty members with interests that span analytical, inorganic and organic chemistry. The department also added a dedicated instructor in 2011 to the organic program and plans to increase instructional support in general chemistry and its other programs in the coming year.

• Advisor Award – Randy Jeter, Ph.D., associate professor and advisor for the American Society of Microbiologists student chapter, was named 2011 Advisor of the Year for Texas Tech’s Student Organizations.

In addition to expanding the college’s classroom and lab instruction, the new personnel are enhancing the department’s chemical safety programs to incorporate emerging and state-of-the-art practices in the academic setting.

Texas Tech University Association of Biologists was named the 2011 Outstanding Graduate Student Organization of the Year at Texas Tech.

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Other News • C ampus-wide Collaboration – Chemistry and biochemistry faculty are engaging in more activities in recent years that foster interdisciplinary research and student training.

For example, one faculty member serves as associate dean for research in the Edward E. Whitacre, Jr. College of Engineering. Several faculty members are participating in initiatives with researchers in that college and at the Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center.

CLASSICAL AND MODERN LANGUAGES AND LITERATURES

Awa r d Reco g n izes C M L L’ s Study-A b r oad I ni t iat i v es Texas Tech University’s Office of International Affairs presented the department the Global Vision Award in October 2011.

Other News

The honor recognizes CMLL’s commitment to sending faculty and students to study and do research around the globe.

“Part of CMLL’s commitment to a quality liberal arts education is a firmly held belief in the importance of study abroad programs that are academically rigorous, professionally relevant and personally enriching,” said Laura Beard, Ph.D., former department chair and current assistant dean of the College of Arts and Sciences.

CMLL has faculty teaching year-round at Seville in Spain and runs summer programs in Germany, Mexico, France and Brazil. A program for the Classics has been offered in Italy, Greece and England.

“These study-abroad programs develop language competency and cultural literacy in an immersion setting,” Beard said.

• Embracing Digital Learning – The basement of the Foreign Languages Building is undergoing some exciting changes and new developments. The traditional Language Learning Laboratory will be replacing much of the old equipment with new cutting-edge student friendly technology and equipment. In addition, a new Digital Humanities laboratory is nearing completion. This new lab will allow faculty and students around the world to collaborate in research projects and classroom activities including the current social media methods for communication.

COMMUNICATION STUDIES

D e b at e Team Makes National Mark The Texas Tech University Debate Team, housed within the department, opened the 2011-12 competition as the best in the nation, based on rankings by the National Parliamentary Debate Association.

“Top to bottom, this is the best squad I have ever had the opportunity to coach,” said Joe Gantt, director of forensics and head coach.

“They are a credit to Texas Tech University.”

The Texas Tech debaters won tournaments in each of the first four weekends that they traveled during fall 2011. The tournament season continues in the spring semester.

In addition to their national competitive successes, the debate team hosts local thought talks on important local, state and national issues and participates in Community in Schools programs to help at-risk middle school students develop critical thinking and speaking skills.

Texas Tech debate teams have bested competitors from several top forensics programs, including Pepperdine University, The United States Air Force Academy, University of Colorado-Boulder, University of Houston, University of Oregon, University of Utah and University of Washington.

The debate team also plans to host an intramural debate competition and to teach public speaking skills in the Lubbock jail.

Other News alumnus Quote

“My undergraduate degree is the foundation for my 20-year career in law. Learning to communicate effectively and refining those skills has enabled me to counsel and to provide legal help to thousands of Texans.”

• New Scholarship Endowment – Alumnus Charles Parker and his wife, Diana, founded in fall 2011 the Charles and Diana Parker Endowment to support Communication Studies undergraduates. Parker majored in both business management and communication studies.

• Youth Mentors – Amy Heuman, Ph.D., associate professor, has partnered for the past three years with the Guadalupe-Parkway Neighborhood Centers of Lubbock and Communication Studies students to facilitate a public speaking program developed for pre-kindergarten to sixth-grade children.

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Departments ECONOMICS

Gif t F u n ds New F r ee M arke t In st i t u t e, Thr ee Fac ulty Posi tions A private gift of $4 million will establish the Institute for the Teaching and Study of Free Market Economics. The gift will provide for a director and two additional faculty in the Department of Economics, as well as fellowship support for graduate students.

