Congratulations to Dr. Frank Gilstrap as he received recognition for his oustanding work during his career with the Department and Texas A&M AgriLife Research and Extension during a special departmental seminar on Thursday, February 14.
Gilstrap joined the Department in 1974 as a teaching and biological control research faculty member. From 1996 until 2003, he worked as the director of Texas A&M AgriLife Research and then served as the director of the Urban Solutions Center in Dallas from 2005-2011.
As a faculty member, Gilstrap provided leadership to the establishment of the biological control facility and the facility within the Department of Entomology. His research advanced the principles governing importation biological control in ephemeral crop habitats while contributing to the development and implementation of biological control programs of Hessian fly infestations of wheat and Russian wheat aphid infesting grain crops.
Gilstrap taught courses on biological control, natural enemy ecology, and developed a non-majors course in agricultural entomology at the end of his career. He also authored/co-authored over 300 scholarly publications with many occurring in high profile journals and cited nearly 100 times or more. Gilstrap’s program was well funded by competitive grants and his team was the recipient of a significant INTSORMIL USAID funded project that was renewed several times.
As an AgriLife Research administrator, Gilstrap developed agency protocols and processes for protecting and managing intellectual property, managed nearly $5 million in state appropriated funds, and was administrative liaison to numerous Texas commodity groups.
As a Center Director, Gilstrap developed and implemented the Dallas Model©, a business approach for managing Center research and education in the Dallas- Fort Worth Metroplex. He also established more than 60 regional partnerships and collaborations with private and public leaders in the Metroplex and elsewhere, and facilitated significant changes for acquiring grant and contract funds, growing Dallas Center annual revenue from an average of $250,000 in 2000-2004 to average more than $2.1 million in 2007-2011.
Gilstrap also has been a continuous Entomological Society of America member since 1972, and through 2010 attended all but one ESA Annual Meeting. Highlights of his service to the discipline include 1989 President of the International Organization for Biological Control/Nearctic Regional Section (1979-1989) and project leader within the International Sorghum-Millet Collaborative Research Support Program (1979-1995).
Within the ESA, he served as President (2006), as member of the ESA Governing Board (2000-2007), as member of the Entomological Foundation Board of Counselors (1997-2011), and as member of the editorial board for the Journal of Economic Entomology (1983-87; Chair in 1987). Gilstrap also was named Fellow of the Entomological Society of America in 2011.
Gilstrap retired in 2010 and was given Professor Emeritus status by the Board of Regents in 2011.