College Update – October 2024

by

Upcoming dates | Instructional design | Open office hours

Dean’s Team Updates

Congratulations!

Dean’s Open Office Hours

  • Dr. Savell and Dr. Klein are holding Dean’s Open Office Hours. Please contact Jill Lee for scheduling or if you have any questions.

Upcoming Deadlines and Dates

  • Thursday, Oct. 10: College Connect for College of Agriculture and Life Sciences employees. 3-4:30 p.m., The Shirley and Joe Swinbank ’74 AgriLife Center.
  • Friday, Oct. 11: Nominations are due for the 74th Lindau Nobel Laureate Meeting. See more under Resources for Graduate Students.
  • Friday, Oct. 18: Nominations for the Vice Chancellor’s Awards in Excellence are due. View the nomination form, guidelines and checklist online.
  • Saturday, Oct. 19: The Gardens at Texas A&M Fall Festival.
  • Thursday, Oct. 24: Norman E. Borlaug Building Ribbon Cutting, 2 p.m. RSVP online.
  • Thursday-Friday, Oct. 24-25, Three-Minute Thesis preliminary competition.
    • Tuesday, Nov. 12, Three-Minute Thesis final competition and reception.
  • Friday, Nov. 8, First-Generation College Student Day Celebration, 9-11 a.m., The Shirley and Joe Swinbank ’74 AgriLife Center.
  • Full fall semester schedule.

Faculty Affairs

  • Wednesday, Oct. 23: A Bites & Insights Faculty Development Series lunch session on “Tools for Teaching with AI” will be held on October 23. More details will be shared in advance of the event as registration will be requested. The full schedule of upcoming faculty events is available online.
  • Teaching Community of Practice: APT and T/TT faculty members should be on the lookout for upcoming email communications regarding the opportunity to participate. Interested faculty are encouraged to contact Dr. Craig Coates with questions.
  • From the Texas A&M Center for Teaching Excellence:
    • Center for Teaching Excellence has a formal Faculty Mentoring Academy to promote a culture of mentoring within and across Texas A&M University. For more information, visit the center’s page for the faculty mentoring academy.
    • The Center for Teaching Excellence proudly offers resources to empower faculty instruction and to create a more enriching classroom learning environment. Explore diverse topics, including peer feedback and collaboration engagement during lectures and ethical behavior in mentoring. 
  • Texas A&M encourages faculty to elevate the impact of their work by joining colleagues in publishing articles in The Conversation. The format is opinion pieces and requires the expert to have recent, peer-reviewed published research. Texas A&M AgriLife Marketing and Communications is happy to work with you to get you connected with the right editors at the right times. Please reach out to AgriLife MarComm for an introductory and exploratory call to discuss ideas, opportunities and more! Email Laura Muntean if interested.
  • Texas A&M University Faculty Affairs provides ongoing professional development opportunities for faculty at every career stage. Faculty are encouraged to regularly seek new ways to enhance and advance their careers at Texas A&M.

General Academic Affairs

  • The Educational Development and Engagement Instructional Design Consultant team provides comprehensive support for College of Agriculture and Life Sciences courses. Services include full-service accessibility renovation to redesign courses for optimal accessibility, video captioning in partnership with the Disability Resources Office, Canvas troubleshooting assistance, and Universal Design for Learning consultation. These efforts have made College courses, including the 12 largest in the University’s Core Curriculum, fully accessible, benefiting over 15,900 students. For more information and resources, please visit the team’s intranet site for the College! If you have a problem accessing the intranet site, please use online instructions to gain access.
  • ARCS is the new system graduate students use to submit non-course requirements. Phase II is now in development and will bring degree plans and associated petitions into ARCS when implemented.
  • Transition to Gradescope: The university is transitioning to using Gradescope instead of scantron forms. If you need assistance Gradescope, see the Gradescope resources pdf developed by our EDE Instructional Design Consultant team. 
  • Mental health support for all students:
    • University Health Services offers mental health support options for Texas A&M University students 24 hours a day. 
    • During normal business hours, individual counseling, group counseling and a variety of health and wellness workshops provide growth opportunities through both in-person and virtual formats.
    • After hours, HelpLine volunteers stand ready to provide peer support, information, crisis intervention and referrals to students, as well as those concerned about students, from 4 p.m. to 8 a.m. on weekdays and 24 hours a day on weekends when classes are in session. 
    • Around the clock and regardless of location, the TELUS Health Student Support app provides 24/7 access to professional counseling in multiple languages via app, telephone and web, in addition to mental health assessments, a mental health content library and access to virtual fitness sessions — all free and confidential. Also, University Health Services maintains a robust library of mental health-focused self-help content to help students navigate challenges related to anxiety, depression, relationships and more.
    • The College of Agriculture and Life Sciences has an embedded licensed professional counselor. Ms. Molly McCann dedicates her time to the wellness of students in AGLS, with an office located at BCBP 103C. Contact her at [email protected] or 979.845.5032.
  • An Introduction to Evidence-Based Undergraduate STEM Teaching: The Center for the Integration of Research, Teaching and Learning at Texas A&M University (CIRTL@TAMU) is facilitating a weekly, Zoom-Local Learning Community for the National-Level Massive Open Online Course. Visit the CIRTL site to learn more. 
  • Libraries Workshops: Various workshops supporting curriculum and research by the University Libraries. Click here for the schedule. 
  • Disability Resources Testing Center: Instructors should complete the testing agreement for a student needing testing accommodations as soon as possible and send exams to the testing center at least three days before the exam. Learn more at Texas A&M Disability Resources.
  • Subscribe to the Graduate Advisors Listserv if you are a staff or faculty member working with graduate and professional students, and stay informed.
  • The Aggie Way Engagement Program is a university-wide initiative that makes it easier to recognize faculty and staff who exemplify our Aggie core values. Nominate colleagues online!

