Herbert
Thompson
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Year Awarded: 1979
College: Business
Award Level: Teaching
J.G.H.
Thompson
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Year Awarded: 1959
College: Engineering
Award Level: Student Relations
Evelyn
Tiffany-Castiglioni
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Year Awarded: 1998
College: Veterinary Medicine & Biomedical Science
Award Level: Research
Evelyn
Tiffany-Castiglioni
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Year Awarded: 2014
Evelyn Tiffany-Castiglioni currently serves as head of the Department of Veterinary Integrative Biosciences and as associate dean for undergraduate education—Biomedical Medical Sciences program. She received her Ph.D. from the University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston and completed postdoctoral studies at UCLA. She joined the faculty of the College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences in 1982. Dr. Castiglioni is currently a member of the editorial board for International Journal of Developmental Neuroscience and associate editor for Neurotoxicology. She is a member of the External Advisory Committee for the NIH SuperFund Program at the Harvard School of Public Health & Harvard Medical School. She is editor and co-author of a book and has published 82 peer-reviewed papers and 15 book chapters. She received the Distinguished Achievement Award for Research from The Association of Former Students in 2008. Her primary research interests are neurotoxicology and in vitro toxicology, particularly the mechanisms by which brain cells called astrocytes handle toxic metals.
As associate dean for undergraduate education, Dr. Castiglioni manages the largest undergraduate program on the Texas A&M campus. The program includes 1,858 undergraduate students and 56 faculty members/advisors. As department head, she oversees a research-intensive and teaching-oriented department with 48 full- and part-time faculty, 23 postdoctoral fellows and research associates, 71 graduate students, 17 staff members, and more than $4.1 million in contracts/grants annually. Her nominators say Dr. Castiglioni exhibits extraordinary competence, vision, poise, patience, and determination in parallel supervision of these programs and has been an active contributor to the success of Texas A&M via various platforms including her service on university committees and student/staff organizations. Her dean concludes, “Truly, Dr. Evelyn Castiglioni’s sincerity, warm personality and special human touch make her one of few administrators who do not simply leave an impact, but create a legacy.”
College: College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences
Award Level: Administration
David
Toback
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Year Awarded: 2007
David Toback, Associate Professor of Physics, joined the Texas A&M faculty in 2000 and has since received a college-level Distinguished Achievement Award in teaching in 2004, a Corps of Cadets award in 2002, and was named a Montague-Center for Teaching Excellence Scholar in 2002-03. He has worked tirelessly to improve the introductory physics courses for engineers and to bring a course on the Big Bang and Black Holes to non-scientists. In addition to being a dynamic and motivating teacher, known for using comic relief to teach physics concepts at 8:00 a.m., he has developed multiple web-based systems to aid student learning. These systems were so successful that they have been adopted in all the introductory physics courses, published in a top physics education research journal, and presented in invited talks on web-based learning.
One former graduate teaching assistant, now a faculty member at the College of William and Mary, stated that Dr. Toback “not only does an exceptional job of teaching Physics to undergraduate students, he also teaches graduate students to be exceptional teachers.” A senior Chemical Engineering major who had the 8 a.m. class as a freshman says, “I honestly believe Dr. Toback and his teaching style played a vital role in helping me develop confidence in my learning abilities and effective study habits that have carried through the past four years.”
College: Science
Award Level: Teaching
Michael
Tomaszewski
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Year Awarded: 1991
College: Agriculture and Life Sciences
Award Level: Extension/ Continuing Education
Michael
Tomchesson ’71
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Year Awarded: 2013
Mike Tomchesson earned his B.S. and M.S. from Texas A&M. He has been employed with Texas A&M since 1991, first as an assistant lecturer, then as a lecturer, and then in his current position as facilities coordinator. In this position, he is responsible for scheduling all Health and Kinesiology (HLKN) facilities and assuring that they are well maintained and running efficiently and effectively. That alone is quite an accomplishment because two of the primary facilities are quite old and in need of major repairs. Until recently, HLKN facilities included G. Rollie White Coliseum, its annex, the Read Building, the Duly Bell Building, Netum Steed, the Challenge Course, a Riverside Campus site, Mount Aggie, several Research Park sites and Heep sites, and a tennis facility that included offices, labs, activity areas, and classrooms. However, in 2012 the majority of HLKN offices, administrative suites, classrooms, and labs were moved to the Blocker Building, Heldenfels, and the Research Park, an effort that was organized and expedited by Mike Tomchesson. In addition, he has been instrumental in the initial planning, design, and construction of the new Physical Activity Building that will house the Physical Education Activity Program. In the coming months, he—of course—will be responsible for transitioning the program from its current location in G. Rollie White to the new building on West Campus. Mr. Tomchesson serves a faculty and staff of almost 200 with the assistance of only a small cadre of student workers. And he does it amazingly. As a result, the Department of Health and Kinesiology presented him with the Janene Kissinger Outstanding Staff Award in 2009.
