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McConnell Appointed Associate VP for Administration & Legal Affairs

Sent on behalf of Karan L. Watson, provost and executive vice president for academic affairs

I am pleased to announce the appointment of Ms. Deena McConnell as Associate Vice President for Administration & Legal Affairs for the Division of Academic Affairs, effective May 1^st. Ms. McConnell has served Texas A&M University & The Texas A&M University System in various roles since 1997, including the Office of General Counsel, Texas Engineering Experiment Station and the Dwight Look College of Engineering.

In this position, Ms. McConnell will provide the provost and other academic affairs personnel with consultation on items of legal, procedural, contractual and regulatory impact for responsibilities in the Division of Academic Affairs. In partnership with the Dwight Look College of Engineering, she will focus considerable time and effort to ongoing management of the teaching and research contracts that guide Texas A&M at Qatar operations, as well as contractual relationships with other out of country programs, including those in Costa Rica and Mexico.

She will be the primary coordinator of policy, rule and regulation review for the Office of the Provost, as well as provide support for grievances, legislation analysis and issues management processes. She will oversee the processing of academic documents for the Board of Regents, and support both the Associate Vice President for Academic Services and Vice Provost with reporting to Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board and SACSCOC, respectively.

Ms. McConnell earned a bachelor of science degree in business administration from the University of Illinois at Champaign-Urbana and a juris doctorate from the University of Texas at Austin School of Law. She served as an Assistant District Attorney in Brazos County prior to beginning her career with Texas A&M.

Please join me in congratulating Ms. McConnell on her appointment.

Five Texas A&M Faculty Honored As University Distinguished Professors

2012 Tradition of Excellence Award Recipients Announced

Commitment to Excellence Dialogue Series

During the Fall of 2011, faculty, staff, and students participated in a semester-long series of campus conversations, "Commitment to Excellence: Dialogues to Accelerate Our Pursuit of Vision 2020," hosted by the Provost and Executive Vice President for Academic Affairs in partnership with others.

Why did we have these discussions? We are ready to accelerate our progress after a period of economic challenges and are collectively committed to a culture of excellence that will establish Texas A&M University as one of the top ten public universities. Texas A&M is the flagship of the TAMU System, the oldest public land-grant university in Texas, and a tier one university characterized by its extensive research activity. This commitment to excellence requires that all constituents engage in ideas, make decisions, and pursue activities that move us forward. We need to hear from each other, discuss our shared responsibilities, and decide on specific ways we can all help.

The fall 2011 Commitment to Excellence Dialogues was divided into two segments, “Our Shared Responsibilities” and “Our Shared Accountability.” The first segment asked us to reflect on our shared responsibilities in advancing Texas A&M’s role as a leader in higher education, the second to reflect on how we can continue to improve and demonstrate our institutional success to ourselves and others.

Schedule for Fall 2011 Dialogues

We encouraged units to have dialogues prior to the university wide dialogues. Participants were then able to share not only their personal views but also reflect their unit's perspectives.

Our Shared Responsibilities

Complete summary of "Our Shared Responsibilities" Dialogues

September 7 - Opening Dialogue - Noon to 1:30 p.m., Koldus 111 - Summary

September 15 - “The Future of Higher Education” by Dr. Gordon Gee, president, The Ohio State University, 5 p.m., Rudder Theatre - Summary

September 16 - Academic Convocation and the State of the University Address by Dr. R. Bowen Loftin, president, Texas A&M University, 2 p.m., Rudder Theatre - Summary

September 27 - Responsibilities of administrators and staff - Co-hosted by the University Staff Council - Noon to 1:30 p.m., GSC 101 A&B - Summary

October 4 - Responsibilities of graduate students - 5 to 6:30 p.m., Hawking Auditorium in the Mitchell Institute for Fundamental Physics and Astronomy (MIST) - Summary

October 5 - Responsibilities of the faculty - Noon to 1:30 p.m., Koldus 110-111 - Summary

October 5 - Responsibilities of all students - 5:15 to 6:15 p.m., Rudder 501 - Summary

Our Shared Accountability

October 18 - Vision 2020, AAU, Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board and other required metrics - 1:30 to 3 p.m., Rudder 601

October 25- Deepening students' commitment to learning: motivation through accountability - 1 to 3 p.m., Koldus 110

November 2 - Accountability for the impact of teaching - 11 a.m. to 1 p.m., Rudder 601

November 7 - Accountability for scholarly impact through engagement in creativity, innovation, public partnership and outreach - Noon to 2 p.m., Koldus 110-111

November 16 - Accountability for service impact to the University, the Academy, and the Community - Noon to 2 p.m., Koldus 111

November 30 - Concluding Dialogue: Consensus responsibilities and plans for accountability - 1 to 3 p.m., Rudder 301

May 2012 Commencement Dates