Dr. Kim McCuistion
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Friday, March 6, 2020
STEPHENVILLE, Texas — Dr. Kim McCuistion has been named dean of Tarleton State University’s 80-acre Fort Worth campus along Chisholm Trail Parkway and vice president for external operations, effective April 1.
She currently serves as chief of staff to Tarleton President James L. Hurley and is a tenured faculty member in the College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences.
As dean of the Fort Worth campus McCuistion will work with North Texas business and industry leaders, Tarleton faculty and staff, and community college partners to expand existing degree programs and add new ones. She also will be responsible for the university’s Global Campus and outreach programs in Waco, Midlothian and Bryan.
“Tarleton’s Fort Worth campus, together with our partnerships with Tarrant County College, McLennan Community College, Navarro College and The Texas A&M University System RELLIS Campus, opens the door for Tarleton to become the regional center of excellence for education, research, economic development and service,” Dr. Hurley said. “Dr. McCuistion is the right person to make that happen.
“She has proven to be a visionary leader with a commitment to educational opportunity for all students. She has the right combination of skills and personal qualities to support our goal of being the premier comprehensive regional university in the nation.”
Prior to joining Tarleton in 2018, McCuistion served 11 years with Texas A&M University-Kingsville. She had a split appointment there with the Department of Animal, Rangeland and Wildlife Sciences and the King Ranch Institute for Ranch Management. She served from 2014 to 2017 as interim dean of Texas A&M-Kingsville’s Honors College.
She holds a bachelor’s degree in animal science from Texas A&M University, a master’s in animal science from Kansas State University and a doctorate in agriculture from West Texas A&M University.
“Tarleton is a proven leader in higher education, and I believe strongly in its mission,” she said. “I truly appreciate Dr. Hurley’s confidence in me and look forward to working with faculty and staff at all of our outreach locations to prepare today’s students to become tomorrow’s leaders.”
The first building of Tarleton’s permanent Fort Worth home opened in August 2019, offering more than 50 graduate, undergraduate and certificate programs to working adults, community college graduates and returning students. Plans are underway, with $63 million already approved by The Texas A&M University System, for a second building.
The campus could serve 9,000 students by 2030, depending on resource allocation for construction. Enrollment hovers now around 2,000.
Tarleton came to Fort Worth in 1978 with eight students on West Myrtle Street, moved to the Richard C. Schaffer Building on Enderly Place in the ’90s, and expanded to the Hickman Building on Camp Bowie Boulevard in 2006.
This past December Tarleton celebrated a 25-year partnership with Tarrant County College with the opening of shared space in downtown Fort Worth. Following improvements to TCC’s Trinity River West Fork Building, Tarleton is providing upper-level classes on the fifth floor, continuing a long-standing commitment by both schools to provide an affordable, innovative and accessible education for students who want more than an associate degree.
Tarleton’s partnership with Waco’s McLennan Community College dates to 2002 when it became part of MCC’s University Center, and to 2012 with Navarro College to establish the Midlothian Higher Education Center. Tarleton joined the A&M RELLIS Campus in Bryan two years ago.
For more information on Tarleton and its outreach locations, go to www.tarleton.edu.
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.
Contact:
Cecilia Jacobs, Assistant Vice President for Marketing and Communications
254-968-1620
[email protected]
