Texas A&M Foundation
2021 Annual Report

As the nation’s leading agricultural and natural resources research entity, Texas A&M AgriLife is uniquely equipped to solve the nation’s diet-related chronic disease epidemic through agricultural-based solutions. AgriLife’s Institute for Advancing Health Through Agriculture (IHA) is the world’s first research institute that combines precision nutrition and responsive agriculture research to improve public health while simultaneously lowering health care costs. 

In 2020, the Centers for Disease Control estimated that six in 10 Americans have a chronic health condition with diet contributing as a major factor. Diet-related diseases are also estimated to cost the United States $50.4 billion annually. The institute will bring transformational technologies and approaches to accelerate agriculture as the solution to economic, environmental and human health challenges.

Through improving and developing new food products with added nutritional benefits in a way that supports producers and the environment, the IHA will drive transformation and innovation in the areas of agriculture, health and nutrition. 

To support research efforts at the Texas A&M AgriLife Institute for Advancing Health Through Agriculture, contact Allyson Tjoelker ’02 at 979.458.7929 or by submitting a message here.

Through its unique relationship with U.S. military academies and veteran populations, the College of Medicine is dedicated to improving the lives of military service members and their families.

The military medicine department is the cornerstone of the college’s focus on serving those who have served our country. Within this area of emphasis, the college will focus on recruiting U.S. military veteran students, educating medical providers for armed forces service, partnering with military installations for training and conducting military health research.

Former students and partners can help the program become a premier military medicine leader in education, research and innovation by creating an endowed department chair, endowed professorship, endowed scholarship or an instructional program endowment to develop and sustain an advanced curriculum.

To help the College of Medicine establish its military medicine department as a preeminent national program in education and research, contact David Boggan ’79 at 979.436.0811 or by submitting a message here.

The Corps of Cadets develops well-educated leaders of character prepared for the global leadership challenges of the future, and the Hollingsworth Center for Ethical Leadership plays a vital role in accomplishing that mission. Through the Hollingsworth Center, cadets undergo a comprehensive program that combines leadership training and education with the intentional application and practice of leadership skills.

Cadets who complete the center’s Certificate in Leadership Study and Development become value-added leaders both professionally and personally thanks to the program’s unique curriculum. The center also provides internships, networking, workshops and job placement opportunities to participants. 

The Hollingsworth Center is an indispensable career readiness tool for the Corps. Whether a cadet steps into the professional field or chooses to pursue a military commission, the center plays a key role in preparation for either avenue.

If you are interested in supporting the Hollingsworth Center for Ethical Leadership, contact Matt Jennings ’95 at 979.845.7604 or by submitting a message here.

The College of Education and Human Development recently launched a three-pronged literacy initiative focused on improving the skills of striving elementary readers and writers, or those students who have limited reading and writing skills.

At the heart of the effort is a Bryan-College Station reading clinic staffed by Texas A&M upperclassmen students who will serve as long-term tutors, mentors and coaches for striving readers and writers over a two-year period. These future teachers will practice their instructional skills and learn how to create outreach efforts to underserved and vulnerable communities. 

Second, the Aggie STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Math) Literacy Camp, initially offered in the Brazos Valley and Houston, will prepare teachers to become more effective in teaching reading and writing through practice-based professional development. Finally, through a family and community outreach program, the college will engage parents, guardians and the local community in literacy efforts through radio, social media, podcasts, and an app in English and Spanish.

Endowed gifts of $25,000 or more can support the college’s literacy initiative and enhance education for striving readers and writers. Contact Jody Ford ’99 at 979.847.8655 or by submitting a message here for more information.