Distinguished Tarleton alumni return for 26th annual academic forum

Tarleton Alumni Share Experiences with Students

Tarleton Alumni Share Experiences with Students

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Tuesday, September 18, 2018

STEPHENVILLE, Texas — Six alumni returned to the classroom on Tuesday to share their knowledge and experience with students from each of the Tarleton State University’s six colleges as part of the schools 26th annual Alumni Academic Forum.

Begun in 1993 to recognize outstanding graduates from each academic college, the event allows alumni honorees the opportunity to interact with current Tarleton students and to share personal success stories — how the university prepared them for life after college and advice on pursuing a career in their chosen field.



This year’s Tarleton Alumni Academic Forum honorees are: Michael Bosco (’96), College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences; Clint Haggard (’92), College of Business Administration; Dr. Cheryl Stenmark (’03), College of Education; Claudia Southern (’85), College of Health Sciences and Human Services; Kevin Kolbye (’15), College of Liberal and Fine Arts; and Dr. Dan McCoy (’89), College of Science and Technology.

Honorees were welcomed to campus by Tarleton President F. Dominic Dottavio, Provost Karen Murray and each of the college’s academic deans at a breakfast prior to visiting classes to speak to students, faculty and staff. The honorees later were recognized during a luncheon, where they received awards marking their participation as Alumni Academic Forum presenters.

About the honorees:

Michael Boscoearned his bachelor’s of science degree in plant and soil science from Tarleton in 1996 and purchased Safe Haven Pest control in 2014. He is a certified entomologist, arborist, professional agronomist, structural pest control service applicator and Texas Department of Agriculture commercial applicator.

In 1996, Bosco founded and continues to serve as owner of Soils Alive, an organic plant health care service company that provides organic fertilization, weed, disease and insect control for residential and commercial properties throughout the Metroplex.

With more than 650 clients, Soils Alive is the largest organic service provider in the area. The companyhas maintained the Liberty Garden in Southlake, Texas, since 2003 in honor of 9-11.

Bosco is the Organic Education Committee Chairman of Region IV for the Texas Nursery and Landscape Association and serves as chairman of the Texas Discovery Gardens Board. He is the plant health care specialist on the Katy Trail Landscape Advisory Committee. Bosco is also a member of the International Society of Arborists and the Texas Organic Farmers and Gardeners Associations.

He is heavily involved with the Alpha Gamma Rho Fraternity, holding a variety of positions and receiving numerous accolades within the organization.

Clint Haggard graduated from Tarleton in 1992 with a double major in accounting and finance and from TCU with his MBA in 2015. Since that time he has obtained his real estate broker’s license, general securities license and his investment advisor representative license.

Haggard is president of Burgher-Haggard, a professional services firm providing financial administration, consolidated reporting and consulting for individuals, families and private businesses that own or manage significant assets. For the last 18 years, he has served as CFO and trustee for various private individuals and family groups.

He comes from two 1850’s Texas families that continue to control assets at a group level. From the financial and non-financial experiences with his family, as well as others over the years, he is now considered an expert in educating and helping with the non-financial aspects of preserving assets and family unity across generations.

Haggard is a member of the board of directors for the Plano Conservancy for Historic Preservation, Inc., and a member of the Hendrick Education Foundation and the Heritage Farmstead Museum. He received the American Farmer Degree in 1988 and was named the 2008 Preservationist of the year for the city of Plano. 

Dr. Cheryl Stenmark graduated from Tarleton with her bachelor’s degree in psychology,summa cum laudein 2003. She obtained her master’s in psychology, with a concentration in industrial and organizational psychology, from the University of Oklahoma in 2007 and her Ph.D. in psychology from OU in 2010.

Since 2014 Stenmark has served as the director of the master’s program in industrial-organized psychology at Angelo State University, where she is an associate professor in the Department of Psychology and Sociology. She has been published 27 times in various journals and encyclopedias. She has two manuscripts currently in preparation for publication and has presented at many conferences.

