PLAUDITS

ASSISTANT PROFESSOR OF ANIMAL SCIENCE AND INDUSTRY ELECTED PRESIDENT OF ABGA
Brian Faris, assistant professor of animal science and industry, was recently elected president of the American Boer Goat Association.

"It is truly an honor to be elected as the ABGA president. I see this as an opportunity to provide leadership and direction to a relatively young livestock association," Faris said. "We have a great group of members and a tremendous amount of opportunity."

Faris will serve a one-year term as president. During that time, education for producers, members and potential new members will be his focus. Faris said he expects the ABGA to grow beyond a recognized animal registry and play a vital role in the further development of the meat goat industry. Educating the general public about the nutritional aspects of goat meat -- called chevon -- and its preparation methods is also in his plans.

"The meat goat industry is not well known in the United States because chevon is not as popular among the American public as beef, pork or chicken," Faris said. "However, the demand for chevon is increasing with our growing ethnic populations."

"While chevon is not the most consumed meat in the world in terms of total pounds, it is the most widely consumed meat in the world," Faris said. "It contains fewer calories and less fat and cholesterol when compared to chicken, beef or pork."

Since childhood Faris has been involved in the goat industry. His family, like many others, began cross-breeding the Boer goat with Angora goats to create a meatier animal. He began judging 4-H and FFA Market Goat shows in college before becoming a certified judge for the ABGA in 2005. Faris has conducted numerous programs involving Boer goats and even raises them with his family. In 2008 he was elected to a three-year term on the ABGA board of directors.

The ABGA started in 1993 with the initial imports of Boer goats from South Africa. The Boer goat is a meat animal that is more muscular than the native Spanish goat, which has been in the United States since the early 1540s.

The ABGA publishes the magazine The Boer Goat six times annually. More information about the organization is available online at http://www.abga.org/.

 

FORT RILEY RECOGNIZES K-STATE'S ART DEGROAT WITH HIGH CIVILIAN HONOR
A commitment to building and strengthening the relationship between Fort Riley and K-State has earned K-State's Art DeGroat a special honor.

DeGroat, director of military affairs at K-State and a retired Army lieutenant colonel, was honored June 18 with Fort Riley's Distinguished Trooper Award, one of the post's highest awards for private citizens.

The award is given in recognition of a citizen's sustained public service and contributions to the Fort Riley community. In DeGroat's case the honor recognizes his work building and strengthening the bond between K-State and Fort Riley during the last four years.

"It feels great. It's kind of validation for everything we have been doing to help Fort Riley," DeGroat said. "I also feel like this award is really recognizing a larger community of university leaders engaging the military at Fort Riley. For an Army post and a university to work as closely together as we do is a rare and valuable experience."

To DeGroat's knowledge, the K-State-Fort Riley partnership has no equal nationwide. Because of this relationship, DeGroat said he has been able to pioneer new opportunities that mutually benefit both institutions -- especially students and soldiers. His current efforts aim to bring more K-State faculty to the post to see firsthand the opportunities to expand the relationship.

"As a Distinguished Trooper I guess I'm kind of serving equally as an ambassador for K-State and for Fort Riley," DeGroat said.

A relationship with Fort Riley personnel is especially important since K-State is a land-grant institution, DeGroat said.

"K-State has a mission to provide our Kansas military residents with education, research and outreach services that help their development, military service and quality of life," DeGroat said. "It also is important that K-State help build a vibrant community for the welfare of our 23,500 students and the 18,000 Fort Riley soldiers, so it's imperative that these two communities share a common connection."

Former Fort Riley commander Maj. Gen. Robert J. St. Onge Jr. established the Distinguished Trooper Award in 2001. It consists of a sequentially numbered gold medallion engraved with the recipient's name and a certificate signed by the post's current commanding general. Since its inception it has only been awarded to a handful of individuals.

 

DORINDA LAMBERT NEW DIRECTOR OF K-STATE'S COUNSELING SERVICES
Dorinda Lambert has been named the new director of counseling services. Lambert previously served as associate director.

Her appointment follows a search to replace out-going director Fred Newton, who will continue to serve with counseling services and the College of Education.

"I am happy about the opportunity to continue working with all the wonderful staff at counseling services and with faculty and staff across the K-State campus," Lambert said.

As director of counseling services, Lambert will oversee the staff and agency operations, facilitate accreditation of the center by regional and national accrediting agencies, provide consultation to university administration and various campus committees, and continue to provide other direct clinical services to students.

Counseling services helps facilitate students' individual growth, overall functioning and their academic success at K-State. Services it offers include crisis consultation, individual and group therapy, biofeedback and stress management training. It also provides educational programs for the campus community and the award-winning online community for students, universitylifecafe.org.

A licensed psychologist, Lambert joined counseling services in 1985 as a counselor and director of the psychology internship training program. She moved to the assistant director position in 1988 and became associate director in 2002. She also serves as director of clinical services.

Lambert currently serves on the psychology advisory committee for Kansas' Behavioral Sciences Regulatory Board. She has been a past president of the Kansas Psychological Association and represented the state on the governance board of the American Psychological Association. She also worked with the association's Commission on Accreditation from 1989-2008 as a site visitor reviewing pre-doctoral internship programs at various university counseling agencies.

Lambert earned a bachelor's in psychology from Blackburn College in Carlinville, Ill., and has a master's degree in rehabilitation counseling with a specialization in gerontology and a doctoral degree in counseling psychology from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln.