‘I Am WT’ Podcast Highlights Former TCFA Executive Ross Wilson

Copy by Chip Chandler, 806-651-2124, cchandler@wtamu.edu

CANYON, Texas — A prominent cattleman and community leader is the latest to be profiled in West Texas A&M University’s student-run podcast.

Ross Wilson, former CEO of Texas Cattle Feeders Association, speaks with “I Am WT” hosts Brae Foust in the latest episode, available May 4 on Apple Podcasts, Spotify and SoundCloud, as well as at wtamu.edu/IAmWTPodcast.

Wilson, a Claude native, attended WT from 1975 to 1978 and has been intimately tied to the University ever since.

“Little would I have imagined that my career would have led me all these great opportunities over the last several years to work closely with the University, with leadership, faculty, staff, students,” Wilson said. “It’s been a long-term and great relationship with West Texas A&M.”

Wilson cited the “family” atmosphere at WT.

“I think the faculty and staff have worked hard to maintain that, even as the University has grown significantly,” Wilson said.

Wilson was the inaugural winner of WT’s Presidential Panhandle Pioneer Award in 2019. He led the campaign to raise $10 million for WT’s Agricultural Sciences Complex for the Paul Engler College of Agriculture and Natural Sciences.

The award “was an incredible honor, first, but it’s an example of one individual getting recognition that truly a lot of individuals that worked on that project deserved,” said Wilson, listing his TCFA coworkers; philanthropists Stan Sigman and Stanley Schaeffer; and WT leaders.

Wilson also discusses his philosophy of philanthropy and his passion for giving.

The ag complex includes the Caviness Meat Science and Innovation Center, the three-story Happy State Bank Academic and Research Building, the Piehl-Schaeffer Pavilion, the Bain Event Center and a multi-purpose area with spectator seating for up to 500 people.

Since the complex opened in 2018, the ag program’s footprint on campus has grown to include the Charles W. “Doc” Graham ’53 DVM, The Texas A&M University System Center, which encompasses the Veterinary Education, Research, & Outreach Building and the Charles W. Graham DVM Texas A&M Veterinary Medical Diagnostic Laboratory Building.

TCFA, under Wilson’s leadership, also played a pivotal role in securing a $4 million legislative appropriation for WT’s ag initiatives.

Wilson exemplifies the servant leadership qualities that are a founding principle of the University’s long-range plan, WT 125: From the Panhandle to the World.

That plan is fueled by the historic, $125 million One West comprehensive fundraising campaign. To date, the five-year campaign— which publicly launched in September 2021 —has raised more than $120 million.

In the biweekly episodes of “I Am WT,” student hosts Tearanee’ Lockhart, a senior advertising/PR major from Amarillo, and Foust, an Amarillo native pursuing his second bachelor’s degree in broadcast journalism, interview WT faculty, staff, students and alumni about what WT means to them.

Audiences hear stories about how attending or working at WT changed the lives of the guests, and how they’re making a difference in their community.

About West Texas A&M University

WT is located in Canyon, Texas, on a 342-acre residential campus. Established in 1910, the University has been part of The Texas A&M University System since 1990. WT, a Hispanic Serving Institution since 2016, boasts an enrollment of about 10,000 and offers 59 undergraduate degree programs and more than 40 graduate degrees, including two doctoral degrees. The University is also home to the Panhandle-Plains Historical Museum, the largest history museum in the state and the home of one of the Southwest’s finest art collections. The Buffaloes are a member of the NCAA Division II Lone Star Conference and offers 14 men’s and women’s athletics programs.

—WT—