Kevin Kolbye graduated from Texas Tech in 1982 with his bachelor’s in accounting and graduated from Tarleton in 2015 with his master’s in criminal justice. He currently serves as assistant police chief for the Arlington Police Department responsible for patrol, criminal investigations and the K-9 units. Kolbye previously was a member of the Dallas Police Department and its SWAT unit where he successfully performed high-risk uniformed police functions in challenging urban conditions, developed adaptive situational awareness skills, utilized highly flexible interpersonal abilities and conducted investigations. He was selected as one of 64 officers from a 3,000-member department to serve as a full-time SWAT operator responsible for the tactical planning and execution of high-risk arrest and search warrants, barricaded persons and hostage situations.

Kolbye also served as the special agent in charge with the FBI from 1987-2015. He served in positions of increasing responsibility in multiple locations, including Portland, Ore., Los Angeles, Washington, D.C., El Paso and Dallas. He directed the efforts of special agents, professional staff and task force officers who provide strategic, operational and investigative support to the national security and criminal operations of the FBI’s Dallas Field Office, including 12 satellite offices and the North Texas Regional Crime Forensic Laboratory.

Duties also included managing challenging internal and external senior partnerships to enable global investigations in concert with the mission of the U.S. ambassador to Afghanistan and the U.S. military; serving as the on-scene commander for investigative and intelligence missions in Afghanistan and Libya; and representing the FBI’s interests and prepared responses to various congressional inquiries, Department of Justice reviews and Inspector General audits.

Dr. Dan McCoy graduated Tarleton in 1989, pre-med summa cum laude. While attending Tarleton, he served as the editor of The J-TAC, the campus newspaper.

A life member of the Alpha Phi Omega National Service Fraternity, McCoy attended the University of Texas Southwestern Medical School at Dallas from 1989-93, and holds certifications as a qualified mediator in civil litigation.

McCoy currently serves as the president of Blue Cross Blue Shield of Texas (BCBSTX). Prior to that he served as the divisional senior vice president and chief medical officer for BCBSTX. He serves on the Dallas Regional Chamber Board, the Texas CASA Board and the Texas Medical Association Board of Trustees.

McCoy has been named a Super Doctor by Texas Monthly as well as D Magazine Top Doctor.

Claudia Southern graduated from Abilene Christian University in 1974 with a bachelor’s in communications. She went on to graduate from Tarleton in 1985 with her M.Ed. in guidance and counseling. In 1997 she became a licensed professional counselor for the state of Texas. She is also a certified mediator, trauma and loss school specialist and a family mediator.

From 1997-2015, she was director of counseling services for The Counseling Center in Granbury, which assisted with private counseling services, crime victims assistance, families in transition, and was a provider of court-mandated counseling services through district and municipal judges.

Southern has served as a consultant to the district attorney on cases including capital murder, domestic violence and emotional, physical and sexual abuse. She also served as consultant for attorneys preparing witnesses for trial and jury selection, and was utilized on the critical incidence team for Granbury ISD for grief counseling of students and staff.

From 1980-2016 She served as the program director, vice president of SCI, Qualified Intellectual and Developmentally Disabled Professional in Granbury. SCI owns and operates group homes for individuals in intermediary care facilities for individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities. All areas of care are addressed with the goal to provide as normal and independent a life as possible.

Southern is a member of the Texas Counseling Association, the American Counseling Association and the Cross Timbers Counseling Association. She is also a former board member for the American Association for Individuals with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities, Texas Chapter, and the Southwest Society of Service Coordinators. In 2018 she received the Helen G. Fitzsimmons Award in Leadership.

Tarleton, founding member of The Texas A&M University System, provides a student-focused, value-driven education marked by academic innovation and a dedication to transform today’s scholars into tomorrow’s leaders. It offers degree programs to more than 13,000 students at Stephenville, Fort Worth, Waco, Midlothian, RELLIS Academic Alliance in Bryan, and online, emphasizing real-world learning experiences that address societal needs while maintaining its core values of tradition, integrity, civility, excellence, leadership and service.

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Contact: Kurt Mogonye, Senior Communications Specialist
254-968-9460
[email protected]

A founding member of The Texas A&M System, Tarleton State is breaking records — in enrollment, research, scholarship, athletics, philanthropy and engagement — while transforming the lives of nearly 17,000 students in Stephenville, Fort Worth, Waco, Bryan and online. True to Tarleton’s values of excellence, integrity and respect, academic programs emphasize real world learning and address regional, state and national needs.
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