ASU Headlines

Dr. Loree Branham, an assistant professor of animal science and research scientist at Angelo State University, has received a $44,582 grant sub-award from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) for participation in a multi-national research project.

Branham’s research will be part of a five-year, $2 million project titled “Practical Interventions to Effectively Manage Antibiotic Resistance in Beef and Dairy Cattle Systems: A Fully Integrated Approach.” The project will address minimizing antibiotic resistance throughout the food chain, which is an increasing concern in terms of public health.

“The overall goal of the project is to identify, evaluate and implement practical ways to manage antibiotic resistance in beef and dairy cattle,” Branham said. “This will be a multi-disciplinary, multi-state, multi-institutional integrated effort involving research, education and extension.”

The initial objectives of the project will be a review of current industry programs and guidelines to identify areas which need more research; field-testing practical interventions developed to effectively manage antibiotic resistance levels in beef and dairy production systems; and improving resistance surveillance programs in beef and dairy production systems.

Branham’s participation will mainly take place during years two and three of the project. She will work with Dr. Todd Brashears of Texas Tech University in using output from the initial objectives to revise current curricula, quality assurance and prudent-use guidelines. They will also work to disseminate the revised curricula to appropriate individuals and organizations through publications, presentations and workshops, which will target various levels of the industry, including individuals in underrepresented populations.

The project will also involve researchers based in Kansas, Colorado, New York and Ontario, Canada.

For more information, contact Branham in the ASU Agriculture Department at 942-2029, ext. 281.

Organizing a mariachi band on the Angelo State University campus was a cultural imperative and just came naturally for Rosendo Ramos.

The ASU senior music major’s family boasts three generations of mariachis, and he developed his own chops playing trumpet in mariachi bands at San Angelo Central High School and the former Edison Junior High School, now the Central Freshman Campus.

“My grandpa played with professional mariachis in Mexico,” Ramos said.  “He played with a lot of great artists and passed it on to my dad who comes from a family of 10 with five brothers who all play mariachi.”

Ramos also has two uncles who live in Mexico and play mariachi music professionally.

“They play at bars and make enough money to live off of,” he said.  “They also play for tips in Cuidad Acuna on a street that has many bars.  They have a repertoire of 250-300 songs and play all of them from memory.”

That background led Ramos to form Mariachi OroAzul (Blue and Gold) as an ASU student organization that debuted during ASU’s Rambunctious Weekend at the beginning of the fall 2010 semester.  He took up the mantle of leadership as president of the group along with Laura Lara, vice president, after former ASU student Victor Andrade laid the group’s foundation several years ago.

“Victor got it going,” Ramos said, “then Laura and I came back this spring and got everything together to get the organization started.”

Ramos hopes his group and the mariachi genre become popular enough on campus to eventually be incorporated into the Art and Music Department with a mariachi instructor. Read the rest of this entry »

Area educators interested in earning a doctorate in educational leadership close to home can learn about the opportunity Sept. 11 in Angelo State University’s College of Education, which will host a Texas Tech University doctoral program next spring in San Angelo.

Candidates interested in entering the Texas Tech program are invited to attend an informational session from 9:30-11:30 a.m. Saturday, Sept. 11, in Room 101 of the Carr Education-Fine Arts (EFA) Building, 2602 Dena Drive, on the ASU campus.

Up to 15 participants in the program will be chosen by Texas Tech faculty from West Texas applicants.  The program will begin in January of 2011 with two classes each semester for three years followed by dissertation work, all on the ASU campus.

The collaborative program will include a blend of online and traditional classes.  Classroom instruction will offered in the New Family Technology Room in the EFA Building for video conferencing from Texas Tech.

Interested educators must have experience in educational administration to apply for the program.  Deadline for applications and portfolios is Oct. 15, and the application is available on the Texas Tech College of Education website at http://cms.educ.ttu.edu.

ASU College of Education Dean John Miazga said ASU faculty and staff will provide support in the program as mentors and as members of dissertation committees.

For more information on the educational leadership doctoral program, call the ASU College of Education at (325) 486-6603.

