Textbooks

The Texas A&M System Chancellor’s Student

Advisory Board (CSAB) has been working

hard to represent students’ concerns on the

ever rising cost of textbooks. In spring 2010,

an initial survey was conducted in order to

understand and receive student opinion on

how much they pay. After a meeting in May,

CSAB felt it necessary to do more research on

the matter and went back to the students.

Over 5% of the total student body within The

A&M System responded and now we are

taking the concerns to the 82nd Texas Legis-

lature. Our goal is to make sure that the peo-

ple who are representing you understand the

burden being placed on students with the

rising costs of tuition and books.

Teaching Excellence Award

Have you had a professor that has gone above

and beyond the call of duty? A professor who

has made a difference, not only in your life,

but in others as well? The A&M System has

an reward program for professors such as

these known as the Teaching Excellence

Awards. This year, CSAB is working on pro-

moting the Teaching Excellence Awards and

ensuring that professors who deserve the

acknowledgement get it.

Military Assistance

CSAB also is concerned with the treatment

of our service men and women who choose

to attend school at one of our universities.

Our veterans need help with making the

transition from military life to civilian life

made as smooth as possible, and CSAB is

working on it. Our goal is to make sure that

all paperwork, and other issues that can arise

for our service men and women are mini-

mized.

CSAB Goals

Inside this issue:

List of Representatives 2

PVAMU, TSU 2

TAMIU, TAMU, TAMUC 3

TAMUCC, TAMUG, TA-

MUK 4

TAMUT, WTAMU,

TAMHSC 5

TAMUCT, TAMUSA 6

Chancellor Student Advisory Board

CSAB Newsletter

Did you know...

Dr. Ray Keck, current TAMIU Presi-

dent and distinguished Spanish profes-

sor, and his family wrote the lyrics for

the Alma Mater?

Sheryl Leach, creator of Barney charac-

ter in TV series is an alumnus of

TAMU-Commerce?

TAMU-Galveston in home to the

Texas Maritime Academy, one of six

Maritime Academies in the Nation?

There are more than 800 student run

organizations in which TAMU-College

Station’s students participate to round

out their education & hone their leader-

ship skills?

John McCain did his military training

on TAMUCC campus & stayed on

campus and attended a party 2 hours

later?

TAMU-Texarkana accepted their first

freshman, sophomore, and doctoral

students this semester?

The average age for students at West

TAMU is 26?

The Ten Tarleton Pepper and Ten

Tarleton Sisters are the oldest organiza-

tions on campus?

Phi Alpha, from TAMU-CT, received a

National Service Award for dedication

and commitment to strengthen bond

between members and community for

the 3rd year in a row

NOVEMBER 2010 VOLUME 1, ISSUE 1

What is CSAB?

The Chancellor’s Student Advisory Board,

CSAB, is a group of student leaders de-

signed to address student issues that are

common among the campuses in The Texas

A&M University System. The mission of

CSAB is to provide representation for the

students of The Texas A&M University

System leadership and the students; Educate

and stimulate student involvement in stu-

dent affairs; Promote communication and

student involvement in all areas of university

life within The Texas A&M University Sys-

tem; Act as liaisons to the Chancellor and to

the Board of Regents on System-wide stu-

dent affairs. The members consist of two

students from each University one being the

student body president.

Are the cost of textbooks making you broke?

Chairs for CSAB 2010-2011:

Chair—Konrad Johnson from TAMU-

College Station

Vice Chair of Administrative Affairs—

Farha Habeeb from TAMU-Commerce

Vice Chair of Research and Assessment—

Miranda Knippers from West TAMU

wide issue of bullying. On Tarleton’s

campus, Student Government has

proudly taken a public stand on bully-

ing and is preparing an event for this

November called, “Breaking the Barri-

ers”. This will consist of a display wall

in the middle of campus where stu-

dents can post offensive words, draw-

ings, lyrics, and books. The wall will be

torn down at the end of the week by

various student leader across campus,

after discussing the importance of

diversity and unity on our campus.

