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‘I Am WT’ Podcast Continues with Spotlight on Retiring Dean Jessica Mallard
Copy by Chip Chandler, 806-651-2124, cchandler@wtamu.edu
CANYON, Texas — West Texas A&M University’s student-run podcast continues the second half of Season 2 on May 2 with an episode spotlighting one of the University’s top leaders.
“I Am WT” hosts Myka Bailey, a junior PR/advertising/applied communication major from Abernathy, and Thomas Rodriguez, a junior digital media and communication major from Katy, are joined by Dr. Jessica Mallard, retiring dean of WT’s Sybil B. Harrington College of Fine Arts and Humanities.
The episode is available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify and SoundCloud, as well as at wtamu.edu/IAmWTPodcast. New episodes will drop weekly through June.
Mallard, who joined WT in 2002 and was named dean in 2012, will retire at the end of the 2023-2024 academic year. Her successor will be named shortly, following a nationwide search.
The Jessica Mallard Scholarship fund has been established in Mallard’s honor by the Office of Academic Affairs. A minimum of $1,000 will be given annually to one or more communication students beginning in fall 2024.
Mallard joined the University in 2002 as a faculty member in the Department of Communication. She later was named director of the William H. and Joyce Attebury Honors Program, then interim dean of the Harrington College in 2011.
The “I Am WT” podcast embodies WT’s commitment to people first, one of the key principles of the University’s long-range plan, WT 125: From the Panhandle to the World.
That plan is fueled by the historic One West comprehensive fundraising campaign, which reached its initial $125 million goal 18 months after publicly launching in September 2021. The campaign’s new goal is to reach $175 million by 2025; currently, it has raised nearly $160 million.
In episodes of “I Am WT,” student hosts 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.
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