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23rd Edition Faculty Affairs Spotlight

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Happening in Faculty Affairs

Faculty Affairs appreciates our esteemed faculty and celebrates the close of another stellar academic year. Your dedication to and impact on our students was on full display as we ceremoniously sent the graduating class of 2024 into the world. We look forward to the summer and encourage you to remain engaged with the ongoing executive searches as you enjoy a well-deserved break.

The Search Advisory Committee for the vice provost for Faculty Affairs position was named and charged. Dr. Jack Baldauf, vice president for research, and Dr. Blanca Lupiani, professor of veterinary pathobiology in the School of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, are co-chairing the 12-person committee. The remainder of the committee members represent entities across the university that advocate for faculty success:

  • Dr. Laura Dague (Council of Principal Investigators)
  • Dr. Carl Gregory (Council of Principal Investigators)
  • Mark Burge (Faculty Senate)
  • Dale Rice (Faculty Senate)
  • Dr. Matthew Taylor (Faculty Senate)
  • Dr. J.N. Reddy (University Distinguished Professor)
  • Dr. David Cairns (Department Head Council)
  • Dr. Michael de Miranda (Council of Deans)
  • Joe Pettibon (Planning, Assessment and Strategy)
  • Julie Mosbo-Ballestro (University Libraries)

Finalists’ on-campus interviews are completed, the candidate feedback survey has closed and a recommendation from the Search Advisory Committee is expected by the end of the month.

Thank you to all who joined our annual celebration of teaching excellence and promotion of the culture of teaching innovation at the 2024 Transformational Teaching and Learning Conference. Presentations and recordings from this year’s conference will be made available on the conference website. View the event photo gallery.

To initiate Texas A&M University’s season of celebrations, we hosted the 2024 Faculty Affairs Spring Awards Ceremony to recognize the achievements of and honors bestowed upon faculty, staff and students this year by The Association of Former Students and Texas A&M University. View the event photo gallery.

We also celebrated our newest class of faculty retirees, honoring them for their service to the university and expansive impacts made on our students and global community. View the event photo gallery.

End of Semester Reminders -

Summer 2024 Session Schedule:

  • 10-Week Term, Session One - May 28
  • 10-Week Term, Session Two - July 3
  • Summer Commencement - Aug. 9 and 10

Planning Your Summer and Preparing for Fall: The following entities provide faculty development opportunities for your benefit throughout the summer –

Faculty Affairs:

Office of the Vice President for Research:

Center for Teaching Excellence:

The Center for Teaching Excellence will continue to foster its dedication to teaching innovation, technology in teaching, management of student learning, English language proficiency, course design and more through cutting-edge workshops.

Interfolio F180 Office Hours: In preparation for the next evaluation period, Faculty Affairs’ office hours for Interfolio F180 and promotion and tenure sessions are held via Zoom every other Wednesday. The next session date is June 5. Registration is required. Registrants will receive an email confirmation and Zoom link.

Ongoing Executive Searches

  • Dean, School of Architecture: The Search Advisory Committee presented their recommendations to President Welsh and Provost Sams. The decision was made to close the current search without a dean selection and initiate a new dean search process in the fall. Interim Dean Dr. Patrick Suermann has agreed to continue serving in that role.
  • Dean, Bush School of Government and Public Service: The Search Advisory Committee presented their recommendations for hire to the president and provost on May 17 for their review and consideration. Search Advisory Chair: Dr. Nate Sharp, dean of Mays Business School.
  • Dean, School of Performance, Visualization and Fine Arts: The Search Advisory Committee presented their recommendations for hire to President Welsh and Provost Sams on May 17 for their review and consideration. Search Advisory Chair: Robert Ahdieh, dean of the School of Law.
  • Associate Provost and Dean, Graduate and Professional School: On-campus interviews have concluded, and the Search Advisory Committee will meet this week to determine their recommendations for hire. Search Advisory Committee Chair: Dr. Mark Zoran, dean of the College of Arts and Sciences.  
  • Associate Provost for Academic Enhancement (leads LAUNCH, the Center for Teaching Excellence, Interdisciplinary Programs, and the Public Policy Internship Programs, among other areas): On-campus interviews are ongoing. Search Advisory Committee Chair: Dr. Timothy Scott, vice provost for Academic Affairs and interim vice president for Enrollment Management.
  • Associate Vice President for Enrollment Management and Chief Enrollment Officer, Enrollment Management: Finalist interviews and on-campus visits have been completed, and the candidate feedback survey is underway. Search Advisory Committee Chair: Dr. Alicia Dorsey, executive vice president for Academic Effectiveness and Planning.
  • Associate Provost for Faculty Advocacy: Finalist interviews and on-campus visits have been completed, and the candidate feedback survey is underway. Search Advisory Committee Co-Chairs: Dr. Heather Lench, senior associate provost for Faculty Affairs, and Dr. Angie Hill Price, associate dean for Undergraduate Programs and Engineering Academic and Student Affairs.
  • Assistant Provost, Higher Education Center at McAllen: The Search Advisory Committee has made recommendations for hire to President Welsh and Provost Sams, and an appointment announcement is imminent. Search Advisory Committee Co-Chairs: Dr. Michael Johnson, interim associate provost, and Manny Vela, associate vice president and chief operating officer, Higher Education Center at McAllen.
  • Assistant Provost for Strategic Educational Partnerships (partnerships including American Talent Initiative, EMERGE, Hispanic-Serving Institutions, Hispanic-Serving Research Universities and Texas Leadership Scholars): A finalist has been identified, and negotiations are in-process. Search Advisory Committee Chair: Dr. C.J. Woods, associate vice president and chief of staff, Office of the Vice Provost for Academic Affairs.