In the Spring SGA is also planning a

community wide service event called,

Fill the Field. This project will take

place at Memorial Stadium and various

organizations, departments, and local

churches and businesses can adopt a

Tarleton is a place that is booming with

excitement in the small rural town of

Stephenville. Tarleton has recently

admitted our largest freshman class in

University history. University President,

Dr. Dottavio has also moved into the

President’s house in the heart of our

campus. The president’s home has

undergone renovations and he is the

first president to move back into the

house in several years. Students are

excited to see that our Tarleton family is

striving to carry on the traditions that

make our campus so unique. This year

at our Homecoming Week events, SGA

served “Midnight Breakfast” to the

largest number of student participants

in the tradition’s history, 2,400 students.

Tarleton is taking a stand on the nation-

square. Their square will then be filled with

humanitarian goods that will be donated to

the Stephenville community as well as

national charity foundations. Tarleton is

making great strides to allow students the

opportunity to become legendary and

leave a lasting legacy on both the commu-

nity and university. BLEED PURPLE!

List of Representatives on CSAB

Tarleton State University

and visitors joined in the Homecom-ing festivities, making it the largest gathering in University history. The student leaders attended the Thurgood Marshall Leadership Institute in New York, New York, October 29 – No-vember 1. Our President, Dr. George C. Wright, received the Educational Leadership Award during the Thur-good Marshall College Fund’s 23rd Anniversary Awards Dinner in New York City on November 1st. Dr Wright was honored for his contribu-tions to the education arena. Serving as president of PVAMU since 2003, Wright has enjoyed a career full of accomplishments, including the re-ceiving the Jean Holloway Award for Teaching Excellence and the Lillian

and Tom B. Rhodes Centennial Teach-ing Fellow. He has also authored three books on race relations and numerous scholarly publications and been the recipient of numerous fellowships, grants and awards. Also Special Events Officer Carol Campbell was honored by the Thurgood Marshall College Fund on Oct. 31st. Campbell will receive the Prestige Award, bestowed on TMCF supporters who embody the leadership, commitment and legacy of the late Justice Thurgood Marshall. Student Government Association is working diligently on all initiatives and projects, and this will be a great year indeed! We wish all student bodies across the state of Texas great success in all endeavors pursued!

Prairie View A&M University

Everything is great on the Hill! President Bobby J. Smith, II, and Vice President Edward Carrigan bring greeting on behalf of the Student Body of Prairie View A&M University. Student Morale is at an all-time high and there is truly something in the air. Homecoming entitled “PV in 3D” was a great success! Over 25,000 students, faculty, staff, alumni, supporters

Page 2 CSAB NEWSLETTER

Sp

otlig

ht

TSU Fun Fact:

Acme Brick Com-

pany produces a

‘Tarleton Blend’

that was used on

several buildings

Front Row (Left-Right): Zaira Rodriquez (TAMU-SA),

Farha Habeeb (TAMUC), Mark Garner (TAMIU), Alyca

Pruitt (TSU), Samantha Hernandez (TAMUCC), Shane Davis

(TAMUK),

Row 2: Kristina Schoen (TAMUT), Taylor Fore (TAMUC),

Chancellor McKinney, Kelli Forde (TAMUG), Michael

Robertson (TAMUG), John Gressett (TSU)

Row 3: Eric McNeil (TAMUT), Tim Vela (WTAMU),

Miranda Knippers (WTAMU), Jacob Robinson (TAMU),

Richard Delgado Jr. (TAMUSA), Rian Scarborough

(TAMUK)

Back Row: Clarence Enochs (TAMUCT), Konrad Johnson

(TAMU), Clara Light (TAMUCC), Sergio Moreno (TAMIU)

Not Present: Michelle Ganyo & Benjamin Cozad from

Health Science Center

This year, Texas A&M International

University (TAMIU) is home to close to

a record 7000 thriving students, of

which close to 1000 incoming freshman

constitute. These students, as well as the

faculty and staff, are the epitome of the

potential of South Texas. With its ex-

ceptionality, TAMIU prepares students

for leadership roles in their chosen

profession in an increasingly complex

and culturally diverse society in this

developing world. TAMIU provides

students with an aesthetically pleasing

and growing campus, incredible faculty,

fruitful student organizations, and an

array of useful student resources. Texas

A&M International University’s campus

was designed to be as pleasing to the

eye as it is conducive to the mind.