The Institute will provide an environment that is conducive for student interest in the workings of free markets and their exposure to economic theory, political economy, economic history, public policy and social theory directly related to free market economics. It will become a major university resource for the dissemination and repository of resources for high quality, reputable academic research that can be used by academia and society as a way to understand the workings of free markets.

The Institute will provide worldwide access to courses, a visiting scholars program and lecture series attracting the leading international figures in the economic arena, and outreach programs that bring the activities of the Institute to K-12 schools, especially throughout the immediate region as well as research and graduate program activities that engage in the theories and philosophies of free market.

Other News • New Classes – The Economics department broadened its courses in 2011. Environmental Economics and Special Topics in Applied Economics were added to the undergraduate curriculum, and Advanced Topics in Environmental Economics is a new field course for graduate students.

• B urgeoning Enrollment – In 2011 the department added a full-time economics undergraduate advisor and began offering free tutoring sessions for all students enrolled in a Principles of Economics course to accommodate a significant increase in students taking economics classes.

Despite the growing classroom teaching responsibilities for all faculty members, they continue to publish scholarly works and present research papers at national and international meetings.

alumnus Quote

“The education I received not only broadened my mind but my respect for higher education and the possibilities that result. I am truly grateful for my experience at Texas Tech.”

Environmental Toxicology

Lab Involves High School Students in Research High school students are gaining hands-on research experience in finding new uses for low-grade cotton in the institute’s Nonwovens and Advanced Materials Laboratory.

A few years ago, Seshadri Ramkumar, Ph.D., associate professor in Environmental Toxicology, and his lab started exploring new applications for low-grade cotton, a persistent problem on the High Plains.

The idea conceived by Ramkumar was put to use by his graduate student Vinitkumar Singh, whose study showed that lower grade cotton absorbs oil better than quality cotton. In addition, Singh, with the help of Ronnie Kendall from Coronado High School and Luke Kitten from Trinity Christian High School, both of Lubbock, has proven that low-grade cotton performs superbly in oil absorption.

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Research associate Utkarsh Sata, Ph.D., with the assistance of high school students Kahan Chavda and Aarav Chavda from St. Mark’s School of Texas in Dallas, and undergraduate student Carlos Brun, also proved that cotton non-woven wipes can clean up an oil spill effectively.

The researchers presented their findings at the 2011 Nonwovens International Conference of the Technical Association of Pulp and Paper Industry (TAPPI). In additional to the noteworthy findings, the presentation also was historic because of the inclusion of research by high school students, a first for the conference, according to Larry Montague, TAPPI president.

English

Fac ult y Memb er s Foster In t e r nat io n al Stan di n g The English department is engaging in several activities that are cultivating an international reputation.

For example, five scholars from two universities in Nanjing, China are visiting classes and meeting with faculty during the 2011-12 school year to familiarize themselves with American teaching practices. Kanika Batra, Ph.D., assistant professor specializing in postcolonial literatures, and Rich Rice, Ph.D., associate professor of technical communication, are developing a relationship with a national university in India for the programs in comparative literature and technical communication.

In addition, Kelli Cargile Cook, Ph.D., Bruce Clarke, Ph.D., and Brian Still, Ph.D. have been invited to join the Collaborative Online International Learning (COIL) Institute for Globally Networked Learning in the Humanities. Funded by a grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities, the COIL Institute involves a two-year commitment to actively participate in an ongoing international online community of university instructors.

Cargile Cook and Still are associate professors of technical communication, and Clarke is Paul Whitfield Horn Professor of Literature and Science.

Other News • Handpress Book Production – The department’s recent purchase of a 1903 castiron Ostrander Seymour Washington Press is creating innovative opportunities for graduate and undergraduate teachings.

Faculty and students of book history will have access to this full-size manual printing press for hands-on practical exercises and demonstrations. It also will be used for printing broadsides for visiting and resident writers in the department’s Creative Writing Program, for collaborations with Texas Tech University’s School of Art and for civic engagement with citizens in the community who are interested in handpress production and book arts.

