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Staff News

Song, Reed, and Rhinesmith-Carranza receive Vice Chancellor’s Awards in Excellence

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Congratulations to Hojun Song, Ph.D., Mary Reed and Jennifer Rhinesmith-Carranza who received Vice Chancellor Awards in Excellence this year. These awards recognize the commitment and outstanding contributions displayed by faculty, students and staff members across Texas A&M AgriLife.

Teaching Awards

The Teaching Award was presented to Hojun Song, Ph.D., associate professor, Department of Entomology. Song is a dedicated and creative instructor who integrates his research expertise in insect systematics and locust biology into his classes. Recognizing the need for an undergraduate field entomology course, Song began a hands-on study-abroad course in tropical field entomology in Costa Rica. On this study abroad, a group of his students discovered a new species of king cricket. Song guided them through describing this species, leading to a published paper with the students as authors. When an online teaching format was necessary during the COVID-19 pandemic, a graduate student said Song offered clear and interesting lectures with practical exercises and activities that made the course fun and dynamic. The student continued, “The teaching strategies Dr. Song used improved my learning and made this class my favorite graduate-level course.”

The Graduate Student Teaching Award was presented to Jennifer Rhinesmith-Carranza, academic advisor and assistant lecturer and doctoral candidate, Department of Entomology. Although employed full-time as an advisor with the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, she also serves as a teaching assistant and assistant lecturer for a wide range of forensic science and entomology courses. In 2019, she was recognized by the department as the Forensic Science Teaching Assistant of the Year. An outstanding mentor, she helps students apply for internships with the FBI, reviews resumes and cover letters for graduates and helps students prepare for national certification exams. In addition, she is one of six certified technicians on the American Board of Forensic Entomology and organizes workshops to teach law enforcement how to process entomological samples associated with crime scenes.

A full list of awards was announced in AgriLife Today.

Hapes Elected to NACADA Board of Directors

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Rebecca HapesCongratulations to Senior Academic Advisor IV Rebecca Hapes as she was elected as one of NACADA The Global Community for Academic Advising’s Board of Directors.

Hapes is the first academic advisor from Texas A&M University to be elected to the Board and will start her three-year term in October 2020. She has been a member of NACADA for 14 years and currently serves as the appointed representative for the organization’s Advising Communities Division on the Council.

Hapes is involved in the associations’ Emerging Leaders Program, serving as a current mentor (2019-2021 cohort) and a mentor in the 2016-2018 cohort. She previously served as a Steering Committee member for the Advising Communities Division from 2017 to 2018, the Commission Chair (now knows as Advising Community Chairs) for the Advisor Training and Development Commission from 2015 to 2017 and the Advising Graduate and Professional Students Commission Chair from 2013 to 2015.

She recently served as a member on the Webinar Advisory Board for four years and three years on the Professional Development Committee. She was a member of the 2019 Region 7 Conference Planning committee, and Exhibitor Co-Chair for that conference experience.

She currently serves as a member of the review team for the NACADA online publication, Academic Advising Today: Voices of the Global Community.

“I am honored to serve in this role and continue to advance the profession of academic advising globally,” Hapes said. “Any work done within this association ends up benefitting the students in institutions of higher education, which is ultimately our end goal.”

Ann Pool Receives President’s Award for Academic Advising

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Ann Pool, right, with Bonnie Bustos-Rios. Photo by Ann Pool.
Ann Pool, right, with Bonnie Bustos-Rios. Photo by Ann Pool.

Congratulations to Senior Academic Advisor Ann Pool as she received the President’s Award for Academic Advising during the University Advisors and Counselors awards breakfast meeting on May 2 at the MSC.

The award is given to the advisor that goes above and beyond their usual duties to help with the mission of academic advising at the university.

Since joining the Department in 2013, Pool has been advising undergrads in the Entomology and Forensic and Investigative Sciences programs and those pursuing double majors and minors in the Department.

Pool is in charge of the various outreach programs that the department holds and has conducted information sessions every semester for parents, current and prospective students looking to either join the Department or to change their majors.  “Ann is honest, hard-working, enthusiastic, and engaging with others and is an encouragement to all whom she interacts,” Rebecca Hapes, co-worker and fellow departmental advisor, said.

Pool also oversees the Entomology Scholars Society, which is a select group of students that helps with departmental outreach and recruiting events, and New Student Conferences, and helped coordinate several of the 4-H and FFA contests and clinics that are held in the spring and summer months.

She is an active member of the Texas A&M University Advisors and Counselors since 2008 and the National Academic Advising Association since 2005. She has served as the UAC’s Immediate Past President from 2017-2018, President from 2016-2017, and President-Elect from 2015-2016 and currently serves as a member of the Academic Advising Professional Development Committee, in which she co-developed the New Advisor Orientation. This orientation has provided advisors new to Texas A&M University’s advising community or those new to the advising profession completely for hundreds of advisors.

“This speaks volumes not only of her dedication and service to the advising profession but also to the students attending and those who will attend Texas A&M University,” Hapes said.  “She has spent countless hours creating an orientation program for advisors who will interact with thousands upon thousands of students in an effort to ensure that accurate and consistent messaging is taking place across campus.”

Professor and Interim Department Head Dr. Pete Teel also was proud of Pool and her award.

“Ann is an outstanding advisor who far exceeds expectations in all aspects of her job,” Dr. Pete Teel said. “On a daily basis, I marvel at the energy, ingenuity, dedication and commitment she brings to working closely working with students in the various programs within this department in achieving academic and personal successes.”

Brundage Receives Honoring Excellence Award

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Dr. Adrienne Brundage, right, with Danielle Dessellier. Photo by Texas A&M Residence Life.
Dr. Adrienne Brundage, right, with Danielle Dessellier. Photo by Texas A&M Residence Life.

Dr. Adrienne Brundage’s engaging teaching style and her caring for students has yet garnered another award as she was recognized by Residence Life on Friday, February 1 at the Memorial Student Center.

Brundage was recognized with the organization’s Honoring Excellence Award during its ceremony in the Gates Ballroom. The awards are given annually to eight outstanding and faculty staff who go above and beyond inside and outside of their daily jobs to impact student learning and academic success.

As an Associate Instructional Professor, Brundage teaches the Veterinary Entomology (ENTO 208), Medical Entomology (ENTO 423), undergraduate seminar, and Intro to Forensic Sciences (FIVS 205), where she has taught several hundred students each semester.

Brundage also is very active in several outreach programs, including teaching high school students during the Youth Outreach Program and various children’s groups and schools in the Brazos Valley in both entomology and forensics. In addition to outreach, she has advised such organizations as the First Responders Training Unit, the Order of Aggie Illusionists, and the Aggie Forensic Sciences Organization during her career.

“It was really sweet, and it means a lot to be recognized by my students. As another professor at the event said we often hear the negative from our students, and seldom get to hear the positive,” Brundage said. “The whole event was full of smiles and laughter, and I really appreciated my students going out of their way to do this for me. I am touched that they would, and so incredibly honored that I was chosen for this award.”

Hapes Recognized for Completing Emerging Leaders Mentorship Program

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Rebecca Hapes, right, with Locksley Knibbs, left, and Amy Sannes, NACADA: The Global Community for Academic Advising President (2017-2018). Submitted photo.
Rebecca Hapes, right, with Locksley Knibbs, left, and Amy Sannes, NACADA: The Global Community for Academic Advising President (2017-2018). Submitted photo.

Congratulations to Senior Academic Advisor Rebecca Hapes as she recently completed the 2016-2018 National Academic Advisors Association’s Emerging Leadership Program Class this October.

Hapes was recognized for completing her role as a mentor during the two-year-long program during an awards of the NACADA annual conference in Phoenix in October.

Hapes was one of 10 academic advisors that were selected internationally to become a mentor to 10 Emerging Leaders, which are advisors that are interested in advancing in leadership within the NACADA organization, engaging in work on committees and moving into other elected positions.

Each mentor helps their partner to develop leadership skills with skill-building activities during the two-year-long course. The partners then go on to fill leadership roles within the organization or serve as mentors to new Emerging Leaders.

The Emerging Leaders program was established to encourage members from diverse groups to get involved in leadership opportunities within the organization and to encourage and assist members of underrepresented populations in the association’s leadership to attend state, regional, or national conferences.

According to the NACADA website, the benefits of being a mentor include collaborating with other members from different institutions, meeting inspirational members interested in contributing to the future of the NACADA, and helping colleagues understand how the organization works, while enriching mentoring skills through participation in a structured program.

“My participation was less about helping me be better at my role and more about helping others succeed so they will, in turn, help their students be even more successful,” Hapes said.  “Any time I work with efforts for advisor training, that’s essentially my goal: if I can help advisors improve upon their practice that will allow them to be better at helping the student populations they serve.”