Princeton Review recognizes TAMIU’s

College of Business as the number 5

school in the list, “Greatest Opportunity for

Minority Students”. TAMIU’s most recent

addition to its $200 million construction

initiative, however, is its magnificent and

contemporary University Success Center.

This project, endorsed by Senator Judith

Zaffirini and Lt. Governor David

Dewhurst, has brought incredible results

that improve accessibility and efficiency.

Students at TAMIU take great advantage

of their resources and use them to pro-

duce events that influence other students

and the Laredo community. This year,

over 100 students from various organiza-

tions joined forces and volunteered with

Habitat for Humanity to improve the

lives of newly homed residents of our

“Gateway City”. Furthermore, the Cam-

pus Activities Board sponsored

“OksoberFest” which serves to promote

sober and safe fun during the Halloween

festivities and their entire lives. Through

instruction, faculty and student research,

and public service, Texas A&M Interna-

tional University embodies a strategic

point of delivery for well-defined pro-

grams and services that improve the qual-

ity of life for citizens of the border region,

the state of Texas, and national and inter-

national communities.

led another name change to East Texas

State College. With the doctoral pro-

grams being offered on this campus,

the name changed again to East Texas

State University. Finally, in 1996, The

University joined the A&M System and

became Texas A&M University-

Commerce.

This sits in a town where serious study is encouraged, where students enjoy becoming leaders on campus, and become greatly involved with campus life. This University offers great aca-demic programs and has over hundred student organizations for students to join. This year, Texas A&M University-Commerce reached their goal of en-rolling 10,000 for the Fall 2010 semes-

Texas A&M University-Commerce

initially started out as a teaching school

in 1889 and is the fifth oldest state

university. The College was initially

located in Cooper, TX. Unfortunately,

the campus was destroyed by fire in

1894 and was then relocated to its

present location in Commerce, TX.

The university went through five name

changes starting at East Texas Normal

College. In 1917, The State had pur-

chased the school, so the name

changed to East Texas State Normal

College. In 1923, the name changed

again to East Texas State Teachers

College. The school decided to widen

their programs and brought in the

graduate program into the school. This

ter. This made our enrollment the largest in history. The higher admini-stration is seeking higher enrollment in the near future.

Texas A&M International University

Texas A&M University—Commerce

selfless service. TAMU develops leaders

of character dedicated to serving the

greater good as stated by the university’s

purpose statement. Among the character-

istics that make TAMU distinct, the 12th

Man tradition is an example of selfless

service. Aggieland is home of the 12th

Man where students stand for the entire

Aggie football games to show their sup-

port for the team.

Texas A&M University also houses the

Corps of Cadets – the largest uniformed

body of students outside the U.S. military

academies – also known as the Texas

A&M “Keepers of the Spirit.” Reveille,

Texas A&M’s full-blooded collie mascot,

is actually the highest ranking member of

the Corps of Cadets and is known by the

Corp as “Miss Rev.”

Being ranked the 2nd best U.S. university by

The Wall Street Journal Top 25 Recruiter Picks,

TAMU has flourished to be a recognized

and selective university. Students venture

from around the globe to receive a premiere

education in Aggieland. TAMU currently

has over 49,000 students, with over 9,000

students working toward receiving their

graduate degrees. With over 800 student

organizations on campus, Aggies are guar-

anteed to find an organization that sparks

their interest making their Aggieland experi-

ence even more enjoyable and memorable.

Texas A&M University—College Station

Texas A&M University opened on Octo-

ber 4, 1876 as the first public institution

in Texas. Educating students for 134

years, Texas A&M University (TAMU)

continually advances as a leading institu-

tion in the nation and globe. The univer-

sity was constructed with a solid set of

core values, which include excellence,

integrity, leadership, loyalty, respect, and

Page 3 VOLUME 1,

TAMUC Fun Fact:

TAMUC is the No.

1 producer of

Principals & No.

