Hall of Honor

FREDERICK WILLIAM MALLY Department Head—Research and Teaching 1899-1902 Fred W. Mally, a pioneer entomologist and horticulturist, came to Texas in 1891. Two years later, he published a valuable report on the bollworm as Bulletin 29 of the United States Department of Agriculture. The same year he resigned from governmental service and became manager of the Galveston Nursery and Orchard Company near Dickinson. He served as director of the Texas Commission on Insect Pests and Fungus Diseases and was active in getting the first orchard and nursery inspection law passed in Texas. In 1899 Mally was hired to be the first professional entomologist at Texas A&M College, a position established to study the boll weevil. In this capacity, he established the first field laboratory for studying the boll weevil, first recorded details of the boll weevil's life cycle, stressed the use of early maturing varieties as a way of managing the pest, and advocated the use of lead arsenate to control it. His 1902 Report on the Boll Weevil was one of the earliest comprehensive works on the life history and control of the pest. He resigned his position at Texas A&M in 1902 and entered into the nursery business. During the period 1909-1910 he served as state entomologist of the Texas Department of Agriculture. He became county agricultural agent in 1915 and served in Webb and Bexar counties until his retirement in 1938.

E. DWIGHT SANDERSON Department Head—Research and Teaching 1902-1904 E. Dwight Sanderson served as department head and state entomologist from 1902-1904. During his time here, he cooperated with the United States Department of Agriculture on cotton insect work and accumulated statistical data to indicate actual damage done by the boll weevil and other pests. He left Texas A&M College to direct the agricultural experiment stations at New Hampshire and later West Virginia. He spent the remainder of his career as head of the rural sociology department at Cornell University.

ALFRED F. CONRADI Acting Department Head—Research and Teaching 1904-1907 Alfred Conradi came to Texas A&M College in 1903 and was appointed acting department head one year later. During his time here, he developed a strong teaching program in undergraduate entomology. In 1905, he was appointed the first entomologist employed by the Texas Agricultural Experiment Station. He conducted research and published on the San Jose scale, vegetable insects, and the sweet potato borer. He resigned in 1907 and went to Clemson College, where he headed the entomology department.

CHARLES E. SANBORN Acting Department Head—Research and Teaching 1907-1908 Charles Sanborn came to Texas A&M College in 1904 as an employee of the United States Department of Agriculture. He worked as a cooperative entomologist on cotton insects until 1907 when he was appointed acting department head. He resigned in 1909 and was appointed head of the department of entomology at Oklahoma A&M College. His most notable work was conducted during his 35-year tenure at Oklahoma State where he served as department head, dean of the school of agriculture, and director of the Experiment Station.

GLENN W. HERRICK Department Head—Research and Teaching 1908-1909 Glenn Herrick taught biology at Mississippi A&M College for 10 years before coming to Texas A&M College to serve as department head. He led the department during the 1908-1909 school year, after which he returned to his alma mater, Cornell, where he taught until his retirement. During his year at Texas A&M, Herrick researched scale insects.

WILMON NEWELL Department Head—Research and Teaching 1910-1915 Wilmon Newell was appointed assistant professor and apiculturist at Texas A&M College in 1902. One year later, he moved to Georgia to become state entomologist. In 1910, he returned to Texas A&M to become head of the department, chief of the Texas Agricultural Experiment Station's division of entomology, and state entomologist. During his five-year tenure as department head, he provided stable leadership and increased the number of entomology courses. Because he was also interested in beekeeping, he rejuvenated the foulbrood inspection system and helped write the foulbrood laws of Texas.

SHERMAN WEAVER BILSING Department Head—Research and Teaching 1915-1947 Dr. S.W. Bilsing was a longtime entomology teacher and researcher at Texas A&M College. Bilsing came to Texas A&M in 1913 to be an instructor of entomology. He became acting department head in 1915 and department head in 1918, a position he held until 1947. He retired from Texas A&M in 1952. Bilsing's primary contribution to Texas entomology was teaching future entomologists. Several prominent entomologists received their introduction to entomology under his tutelage. Bilsing's research interests mainly concerned insects attacking pecan trees. He was the leading authority on the biology and control of the pecan nut casebearer and published some basic works on the species. He took an active role in various scientific organizations, serving as Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, Entomological Society of America, and the Texas Academy of Science. He was also instrumental in establishing the Texas Entomological Society and served as president for its first six years of existence.

