Become a Texan

Dr. Joanna Shaw

I feel completely privileged and honored to be a professor here at Tarleton. I feel that Tarleton is a special place that offers students a very personal and unique educational experience. Each time I begin a class, I ask my students a simple question: “What is the best thing that has happened to you since we last met for class?” So often their responses remind me of what a special place Tarleton is by voicing positive experiences they’ve had with faculty, staff, campus organizations, facilities and the food! My favorite part about teaching here is getting to know my students for who they are and helping them discover what they are passionate about.

Tarleton State University’s College of Business Administration (COBA) offers undergraduate and graduate students high-quality, innovative, creative and relevant education in business disciplines. We serve a very diverse group of traditional and non-traditional students. As a professor in the Management, Marketing and Administrative Systems Department, I am committed to creating a learning environment that encourages each student to reach their full learning and scholarly potential.

The College of Business Administration is also connected with the Small Business Development Center (SBDC) which is located at the Langdon Center in Granbury and serves 10 counties in North Texas. The SBDC creates a strong relationship between small businesses and student opportunities for direct interaction. We also have internship opportunities with Burlington Northern Santa Fe, Lockheed, Lowes, Wal-Mart, and JC Penney just to name a few.

With nine active student organizations within COBA, multiple study abroad opportunities, and excellent faculty and staff, the College of Business Administration prepares students to meet the challenges and opportunities they will experience in a very global and diverse world.

I am passionate about our students!

Joanna Shaw, Ph.D.

Department of Management, Marketing and Administrative Systems

B.S. Tarleton State University
M.S. Tarleton State University
Ph.D. University of North Texas

Email: jshaw@tarleton.edu
Office: College of Business 128
Phone: 254-968-9087

Dr. Jason Sawyer

The meat and food industry is quite often the end point of all facets of production agriculture.  To manufacture various food and meat items into a convenient and user-friendly vessel will continue to be the driving factor of the industry.  Students participating in meat and food science based classes will gain an appreciable understanding of the theories supporting the conversion of meat and food into edible forms.  Not only will students gain a wealth of information within the classroom, but also outside of the classroom rigors students can increase their level of learning by participating in extracurricular activities such as student-based research, internships, meat evaluation, and quiz bowl opportunities.  Students interested in the meat and food industry can direct their educational career towards areas of specialty that includes research and development, food safety, production methods, and ingredient or equipment technical sales.  Through their participation in meat and food science based material and the animal science and wildlife department, students will be further equipped with the skills necessary to be successful in today’s competitive job market.

Jason Sawyer, Ph.D.
Department of Animal Science and Wildlife Management
Director of the Tarleton State University Meat Laboratory

B.S. Kansas State University
M.S. Oklahoma State University
Ph.D. University of Arkansas

Email: sawyer@tarleton.edu
Office: Autry 310
Phone: 254-968-1836

Dr. Melissa Becker

Tarleton State University’s Teacher Education Program offers undergraduate students high-quality, learning experiences in the public school classroom.  By working directly with pre-kindergarten through high school age students, teacher candidates practice the educational theories taught in the Tarleton classroom and begin to refine their skill as a highly-qualified teacher. 

Area public schools and Tarleton professors join together in a collaborative effort to provide the best hands-on experiences for the Tarleton student.  The partnership is supported and enhanced by the Effective Schools Project (ESP), one of the nation's largest and longest-running school-improvement ventures.   

With the Effective Schools research as its foundation, leadership teams from over fifty Texas schools and Tarleton professors meet together several times each year.  Erin Gruwell (author, Freedom Writers), Eric Jensen (author, Teaching with the Brain in Mind) and Alan November (author, Web Literacy for Educators ) are recent ESP professional development leaders.   The undergraduate student directly benefits from the ongoing partnership because Tarleton classroom instruction actively addresses the current trends and issues facing public schools. 

As a result of the ongoing public school partnerships and the interactive experiences with public school students, Tarleton State University graduates possess the knowledge, skills and values required for successful teachers in the 21^st century.