The press complements a donation of metal type and printing materials and equipment from a Lubbock printing shop that closed. The equipment now makes the new LetterPress Lab ready for operation. A grand opening is scheduled in spring 2012. alumnus Quote

“I still clearly remember courses and professors even though it has been over 40 years since I graduated. I think the education I received at Tech was outstanding and prepared me well for my career and my life.”

“I benefitted greatly from professors whose passion it was to teach and to challenge me. Understanding that others have differing perspectives and my continual need to grow and learn was paramount in becoming a better, more well-rounded individual.

I GREATLY appreciate a few of my professors for that.” alumnus Quote

Geosciences

Field-Based Study I ncreases Students in geology and geophysics are gaining important research skills through increased field-based studies.

“The earth sciences truly ‘come to life’ when the rocks are viewed in their natural setting — out in the field. Field-based study is the very best way to provide students with scientific context and insight they need to become professional scientists,” said Cal Barnes, Ph.D., chair of the department.

Field trips now are associated with six separate undergraduate courses, summer field camp and field-based senior research projects. Students’ work in the field includes rock and mineral identification and description, interpretation of sedimentary sequences, measurement of rock structures, making geologic maps and writing geologic reports.

“These exercises not only give context to geologic theory, they also provide students with experiences that prepare them for graduate school and the workplace,” Barnes said.

Other News: • Connecting with Non-Science Majors – To reflect the relevance of natural science to the lives of all students, Gary Elbow, Ph.D., professor of geography, redesigned the honors section of physical geography laboratory materials for the Physical Geography class (GEOG 1401).

The labs deal with such topics as global energy budgets and their relationship to seasonality and climate variability, soil water budgets and agriculture, conditions that affect the distribution of climate, problems caused by invasive species, factors that account for the location of earthquakes and volcanic eruptions and human response to natural hazards.

• Cross-Discipline Research – A recent publication by three faculty members blends two visually oriented disciplines — geography and media studies — to provide a unique examination of racial discourses.

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Departments HEALTH, EXERCISE & SPORT SCIENCES

D epa rt men t To M ove to L a r ger Fac ili ty The department is transitioning to its new facility in the former Print Tech building, located north of the Recreation Center.

The building has research laboratories created for Doppler ultrasound studies, cardiorespiratory assessment, bone density and body composition testing, muscular strength assessment and biomechanical movement analysis as well as a phelbotomy room.

In addition, the building offers state-of-the-art classrooms, laboratory space dedicated specifically for undergraduate and graduate courses and a multipurpose outreach facility that will be used for undergraduate student engagement in programs such as Fun & Fit. In June 2012 the entire department will be housed in the renovated and expanded building. The old annex facility, formerly the Women’s Gym, was torn down to make way for a 500-bed student residence hall at 19th Street and Boston Avenue.

Other News • Community Outreach – The new Women’s Wellness Outreach Program is directed by Jaclyn McComb, Ph.D. McComb helps women cope with life’s stressors through mindfulness-based exercise, breathing and muscle relaxation techniques. These exercises are designed to increase awareness, strengthen the body and facilitate biofeedback to achieve a state of calmness.

• Basketball Training in Uganda – Jens Omli, Ph.D., assistant professor in exercise and sports psychology, has received funding from the Sports United Division of the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs to conduct an International Sport Connection basketball coach training program in Uganda.

In May 2012 a team of basketball coaches and sport science experts from the United States will travel to northern Uganda to provide international standard training for 100 men and 100 women. A second nationwide training will be conducted in May 2013.

Student Enrollment Doubles in Last Decade The department has broadened its scope to meet an increase in enrollment and changes in the profession.

The number of undergraduate majors has grown from 240 in 2001 to about 500 in 2011.

The faculty now includes U.S. historian Ron Milam, Ph.D., who researches the Vietnam War, and U.S. Southern historian Barbara Hahn, Ph.D., who also specializes in the history of technology.

Borderlands historian Miguel Levario, Ph.D., focuses on the U.S.-Mexico border.

Other recent changes include adding a position in the Atlantic world held by Ethan Schmidt, Ph.D. and hiring Saad Abi-Hamad, Ph.D., modern Middle East historian; Laura Calkins, Ph.D., modern international relations specialist; and Zachary Brittsan, Ph.D., historian of Mexico.