FLOYD B. PADDOCK Chief of Division of Entomology--Research 1915-1919 Floyd Paddock came to Texas A&M College in 1911 to work with Wilmon Newell. When Newell resigned in 1915, the teaching and research aspects of the department were split. Paddock became chief of the Texas Agricultural Experiment Station's division of entomology. Paddock worked on several insect pests as part of his research, including the harlequin bug, the cotton aphid, cowpea weevil and the beemoth or waxworm. Paddock resigned in 1919 and moved to Iowa State Agricultural College where he served as an apiculturist until his retirement.

MAURICE C. TANQUARY Chief of Division of Entomology--Research 1919-1923 Maurice Tanquary taught entomology for several years at Kansas State Agricultural College before joining the Texas Agricultural Experiment Station in 1919 as chief of the division of entomology. Tanquary was interested in apiculture and resigned in 1923 to enter professional beekeeping in North Dakota. He later joined the University of Minnesota in apiculture and remained there until 1944.

FRANK L. THOMAS Chief of Division of Entomology--Research 1924-1947 Frank Thomas was appointed chief of the Texas Agricultural Experiment Station's division of entomology in 1924 and retained that position until 1947. He directed various aspects of cotton insect control and traveled throughout Texas to observe insect problems and conduct research. He was also deeply engaged in apiculture and was well known by beekeepers throughout the state. His tenure as chief of the division covered a period during which there was a large increase in the research personnel and diverse projects. When the department of entomology and the division of entomology were consolidated in 1947, Thomas' title changed to professor, and he began teaching courses in beekeeping and general entomology and conducting research on bees. He retired in 1954 and accepted a 3-year position in Peru to advise cotton growers of a large organization.

HARRIS BRALEY PARKS Chief of Division of Agriculture 1927-1947 H.B. Parks had broad interests in the field of natural history and published on several topics, including bees, honey plants, butterflies and valuable wild plants of Texas. Parks came to Texas in 1917 with the United States Department of Agriculture to do special work with the Texas Agricultural Extension Service. The following year he joined the Extension Service and in 1920 transferred to the Texas Agricultural Experiment Station as apiculturist. After spending time in commercial work, Parks rejoined the Experiment Station in 1921 and established the Apicultural Laboratory near San Antonio. He remained at the San Antonio laboratory until 1945. From 1927 to 1947, he was chief of the Experiment Station's division of apiculture. In 1945, Parks entered modified service and moved to College Station to become curator and botanist of the Tracy Herbarium at Texas A&M. He retired in 1949.

HORACE G. JOHNSTON Department Head—Research and Teaching 1947-1952 Horace G. Johnston was first employed by the Department of Entomology at Texas A&M with responsibility for teaching and research during the period 1927-1939. During the mid-1930’s, Johnston was a seasonal employee of the USDA, conducting work in Arizona. From 1939 until 1942 he served as research and extension entomologist at the University of Arizona. In 1942 he returned to Texas A&M as extension entomologist and served in this capacity until 1944, Johnston later became director of agricultural research in the Freeport Sulpher Company. He again returned to Texas as extension entomologist during the year 1946. In 1947 when entomology was reorganized in the Texas A&M System, Johnston was appointed head of the department. His responsibilities included administration in teaching, research, apiculture, and extension entomology. He remained in this position until 1952 when he joined the staff of the National Cotton Council as head of its research development unit. He retired from this position in 1969 after having served in the field of entomology for over 40 years.