Student Success and Development

  • Join us to celebrate First-Generation College Student Day on Friday, November 8, 9:00-11:00a.m., in the Shirley and Joe ’74 Swinbank AgriLife Center.
  • A Pocket Pantry is available at Suite 109 in Kleberg. It is open 9 a.m.-4 p.m. Monday through Friday, excluding holidays when the university is closed.
    • Ongoing support is provided by the Texas A&M Foundation and a generous donation from Lennox International Inc. The pantry is available for students, faculty and staff in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences who are experiencing food insecurity.
    • Visitors interested in using this resource can scan the QR code posted on the entrance and check in with the reception desk. Those with questions, or those needing additional support, please email [email protected]. 
  • Algebra Video Series is a resource for students to ensure they are prepared for their math and statistics courses at Texas A&M. You can explore the Algebra Series online.

Resources for Graduate Students

  • 74th Lindau Nobel Laureate Meeting: The 2025 meeting will take place from June 29 – July 4, 2025, and will focus on chemistry. More information about the meeting and the nomination process is online. Nominations from faculty and staff on behalf of students and postdocs are due by Friday, Oct. 11, 2024.
  • Three-Minute Thesis Competition: The preliminary competition is Thursday and Friday, Oct. 24 and 25, 9 a.m.-4 p.m.; the final competition and reception is Tuesday, Nov. 12, at 6 p.m.
  • International Student & Scholars Services, ISSS, is excited to announce that the updated ISSS important dates and deadlines page is live! Students and academic departments can refer to this resource and plan accordingly.
  • The Graduate and Professional Student Government, GPSG, is looking for graduate student representatives from your departments to serve in various capacities. Please visit the GPSG website for more information.
  • From the Center for Teaching Excellence:
    • Center for Teaching Excellence English Language Proficiency, CTE-ELP, programs provide training and testing for international students. Current teaching assistants who are not language-certified are required to participate in the CTE-ELP program. Click for more information.
    • Graduate Student Professional Development in Teaching, GSPDT: Take advantage of resources from the Center for Teaching Excellence in collaboration with the Graduate and Professional School. Visit GSPDT to learn more.
  • The University Writing Center hosts the Writing Cafe for graduate students on the first Friday of every month in the Evans Library Grad Lounge, Room 611.
  • The 2024-2025 Texas Aggie Graduate Grant application is now available. Submit applications by the priority deadline of Sunday, Dec. 1, for spring.
  • If you would like to have support for your writing, consider joining a POWER Writing Studio and/or a POWER Writing Group. Fill out a request form online.

Student Recruitment

College of Agriculture and Life Sciences Student Council

Save the date!

2024 AGLS Tailgate

Saturday, Oct. 26
Starting three hours before kickoff

The Gardens at Texas A&M University Event Lawn and the Shirley and Joe Swinbank ’74 AgriLife Center

  • Get ready, Ags! You’re invited to the 13th annual College of Agriculture and Life Sciences tailgate. Come enjoy food, fun and entertainment on the Event Lawn at The Gardens at Texas A&M University and at the Shirley and Joe Swinbank ’74 AgriLife Center. 
  • For parking information, check out the Football Parking and Information page at Transportation Services.

Professional Services Updates

Accessing the Texas A&M AgriLife Intranet

Most of the links and buttons in this section lead to the Texas A&M AgriLife Intranet. If you have trouble accessing a link, check out troubleshooting tips online!

AgriLife Educational Development and Engagement

The Educational Development and Engagement, EDE, Instructional Design Consultant team provides comprehensive support for College of Agriculture and Life Sciences courses at Texas A&M University. 

Services include: 

  • Full-service accessibility renovation to redesign courses for optimal accessibility
  • Video captioning in partnership with the Disability Resources Office 
  • Canvas troubleshooting assistance 
  • Universal Design for Learning, UDL, consultation

These efforts have made AGLS courses, including the 12 largest in the University’s Core Curriculum, fully accessible, benefiting over 15,900 students. 

For more information and resources, please visit the Canvas Courses intranet site! If you have problem accessing the intranet site, please use online instructions to gain access.

For questions, contact Taylor Herbert at [email protected]. 

Visit the Educational Development and Engagement Intranet

AgriLife Administrative Services

Professional Development

Employee Wellness

  • Axe Throwing Competitions: Sign up for four dates in October.
Visit the Administrative Services Intranet

AgriLife Marketing and Communications

Did you know there’s a great link for working with AgriLife Marketing and Communications?

Check out tx.ag/WorkWithMarComm to:

  • Add your event to the Texas A&M AgriLife Calendar.
  • Submit a branding question.
  • Locate brand resources.
  • Submit a photo or video idea.
  • Request a Marketing and Communications presentation on branding, media relations, social media or other topics.
  • Let us know about an outdated, irrelevant or abandoned website.
Visit the AgriLife MarComm Intranet

News: Our Mission in Action

  • Read the latest news of our faculty, staff and student accomplishments in research, teaching and service at AgriLife Today, the home for AgriLife news and feature stories.
Visit AgriLife Today

Survey

Help us make this newsletter as useful as possible. Share your feedback in a five-minute online survey.

Newsletter Archive

Review previous months’ newsletters.

Subscribe to this newsletter.