COLLEGE STATION, Texas — Texas A&M University AgriLife recently announced the renaming of the Poultry Science Research, Teaching and Extension Center, commonly known as The Farm, to celebrate donors who are helping shape the future of the poultry industry with their support.
The complex will now be known as the Barbara J. Huffman and William M. “Bill” Huffman ‘53 Poultry Science Farm Complex, recognizing the couple’s investment in a program that continues to prepare students for careers across the poultry industry, Texas A&M said in a release.
“The Huffman name belongs here because it reflects Texas A&M AgriLife’s belief in learning by doing and in connecting what we know to work that truly matters,” Dr. Jeffrey W. Savell, TAMU vice chancellor and dean of Agriculture and Life Sciences, said. “That focus on people and service is what guides our work at this complex and across the land-grant mission.”
The complex is an essential feature for hands-on teaching, applied research, and industry engagement with the university’s College of Agriculture and Life Sciences Department of Poultry Science. The 16-acre complex supports all aspects of the production and processing of poultry and eggs and includes two classrooms for student instruction, Texas A&M added.
The Department of Poultry Science and the complex itself helped shape Bill Huffman’s future, and he dedicated a lot of his time to it while he was there. He was a member of the 1952 Texas A&M Collegiate Poultry Judging Team that won the National Poultry Judging Contest, and the following year he was the highest scoring individual at the 1953 National Poultry Judging Contest, Texas A&M noted.
Huffman told Texas A&M that he applied the analytical and decision-making skills he learned in poultry judging in career as a lawyer and other endeavors.
“The department made a lasting impact on my life,” Huffman said. “Our hope is that by supporting the department and this complex, we might impact students in ways that enhance their careers and lives.”
Huffman and his wife also told the university that they were thankful to have their names associated with the Department of Poultry Science, because the program gave him so much as a student and is doing the same for students today.
“Bill has said that his time in the program instilled foundational skills that served him personally and professionally,” Dr. Audrey McElroy, TAMU professor and head of the Department of Poultry Science, said. “He has mentioned leadership, responsibility, practical application of fact and good decision making, and we believe those abilities and so many more are what makes this program special. That connection makes Barbara and Bill’s support and investment in our future and students’ future even more meaningful.”