MATHEMATICS & STATISTICS

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The Texas Tech University Teaching Academy presented the department the Departmental Excellence in Teaching Award in March 2011.

for issues pertaining to mathematics preparation for K-12 teachers, teaching and outreach publications) and collaborations and pedagogies (joint efforts with biology and education).

In applying for the honor, the department highlighted its efforts in teaching innovations (electronic homework systems, online course development), grant and research awards (STEM and outreach programs), scholarship contributions (journal support

The department is using the award money to structure a multi-media classroom to enhance its ongoing efforts to provide online course support and outreach support.

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PHILOSOPHY Other News • New Scholarships – In recent years four new scholarships have been added.

Rachel Hudson (2004, B.A.) established the Rachel E. Hudson European Studies Scholarship to support undergraduate and graduate research in European/ Imperial studies.

Paula and James Henry established the Otto M. Nelson and Allan J. Kuethe Graduate Scholarship to support graduate student research.

Paula Henry (1998, M.A.) finished her graduate degree under the supervision of Nelson and Kuethe.

Retired faculty member Alwyn Barr, Ph.D. and his wife, Nancy, set up the Alwyn and Nancy Barr Dissertation Writing Endowment to support graduate students who are completing their dissertations. Barr began teaching in the department in 1969 and has had 33 students complete Ph.D.s under his supervision.

Jerry Goolsby, Ph.D., (1974, B.A.) who is the Hilton/Baldrige Eminent Scholar in Music Industry Studies at Loyola University, established the Professor Otto M. Nelson Undergraduate Scholarship in History to recognize an outstanding undergraduate history major. (For more details, see story on page 7.)

Other News

Curriculum Connects Philosophy with Other Disciplines The department is continually developing innovative curricula because of its vision of its discipline centrally involving outreach and connection to other disciplines, the community and the lives of students.

For example, assistant professor Jacob Beck, Ph.D. is now teaching in the Honors College the new interdisciplinary course he developed titled The Science of the Mind. The class facilitates an understanding of the mind by combining cutting-edge results in contemporary sciences such as psychology, neuroscience and computer science with perennial philosophical concerns.

Professor Howard Curzer, Ph.D. designed a new course on Research Ethics to encourage researchers to think more fruitfully about the ethical components of their work. The class also helps researchers in all disciplines meet training requirements of the National Science Foundation and other national granting agencies.

In connection with his teaching, Curzer has been developing an instrument to measure how students’ thinking about moral issues develops in ethics classes.

• New Scholarship – The department received recently a $250,000 bequest from Ethelene Bucy, sister of former Texas Tech University Regent J. Fred Bucy, to establish the Sena Ethel Montgomery Bucy and J. Fred Bucy, Sr. Scholarship. This fund will greatly enhance the department’s ability to recruit and retain the most promising students.

• Cultural Exchanges – Several faculty members are involved in international outreach.

Department chairman and associate professor Mark Webb, Ph.D. and assistant professor Anna Ribeiro, Ph.D. have been teaching philosophy courses at the Texas Tech University center in Seville, Spain, in cooperation with the College of Engineering.

For her efforts as a study abroad leader, Ribeiro received the Texas Tech University Global Vision Award for Outstanding Service. She also has designed a new course on the most important philosophers from Spain in the past 2,000 years, to be taught next in Seville, to connect more directly the study of philosophy with the culture of the host country.

Daniel Nathan, Ph.D., associate professor and director of graduate studies, regularly teaches an honors course in Paris.

In connection with his teaching, Curzer has been developing an instrument to measure how students’ thinking about moral issues develops in ethics classes.

Other News • Research Awards – In fiscal year 2011, research funding reached $5.2 million, an all-time fiscal year high for the department. The awards were for basic outreach, conference support, outreach and mentoring and STEM initiatives.

Grants came from national and state agencies and private foundations.

• Faculty Award – Robert C. Kirby, Ph.D., associate professor of applied mathematics, computational mathematics and numerical analysis, was named in December 2010 a recipient of the Chancellor’s Council Distinguished Research Award. He was the only College of Arts and Sciences faculty member selected for the honor.

