Tarleton Professors Take Annual NARRU Honors

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Wednesday, September 22, 2021

STEPHENVILLE, Texas — A pair of Tarleton professors swept the annual awards presented by Non-Land Grant Agricultural and Renewable Resources Universities (NARRU).

Dr. W. Brandon Smith was selected the organization’s 2021 Distinguished Young Educator, and Dr. David Frazier received NARRU’s Distinguished Educator Award. They will be honored at the NARRU virtual conference Sept. 21-23.

Dr. Smith, Assistant Professor in the Department of Animal Science and Veterinary Technology, has been at Tarleton since 2017. He has designed and implemented eight undergraduate and graduate courses in animal science, and he represented the university and the U.S. Agency for International Development in the Republic of Moldova, teaching farmers how to improve nutritional programs for dairy cows.

He has chaired or co-chaired seven master’s students and served on another 18 graduate committees at Tarleton. In addition to his teaching and research, he co-teaches a workshop on applied statistics each year for faculty and graduate students attending the annual meeting of the American Society of Agronomy, the Crop Science Society of America and the Soil Science Society of America.

Earlier this year he was named Outstanding Young Animal Scientist by the Southern Section of the American Society for Animal Science.

Dr. Frazier, Associate Professor in the Department of Agricultural Education and Communication, has taught at Tarleton since 2012. He has worked with nearly 300 pre-service agricultural education teachers and served on 163 graduate student committees.

He received the O.A. Grant Teaching Award in 2017 and 2018 and the North American Colleges and Teachers of Agriculture Teaching Award of Merit in 2017.

He delivered the university’s annual “Last Lecture” in 2019 and was awarded the Barry B. Thompson Service Award earlier this academic year.

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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