Angelo State University graduate student Amanda Marfisi was elected international president of the Circle K International Board of Representatives during the organization’s annual convention Aug. 4-7 in St. Louis, Mo.

A graduate student in psychology at ASU, Marfisi plans to graduate in spring 2011 with a Master of Arts in industrial/organizational psychology.

“There is no greater honor than to be elected by your peers to serve alongside them in a community service capacity, and at an international level,” Marfisi said. “Being able to help people around the globe, and with a vision of being the world’s largest premier collegiate community service organization, is quite a feat.  I can’t wait to help contribute to this ideology.”

Marfisi has held elected positions in Circle K for the past 10 years through her high school and undergraduate college years in Pennsylvania and, more recently, at the sub-regional level in the Midwest serving Missouri, Arkansas, Kansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Tennessee, Nebraska, Iowa, Oklahoma and Texas.

Circle K International is part of the Kiwanis Organization, with over 200,000 members.  The CKI branch is geared toward college students with more than 14,000 members on more than 450 university and college campuses in 17 nations.  Circle K was formally organized as a service organization in 1947.  Its members are committed to leadership, service and fellowship.

For more information, go online to www.circlek.org or call (800) 549-2647.

A group of Angelo State University students has formed Mariachi Oro y Azul (gold and blue), a new student organization dedicated to performing and promoting mariachi music.

Rosendo Ramos, president of Mariachi Oro y Azul, and Laura Lara, vice president, took over formation of the band from former ASU student Victor Andrade, who began promoting mariachi music on the ASU campus three years ago. The band is now a registered student organization through the Student Life Office, and Dr. John Irish of the Department of Art and Music serves as faculty sponsor.

The 15-member Mariachi Oro y Azul debuted on Saturday, Aug. 21, during Rambunctious Weekend on the ASU campus.

Ramos is the only band member majoring in music, but the others have experience playing mariachi music. Several are former San Angelo Central High School mariachi band members and have been mariachi musicians since middle school.

“A lot of students are just interested in playing,” Ramos said. “A lot of them play in an orchestra, but we don’t have an orchestra here, so they become interested in the mariachi group because it allows them to continue playing their string instrument through college.”

Some of the members play in other groups besides Oro y Azul, Ramos said, including Mariachi Sol Azteca, Mariachi Reyna del Sol and Mariachi Alma Mexicana.

The group practices regularly on Thursdays and plans to perform around the area, including at the ASU Association for Mexican-American Students’ event during the Dias y Seis de Septiembre (Mexican Independence Day) celebration on the ASU campus.

For more information on Mariachi Oro y Azul, contact Ramos at rramos10@angelo.edu.

Angelo State University is more than one class, one residence hall or one student. We know that it takes all of us from separate backgrounds and with different interests to make Angelo State a success. So we’re asking you to make a video showing us who you are and how you embody ASU. Just make sure that you say or write “I am ASU” somewhere in your video. And don’t forget to have fun while you’re at it!

Once you create your video (no longer than two minutes), complete and submit an entry form. We are accepting videos beginning Rambunctious Weekend through Sept. 30. Then we’re leaving it up to you to vote for your favorite. The top three winners will be awarded prizes.

Read more at: http://www.angelo.edu/contest/iamasu/

Television and movie star Rob Schneider will kick off the Fall 2010 Club Café coffeehouse entertainment series at Angelo State University on Wednesday, Aug. 25 in the Houston Harte University Center, 1910 Rosemont Drive.

Admission to the 7:30 p.m. performance in the C.J. Davidson Conference Center is $2 for students and $5 for the general public, and the audience will be treated to coffee, cappuccino, hot chocolate, cookies, brownies and other refreshments.  Tickets are available in advance to students, and free coffee mugs will be given away to the first 100 people at the event.

An Emmy-nominated actor, Schneider has teamed up with fellow “Saturday Night Live” alumnus Adam Sandler in several movie productions including “Bedtime Stories,” “You Don’t Mess With The Zohan,” “Eight Crazy Nights” and “Mr. Deeds.”  Schneider has also starred in the “Deuce Bigalow” movies, “Shark Bait” and “The Waterboy,” among others.

