SHPE - Spring 2009 - (Page 20)

C O V E R S T O RY Dr. Elsa A. Murano, Texas A&M Education with Impact he 23rd president of Texas A&M University, Dr. Elsa Murano is the first woman and first Hispanic American to lead one of the largest universities in the nation. Ever committed to its teaching, research and service mission, she is focused on helping Texas A&M become one of the nation’s 10 best public universities by 2020. In so doing, she expects to raise the bar of academic standards and encourage the healthy competition that will propel American universities toward a new era of excellence. T A little more than a year into her appointment, Dr. Murano faces critical times in American education. College is becoming increasingly unaffordable for most citizens, and, compared with counterparts in other countries, college graduates are not as competitive in the global market. Yet an impressive résumé proves that she isn’t one to back down from a challenge. Dr. Murano joined Texas A&M in 1995 and was soon named Director of the Center for Food Safety within the Institute for Food Science and Engineering. In 2001 President George W. Bush tapped Dr. Murano to serve as Under Secretary for Food Safety for the U.S. Department of Agriculture. In this role, she was responsible for an agency with a 20 budget of approximately $1 billion and about 10,000 employees. She also oversaw the first case of mad cow disease in the United States. Since returning in 2005 as Vice Chancellor and Dean of Agriculture and Life Sciences, Dr. Murano chaired a blue-ribbon task force to study ways for enhancing the undergraduate experience at the university, which ultimately became known as the Murano Report. Many of those recommendations have been incorporated into fulfilling Texas A&M’s Vision 2020. Dr. Murano’s comments during the 2008 convocation ceremony and in the university’s magazine elaborated on how she will put those plans into action during her tenure. Improving academic quality is by far her top priority. As part of its faculty reinvestment, Texas A&M has hired 450 new faculty members within the last five years. Now, Dr. Murano has her eyes set on recruiting 25 “superstar” faculty members who already have established research programs and are nationally known in their fields. “Such an initiative would have a tremendous impact on our current research portfolio and on our reputation in the scientific community,” she said. Another area of investment is basic research. “If we look at the truly revolutionary discoveries made throughout the centuries, we find that most came about as the result of fundamental experimentation,” Dr. Murano said. “We must continue to emphasize this type of research, which so often has resulted in cures for diseases, improvements to the buildings in which we live and work, a better understanding of society issues and better methods for growing and harvesting the food we eat.” Both of these would help attract the highest caliber students for which there is fierce competition nationwide. The situation is especially acute on the graduate level. In 2007, nearly 70 percent of the Texas students SHPE ❘ Spring 2009

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of SHPE - Spring 2009

SHPE - Spring 2009 Contents President’s Letter A Letter from the CEO Calendar Browser Diana Gomez, SHPE: The People's President Grace Lieblein, GM: A Driving Force in Mexico Dr. Elsa Murano, Texas A&M: Education with Impact Regions Connect and Explore Common Base 'Learn by Doing' A Grad Degree, for Free? Programs & Services Think, Pair, Share: Partnering to Increase STEM Awareness Inner Circle Employer Profiles STAR Awards: Call for Nominations Regional Roundup

SHPE - Spring 2009

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