The Newsletter for A&M System Employees and Retirees
December 2005
The Newsletter for A&M System Employees and Retirees
December 2005
Students
and faculty from across the A&M System attended the Pathways Symposium.
Nearly 100 faculty members and 400 students from across the A&M System’s universities, research agencies and health science center gathered in South Texas last month to network and share research results.
A Junior Faculty Workshop was held at the Harte Research Center at Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi on Nov. 3-4 and a Pathways Symposium for undergraduate and graduate students to showcase their research was held at Texas A&M University-Kingsville Nov. 4-5.
“As far as I know, we’re the only university system in the nation that’s putting together these kinds of events for its faculty and students,” said Leo Sayavedra, vice chancellor for academic and student affairs. “This is one example of how we’re leading the way.”
Sayavedra said this double emphasis, on helping new faculty develop research collaborations and on strengthening students’ research skills, is especially important in the state’s “Closing the Gaps” efforts to produce enough faculty members to replace the generation that is nearing retirement and to meet the needs of the state’s growing college-age population.
The faculty workshop was developed and organized by Lee Peddicord and Tami Davis Sayko from the System Offices, Mike Cronan and the team from the Office of Proposal Development in the Office of the Vice President of Research at Texas A&M University, and Jorja Kimball and Karen Pilant from the Texas Engineering Experiment Station. Stoney Burke, from the System’s federal relations office in Washington, D.C., provided information on how faculty can build links with federal agencies.
“This first workshop was a big success,” said Lee Peddicord, vice chancellor for research and federal relations. “Several action items were identified that will be implemented, and a number of multidisciplinary, multi-institutional affinity groups emerged, which was one of our main goals.”
In an era when many university presses nationwide are slashing budgets and reducing staff—or even closing down entirely—the Texas A&M University Press is thriving.
“Soon after the Press was established in 1974, we published 16 books annually, and now we publish 60 to 65,” said Charles Backus, Press director. “We have more than 800 titles in all, and the great majority remain in print or are available in on-demand and electronic editions.”
Gayla
Christiansen, marketing manager for the Texas A&M Press, shows a
new book on dragonflies.
Although it is a leader in publishing Texas history, Texas A&M Press publishes more than just state and regional interest books and is listed among the top 20 presses at public universities in the country. The Press is known for its scholarly works on military history, natural history, nautical archaeology, aviation, the presidency, economics and even Eastern Europe.
Through the A&M Press Consortium, the Press also markets and distributes more than 700 additional titles published by nine other institutions in this region, including Texas Christian University and Southern Methodist University.
A highlight of the fall season was the Texas Book Festival held on the grounds of the State Capitol in Austin at the end of October.
“We were proud to have the largest publisher exhibit at the festival,” said Backus. “Thirteen Consortium authors were featured on panels or individual sessions covering everything from dragonflies to civil rights. A number of other Texas authors also stopped by the exhibit to visit and sign books.”
Yearlong
celebration marks Baylor College of Dentistry’s 100th anniversary
“Women for A&M-Texarkana” group
hits the ground running
Tarleton
lassoes men’s and women’s
national rodeo titles