• Community Outreach – The department conducted three major initiatives in 2011 to foster middle and high school students’ interest and aptitude in math and related fields: In May, during the 9th annual Emmy Noether High School Mathematics Day, young women from local and regional high schools spent time at Texas Tech learning about STEM-related topics.

In early summer, students in grades 7 through 11, including girls and minorities, attended the 25th annual TexPREP-Lubbock Program, which promotes STEM education and careers.

In July, gifted high school students from across the state attended the Texas Tech University Summer Math Academy.

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“The professors I had during

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my undergraduate years at Tech connected with me personally and professionally. Their sincere interest in my success while

Physics

under their scrutiny helped

New Undergraduate Physics Concentrations in Development

me achieve and eventually fulfill my potential as a student.”

The department currently is restructuring its B.S. program to include several concentrations that are intended to appeal to students who are not intending to pursue a graduate degree in physics or a related field, a goal that typically governs traditional physics undergraduate programs.

Proposed concentrations include astronomy or astrophysics, developing physics teachers for secondary education and applied physics in addition to the more traditional physics degree. The goal of the applied option is to attract the student base that was interested in the engineering physics undergraduate program phased out several years ago.

alumnus Quote Other News • R ecord Numbers – Undergraduate majors in the department have doubled since the 2007-08 academic year.

More than 60 graduate students – a new record – were enrolled in the physics and applied physics programs in fall 2011.

The department is on target to produce a record number of M.S. degrees during the academic year, and a ripple effect is expected to follow in the Ph.D. program.

POLITICAL SCIENCE

Fac ult y Sc ho la r ly Wo r k Ga r n e r s Natio n al Attention Several faculty members have produced significant, high-profile scholarship in the study of American politics, public administration, international relations and comparative politics in 2011.

The “Caveman Politics” article by assistant professor Gregg Murray, Ph.D. and graduate student J. David Schmitz in Social Science Quarterly has drawn national attention, including coverage by CBS News.

Their research suggests that while issues are important in politics, physical formidability affects preference in political leadership, possibly a residual effect of evolutionary instincts. The genesis for their study was the fact that the taller presidential candidate has won 58 percent of elections between 1789 and 2008.

Murray and Schmitz studies have shown that participants tend to draw perceived leaders taller than their citizens 64 percent of the time, and that there is a connection between height and perceived leadership abilities.

In the area of comparative politics, Frank Thames, Ph.D., associate professor and associate chair/director of graduate studies, had his book on women in post-Soviet legislatures published

by New York University Press.

Also, the department directs the Survey Research Lab, which has produced important studies on rural health assessment issues with the F. Marie Hall Institute of Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center. And, new faculty member Katherine Hayhoe, Ph.D., research associate professor, has published numerous papers and reports on climate change and climate policy. She also is a key member of the newly established South Central Climate Science Center, of which Texas Tech University is a participating university.

Other News • New Areas of Study – The department has added a strategic studies graduate certificate to its recently created interdisciplinary M.A. in international affairs. And, the undergraduate degree in global affairs, which previously was in the University College, is now under the direction of the Department of Political Science.

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• Community Outreach – Members of the faculty also are frequent contributors to local broadcast and print media outlets, commenting on issues of local, state, national and international significance.

They expect to be in high demand during the 2012 election year with the presidential race as well as many highly contested state and local races.

PSYCHOLOGY

St r o n g Deman d fo r P syc h o lo gy M aj o r With almost 1,000 undergraduates, psychology is among the largest bachelor’s degree majors on campus. Psychology also continues to have the largest doctoral program in one campus department with 129 students in 2011-2012.

In addition, 43 percent of the psychology faculty members currently are in the Texas Tech University Teaching Academy, which is a prestigious teaching honor.

Several faculty members have received outside grant funding recently. For example, Patricia DeLucia, Ph.D., professor of psychology, is a co-principle investigator on a study assessing the effect of a handheld decision-support device in reducing medication errors. She is part of a multi-disciplinary, multi-institutional research team funded by the Telemedicine & Advanced Technology Research Center, US Army Medical Research and Materiel Command.

Smoking cessation is the focus of two grantfunded projects of Lee Cohen, Ph.D., professor and department chair; Susan Hendrick, Ph.D., Paul Whitfield Horn Professor of Psychology, and Darcy Reich, Ph.D., associate professor.