Faculty Development and Funding Opportunities

Add professional development opportunities to your calendar and pre-register for events to minimize the number of automated invitation emails you receive by visiting the Faculty Affairs Events Calendar.

The Innovative Teaching Fellows Program at Texas A&M invites faculty members to participate in a two-year term to enhance teaching through three tracks: artificial intelligence, Canvas tools and classroom technology. Participants will develop advanced expertise, complete projects, share innovations and may evaluate new educational tools for potential adoption. Applications are due May 31.

The Texas A&M University System’s Council for Academic Technology and Innovative Education will host the 2024 Chancellor’s Summit on Academic Technology June 24-25. Themed “AI & U: Agency, Innovation and Understanding for Future-Focused Learning,” the virtual and in-person summit will explore how innovators are enhancing their understanding of generative AI; using generative AI in ways that promote student, faculty and staff agency; and addressing ethical concerns associated with AI applications.

Texas A&M encourages faculty to elevate the impact of their work by joining colleagues in publishing articles in The Conversation.

Faculty Focus

Texas A&M University proudly announces 17 faculty members’ achievement of one of the most distinguished honors within the scientific community — election as fellows of the American Association for the Advancement of Sciences (AAAS). Fellows of AAAS include scientists, engineers and innovators from around the globe who have been recognized for their academic and administrative achievements geared toward communicating science to the public.

Dr. William Murphy (Department of Veterinary Integrative Biosciences, School of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences) has been elected a 2024 member of the National Academy of Sciences.

Dr. Dara Wald (Department of Agricultural Leadership, Education and Communications, College of Agriculture and Life Sciences) was selected to receive a 2024 Andrew Carnegie Fellowship from the Carnegie Corporation of New York.

Susan Fortney (Texas A&M School of Law) was named the 2024 Michael Franck Professional Responsibility Award recipient by the American Bar Association.

Dr. Kristi Shryock (Department of Multidisciplinary Engineering, College of Engineering) has been elected a fellow of the American Society for Engineering Education.

Dr. Muthukumar Bagavathiannan (Department of Soil and Crop Sciences, College of Agriculture and Life Sciences) was selected as a member of the Humboldt Research Fellowship Programme for Experienced Researchers.

Dr. Quentin Michaudel (Department of Chemistry, College of Arts and Sciences) has received the 2024 Camille Dreyfus Teacher-Scholar Award for outstanding independent scholarship and commitment to education as an early-career faculty member.

Four faculty in the College of Arts and Sciences have been selected as recipients of the National Science Foundation’s 2024 Faculty Early Career Development (CAREER) Award: Dr. Sherry Gong and Dr. Alexandru Hening (Department of Mathematics), Dr. Daniel Tabor (Department of Chemistry) and Dr. Zhe “Sarina” Zhang (Department of Geography).

Dr. Roger R. Reese (Department of History, College of Arts and Sciences) was selected to receive the 2024 Inspiring the Spirit of Aggieland – The 41 Award by the Bush School of Government and Public Service.

