Lamb named department head for Texas A&M Animal Science

Source: AgriLife Today

Dr. Cliff Lamb has been named department head for animal science at Texas A&M University in College Station, according to Dr. Mark Hussey, vice chancellor and dean for the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences.
Lamb comes to Texas A&M after serving as assistant director of the University of Florida-North Florida Research and Education Center. In Florida, Lamb was responsible for administrative oversight of the animal science programs with primary roles overseeing budgets, staff and marketing of livestock as well as research, extension and teaching programs.
“This is an exciting opportunity to come to Texas,” Lamb said. “When you speak to leaders across the country, they talk about A&M animal science being one of the premier departments in Texas. My vision for the department is for it to be the most recognized in the nation for research, teaching and extension. This means I also want the department to be the animal science department of choice in Texas. I will start a campaign to highlight our department that I hope broadly increases our exposure throughout the state.”
Lamb takes on the new administrative department head position after Dr. Russell Cross, who served as department head for eight years, returned to the faculty March 1 in both Texas A&M AgriLife Research and teaching roles.
Lamb grew up on a cattle operation in Africa. His expertise is beef cattle management with special emphasis on reproductive physiology.
He earned a bachelor’s degree in animal science at Middle Tennessee State followed by his master’s and doctorate in reproductive physiology at Kansas State University. Lamb said he also wants to increase the department’s presence in the industry by highlighting applied and basic research in a broader manner. He said he also hopes to increase funding for AgriLife Research, the Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service and teaching.
“Other than traditional forms of funding, we will become more entrepreneurial to ensure our programs are sustainable,” he said.
Other areas Lamb highlighted include: Advancing undergraduate and graduate education by using teaching metrics to determine effectiveness; establishing an initiative to identify and hire internationally recognized scientists to fill or replace faculty positions; overcome the support staff deficits as a result of budget cuts; and strategically determine how to update equipment and facilities as needed
Lamb’s recent honors and awards include the Dallas Townsend Extension Professional Enhancement Award, the American Society of Animal Science Management Award and the Florida Cattlemen’s Association Researcher of the Year.