The Cancer Prevention and Research Institute of Texas grant underwrites the training of physicians, nurses, psychologists and other front-line healthcare and mental health providers in a comprehensive but brief smoking cessation intervention program.

The researchers also received a grant from the Laura W. Bush Institute for Women’s Health to examine the efficacy of confectionary chewing gum and exercise for women trying to reduce tobacco use and dependence.

Other News • Outreach – Almost all members of the department contribute some expert consulting and outside services to schools, hospitals, clinics, agencies, professional associations and institutions at the regional or national level.

SOCIOLOGY, ANTHROPOLOGY & SOCIAL WORK

Researchers Explore Diverse I ssues Social scientists in the department and their students are addressing diverse social, cultural and economic forces that impact peoples’ lives close to home and around the globe.

“They are asking incredibly interesting questions about life in the 21st century as well as searching for answers found in ancient historical sites,” said Yung-mei Tsai, Ph.D., professor of sociology and interim department chair.

For example, Jeff Williams, Ph.D., professor of anthropology, recently completed a two-year project to preserve the Comanche language. He collaborated with a colleague at Comanche Nation College in Lawton, Okla., where only about two dozen of the 13,000 members of the Comanche Nation are fluent in the heritage language.

A $213,000 two-year grant from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services was used to plan, design and create multimedia language learning tools to teach the language to a new generation.

Another issue being studied is caregivers of patients with Alzheimer’s disease. Charlotte Dunham, Ph.D., associate professor of sociology, and Bernadette Dietz, Ph.D., assistant professor of sociology and psychology at University of Cincinnati Clermont College, conducted a series of one-on-one interviews with women who were caring for a family member with dementia and employed in the labor force. The research was supported by the Texas Work and Family Clearinghouse at the Texas Workforce Commission.

The data were used to make recommendations for employers on how best to accommodate the needs of employees who are caregivers. Recommendations included the importance of flexibility, including the need to adjust work hours and the need to be available to family members in case of emergencies.

“We also found that work is an important source of support and respite from the stresses of providing dementia care,” Dunham said.

The faculty in the Department of Sociology, Anthropology and Social Work also are studying the relationship of religion, deviance and well-being; immigration status and the economic crisis in Spain; pain through a study of self-flagellation in the Philippines; the impact of husband-and-wife age differences on marriage; the southern plazas at La Milpa, Belize; Roman burials in Aquinum, Italy; service learning through work with hospice patients; and a model for teaching inclusion in policy-making.

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Even ts Dr. Jan Jeter (B.S., 1962, Education; M.Ed., 1965) and Dr. Jim Jeter (B.S., 1965, Zoology) share a visit with Dean Schovanec who visited Arts and Sciences alumni in New Orleans. Jan is a professor of occupational therapy at LSU Health Sciences Center in New Orleans, and Jim is now a retired professor, but still adjunct, at the Tulane University Medical School.

(Pictured L to R) Dr. Jim Jeter, Dr. Jan Jeter and Dean Schovanec

The College of Arts and Sciences and Department of Geosciences hosted the annual reception in Houston.

Over 40 alumni from the area attended.

(Pictured L to R) Texas Tech staff and Host Committee members. Wendell Jeffreys, Development Officer; Lawrence Schovanec, Dean; Michael Portnoy, Portnoy Environmental; Jim Saye, Houston Energy; Emily Phillips, Development Officer; Matt Williams, Southwestern Energy; Mike Jones, Charger Exploration; Bob Rothengass, Marathon Oil

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Neal (’68, Political Science) and Mary Jane Young and Ed (’79, Microbiology) and Linda Graviss visit the College of Arts and Sciences as guest speakers this past October.

(Pictured L to R) Wendell Jeffreys, Development Officer, Dr. Lou Densmore, Department Chair, Mary Jane and Neal Young, Ed and Linda Graviss, Amy Crumley, Development Officer, Dr. Lawrence Schovanec, Dean.

“I work for a Fortune 30 global technology company.

The ability to think critically is an absolute must in today’s globally integrated economy. When dealing with colleagues from China, Brazil, Europe and India, you must be able to appreciate global culture, trends and perspectives.”

