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Three from Texas A&M University-Kingsville Receive Title of Professor Emeritus

KINGSVILLE (July 14, 2009) — The Board of Regents of the Texas A&M University System approved three retired faculty members from Texas A&M University-Kingsville for the title of Professor Emeritus.

Those honored with the title were:

With the title of Emeritus/Emerita, the chief executive officers of The Texas A&M University System recognize individuals for their respective institutions and agencies who have retired from Texas A&M University System institutions and agencies and have made outstanding contributions through their dedicated and loyal service.

About Dr. Leslie Hunter

Hunter served full-time with Texas A&M-Kingsville for 40 years, from September 1969 until July 2007 in various positions. They included assistant professor, associate professor and professor of history; chair of the department of history; and graduate coordinator in the department of history.

He holds B.A., M.A. and Ph.D. degrees in history from the University of Arizona.

Hunter received various awards during his many years with Texas A&M-Kingsville, which included the Distinguished Teaching Award in 1990, the Minnie Stevens Piper Professor Award in 1997, and the prestigious Regents Professor Award in 1998.

He published numerous journal articles and guided his students in producing over sixty publications. Hunter supervised the South Texas Oral History and Folklore Project, the King Ranch Oral History Project and others. The research his students conducted about the buildings in the “original town site” of Kingsville helped produce two books published with a grant from the Texas Historical Commission. As editor of the Journal of South Texas, Hunter edited over seventy articles and documents which were published in various volumes.  

Hunter served on numerous university committees for 38 years. He also was an active member of the Kingsville community and participated in many community projects, such as Kingsville’s 90th Birthday Celebration Planning Committee and the “Wildhorse Desert” play.

About Dr. Gary Low

Low served full-time with Texas A&M-Kingsville for 22 years, from September 1987 until May 2009. During that time, he served as interim director and director of the Counseling and Skills Center; dean of College I and assistant vice president for Academic Affairs; academic counselor in College I; associate professor of education; chair of education; assistant dean of education; interim chair in the department of educational leadership and counseling; and professor in the departments of education, curriculum and instruction and educational leadership and counseling.

He holds a B.S. degree in business administration from the University of Corpus Christi, and an M.S. degree in guidance and counseling and a Ph.D. degree in counseling psychology from East Texas State University.

Low and colleague Dr. Darwin Nelson developed the Emotional Intelligence Research Institute as an annual professional conference to disseminate and share research findings and highlight successful and “best practices” programs using emotional intelligence.  The annual institute began in 2004 and has since been held on the Texas A&M-Kingsville campus, as well as the campuses of Galveston College, South Texas College and San Jacinto College.

Honors and awards earned by Low during his career include Mentor of the Year by the HOSTS Program; named Texas A&M-Kingsville’s annual Faculty Lecturer in 2000; selected as a founding faculty member of the Academic for Educator Development, TAMUS Regents Initiative for Excellence in Education; and a Sid W. Richardson Fellow, Cohort II Faculty Leadership of the College of Education.

Low served on many university committees for 22 years, as well as participating in various community clubs and projects. 

About Dr. Donald Nixon

Nixon taught full-time with A&M-Kingsville for 40 years, from September 1969 through May 2006. During that time, he served as associate professor of business and agriculture, and professor of agribusiness.   

He holds a B.S. degree in agricultural business and an M.S. degree and Ph.D. degree in agricultural marketing from Colorado State University.

Nixon served as a graduate program coordinator, researcher and student mentor. He was selected for Texas A&M-Kingsville’s Distinguished Teaching Award in 1999. Other awards earned by Nixon included the Faculty Service Award from the College of Agriculture and Human Sciences, and the Agricultural Teacher of the Year Award (1986, 1987, 2000), among others.       

He served on numerous university committees for 37 years, as well as participating in various community clubs and projects.

This page last updated 7 July, 2009