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Jill Scoggins
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Reception Honoring Interim President, First Lady
Set for Sept. 10 at Texas A&M University-Kingsville

KINGSVILLE, Texas (September 3, 2008) – Students, faculty and staff are invited to thank Texas A&M-Kingsville’s transitional leaders for their service at a special reception Wednesday, Sept. 10.

Interim President Dr. Bob Strawser and his wife, Carol Strawser, will be honored by the university from 4 to 6 p.m. in the Founders Room.

Strawser was named interim president by The Texas A&M University System Board of Regents effective July 1, succeeding Dr. Rumaldo Z. Juárez who returned to the faculty on June 30. Strawser will serve until Oct. 1 when Dr. Steven Tallant, currently provost and vice chancellor for academic affairs at the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire, becomes the 19th president of the university.

“Bob Strawser stepped in and provided dedicated and informed leadership while Texas A&M-Kingsville was in the midst of a presidential search, and we deeply appreciate his and Carol’s service,” said Randy Hughes, vice president for institutional advancement, who will serve as master of ceremonies for the event. “It is never easy to step into a temporary assignment, but Bob and Carol did so with a commitment to make the transition as seamless as possible.”

Reservations for the event are requested by Sept. 9 by calling 361-593-3207 or e-mailing alison.ellis@tamuk.edu.

About Bob Strawser

Texas A&M University-Kingsville was placed in very experienced hands when The Texas A&M University System Board of Regents named Robert “Bob” Strawser interim president on July 1, 2008.

Bob – “Please don’t call me ‘Robert’ or ‘Dr. Strawser’; I’m Bob” – is Regents Professor of Accounting and holds the Andersen Chair at the Mays Business School at Texas A&M University in College Station. He has been on the A&M faculty for 34 years.

His previous teaching experience includes service on the faculties at the University of Houston, Northeastern University, Virginia Tech, Penn State, Maryland, George Mason and the University of Virginia.

Bob’s honors include election and service for two terms as Speaker of the A&M Faculty Senate, first under President Ray Bowen, then under President Bob Gates; an Outstanding Alumnus Award from Beta Alpha Psi (accounting honorary); Outstanding Teaching Award (Honors Program) from the Mays School; Individual Diversity Award from A&M; Mentoring Award from the American Accounting Association; and a Socio-economic Award from the National Association of Accountants.

He has published over 150 academic and professional papers and 20 texts. His research has been recognized by Association of Former Students of Texas A&M University which awarded him the Faculty Distinguished Achievement Award in Research. He also earned the Outstanding Researcher Award from the Mays Business School; recognition as the second-leading active author among both U.S. and international academics in McGraw-Hill’s Accounting Literature Index in 1990 and in the Accounting Educators’ Journal in 1993; Certificates of Merit from the National Association of Accountants; and awards for outstanding papers (co-authored) from the American Women’s Society of Certified Public Accountants and the Allied Social Sciences Society.

Bob holds a bachelor’s degree from the University of Virginia and earned both his M.B.A. and D.B.A. from the University of Maryland. He also is a certified public accountant in the state of Texas and received an honorable discharge from the U.S. Marine Corps.

Bob and his wife, Carol, have six adult children. Jerry, Joyce and Jeff are university professors (Texas A&M, Seton Hall and Sam Houston State universities, respectively), Nancy is a human resources manager with PriceWaterhouseCoopers in Dallas, Patty teaches elementary school in Houston and Billy earned his Ph.D. in accounting at A&M in August 2008. The A&M ties run deep in the Strawser family: Bob is the only family member without a degree from A&M, but his wife and children have collectively earned 13 in College Station as well as degrees from LSU, the University of Houston and the University of Texas at Austin. The Strawsers also are the proud grandparents of eight grandchildren.

This page last updated 5 September, 2008