Felicita Anzualda, left, received the Staff Meritorious Award for 2011. Standing with Anzualda is Dr. David Ragsdale, Department Head.
Linda Jackman, right, and Dr. David Ragsdale, left, showing the plaque commemorating Dr. John Jackman's life achievements.
Department Reports Record Fall Enrollment, Annual Awards Given During Meeting
The New Year has started off well for the Department of Entomology as it reported a milestone in enrollment of undergraduate students and honored faculty and staff members with awards during the annual meeting of faculty, staff and students on January 13.
Professor and Associate Department Head for Academic Programs Dr. Pete Teel noted in his report that the Department had a record enrollment of 201 undergraduate students for the fall semester, which was recorded in September. This was comprised of 67 Entomology majors, 82 Forensic & Investigative Science majors, 50 Double majors, and 2 minors.
Teel was excited about the increasing trend and said that this was one of many great accomplishments in the Department this year.”
In addition, Teel also said that the first Forensic and Investigative Sciences students graduated in 2010 and that enrollment in the program is expected to grow.
Graduate student enrollment also fared well, he said, with a total of 52. This represents a slight and steady increase since 2008. The current group consists of 23 master’s students and 29 doctoral students.
Entomology Department Head Dr. David Ragsdale then presented the Department’s Staff Meritorious Service Award to Felicita Anzualda. Anzualda has been with the Department for 24 years, and is responsible for all travel arrangements, vouchering and reimbursement for all faculty, staff and students in the Department of Entomology.
Ragsdale was proud of Anzualda’s dedication and hard work, as well as her attention to detail in her work.
“Her expertise and knowledge of the University and Agency rules and regulations on travel is impeccable,” Ragsdale said. “Her record keeping has received outstanding marks during audits.“
In addition to travel, Felicita is in charge of key control with the Department of Entomology as well as initiates, monitors and processes all work orders for physical plant, telecommunications and routine building maintenance.
“Felicita is a tremendous value to the department and is always reliable,” he said.
The Department also recognized Dr. John Jackman’s achievements and presented his family with a plaque in memory of his work. Jackman joined the Department of Entomology in April of 1976 as an Extension Survey Entomologist and served through August 2008. He has a great number of skills and he may have been one of the last great general entomologists in the department.
Jackman also was an avid birder, and enthusiastic fly fisherman, a renowned taxonomist. Jackman was probably known best for his skills with information technology.
In his 32 years of work, Jackman was one of first to appreciate the Master Gardner’s program and was an innovator in the development of the Master Entomology training of clientele. Jackman’s love for teaching led him to develop a fly tying course in entomology in 2004 even though Jackman did not have a teaching appointment. The course immediately reached capacity the first year and continued to say at full capacity while Jackman was teaching.
Jackman was an innovative educator that understood and appreciated all aspects of entomology. He made many contributions to the department with perhaps his greatest legacy the development of the website. He was an award winning Extension Entomologist with an outstanding state, national and international reputation.
He was a pioneer in using computers to predict insect outbreak problems and providing educational materials electronically to further expand his own educational projects as well as those of his colleagues to a worldwide presence.
Jackman passed away during the fall semester of 2008. His wife, Linda, received a commemorative plaque that will be placed on the wall in the hallway outside the Entomology offices.
Pins were also awarded to Dr. Bob Wharton for 30 years of service and Dr. Robert Coulson for 40 years of service with Texas AgriLife Research and Texas A&M University. On the Extension side, five people received 30-year pins for their service. They are: Charles Allen, Bart Drees, Allen Knutson, Kerry Siders and Warren Multer.
There were many excellent and entertaining entries for the 2011 Arthropods Image Salon, and judges struggled to name only one entry as the overall best. Participants submitted entries into one of four categories: Photo Microscopy, Artistic, Traditional Macro, and Arthropods in Action.
Winners in the 2011 competition were:
Artistic: "Furry Grasshopper" - Marion Le Gall
Arthropods in Action: "Pumpkin Pollinator" - Pat Porter
Traditional Macro: "Preying They Don't See Me" - Xanthe Shirley
Photomicroscopy: "Polystoechotes Wing" - Joshua Jones
The Best Overall Image was awarded to Pat Porter for his photo “Pumpkin Pollinator”. Porter will receive a monetary award for $250. Congratulations to all entries, all illustrated one aspect of the diversity of talents in our faculty, staff, and students.