February 04, 2009
Jones heads Animal Science, Food and Nutrition
“She surfaced as the unanimous choice of both faculty and staff during the internal search,” said Dean Gary L. Minish in announcing the appointment.
Jones connects well with students in the department’s three diverse majors, having served as both an undergraduate and graduate instructor and adviser, she works well with and has the respect of the faculty and staff, she gets along well with the college’s alumni and industry clientele, and she maintains a strong research program, Minish noted.
Because of budget uncertainty, Jones will serve for at least a year in the interim position.
“We do plan to conduct a national search when the time comes,” Minish said. “In terms of the number of students enrolled, this is our largest and fastest growing department.”
Jones, an animal physiologist who specializes in beef cattle, joined the faculty in 1999. Her research focuses on reproductive physiology in both beef cattle and horses with a concurrent emphasis on dealing with problems caused by fescue toxicity. Ongoing research projects include the evaluation of an herbal supplement as a treatment for fescue toxicity and evaluation of an ethanol by-product as a feed ingredient for cattle.
She teaches courses in animal and agricultural biotechnology, breeding, reproduction and genetics, growth and development, nutrition and animal products and processing.
Jones’ professional memberships include Xigma Xi, the American Society of Animal Science, the International Embryo Transfer Society and the Equine Nutrition and Physiology Society.
She is a three-degree graduate of Texas A&M University, earning her bachelor’s in 1989, her master’s in 1996 and her doctorate in 1999.