Tarleton Alumni Association Presents Awards
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Monday, January 30, 2017
STEPHENVILLE, Texas—Tarleton State University honored distinguished alumni, faculty and a general contractor Saturday, Jan. 28, during Tarleton Alumni Association’s (TAA) annual dinner and awards banquet.
Dwain Mayfield is 2017 Distinguished Alumnus, and Dr. Jonathan Rios is this year’s Outstanding Young Alumnus. Dr. Linda Jones, who retired in 2014 after 14 years as dean of Tarleton’s College of Graduate Studies, received the 2017 Distinguished Faculty Award, and Alpha Building Corporation was named Distinguished Friend of the university.
Tarleton President F. Dominic Dottavio and TAA President Dr. Luke Lawson praised the success and achievements of the award recipients and thanked Alpha Building, an award-winning general contractor headquartered in San Antonio, for myriad projects completed on the Stephenville campus.
Dwain Mayfield—Distinguished Alumnus
After completing an associate degree at Tarleton in 1957, Mayfield went on to earn bachelor’s and master’s degrees in civil engineering from Texas A&M University and a master’s in business administration from Texas Christian University.
He joined General Dynamics in Fort Worth—later sold to Lockheed Martin—as a design engineer in 1961, working his way up to vice president of program development and later vice president of marketing initiatives. Part of Lockheed Martin’s management team, Mayfield served as an advisor for the company’s fighter and transport business projects.
As immediate past president of the Tarleton Foundation, Mayfield and his wife, Lynda, established an endowed scholarship for Tarleton engineering students. He is a member of the Dean’s Circle for the university’s College of Science and Technology and an advisor to the Tarleton Aeronautical Team—a nationally and internationally recognized student-led, rocket competition group.
Mayfield chairs the board of The Association of Former Students at Texas A&M and is a member of the President’s Advisory Council and the Dwight Look College of Engineering Advisory Council. He is a member of the Chancellor’s Century Council for The Texas A&M University System.
Mayfield is president of ADM Global Resources, an international business consulting firm.
Dr. Jonathan Rios—Outstanding Young Alumnus
A staff scientist for Texas Scottish Rite Hospital for Children in Dallas, Dr. Jonathan Rios began his career in healthcare research as an outstanding graduate of Tarleton’s class of 2003.
Following a doctorate in genetics from Texas A&M University, he completed a postdoctoral fellowship at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas. Rios joined the center’s Division of Molecular Genetics in 2011 and is assistant professor of pediatrics. He holds secondary appointments in Southwestern Medical Center’s McDermott Center for Human Growth and Development and the Department of Orthopedic Surgery.
Rios’ research includes the discovery of genes causing pediatric musculoskeletal and developmental conditions. He helped established the Genomics of Orthopedic Disease (GOOD for Kids) Program at Texas Scottish Rite Hospital to improve the diagnosis and treatment of rare orthopedic conditions.
He is a member of the Pediatric Orthopedic Society of North America and serves on the board of the Texas Genetics Society.
Dr. Linda Jones—Distinguished Faculty
Tarleton’s first female dean, Dr. Linda Jones wore a variety of hats and achieved many milestones during her 22-year career at the university.
Jones joined Tarleton in 1992 as chair of the Department of Home Economics and was the primary architect for changing the school’s Department of Human Sciences to the Department of Consumer Sciences.
She co-chaired the team responsible for creating the Tarleton State University Center in Killeen—now Texas A&M University-Central Texas—and served there as associate vice president for academic affairs. She became dean of Tarleton’s College of Graduate Studies in 2000, serving until her retirement 14 years later.
Jones has been honored as Woman of the Year by the Texas Association of Extension Family and Consumer Sciences, and the Belton Chamber of Commerce named her Woman of the Year in 1998. That same year, the Texas International Education Consortium tapped her to serve as a consultant for a new women’s college in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.
Jones received her bachelor’s from Southeastern Louisiana University, her master’s from Louisiana State University and her doctorate from the University of Texas at Austin.
Alpha Building Corporation—Distinguished Friend
Founded in 1969, Alpha Building first contracted with The Texas A&M University System in 1992. Alpha Building led Tarleton’s Alumni Island project and donated funds to cast the bigger-than-life bronze sculpture of John Tarleton.
The corporation has received several awards from Associated Builders and Contractors Inc. (ABC), including the coveted Eagle Award for the most innovative construction projects in the nation. Tarleton’s pedestrian malls and the Rudder Auditorium at Texas A&M are two of Alpha’s award-winning projects. Twice, ABC has named Alpha Building General Contractor of the Year.
With more than 40 years of experience, Alpha Building CEO Kathleen Acock bases her construction management on the same ethical principles her father practiced when he founded the corporation in the 1970s. Acock is a member of the Tarleton Construction Engineering Advisory Council and the Texas A&M Construction Industry Advisory Council.
Alpha Building also supports Tarleton through the TAA, the Texan Club and the President’s Circle.
Tarleton, a member of The Texas A&M University System, provides a student-focused, value-driven educational experience marked by academic innovation and exemplary service, and dedicated to transforming students into tomorrow’s professional leaders. With campuses in Stephenville, Fort Worth, Waco, Midlothian and online, Tarleton engages with its communities to provide real-world learning experiences and to address societal needs while maintaining its core values of integrity, leadership, tradition, civility, excellence and service.
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Contact: Cecilia Jacobs, Public Relations Manager
817-597-6040
[email protected]