J.C. GAINES Department Head—Research and Teaching 1952-1967 J.C. Gaines spent his entomology career at Texas A&M. He came to the college in 1927 to work on cotton insects for the Texas Agricultural Experiment Station's division of entomology and, except for time spent in military service during World War II, remained at A&M until retirement. From 1927-1947, he worked in the division of entomology. In 1947, his appointment became joint teaching-research. He served as department head from 1952-1967, after which he researched overseas at East Pakistan University. He retired in 1971. Gaines devoted most of his career to cotton insect research. He was one of the first researchers to develop an early season control program for the boll weevil.

PERRY L. ADKISSON Department Head—Research and Teaching 1967-1978 Dr. Perry Adkisson served as Department Head from 1967 to 1978. He is Chancellor Emeritus and Distinguished Professor Emeritus of the Texas A&M University System Adkisson’s research accomplishments have made him internationally known in the area of insect pest management and crop protection. He is a member of the National Academy of Sciences and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. He is a Fellow of the Entomological Society of America and has served as its president. He has received the World Food Prize, the Wolf Prize, and the Alexander von Humboldt Award, among other notable honors. Dr. Adkisson served two terms as a member of the National Science Board. He is a member of numerous national and international boards and committees, and has been a consultant to numerous national and international governmental agencies.

JIM OLSON Department Head—Research and Teaching 1978-1979 Dr. Jimmy K. Olson joined the department in January 1971. Since joining the department, Dr. Olson has taught many of the courses in medical, veterinary, and urban entomology offered in the department’s undergraduate and graduate curriculum. His research has focused primarily on the biology, ecology, and management of mosquito populations associated with rice-producing systems; from 1979 to 1994, he served as the director of the National Riceland Mosquito Management Program funded by the USDA Special Grants Program. As Interim Department Head, Dr. Olson’ s objectives were to promote professional stability, continuance of program effort, and a smooth transition of the department from the administration of Perry L. Adkisson to that of Fowden G. Maxwell.

FOWDEN G. MAXWELL Department Head—Research and Teaching 1979-1993 Dr. Fowden Maxwell joined the faculty at Texas A&M in 1978 where he served as Head of the Department for 18 years. Maxwell’s primary contributions to the Department were in administration and research. Facilities, faculty (campus and statewide), and research staff were enlarged significantly during his tenure as department head. He also served on the planning committee in the early development of the Plant Molecular Biology Facility, insuring space for an entomology position to work in insect-plant interactions. Maxwell obtained $1.3 million for renovation of space in the Heep building, the Urban Center, and the Entomology Research Laboratory to help accommodate expansions. Three endowed chairs were also created during his tenure as department head. Dr. Maxwell stepped down as Department Head in 1993 and assumed the position of Professor and Director of the Biointensive IPM Center until his retirement at the end of 1996. He currently serves as Professor Emeritus in the Department of Entomology at Texas A&M University.

RAYMOND E. FRISBIE Department Head—Research and Teaching 1993-2002 Dr. Ray Frisbie was appointed Professor and Head of the Department of Entomology on July 5, 1993. He has been with The Texas A&M University System for 26 years. Dr. Frisbie has a national and international reputation for the development and delivery of IPM systems. His area of expertise is cotton IPM. From 1972 to 1993, he coordinated 22 Extension IPM programs across 60 major agricultural producing counties involving 10 commodities in Texas. He led in the formation of the Texas Pest Management Association, the largest farmer operated, non-profit IPM association in the U.S. Dr. Frisbie was a primary organizer of the National Coalition on IPM, a producer, food processor, environmentalist, and consumer coalition formed to support greater implementation of IPM in the U.S. He also led in the organization of the National Foundation for IPM. He was a founder and served as Director (1991-1993) of the Center for Biologically Intensive IPM at Texas A&M. Dr. Frisbie has an extensive publication record with over 125 publications in scientific journals, books and conference proceedings, and has served as the lead editor on three books. He has received the highest professional honors for outstanding achievement from the Entomological Society of America, the American Registry of Professional Entomologists and The Texas A&M University System.

KEVIN HEINZ Department Head—Research and Teaching 2004   Dr. Kevin Heinz Info to follow.