Melissa Roberts Becker, Ed.D.
Associate Professor, College of Education
Off Campus Undergraduate Coordinator,
Department of Curriculum and Instruction

B.S. Howard Payne University
M.S. University of Southern Mississippi 
Ed.D. Baylor University

Email: becker@tarleton.edu
Office: Howell Building 101A and Hickman Building 309
Phone: 254-968-9941 or 817-732-7300

Dr. Barry Lambert

The Southwest Regional Dairy Center offers students the opportunity to learn about dairy science in a real-world setting.  Teaching and research at the Center is built upon a public private linkage where students work and conduct research in a university dairy center that is operated in partnership with a local dairy producer. Students who choose to participate in research opportunities at the dairy center could focus on one of many areas to enhance their educational experience.  Examples of areas of specialization include dairy management, animal nutrition, animal reproduction and entomology.  Through involvement in research, students plan, conduct, analyze and interpret an experiment.  Upon completion of the experiment, students have the opportunity to present their results at one of several state or national scientific meetings.

Through partnerships with private industry, we are providing our students experiences that are not available at most universities.  As a result, students are better prepared to meet the challenges they will face as they begin their careers in a time of dramatic increases in global food demand.

Barry Lambert, Ph.D.
Department of Animal Science & Wildlife Management
Director of the Southwest Regional Dairy Center

Ph.D. Kansas State University
M.S. Tarleton State University
B.S. Tarleton State University

Email: blambert@tarleton.edu
Office: Autry 309 D
Phone: 254-968-9217

Dr. Michael Hibbs

One of the significant benefits that Tarleton offers the Undergraduate is the ability to do meaningful research. In the case of Physics and Astronomy, students can work hands-on with Tarleton’s state-of-the-art 32-inch telescope, which is the largest telescope solely used for undergraduate research in the United States. Through various publishable research projects ranging from, asteroid and super novae discovery to the search for exoplanets, undergraduates gain experience in research astronomy, as well as, the supporting fields.  These fields include optics, electronics, computer programing, imaging, image processing, and mathematics. This type of opportunity is generally only afforded to graduate students at larger universities.  The ability to offer these types of experiences to undergraduates sets Tarleton State University apart as being a unique educational experience.

Mike Hibbs, Ph.D.
Department of Engineering & Physics

B.S. Physics, University of Texas at Arlington
M.S. Physics and Astronomy, Stephen F. Austin University
Ph.D. Interdisciplinary Engineering, Texas A&M University

Email: hibbs@tarleton.edu
Office: SCI 213 A
Phone: 254-968-9150

Dr. Leslie Spotz

From the beginning of the piano student’s first semester at Tarleton, they are immersed in all aspects of the piano program.  Freshmen and transfer students, alongside upper level pianists performed on Tarleton’s recent regional piano tour (Waco-Dallas-Granbury), a series of professional level piano recitals.  Creative preparation for such performances is a step-by-step process, beginning with necessary in depth work, one-on-one, in the piano studio, followed by the piano studio class, where all students, moderated by the piano professor, play for each other.  Next, students are introduced to internationally acclaimed guest artists such as Barry Snyder, Van Cliburn Competition Silver Medalist, or Nicoletta Conti, accompanist to the legendary Luciano Pavarotti. Tarleton pianists receive instruction from these great pianists in addition to hearing them perform.   They perform and teach from the earliest moments of their collegiate experience.

Performances as soloist, accompanist, or pianist in ensemble, are a regular feature of the curriculum, and pianists enjoy opportunities to perform on all keyboard instruments, including Tarleton’s Richard Kingston harpsichord, the Waggener Memorial Organ, digital keyboards and Tarleton’s two nine-foot concert grand Steinways.  There are opportunities for interested students for composition and arranging.  The curriculum emphasizes appropriate musical interpretation, musicianship, music theory and history and a thorough grounding in both traditional and new repertoire.

Leslie Spotz, D.M.A.
Associate Professor of Piano

B.M. Curtis Institute of Music
M.M. Temple University
D.M.A. Rutgers University

Email: spotz@tarleton.edu
Office: Fine Arts 124
Phone: (254) 968-9241

Dr. Beth Rinard

Tarleton is a great place for students who want personal attention, a valuable educational experience, and plenty of time in the field.  Our Geoscience students are exposed to a great breadth of information in the classroom, which is reinforced with field trips within Texas, New Mexico, Oklahoma, and even Hawaii. 

Beth Rinard, Ph.D.
Dept. Head of Chemistry, Geosciences and Environmental Science

B.S. Baylor University
M.S. Baylor University
Ph.D. Southern Methodist University

Email: rinard@tarleton.edu
Office: SCI 117 C
Phone: 254-968-9894