2 producer in

Superintendents

TAMIU Fun Fact:

Students here come

from all over the

world including

South Africa, France,

Kazakhstan, India, Bra-

zil, China, Mexico, &

from around the cor-

ner.

TAMU Fun Fact:

Currently, Texas

A&M University

Facebook page has

a solid 235, 014

fans.

on September 29th. 30 seconds to

Mars headlined the show, and Neo-

politics were their front runners, and

the event was spectacular. Out of

100 different universities we were

one of four chosen for this

event. We had over 2000 students

and people from the local community

in attendance. Also, our homecoming

week has been literally off the

charts. Monday night, senators got

together and painted blue and gold

hoofprints across the campus to

heighten spirits and mo-

rale. Wednesday all of the campus

organizations setup booths and par-

At Texas A&M University-Kingsville,

we have had an amazing semester so

far. Growth has been in the double

digits (over 12 %) in enrollment, which

has not happened at this campus since

1975. By next fall, an honors college

dorm will be built which will house 300

students. Also, the Board of Regents

has approved a third new residence hall

to be built, and should be up and run-

ning by August of next year; which is a

year sooner than the expected date due

to overwhelming enrollment and reten-

tion.

Next, we were excited and amazed by a

concert that MTVU presented us with

ticipated in what we call “Fall Carnival”,

where food, prizes, and games were sold

to the campus, as well as, the local com-

munity for all to enjoy. Things from

flavored corn, belly dance contest,

dunking booths, and much. much more

were offered to any and everyone willing

to attend.

Texas A&M University Corpus Christi

Texas A&M University—Kingsville

This semester marked a milestone in enrollment numbers, with a total student population of 1,868 and an increase of 45 Cadets into the Texas Maritime Academy. The doors of our new Ocean and Coastal Studies Building opened this year. This 104,000 square foot complex in-cludes 24 state of the art laboratories as well as a Sea Life Center for the handling and research of live marine animals. Student involvement has boomed with student organizations at an all time high and extracurricu-lar activities are showing record attendance. In order to accommo-date this growth, the groundbreaking of our new Student Center will occur

in January. As the demand for ocean based degrees continues to grow, Texas A&M University at Galveston is ex-pected to grow exponentially.

Texas A&M University—Galveston

“The Ocean is Our Classroom!” Texas A&M University at Galveston is the only special-purpose institution in Texas dedicated to education and research in the science, engineering, business, and humanities of the oceans and coastal environments.

The Texas A&M Corpus Christi known today, commonly referred to as the “Island University” because of its unique geographic location, began in 1947 as the University of Corpus Christi and was origi-nally an affiliation of the Baptist General Convention of Texas. The campus was built on the south side of the Coastal Bend on

Ward Island, a cutting edge radar station during WWII. Throughout the years the university built up numerous organiza-tions such as the Baptist Student Minis-try, the Silver King, and the Pre-law club. In the 60’s, however, the school brought forth many Greek societies that drasti-cally helped shape and direct the student population into a mainstream body. In 1971 the state legislator enabled the creation of an upper-level – junior, sen-ior, and graduate level – higher education institution for the Texas A&I University System to be established in the recently hurricane-damaged Corpus Christi. In 1973, as a result, the A&M system took over the University of Corpus Christi as Texas A&I at Corpus Christi – though its name was changed to Corpus Christi State University later on in 1977. In 1989 the university joined the formally Texas

A&M University System and, in 1993, was approved by their board of regents to be officially called Texas A&M-Corpus Christi. A year later freshman and sophomores began to study here when the campus became a regular four year university as enrollment reached about 5,000 students. The college of nursing and health sciences was ap-proved by the A&M board of regents in 2004 and opened the year following – when Flavius Killebrew became the university’s president and instituted a ten-year undertaking to make Texas A&M-Corpus Christi a prime example of educational excellence in the realm of higher learning. Today this campus is literally thriving because of that commit-ment, the dedicated faculty, and the audacious student body.

Page 4 CSAB NEWSLETTER

TAMU-CC Fun

Fact:

Kim Hagal, the co-

writer/producer

for the TX

Chainsaw

Massacre (1999)

was a professor

at TAMU-CC.