After opening for comedians such as Jay Leno and Jerry Seinfeld, Schneider appeared in 1987 on “The David Letterman Show,” and HBO’s “13^th Annual Young Comedians Special.”  From those credits, Schneider was hired as a regular on “Saturday Night Live,” where he appeared for four seasons and was nominated for three Emmys and a Peabody Award.

To sample Schneider’s work, go online to www.robschneider.com/

For more information, call ASU’s Center for Student Involvement at 942-2062.

As reported in the San Angelo Standard-Times:

Angelo State University President Joseph C. Rallo said fall enrollment at the university is projected to hit 6,800 students, an increase of more than 400 from fall 2009.

“As of yesterday morning, we will hit this number,” Rallo said. “The state funds in a two-year cycle. Every 500 new students represents nearly $5 million from the state.”

Read the entire article here.

An expanded Rambunctious Weekend schedule will greet Angelo State University students Aug. 20-24 when they arrive for start of the fall semester.

The five-day event has grown this year to include the first two days of classes. Features during the weekend include games, food, movies, live entertainment and informational events designed to acquaint new students with campus life and to greet returning students as they begin the new school year.

The newest feature this year is informational tents operated by staff and student volunteers. The tents will be set up along the ASU Mall to help direct students to classes on Monday, Aug. 23 and Tuesday, Aug. 24.  ASU’s Student Government Association will provide pastries, coffee and juice to fuel the students on the first days of class.

Also new is a program for parents on Saturday morning at the Family Hospitality Center in the ASU Food Service Center called “A Few Parting Thoughts for Parents,” designed to acquaint parents with their children’s new environment and the experiences university life holds for them.

The weekend begins on Friday, Aug. 20, when the residence halls open for students to begin moving in.  Dr. Joseph C. Rallo, ASU’s president, will lead ASU staff and faculty helping students move into their new rooms.

Food will be available to early arrivers beginning at 8 a.m. at the Food Service Center and the University Center Snack Bar.

A cookout for students and parents is planned for 11:30 a.m.-1:30 p.m. Friday at the Pavilion on the east side of campus and lunch will also be available at the ASU Food Service Center and the Houston Harte University Center.

The Fall Convocation, where ASU officials welcome all students and parents, will be held at 4 p.m. on Friday in the Junell Center’s Stephens Arena, 2235 S. Jackson St.  Students should arrive at the Junell Center by 3:45 p.m.

Read the rest of this entry »

An Angelo State University budget surpassing $100 million for the first time and the naming of two campus facilities in honor of donors received approval of the Board of Regents of the Texas Tech University System during a regular meeting Friday (Aug. 6) in Lubbock.

The new budget of $105,499,891 for the 2010-11 fiscal year, which begins Sept. 1, compares with a $97,998,558 expense budget adopted a year ago by the board.  The approved budget is subject to any reductions requested by the state during the upcoming fiscal year and legislative cycle.

The new budget covers operating expenses and addresses ASU’s strategic initiatives.  Those initiatives include increasing enrollment and promoting student success; strengthening academic quality and outreach; increasing and maximizing resources; and strengthening academic quality and reputation.

Board members also authorized the naming of a new baseball clubhouse adjacent to Foster Field as the “Norris Baseball Clubhouse” in honor of Lloyd and Sheri Norris, who have pledged $267,000 toward the construction of the new $395,000 facility, which is scheduled for completion this fall.  The clubhouse will feature a locker room, office for coaches, players lounge, indoor batting cages and restroom facilities.

Additionally, regents voted to name the ASU president’s home as the “Tippett House” in honor of Victor P. and Ergeal B. Tippett, who deeded the home to Angelo State in 1970.

The board also approved the appointment with tenure of Dr. Bruce Bechtol as associate professor of political science in the Department of Political Science and Criminal Justice, and named former ASU professor and History Department head Dr. Charles A. Endress a distinguished professor emeritus.

In other business, the regents approved revisions in admission requirements for undergraduate, graduate and international students.