Texas A&M’s Interdisciplinary TOP Grants Only Possible At Tier One Research University

Some learning experiences can only take place at a tier one research university such as Texas A&M.

TOP (tier one program) grants special faculty grants offered by the university to facilitate hands-on, interdisciplinary educational experiences — are a prime example. The Office of the Provost and the Office of the Dean of Faculties have announced the recipients of the 2013 TOP grants, which fund such programs for up to three years. To qualify for funding, each program must be a joint effort between faculty members of two or more Texas A&M colleges and impact at least 100 undergraduate or 50 graduate students.

“The Tier One Program engages faculty to design novel programs that will enhance the educational experiences of our students. The programs provide meaningful learning opportunities outside of the classroom on a large scale and take advantage of the wide resources of our land grant, tier one research university,” says Michael Benedik, dean of faculties. “Proposals funded by this program will give hundreds of undergraduate and graduate students the opportunity to participate in some amazing activities.”

Despite implementing across-the-board cost-cutting measures, the Texas A&M administration continues to invest heavily in enhanced student learning and faculty engagement. In fact, the TOP grants were made possible during mandatory budget cuts in 2010, when the administration reallocated funds from non-academic activities and directed them into academics.

The Budget Reallocation Working Group — a committee of faculty, administrators, staff and students — recommended the university invest in high-impact educational experiences, nontraditional course delivery methods, and multidisciplinary approaches that address societal challenges collaboratively.

The four TOP grant recipients satisfy all three criteria. Each of the projects receiving TOP grants integrates active research into the learning experience, so undergraduate and graduate students will learn how to collect and analyze data, operate state-of-the-art analytical instruments, do fieldwork or conduct other relevant hands-on activities alongside faculty scholars and researchers. And all were designed to have a positive impact on the citizens of Texas and beyond.

The TOP committee received 24 proposals from across the university and was able to select four for funding this year. Encompassing 15 departments from six colleges and the branch campus of Texas A&M University at Galveston, the TOP grant recipients will help current Texas A&M students become lifelong learners, says Blanca Lupiani, associate dean of faculties.

“The creativity on display in these proposals shows just how committed the faculty, department heads, and colleges are to innovation in higher education,” says Texas A&M President Dr. R. Bowen Loftin. “These interdisciplinary programs will introduce students to new fields of study, to new ways of learning, and allow them to experience all the university has to offer.”

Texas A&M’s status as a tier one research university is what makes programs with the scope of TOP grants possible. As Lupiani explains: “The grants not only require faculty members engaged in a wide variety of research areas, but they also must be dedicated to going above and beyond to provide unprecedented learning opportunities for their students. TOP grants also necessitate cutting across colleges and departments to bring together faculty, undergraduate and graduate students with different majors and viewpoints to solve societal challenges collaboratively.”

The titles and participating colleges of the funded TOP proposals are:

Ecology and Evolutionary Biology

Participating Colleges: Agriculture and Life Sciences, Geosciences, Science, Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, Texas A&M University at Galveston

Bridging Hydrology, Governance, Culture and Scarcity for Effective Rio Grande Water Management: An Interdisciplinary Experimental Learning and Research Program

Participating Colleges: Agriculture and Life Sciences, Architecture, Dwight Look College of Engineering, Geosciences

Seed Funding for Startup Aggieland – a Texas A&M University Entrepreneurship Laboratory

Participating Colleges: Architecture, Mays Business School and the Office of the Vice President of Research

Enhancing Teaching and Research in Health Impacts of Air Pollution

Participating Colleges: Agriculture and Life Sciences, Geosciences, Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences

Abstracts for the funded proposals can be found on the Dean of Faculties website.