TEXAS A&M UNIVERSITY

Texas A&M University

College of Education & Human Development

Transforming Lives - October 2007


Omar Smith Instructional Tennis Court Dedicated

Texas A&M University's College of Education and Human Development dedicated 18 instructional tennis courts in honor of the late Omar Smith, longtime tennis coach and faculty member, on October 26. The courts are located behind the Varsity Tennis Center on Texas A&M's West Campus.

Naming the courts in honor of Omar Smith is a fitting tribute to the life of a great coach, educator and longtime friend of the university who was dedicated to both physical education and the tennis program at Texas A&M.

(Pictured: Omar Smith's family at the instructional tennis courts dedication)

For the full story, click here.


Marilyn Kent Byrne Student Success Center Dedicated

The dedication of The Marilyn Kent Byrne Student Success Center at Texas A&M University took place during a special ceremony on October 25 in the lobby of Heaton Hall.

Housed in the College of Education and Human Development and established by Dorothy and Artie McFerrin '65 in honor of Marilyn Kent Byrne, a distinguished educator and administrator with over 30 years of service to the field, the center is committed to furthering student success in education.

Among its many functions is to provide mentoring and tutoring opportunities to students, present teaching seminars to faculty and graduate assistants, assist in portfolio development and career searches, and facilitate collaboration with other centers and services on campus to ensure full use of the resources provided at Texas A&M.

(Pictured: Marilyn Kent Byrne at the Marilyn Kent Byrne Student Success Centerdedication)

For the full story, click here.


Texas A&M Collaborators Awarded $6.8M for Health Disparities Research

A $6.8 million grant from the National Institutes of Health will allow researchers at Texas A&M University and The Texas A&M University System to study rural and minority health issues such as diabetes and obesity.

The Center for the Study of Health Disparities at Texas A&M's College of Education and Human Development and the Center for Community Health Development at the Texas A&M Health Science Center School of Rural Public Health have been awarded the grant over a five-year period from the National Center on Minority Health and Health Disparities.

The program supported by the funding will address rural and minority health issues by providing critical information on how population and contextual factors impact food choice, dietary patterns and the risk of obesity in minority and rural populations, including children.

For the full story, click here.


Kirkseys Honor Grandson with Memorial Scholarship

To honor the memory and spirit of their 6-year-old grandson who seemed destined to be an Aggie, Patricia and Warren (Pat) Kirksey of Lockhart have established the Spencer Patton Squire Memorial Scholarship in Education in the College of Education and Human Development at Texas A&M University.

The scholarship is a one-year award for freshmen with financial need.

Spencer's grandparents - the grandfather is a 1956 Texas A&M graduate - say just the day before he became ill, Spencer Patton Squire sat in a car seat in the back of a Suburban singing and swaying to the Aggie War Hymn with his 3-year-old brother, Ryan, and his 9-month-old cousin Sophia.

A brain aneurysm ended Spencer's life.

This year's scholarship recipient is Jacqueline Siegel, an early childhood education major from El Paso. 

(Pictured: Spencer Patton Squire with Aggie Quarterback Stephen McGee)

For the full story, click here.


Celebrating the Life of Andrea McKenna through an Endowed Scholarship

Andrea E. (Andi) McKenna, class of 2008, was a special education student from Galveston at Texas A&M University whose life came to an end all too soon in May 2007. To honor her life and her dedication to assisting those with special needs, Andi's parents, Sissy and John McKenna, classes of 1979 and 1978 respectively, and her sister and brother, Lauren and Johnny, have established the Andrea E. (Andi) McKenna '08 Memorial Scholarship in Special Education.

"Andi was blessed to know early in her life that she had the ability to work with people and touch their lives," said Sissy. "She was able to reach people that no one else could."

(Pictured: Andrea McKenna)

For the full story, click here.


Former Education Student Named Texas Teacher of the Year

Former interdisciplinary studies major Grant Simpson was named Elementary Teacher of the Year for the state of Texas. Described as a shy guy who found comfort in the classroom, Simpson went on to pursue an education degree at Texas A&M University, and since his graduation in 2002, has taught fourth graders at Hidden Lakes/Keller ISD and Crowley ISD.

"My senior year of high school, I signed up for an educational internship with a fourth-grade teacher. She allowed me to work with troubled students, give spelling tests and teach small groups. As an introverted person, this was the first place that gave me comfort and put me at ease," Simpson said. "I never thought the one place I wouldn't want to leave would be a classroom. I knew something that could make me so happy was too good to pass up."

For the full story, click here.


Education Faculty Awarded $1 Million NSF Grant for Gifted African-Americans

Three faculty members in the College of Education and Human Development, Mary Alfred, Fred Bonner and Chance Lewis, will be partnering with two engineering faculty at Prairie View A&M University to identify and evaluate the factors that contribute to the success of academically gifted African-American students in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) disciplines who are enrolled at historically black colleges and universities (HBCU).

The study titled, An Empirical Investigation of the Success Factors Impacting African- American Students in Engineering and Technology at Historically Black Universities, is a $1 million, three-year education research project funded through a grant from the National Science Foundation (NSF).

(Pictured from left to right: Fred Bonner, Mary Alfred and Chance Lewis)

For the full story, click here.


Coryell And Wright Will Serve as Co-Directors at UTSA

Two former adult education doctoral students, Joellen Coryell and Robin Wright, were recently hired on as tenure-track faculty at the University of Texas-San Antonio (UTSA). Although the search was for a single position, the search committee was impressed by Coryell and Wright and requested that they both be hired.

"It actually feels really special and very supportive that they hired us both," Coryell said. "Having a partner for advising, course design/redesign and future collaborative research projects provides a great foundation from which to build."

"The decision to hire us both is a compliment to the adult education program at Texas A&M University," Wright added.

For the full story, click here.


Drs. Sharp and Stough Receive CDD Research Grant for Disaster Research

Although Hurricanes Katrina and Rita were disastrous, imagine the state of those who were unable to process what was happening.

To determine the impact disasters have on these individuals, Texas A&M's Center on Disability and Development has received a $200,000 grant from the Center for Disease Control to learn "Lessons from Katrina and Rita."

Professor Laura Stough, the interdisciplinary training coordinator at A&M's center, is the main force behind the project.

"There's very little research out there on the effect of disaster on disabilities," Stough said. "Most of the research focuses on the immediate impact or a couple of months out after the disaster has occurred, but what we're interested in is their long-term recovery."

For the full story, click here.

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Transforming Lives - Online is a monthly publication for current students, former students, faculty, staff and friends of the College of Education and Human Development at Texas A&M University.

 

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