Meat+Poultry - November 2022 - 20

COVER STORY
replacement was announced in the spring
of 2022.
The position Savell ultimately was hired for
is a dual role: vice chancellor and dean. As vice
chancellor, Savell reports to the chancellor
of the Texas A&M System, who oversees 11
universities and eight state agencies.
As dean, Savell's role is to lead the College
of Agriculture and Life Sciences. As vice
chancellor he is also responsible for leading
four of the state agencies, including Texas
A&M AgriLife Research, Texas A&M AgriLife
Extension Service, Texas A&M Veterinary
Medical Diagnostic Laboratory and Texas A&M
Forest Service.
" I've been so blessed in my career to have
spent my career working in an area that I
simply love, " he said.
" By working
together, we
helped each
other be the
best versions
of ourselves. "
- JEFF SAVELL
differentiate myself is from a leadership
standpoint. There are so many people that are
good at their jobs that I don't have to be the
person that has to know everything. "
He learned during that very thorough
vetting process that the right candidate for
the job didn't necessarily need to wear a
cape or be able to leap over tall buildings in a
single bound.
" I realized what they're looking for is
somebody in the people business, " he said,
which was right in Savell's wheelhouse.
Looking back at his long career, he said that
mindset was at the foundation of his success.
" And when I have failed it was because
I forgot that. That's an important part of
those relationships. "
In fact, since his first day on the new job,
" We are in the people business " has become his
mantra and a rallying cry for his team.
Savell succeeded Patrick Stover, who held
the position for more than four years before
assuming the position leading A&M's Institute
for Advancing Health through Agriculture.
He vacated the vice chancellor, dean position
in December 2021. The opening for his
20 MEAT+POULTRY | 11.22 | www.meatpoultry.com
Savell gained even more respect and
academic accolades since creating a freshmenonly
Texas barbecue class, aka ANSC 117,
which started in 2009. Taught by Savell and
Ray Riley, the seminar course teaches new
students about the history of Texas barbecue
and how to prepare it. About 300 students have
taken the course to date and it is one of the
most popular classes offered at A&M. Former
students lobby Riley and Savell to assist with
the class for the next years' freshmen. That
course spawned two other courses that are
open to the public: Barbecue Summer Camp,
an annual three-day class that started in 2011,
and Camp Brisket, a two-day class that began
in 2013. Seats for the camps sell out every
year and have become a badge of honor for
previous years' students.
For Savell, these courses are another part
of what makes the Texas Aggie spirit so special
and that growing the community and the Aggie
family is even more important than the slowsmoked
meats.
" Barbecue isn't what you eat, it's what you
do, " he said.
When explaining his allegiance to A&M, and
his commitment and loyalty to the university,
Savell said he wholeheartedly concurs with the
lyrics from Texas A&M's school song that it is
" The spirit that can never be told. "
He added, " As a land grant university,
A&M's mission is to work and our culture is to
be supportive of one another, very much like a
family. We're a college for the people; we teach,
do research and we do service. "
Sam Craft/Texas A&M AgriLife Marketing and Communications
http://www.meatpoultry.com
Meat+Poultry - November 2022

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