Campus news and events

News Releases

Contact: Julie Navejar
kajam03@tamuk.edu or 361-593-2590

Coordinating Board approves unique ranch management degree

Master’s is only one of its kind in the world

Barry Dunn
Barry Dunn

Kay Clayton
Kay Clayton

KINGSVILLE (October 25, 2006) — When the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board recently gave Texas A&M University-Kingsville final approval to create a master of science degree in ranch management, it gave the King Ranch Institute of Ranch Management (KRIRM) the distinction of having the only degree of its kind in the world.

The new degree will be implemented Jan. 1, 2007 with the first two students scheduled to graduate in August. The degree will be awarded by the agronomy and resource science department in the College of Agriculture, Natural Resources and Human Sciences.

“The new master of science degree in ranch management is a unique program that has been designed especially for individuals who have prior experience in a related profession and who want to gain in-depth knowledge and advanced skills in an integrated approach to ranch management,” said Dr. Kay Clayton, provost and vice president for academic affairs.

“The program is highly selective, and students who are admitted are awarded generous fellowships funded by endowments to the King Ranch Institute,” she said. “The program has already gained international attention through an annual symposium that attracts participants from across the United States, Canada, Mexico and other countries. We are very excited about this new program and look forward to its continued growth and development.”

The Third Annual HoltCat Excellence in Ranch Management Symposium is being held this week on Thursday and Friday (Oct. 26-27), and focuses on business planning for ranch management.

Dr. Barry Dunn, coordinator of the symposium and executive director and endowed chair of the King Ranch Institute, said the degree plan will include some new courses and be more cohesive. “To date, we have patched things together across degree plans. Now we can build a degree plan that has a predictable course rotation.

“This is the only degree like it in the world,” Dunn said. “This distinction will allow the students to differentiate themselves. It makes them unique, special.”

The headings of the courses the students take will be changed to indicate the new degree plan and the internships will be weighted with credit hours that reflect their workload and importance, Dunn said.

Although the new courses will have the ranch management headings, they will not be exclusive to students in the KRIRM program. “Students from wildlife, range management, animal science and perhaps even business will be able to take the classes,” Dunn said. “The only classes that will be program specific will be the internship/practicum courses.”

What’s next for Dunn and the KRIRM now that this major milestone has been achieved?          

“I would like to recruit more students. We have had two students each in the first two classes and three in the class of 2008, but ideally, I would like four per class,” he said.

Dunn also would like to complete the capital campaign and build collaborations with other faculty within The Texas A&M University System.

More information about the King Ranch Institute is available at http://krirm.tamuk.edu, by emailing krirm@tamuk.edu or calling 361-593-5401.

This page last updated 25 October, 2006