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- E vents Con tin ued

alumnus Quote

“Texas Tech's strongest influence was in two areas: developing my writing and critical thinking and increasing my awareness and understanding of national and global issues.”

Dean Schovanec and several TTU alumni after his presentation to the Roswell Rotary Club.

Pictured (L to R): EDDIE DAVID, president of David Petroleum, AMY MUNSON (B.S., ’99, Agricultural Communications), president of First American Bank in Roswell; MARK MCCLELLAN (B.S., ’80, Geology), president of McClellan Oil Corporation; LAWRENCE SCHOVANEC, Dean, College of Arts and Sciences; PAULA MCCLELLAN (B.S., ’81, Medical Technology); and KELLY CASSELS (J.D., ’90, Law), partner with Sanders, Bruin, Coll & Worley Law Firm in Roswell.

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Dean Schovanec and several students receiving Arts and Sciences scholarships – Spring 2011

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Donors & Alumni Contributors The College of Arts and Sciences has been making a concerted effort to reach out to alumni and friends, and to keep them apprised about student achievements, faculty research and the many service functions our faculty perform for the community and region. This issue of Arts & Sciences contains sample highlights of all these activities. To the extent possible, we follow up the publication of our electronic newsletter, Connections, and this magazine with personal development visits to interested

and caring alumni and others. Of course, the college always welcomes your comments, suggestions and support for our students, programs and initiatives. During the past year, foundations, corporations, alumni and friends of the college have made cash, planned and in-kind gifts that have increased scholarship opportunities, programs and faculty support throughout the college. We are pleased to present below the story behind some of those gifts.

The College thanks the following alumni for returning to campus to give guest appearances in classrooms, give research colloquia and otherwise share their expertise and experiences with our students and faculty.

Greg Dumond, M.S., geosciences, assistant professor of Geology, University of Arkansas. Spoke to the Geosciences Colloquia.

Barry Brown, B.A., political science, chief of staff, Congressman Michael C. Burgess, MD. Guest speaker at American Public and American Government classes.

Spoke to undergraduate students and research groups.

Daragh Heitzman, M.D., BS biological sciences, director, ALS/Motor Neuron Disorder Clinic at Texas Neurology Associates; staff, Baylor University Medical Center at Dallas and the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas. Spoke with faculty and students at the Biology Roundtable.

Darin Carroll, Ph.D, biological sciences, lead animal studies & ecology unit, Px Virus Program, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Presented, “Chasing Jenner’s Vaccine: Orthpoxviruses and the Origins of Vaccination.”

Geosciences Receives Major Software, Data Donations Three energy-related companies have made large donations of proprietary software and geophysical data sets to the Department of Geosciences in fall 2011.

Landmark Software and Services, a Halliburton business line that develops software and technology services for the upstream oil and gas industry, contributed three major software packages: GeoGraphix®, GeoProbe® and ProMAX®.

Schlumberger, a supplier of technology, integrated project management and information solutions in the oil and gas industry worldwide, also donated three software applications: PetroMod 1-D, PetroMod 2-D and PetroMod 3-D.

Edward Graviss, Ph.D., BS, biological sciences, director of the TMHRI Molecular Tuberculosis Laboratory at the Methodist Hospital Research Institute, Houston. Discussion of TMHRI Summer Research Program.

Geosciences also received high-resolution geophysical datasets from four Gulf of Mexico deepwater oilfields from BP, an international energy company with operations in more than 80 countries. The data were acquired using an autonomous underwater vehicle.

Gary Solomon, Ph.D, counseling psychology, team neurologist for the Nashville Predators (NHL), and consulting neuropsychologist for the Tennessee Titans (NFL).

Consulted with faculty and students and presented “Traumatic Brain Injury (Concussion) in Sports: From Molar to Molecular.”

The donations enable the Department of Geosciences to train senior-level undergraduate and graduate students in mastering energy industry software and data.

Thomas Rainwater, Ph.D, environmental toxicology, Medical University of South Carolina. Guest speaker at the annual banquet of the TIEHH Student Association.

“When the students go on a job interview with oil companies and show they have actual experience with the software, the companies then are able to integrate them into their workforce much quicker,” said Seiichi Nagihara, Ph.D., associate professor of geographical information systems and geophysics in the Department of Geosciences.

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