Area Optometrist to Speak at WT Science Community Night Nov. 2

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

CANYON, Texas — An area optometrist will headline an evening dedicated to showing the impact of science education from West Texas A&M University.

Science Community Night, hosted by the Department of Life, Earth and Environmental  Sciences and Department of Chemistry and Physics in the Paul Engler College Agriculture  and Natural Sciences, will begin at 6 p.m. Nov. 2 in Legacy Hall inside the Jack B. Kelley Student Center on WT’s Canyon campus.

“This year, we’re focusing on building community and helping connect our students and faculty to the surrounding area, including our alumni, friends and related industries,” said Dr. Sara-Louise Newcomer, WT’s Russell and Natrelle Hedrick Long Professor of Companion Animal Studies.

Tickets, which include dinner, are $40. For reservations, visit wtamu.schoolauction.net/sciencenight24.

The event is sponsored by Panhandle Producers and Royalty Owners Association.

Dr. Lauren Salazar, a 2010 WT graduate in biology, will be the keynote speaker. Salazar also graduated from the University of Houston College of Optometry and became the first doctor in her family. Since 2014, she has practiced at the Canyon and Hereford locations of Advance Eye Care.

“It’s a huge honor to be asked to speak at WT,” Salazar said. “Science is an integral part of every person's life whether they know it or not, and education is power. I feel like I received a top-notch education at WT that continues to serve me well.”

Funds raised will support the College’s student science organizations and help finance meeting expenses, field trips, member supplies and attendance at professional meetings. Funds also will be raised for the Joseph Bramhall Hoot Memorial Scholarship, with matching funds up to $50,000, and for a scholarship for a middle-school student attending WT's first Science Camp this summer.

Organizations include American Chemical Society; Climate Science Society; Companion Animal Club; Entomology Club; Environmental Science Society; Geology Society; Minorities in Agriculture, Natural Resources and Related Sciences; Pre-Healthcare Club; Pre-Veterinary Medicine Club; Society of Physics Students; and the Wildlife Society. More than 100 WT students are members of the various science clubs.

For additional information or sponsorship arrangements, contact Newcomer at 806-651-3583 or snewcomer@wtamu.edu.

Science Community Night exhibits WT’s status as a learner-centered university and a regional research university, goals 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 more than $160 million.

About West Texas A&M University

WT, a Regional Research University, is redefining excellence in Canyon, Texas, on a 342-acre residential campus, as well as the Harrington Academic Hall WTAMU Amarillo Center in downtown Amarillo. 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 more than 9,000 and offers 58 undergraduate degree programs, one associate degree, and 44 graduate degrees, including an integrated bachelor’s and master’s degree, a specialist degree and 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—