Contact: Angel Futrell, 979-458-9761, afutrell@tamu.edu
COLLEGE STATION – The Texas A&M University College of Agriculture and Life Sciences has announced this year’s recipients of the Outstanding Alumni Award and the Outstanding Early Career Alumni Award.
Frank C. Litterst Jr. ‘43, Dr. James O. “Bo” Reagan ‘68, and Dr. José Manuel Cabrera Sixto ‘90 are winners of the Outstanding Alumni Award. Blaze Currie ‘08 and Kenneth D. Hogan ‘99 are recipients of the Outstanding Early Career Alumni Award.
Both awards will be presented at a ceremony this fall.
The Outstanding Alumni Award recognizes graduates of the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences for outstanding leadership and noteworthy contributions in agriculture, natural resources, life sciences or related areas.
Litterst graduated from Texas A&M in 1943 with a degree in animal husbandry. After operating numerous ranches in Texas and beyond for 20 years, Litterst joined the Texas A&M Ag Education Adult Program as a beef cattle specialist, providing agriculturally oriented short courses across the state. In 1975, he joined the animal science faculty at Texas A&M to manage the beef cattle center. Fondly known by many of his former students as “Mr. Frank,” he taught more than 6,000 students about beef cattle production.
Reagan graduated with an animal science degree from Texas A&M in 1968. He then pursued his master’s and doctoral degrees in animal science, all with an emphasis on meat science. After his years as an instructor, researcher and mentor, he served six years as director of research at the National Livestock and Meat Board, leading national check-off programs for red meat research. During his time with the meat board, Reagan awarded in excess of $10 million to the meat science and muscle biology section in the department of animal science at Texas A&M.
Sixto ‘90 is a graduate from Texas A&M with master’s and doctoral degrees in agricultural engineering. In 2011, he was named president of the University of Guanajuato, Mexico overseeing the development and administration of its five campuses in the state of Guanajuato. Sixto is recognized internationally for his accomplishments and is known for his cooperative impact between Texas A&M and the Institute of Agricultural Sciences of the University of Guanajuato.
The Outstanding Early Career Alumni Award distinguishes and honors College of Agriculture and Life Sciences graduates who are 15 years or less post-graduation for outstanding leadership and significant contributions in career, public service and/or volunteer activities.
Currie is a 2008 graduate from the department of agricultural leadership and development. Currie served as the chair for the Chancellor’s Student Advisory Board, where he represented more than 100,000 students. Sincegraduating, Currie has worked as both the Texas FFA Association state office mentor and state convention coordinator as well as the National FFA Organization officer mentor and national convention coordinator. Currently, Currie is serving as the executive director of AgriCorps, providing experiential, school-based agricultural education in Liberia.
Hogan graduated in 1999 with a degree in agricultural economics and was a member of the Corps of Cadets. Hogan attended Tulane University for his master’s degree in finance and management. He began his banking career at Amergy Bank where he covered syndicated and corporate clients. During this time, he co-developed an online trading platform that allowed Amegy to compete effectively with money-center banks. He is currently the head of Foreign Exchange at Cadence Bank in Houston.
-30-