Dr. Stephen Anderson (Department of Marketing, Mays Business School) was named the inaugural recipient of the Dr. Leonard L. Berry Chair in Services Marketing.

Dr. Christine S. Lipsmeyer (Department of Political Science, Bush School of Government and Public Service) has been announced as the new Director of the European Union Center.

Dr. Dale Cope (J. Mike Walker ’66 Department of Mechanical Engineering, College of Engineering) was selected to participate in the Community Advancement Reciprocal Educational Experiences (CARE2) Fellowship supported by the Texas A&M Center for Teaching Excellence.

Dr. Mohsen Taheri Andani (J. Mike Walker ’66 Department of Mechanical Engineering, College of Engineering) was chosen as a co-lead for the Center for Scientific Machine Learning for Material Sciences, a collaborative initiative among Texas Southern University, Texas A&M University, Prairie View A&M University and the University of Michigan.

Dr. Robyn Woollands (Department of Aerospace Engineering, College of Engineering) received a Young Investigator Program award from the Air Force Office of Scientific Research.

Dr. J.N. Reddy (J. Mike Walker ’66 Department of Mechanical Engineering, College of Engineering) was recognized by Research.com with its 2024 Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Leader Award, along with top-10 rankings among mechanical engineering across the nation and around the world.

Dr. Gerard L. Coté (Department of Biomedical Engineering, College of Engineering) was selected the winner of the Texas A&M System’s 2024 Chancellor’s Innovation Award.

Dr. Freddie Witherden (Department of Ocean Engineering, College of Engineering) was elected a Fellow of the Royal Aeronautical Society.

Dr. Whitney Garney (Department of Health Behavior, School of Public Health) was selected to lead Texas A&M’s Center for Community Health and Aging.

Campus News

The Center for Teaching Excellence has made unpublished course shells available in Canvas for the upcoming summer and fall 2024 semesters. Once your courses are published, students will be able to view them in a read-only state until the first day of their respective terms:

  • Summer Session I and 10-Week - 11:59 p.m. on May 28
  • Summer Session II - 11:59 p.m. on July 3
  • Fall - 11:59 p.m. on Aug. 21

The Online Request Course Administration (ORCA) self-service course management portal allows instructors and academic liaisons to combine course sections, request duplicate Canvas shells for course sections, add course associate role designations and set course training requirements for associates.

Faculty Affairs has announced the selection of the 2024-2025 Southeastern Conference (SEC) Academic Leadership Development Program Alumni Fellowship cohort. These academic leaders will engage in projects at partnering SEC institutions to pursue knowledge in areas of interest to the respective fellow and the best interests of the university.

Disability Resources has released an updated fact sheet and departmental highlights detailing how they collaborate with faculty to ensure equitable learning environments for disabled students. Learn more about available disability resources.

This fall, the Texas A&M School of Performance, Visualization and Fine Arts will add new minors in music and virtual production.

To mark the beginning of the 2024 Summer Sea Term, the Galveston campus’ Texas A&M Maritime Academy will host public events for faculty, staff, students, cadets and local community members.

Texas A&M hosted the annual celebration of active duty and veteran faculty and staff members, honoring their service to the university and campus affiliates. View the event photo gallery.

Google recently changed how data storage is handled for institutions of higher education and has moved away from free, unlimited storage. As a result, Texas A&M strategically planned for ongoing management of the university’s Google options and implemented the following changes on May 18:

  • Current account holders were given a My Drive quota based on existing usage plus a significant buffer for growth — 25 GB minimum for undergraduate students and staff, and 100 GB minimum for graduate students and faculty.
  • New Shared Drives were given a 25 GB quota, and existing Shared Drives were given a quota based on their current size with a significant buffer to accommodate additional growth.

Please visit the Google Sustainability website to view details about storage limits, differences between a My Drive and a Shared Drive, best practices for reviewing and maintaining files stored in the cloud, project timelines and more. 

The Texas A&M Department of Agricultural Leadership, Education and Communications will host its annual 15-workshop Summer Ag Academy for high school agriculture teachers from June 9-21 on the Texas A&M-RELLIS campus. The registration deadline is June 1.

The Texas A&M School of Law and the American Society of Comparative Law (ASCL) are accepting proposals for the 2024 ASCL Annual Meeting Oct. 18-19.

Mark Your Calendars

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Originally Released Friday, May 31st, 2024