A Program of The Association of Former Students

Howdy, Advocates!

I hope you are staying healthy during this time. The Clayton W. Williams, Jr. Alumni Center is open and our staff is available to assist you Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. We continue to follow the guidance of the CDC and have implemented additional hygiene protocols around the building for both staff and visitors. For more information and updates from The Association of Former Students, visit AggieNetwork.com.

As Texas A&M University seeks to reopen and prepare for students to return in the fall, President Young announced a face-covering policy, effective Monday, June 15, for all individuals on campus. The Association's policies related to face coverings are aligned with those of the university. For specific information about the new policy, please click here.

On June 29, The Office of the Provost shared updates about class scheduling and instruction for the Fall 2020 semester. Continue reading about these updates at tx.ag/FallUpdate2020.

Lastly, early voting for the July 14 Texas primary runoff election kicked off on Monday, June 29, and ends Friday, July 10. You can locate your local polling location and frequently asked questions at votetexas.gov.

In the Aggie Spirit,
Jordyn Senkirik ’17

Research Investment to Spark the Economy Act (RISE Act)

Last week, a bi-partisan group of House members introduced the RISE Act, a bill that that authorizes $26 billion in supplemental funding for federal research agencies to ameliorate the disruption to federally funded research. The bill also provides for temporary regulatory relief due to the pandemic.

As a result of the Coronavirus pandemic, Texas A&M has seen more than a $30 million disruption in federally funded research, and this supplemental funding will help Texas A&M, in addition to many other research universities across the country, restart the important research being conducted. More than 140 higher education, research, industry groups and associations (including Texas A&M) have signed on to support this legislation, and the university looks forward to working with those groups and Congress to ensure our leading research universities, like Texas A&M, can continue to conduct important research.

Texas A&M Congratulates National Science Foundation For Its 70th Anniversary

Texas A&M University was one of the first universities in the nation to receive research funding from the National Science Foundation, which is celebrating its 70th anniversary this month.

Texas A&M received two grants in 1952, the first year that the NSF began funding research. The two institutions have worked in concert ever since with the common goals of promoting science, improving lives and advancing knowledge through research. In the last 10 years alone, Texas A&M has received more than $1 billion in research funding from the NSF.

In honor of this partnership, we look back at the university’s enduring relationship with the federal agency that was born out of a president’s letter.

To learn more, finish reading the article here.

Texas A&M Testing COVID-19 Vaccine Candidates For iBio, Inc.

A team of scientists at Texas A&M University is working on two COVID-19 vaccine candidates that could be mass produced quickly in modified tobacco plants.

The team is led by Dr. James Samuel, a regents’ professor and the head of the Department of Microbial Pathogenesis and Immunology at the College of Medicine. Samuel discusses the experiments with John Sharp, chancellor of The Texas A&M University System, in the final episode of “COVID-19: The Texas A&M University System Responds.”

To learn more, click here.

Visit The Texas A&M University System's YouTube channel to watch all episodes of "COVID-19: The Texas A&M University System Responds."

President Young’s Actions And Next Steps On Campus Climate

President Young announced on June 15 ten actions towards addressing challenges the campus community has experienced regarding racism.

To read the full ten actions, click here.

4th of July Fireworks at
The RELLIS Campus

Join The Texas A&M University System on July 4th at 9 p.m. to watch fireworks at the RELLIS Campus in Bryan, Texas. This event will also be livestreamed.

For more information about the event, click here.

Open Resource Textbooks At Texas A&M Will Save Students Millions, Provost’s Office Says

“The cost and accessibility of textbooks has been found to be a major barrier for historically underserved students,” said Tim Scott, associate provost for student success. “Open Educational Resources essentially remove this barrier and improve academic performance and retention, which are vitally important gauges of student success. The Provost and her leadership team are committed to expanding OERs at Texas A&M and are working closely with the faculty and Student Government Association to encourage the creation of many more OERs—particularly for large courses with expensive textbooks.”

For additional information about the article, please click here.

How Texas A&M Is Using 3D Printing To Respond To Coronavirus

As the health care community struggles to keep up with supply demands, Aggie makers and engineers are creating much-needed medical equipment.

To read more, click here.

The Association of Former Students has a bold vision to engage 100,000 donors annually for Texas A&M by the end of 2020. To learn more, visit tx.ag/100Kby2020. To help us help more Aggies, make a gift at tx.ag/Give.