His nominators believe his accomplishments really fall under the heading of “Incredibly Amazing, Remarkable, and Awesome Achievement.” But, since there is not an award in that category, they wholeheartedly agreed that he is more than deserving of The Association of Former Students Distinguished Achievement Award—Staff!
College: Department of Health and Kinesiology
Award Level: Staff
Christine
Townsend
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Year Awarded: 1994
College: Agriculture and Life Sciences
Award Level: Teaching
Joe D.
Townsend ’67
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Year Awarded: 2008
Joe Townsend serves as Associate Dean and Director of Student Development in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences where he actively serves the academic, advising and development needs of over 5,400 undergraduate students. He is also an Associate Professor of Leadership Development in the Department of Agricultural Leadership, Education and Communications. During his eleven year tenure in the Dean’s Office, Dr. Townsend has administered the College’s scholarship program, directed the Agricultural Career Exposition, and coordinated student recruiting, career planning and internship experiences. He has received numerous accolades to include, but not limited to, the John J. Koldus Award; Honor Professor by the Minorities in Agriculture, Natural Resources and Related Sciences Council; and the Texas A&M Association of Former Students Distinguished Achievement Award for Individual Student Relations.
As one student has commented, “His heart’s only purpose is to see students succeed in their endeavors and grasp the depth of the Aggie Spirit. He fully understands Texas A&M University exists to educate and serve the students who attend, the citizens of the state of Texas and to better the world at large by producing capable leaders.” Yet another student sums it up as follows, “Dr. Joe is there to empower students,” and give daily encouragement to “Make it Happen!”
College: Agriculture and Life Sciences
Award Level: Administration
Joe D.
Townsend ’67
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Year Awarded: 1998
College: Agriculture and Life Sciences
Award Level: Student Relations
Joe D.
Townsend ’67
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Year Awarded: 2004
College: Agriculture and Life Sciences
Award Level: Teaching
Ralph
Traxler
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Year Awarded: 1966
College: Engineering
Award Level: Research
Robert E.
Tribble
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Year Awarded: 2002
College: Science
Award Level: Research
W.I.
Truettner
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Year Awarded: 1963
College: Engineering
Award Level: Teaching
Bobby
Tucker ’79
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Year Awarded: 2005
College: Student Affairs
Award Level: Student Relations
Richard
Turk ’39
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Year Awarded: 1964
College: Veterinary Medicine & Biomedical Science
Award Level: Teaching
Patricia
Turner
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Year Awarded: 1985
College: Engineering
Award Level: Extension/ Continuing Education
Victor
Ugaz
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Year Awarded: 2013
Victor Ugaz earned his B.S. and M.S. degrees at The University of Texas at Austin and a Ph.D. in chemical engineering from Northwestern University. He joined the faculty of the Dwight Look College of Engineering in January 2003 where he holds the Kenneth R. Hall Development Professorship.
His teaching efforts have been recognized by a number of awards including the Camille Dreyfus Teacher-Scholar Award, the Tenneco Meritorious Teaching Award, the Celanese Teaching Excellence Award, and the Departmental Professor of the Year Award from the student chapter of the American Institute for Chemical Engineers. His nominator says Dr. Ugaz’s passion for teaching and mentoring is a reflection of his ability to communicate with students. He incorporates innovative educational experiences in the classroom and is always working to introduce new examples from current scientific research, including his own. He also demonstrates a strong commitment to undergraduate research, having supervised 24 students, three of whom are coauthors on publications.
One of his student coauthors writes, “Apart from conducting high impact research through his out-of- the-box thinking, Professor Victor Ugaz is one of the most influential and unique educators and I feel privileged to be learning from him.” A former student writes that Dr. Ugaz’s “ability to explain complex material was exceptional, and when it required further individual attention, aside from his normal office hours, he was virtually accessible at anytime.” A former undergraduate research student credits Dr. Ugaz as having had a great influence on his research career and successes. He writes, “ . . . it was not until I had other lab experiences that I really came to value my time in Texas. Comparatively, this has been the best research learning experience . . . .”He concludes, “I consider myself extremely lucky to have worked with him.”
College: Artie McFerrin Department of Chemical Engineering
Award Level: Teaching
Roger S.
Ulrich
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Year Awarded: 2006
College: Architecture
Award Level: Research
Betty
Unterberger
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Year Awarded: 1975
College: Liberal Arts
Award Level: Teaching
Edward
Uvacek, Jr. ’66
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Year Awarded: 1977
College: Agriculture and Life Sciences
Award Level: Extension/ Continuing Education
John
Valasek
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Year Awarded: 2008
John Valasek has been with Texas A&M University since 1997, where he is currently an Associate Professor of Aerospace Engineering and Director, Vehicle Systems & Control Laboratory. He is a Member of the Honors Faculty, and a Montague--Center for Teaching Excellence Scholar who has taught a total of nine different undergraduate and graduate courses in his department, four of which he created. One of his students has said of him, “It was evident both inside and outside the classroom that he cared deeply that we understood the material and that we learned, not just the theory and the details, but more importantly the responsibility inherent with being called an engineer.”