TAMUG Fun Fact:

Out of a student

population of about

1,850, 14.3% are

considered non-

resident, with 38

states and coun-

tries represented

TAMUK Fun Fact:

First University

President was bit-

ten by the mascot.

They wished to put

it down, but he re-

fused by stating

that it went to

show the tenacity

of the University.

Texas A&M University-

Texarkana formerly East Texas

State University at Texarkana

was established by the Texas

Legislature in 1971 as an upper

level, operationally separate

unit of the East Texas Univer-

sity Complex.

In September

1996 the uni-

versity became

a member of

The Texas

A&M Univer-

sity System and

is governed by The Texas A&M

University Board of Regents. In

the Fall of 2010 the university

accepted both its first freshman

class and its first doctoral stu-

dents, expanding into a compre-

hensive four year institution.

and Vice Chancellor for Health Affairs for the

Texas A&M University System. Working

13,000 feet above sea level, students and

faculty quickly began taking histories and

treating patients. From sacroilical injections to

draining abscesses, team members attended to

the needs and health of the local Bolivians.

The HSC is also extremely happy about the

opening of the new Bryan campus off State

Highway 47 with our first building, the Health

Professions Education Building. College of

Medicine and College of Nursing students

already have gotten into the full swing of

things at the new site. The first building also

houses student services, an information

technology help center, a teaching learning

resource center, library, state-of-the-art simu-

lation center, numerous rooms with video

conferencing capabilities and more. Our next

This past June, students and faculty from

the Texas A&M the Health Science Center

traveled over 4,000 miles into the Andes

Mountains to Quesimpuco, Bolivia, for a

medical mission trip. In attendance were

representatives from the College of Medi-

cine, College of Nursing, College of Den-

tistry, School of Rural Public Health,

College of Pharmacy and Dr. Nancy W.

Dickey, Health Science Center President

addition, the four-story Medical Research and

Education Building, is expected to open in

spring 2011, followed by the campus’s first

clinical building next summer. Before the

Bryan campus officially opened, the HSC

hosted a ribbon cutting for its Round Rock

campus, securing its commitment to Central

Texas. The facility is used for clinical teaching

and includes a simulation center equipped with

computer-programmed manikins, student life

and student services support, administrative

offices, and clinical research space. It also

houses Lone Star Circle of Care, a federally

qualified Community Health Center that

operates clinics for Williamson County’s

uninsured and underinsured residents. This

center functions as a major teaching site for

HSC students.

Texas A&M University—Texarkana

Texas A&M Health & Science Center

nature, but also houses the Panhandle

Plains Historical Museum, the largest

history museum in the state of Texas,

offering a wide range of educational

opportunities. One particular opportu-

nity is the Remnant Trust Foundation

artifacts which are on display during the

Fall 2010 semester.

WT began as West Texas State Normal

College in 1910, then transitioned to

West Texas State Teachers College in

1922, followed by West Texas State

College in 1949. WTSC became West

Texas State University in 1963, and

finally in 1990, West Texas State Univer-

sity Board of Regents chose to join the

A&M

system.

WTSU

became

known as

West

Texas

A&M University.

West Texas’s Centennial year has numer-

ous events to the campus; including the

Centennial Gala, Founders Day Birthday

Party, Somaly Mam, The Remnant Trust

Foundation, Apollo 13 Astronauts and

much more. WT is 100 years of… Al-

ways Home, Always Welcoming, Always

WT.

West Texas A&M University

1910, West Texas A&M University came

to life in the small town of Canyon,

Texas a town that claimed a population

of around 1,400 people at the time.

Canyon, the opening stages of West

Texas A&M, began with 40 acres of land,

$100,100 in cash, and a dry county,

making this area quite attractive to the

Texas Legislature.

West Texas A&M sits 12 miles west of

the Palo Duro Canyon, the second larg-

est canyon in the United States, also

coined the Grand Canyon of Texas

featuring wildlife, and an avenue for

much research at the University. Not

only does WT have a rich history of

Page 5 VOLUME 1, ISSUE 1

WTAMU Fun Fact:

A gold ring is

passed from

University

President to

President starting

with R. B. Cousins .

