Investing in the Future

CU’S AGRICULTURE PROGRAM IS POISED TO GROW

What do you do when you’ve identified some areas for improvement in an academic department, yet budgetary constraints don’t allow you to implement the strategies needed to ensure students are getting the best educational experience? You develop an advisory board of alumni and business members that are well versed in the topics at hand.

That’s the action that Dr. Terry Conley, then-chair of the Department of Agriculture, Biology and Health Sciences, and Vice President for University Advancement Albert Johnson Jr. took by establishing the Agriculture Advisory Committee in 2019. The committee connects members of the agricultural community to Cameron in order to verify the direction our agriculture program is heading is relevant to what these leaders are living on a daily basis.

Since Cameron has the only four-year agriculture degree program south of I-40, it’s critical that the university provide a relevant curriculum as well as the tools and resources necessary for our students to succeed as they work toward degree completion,” Johnson says. “The Agriculture Advisory Committee has already played a significant role in our ability to do so. and advice, and to help find solutions to challenges that might hamper the success of the academic program.

Case in point: the department’s tractor was requiring more and more maintenance, to the point that faculty and staff realized that it wouldn’t last much longer. Early in the Fall 2020 semester, the tractor broke down and couldn’t be repaired. Conley was forced to lease a tractor so that critical work could be achieved – drawing funding away from the unit’s already over-taxed budget.

Shortly thereafter, during a Zoom meeting of the Agriculture Advisory Committee, Conley’s report included news of the non-fixable tractor and the need to find funding for a new one. Following the meeting, committee member John Grunewald, president of Farm Credit of Western Oklahoma, contacted Johnson and told him to send a proposal for a tractor and a drone to his company. The result: CU’s agriculture program now has a new tractor and drone.

But that’s not the only donation made to the agriculture program.

“I have to thank the members of the Agriculture Advisory Committee, not only for their participation, but for the investments they are making in Cameron’s agriculture program,” says Johnson. “Between the members of the committee, Cameron University and

The agriculture program's new tractor, provided by Farm Credit of Western Oklahoma, was used to welcome participants to CU's Agriculture Interscholastic Meet.

individual donors, the program has received more than $270,000 in donations for the 2020-2021 academic year. These investments have allowed us to upgrade the learning facilities at the Animal and Plant Sciences Complex as well as at the university’s farm, in addition to other improvements.”

For the first time since they were built, the agriculture facilities located on 38th Street are now equipped with wi-fi, a technology, which existed on the main Lawton campus, but did not extend across 38th Street. Hilliary Communications donated the installation of wireless fiber optic cable that allowed wi-fi to be installed.

Lupi Construction has played a critical role in solving drainage programs at the university farm, in addition to installing a concrete floor in the Aggie barn and cleaning pens at the Animal Sciences Complex. Lupi also made an unrestricted donation to the agriculture program that will benefit students.

Along with the addition of fiber optic wi-fi to the Plant Sciences classroom and the Animal Sciences classroom, both of those facilities have been renovated to provide a more effective learning environment for students. Renovations to those classrooms were made possible through donations by Farm Credit of Western Oklahoma and U2 Ranch, operated by Cindy and John Zelbst.

Additional donations have been received from the Historical Association of the Lawton Rangers Rodeo, which will fund the establishment of an endowed scholarship benefitting agriculture students, and from Emeritus Professor Dr. Gale Hagee and his wife Marcie, who contribute to the agriculture program annually.

“We were able to make the enhancements and improvements benefitting our student because the donors understand the value and importance of a college degree from Cameron University,” says Johnson. “The pandemic certainly impacted our spending ability, and with budgets that are under constant scrutiny, these investments in support of Cameron’s agriculture program have played a significant role in our ability to ensure our students are receiving a top quality education.”

Allan Barrington* Barrington Angus

Bryan Buchwald* Oklahoma Department of Agriculture, Food & Forestry

Haley Curtsinger* Oklahoma Farm Bureau

Jacob Gelnar* Gelnar Ranch and Stockman’s Bank

Kerry Givens, cattle buyer and rancher Oklahoma Farm Bureau District 4 Director

Jamie Glover* Glover Cattle Company

John Grunewald Farm Credit of Western Oklahoma

Jim Kinder* Kinder Farms

Barkley Kirk, farmer/rancher* Barnes, Welsh & Perry

Joe Sanders, Herd Manager Hutson Angus Farms

Tye Young, cattle rancher Liberty National Bank

Cindy Zelbst* U2 Ranch

* CU alumni

AGRICULTURE FACULTY Dr. Jimmy Bricker

Animal science, pest management

Dr. Terry Conley Agricultural internship, Joseph H. Mullin Endowed Chair in Agriculture Dr. Alimamy Fornah Precision agriculture, agronomy, environmental science Phil Hamilton Agribusiness, agricultural economics, agricultural management

If you would like to ensure that Cameron students continue to receive a high-quality education derived from relevant curricula, the Cameron University Foundation would love to hear from you! Donors have the ability to designate how their gift is used. To learn more, call the Office of University Advancement at 580-581-2999.