Dr. Valasek conveys to his students that the only thing they can really control is their attitude, and he challenges them to improve and get the very best out of themselves. A former student, who is now leading a product development team in industry, notes that “Dr. Valasek is very perceptive when it comes to his students, and works in subtle ways to nudge each of us into the position where we shine best. Being a shy person I rarely found myself in a leadership position, but with his encouragement and direction by the end of his courses I discovered that I had become one of the leaders in my class.”
"I am a teacher... and I thank God for it every day." – John Valasek
College: Engineering
Award Level: Teaching
Lynne
Vallone
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Year Awarded: 2006
College: Liberal Arts
Award Level: Research
Cornelius
van Bavel
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Year Awarded: 1986
College: Agriculture and Life Sciences
Award Level: Research
Horace
Van Cleave ’52
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Year Awarded: 1969
College: Agriculture and Life Sciences
Award Level: Teaching
Marguerite
Van Dyke
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Year Awarded: 2008
Ambassador, cheer leader, graduate recruiter, confidant – all are qualities which describe Marguerite Van Dyke in the Department of Recreation, Park and Tourism Sciences. As the department’s “unofficial goodwill ambassador,” Ms. Van Dyke’s role as Clerk III extends far beyond a support staff function. Acknowledged as one of the top programs in its field, the department’s success in graduate recruiting is attributed to Ms. Van Dyke’s contributions in recruiting excellent cadres of graduate students. MVD, as she is known by faculty and friends, handles almost all contacts with prospective graduate students from the initial contact through their acceptance and arrival on campus. In fact, numerous graduate students have cited Marguerite’s “sincere concern for their well-being, her warmth and her friendship” as key factors in their electing to come to Texas A&M. In recognition of her selfless service and dedication, two departmental graduate student and international student alumni groups have each established $25,000 named endowments in her honor.
Celebrating her 30th anniversary with the department this year, Marguerite is revered by all. One former student sums it up as follows, “Marguerite embodies everything held near and dear to Aggies. Simply put, she represents a tradition of above average performance for nothing in return beyond intrinsic rewards.”
College: Agriculture and Life Sciences
Award Level: Staff
Carl
Vanderzant
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Year Awarded: 1969
College: Agriculture and Life Sciences
Award Level: Teaching
Poondi
Varadarajan
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Year Awarded: 1994
College: Business
Award Level: Research
Jim
Varni
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Year Awarded: 2011
Dr. Jim Varni has been a Professor at Texas A&M University since January 2003. He is a Fellow of the American Psychological Association and the Society of Pediatric Psychology, and has published over 250 peer-reviewed research journal articles and numerous book chapters in pediatric behavioral medicine, and four books on children and families. He is a recipient of the Significant Research Contributions Award from the American Psychological Association. His areas of expertise are measurement instrument development, conceptual models and cognitive-behavior therapy interventions in pediatric chronic health conditions. During the past 30 years he has developed and field-tested the items comprising the Pediatric Quality of Life Inventory (PedsQL), which is being utilized internationally in research and clinical trials to measure health-related quality of life of children. The PedsQL has been translated into over 75 international languages worldwide, and there are over 550 peer-reviewed research journal publications on the PedsQL on approximately 120,000 children worldwide in the past decade. The PedsQL is the only empirically derived health-related quality of life instrument that has demonstrated databased evidence that children as young as 5 years of age, when given an age appropriate measure, can self-report their health-related quality of life. He is also conducting research and evaluation projects into the healing environment of children's hospitals, focusing on the effect of the built and natural environment on child, parent, and staff outcomes as a basis for evidence-based architectural design for pediatric healthcare facilities, including pediatric healing gardens.
Members from the College of Architecture Leadership team wrote “Dr. Varni has been instrumental in ‘hearing the voices of children’ in matters of their health and well-being. Using a sophisticated combination of state-of-the-art measurement science and clinical expertise (he practiced clinically as a pediatric psychologist for 20 years), Dr. Varni has opened up the opportunity for children with cerebral palsy and brain tumors to self-report on their health-related quality of life. Before Dr. Varni's clinical research, no quality of life measures existed that demonstrated that these children with severe chronic conditions could voice their perspectives on their health and well-being to their parents or healthcare professions.
College: Architecture
Award Level: Research
Walter
Varvel
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Year Awarded: 1970
College: Liberal Arts
Award Level: Teaching