New CASNR Department Chairman Named
August 1, 2008
By: Norman Martin
Chairman will be responsible for programs affecting more than 250 students and nearly
a dozen faculty members.

Steve Fraze, former professor and current student services director in the Department
of Agricultural Education and Communications, will serve as the department chairman
starting Sept. 1.
A nationally recognized expert in agricultural education and strong proponent of
distance education has been selected to lead the
Department of Agricultural Education and Communications as its new chairman.
Steve Fraze, a longtime professor in the Department of Agricultural Education and
Communications and currently the college’s student services director, will assume
his new duties Sept. 1. In this new position, he will have responsibility for programs
affecting 215 undergraduate students, 70 graduate students and 10 faculty members.
“Steve Fraze is an outstanding educator and innovative thinker in both scientific
and personal terms,” said John Burns, dean of the
College of Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources. “He also has been a tremendous advocate for his students during his outstanding
tenure here at Texas Tech.”
The department supervises several degree programs, including a bachelor of science
in interdisciplinary agriculture, bachelor of science in agricultural communications,
master of science in agricultural education and a doctorate of education in agricultural
education. In addition, the department participates in the interdepartmental program
leading to the master of agriculture degree with an option in agricultural communications
or agricultural extension education.
Fraze also will oversee continued progress of several distance education programs,
including an innovative distance education program, informally known as “Doc @Distance.”
The program was developed in an effort to take the university to a specific group
of mid-career professionals working in agriculture.
“I feel greatly honored to have been selected, and I’m grateful for this opportunity
to serve,” Fraze said.
Fraze, who now serves as the department’s interim chair, was named a full professor
in 2004. A native of Dora, NM, Fraze earned a bachelor’s degree in agriculture from
Lubbock Christian College and a master’s degree along with a teaching certificate
from Texas Tech. He received his doctorate from Texas A&M University.
Fraze replaces former agricultural education and communications chairman Matt Baker,
who on Aug. 1 will step into his new post as the founding dean for the planned Texas
Tech College of Outreach and Distance Education.