TAMUT Fun

Fact:

This semester TAMUT is

in the process of build-

ing their student hous-

ing complex that is

scheduled for comple-

tion Fall of ‘11

TAMUHSC Fun

Fact:

The Texas A&M

Health Science

Center is the most

geographically

dispersed and

youngest in the

State.

Texas A&M University-San Antonio is

hard at work this year. The innovative

education curriculum Model for Success

Initiative, which implements advanced

methods to prepare teachers for the

challenges of today’s classroom, is

taking off, while the Department of

Business is currently developing the

new Information Technology Center,

staying ahead of the curve as San Anto-

nio is named the hub for military cyber

security. In addition, an unparalleled e-

book program launched in Fall 2010,

taking advantage of new learning

Texas A&M University Central Texas

Texas A&M University San Antonio

technologies and bringing a savings

to both students and the University.

The highlight of the fall semester

was the inauguration ceremony of

Dr. Maria Hernandez Ferrier, who

was appointed as the first president

of Texas A&M-San Antonio in

February 2010. The ceremony

featured many firsts, including the

newly carved academic mace, the

presidential chain of office, and the

debut performances of the newly

written student anthem and alma

mater.

The first state-of-the-art building of the

new 700 acre campus is projected to

open by fall 2011. Under the Univer-

sity’s Master Plan, the campus is ex-

pected

to grow to the second largest in the

A&M System – providing education to

thousands of students who thirst for

higher learning while stimulating the

economic growth of the region.

The fall of 2010, has been a busy and

historic time for the students, faculty

and staff at Texas A&M University-

Central Texas. On August 29th we

celebrated the groundbreaking of the

first building to be constructed on our

new campus, bringing to fruition, the

efforts of so many in the community

who fought to bring an upper level

intuition of higher learning to the

region. We look forward to a contin-

ued collaboration with the United

States Army and members of the

community as we continue to grow.

With a student body approaching

2400 students, Texas A&M University

-Central Texas presently posts the

most broadly diverse undergraduate

enrollment in the Texas A&M Univer-

sity System. Current enrollment fig-

ures reflect a 24.1% increase over the

past two years. Of this student popula-

tion, forty percent are active duty

military, military dependents or veter-

ans. Through the guiding wisdom of

our university President, Dr. Marc

Nigliazzo and Interim Provost Dr.

Tracy Teaff, students and faculty are

encouraged and enabled to achieve

great things. For the third year in a row,

the Phi Alpha Zeta Chapter at Texas

A&M University-Central Texas was

awarded the National Service Award for

their program efforts and research.

Additionally Texas A&M Universit-

Central Texas is one of just four univer-

sities nationwide, invited to participate

in a pilot program with the US Depart-

ment of Veterans Affairs. The program

will target greater educational opportu-

nity for military personnel while insur-

ing their successful transition into the

civilian workforce. Not stopping there,

our university is in the final stages of

completing a state of the art student

counseling center. This center will

provide affordable crisis management as

well as marriage and family counseling

to students, their families and eventually

members of the community. It will

allow students within the Psychology

and counseling tract, to apply the

knowledge they have secured in the

classroom, while completing their

completing their practicum experiences

in an atmosphere where they can con-

tinue to be observed and mentored by

their talented professors and instruc-

tors. Additionally, we have plans to

unveil shortly, the university’s newly

designed class ring as well as the univer-

sity’s mascot.

We will continue to embrace the new

and strive for the future. A warrior’s

spirit lives amongst us at Texas A&M

University-Central Texas. Honor, Integ-

rity and Service drive the students,

faculty and staff. At Texas A&M Uni-

versity-Central Texas we will never be

satisfied with the average and will al-

ways pursue life’s next chapter.

Tamuct Fun

Fact:

TAMUCT is 1 of 4

Universities na-

tionwide, invited to

participate in a

pilot program with

the US Department

of Veteran Affairs

TAMU-SA Fun

Facts:

The names of the

first 5,000 Texas

A&M University –

San Antonio

graduates will be

engraved on

bricks around the

a fountain beside

the inaugural

building of the

permanent campus.