Retired Faculty Awarded Emeritus Status

Retired Angelo State University faculty members Dr. Gil Engdahl and Dr. Terry Maxwell have each been awarded the title “Distinguished Professor Emeritus” by the Texas Tech University System Board of Regents.

Awarded for their long and distinguished service to ASU, the titles were actually approved by the Board of Regents at its regular meeting in August of 2014, but were not officially announced until ASU’s Faculty Recognition Dinner on Thursday, May 7.

Engdahl joined the ASU Department of Agriculture faculty in 1976 and spent 37 years in the department until his retirement in May of 2013, including 14 years as department chair. His many accomplishments include increasing enrollment in the department by almost 50 percent, establishing an internationally recognized Rambouillet sheep flock and leading the development of four new degree programs. He also helped start the Block and Bridle Club agriculture student organization and the highly successful wool and livestock judging teams.

Additionally, Engdahl’s initiation of numerous collaborative research efforts with the Texas AgriLife Extension Service was instrumental in developing the Agriculture Department’s graduate programs, and his research efforts developed the foundation for a strong, multi-disciplinary research program.In addition to his many awards from the FFA, 4-H clubs and the San Angelo Stock Show and Rodeo Association, Engdahl received the 2008 Distinguished Faculty Achievement Award for the College of Sciences from the ASU Alumni Association. He earned his bachelor’s, master’s and doctoral degrees from Texas A&M University.

Maxwell also joined the ASU faculty in 1976 in the Department of Biology and spent 38 years in the department until his retirement in May of 2014, including seven years as department chair. He also served as curator of the Birds Collection in the Angelo State Natural History Collections and conducted field research throughout North and South America.

In addition to his teaching and research, Maxwell penned a weekly column, “Naturally Texas,” in the San Angelo Standard-Times that included his professional-quality drawings of Concho Valley animals and birds. His colorful blackboard chalk drawings of various animals were also a permanent fixture in the Biology Department.

Maxwell’s numerous honors and awards include the 1998 Robert L. Packard Outstanding Educator Award from the Southwestern Association of Naturalists, a 2006 ASU Teaching Excellence Award and being named a Piper Distinguished Professor by the Minnie Stevens Piper Foundation in 2007. He also won the Outstanding Science Faculty Award from the ASU Student Senate in 2002 and 2004, as well as the ASU Alumni Association’s 2004 Distinguished Faculty Achievement Award for the College of Sciences.

Maxwell holds a master’s degree from ASU, along with his bachelor’s and doctoral degrees from Texas A&M.