WESLACO - Four finalists are being interviewed for the position of center director of the Texas A&M University System Agricultural Research and Extension Center at Weslaco. Members of the search committee evaluating candidates are hopeful a new director will be in place this fall.
“We’ve interviewed two candidates recently and will interview the final two in the coming weeks,” said Dr. Erik Mirkov, a scientist at the center and a member of the committee.
Dr. Jose Amador, the former director, announced his retirement last year. A plant pathologist here since 1965, he had served as director since 1991. Amador’s 40-year career with the Texas A&M University System officially ends Aug. 31.
The first to interview for the Weslaco position was Dr. John da Graca, a native of Zimbabwe. Da Graca has been deputy director of the Texas A&M-Kingsville Citrus Center at Weslaco since 1999 and also serves as interim director of the Weslaco Center.
Dr. Michael Gould, a biochemist from New Hampshire, has also interviewed for the post. Gould is self-employed at a computer software firm. He began his career teaching biochemistry and biophysics at Notre Dame. He then became director of research for the Biotechnology Research and Development Corporation in Illinois. Most recently, he served as vice president of research for the U.S. Sugar Corporation in Clewiston, Fla.
The final two candidates to interview will be Dr. Charles Sanchez of Arizona and Dr. Merritt Taylor of Oklahoma.
Sanchez, a native of New Mexico, earned his doctorate in soil fertility and chemistry at Iowa State University. He currently is director, research scientist and professor at the University of Arizona’s agricultural research center in Yuma.
Taylor earned his doctoral degree in agricultural economics at Texas A&M University. His professional career includes 10 years as an agricultural economist at the Weslaco Center. He is currently the center director at the Wes Watkins Agricultural Research and Extension Center in Lane, Okla.
The interview process includes visits by the candidates to both the Weslaco Center and the Texas A&M campus in College Station, Mirkov said..
“Candidates present a seminar here at the Weslaco Center for evaluation by faculty and staff,” he said. “They also interview with administrators in College Station. After all four candidates have interviewed, the search committee will make a recommendation to Dr. Elsa Murano, who will select the Weslaco Center’s new director.”
Murano is vice chancellor and dean of agriculture and life sciences at Texas A&M and director of the Texas Agricultural Experiment Station.
The Wesalco Center was established by state of Texas in 1923 to generate research-based information to the area’s agricultural industry. Today, Experiment Station scientists continue to conduct scientific research on most locally grown crops, including citrus, sugarcane, vegetables and ornamentals. Efforts include biotechnology research in citrus and sugarcane.
In the mid-1940s, another state agency now known as Texas Cooperative Extension joined the Weslaco Center to disseminate the scientific information to growers. Over the years Extension’s role has expanded to provide life-skills information and education.
Faculty at the Weslaco agriculture research facilities also teach and mentor graduate students earning their master’s and doctoral degrees. Studies include various agriculture-related disciplines and the use of biotechnology to improve Texas crops.
For more information, visit the Center’s Web site at http://primera.tamu.edu.
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