Elsa Murano
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Elsa Murano | |
 Under Secretary of Agriculture for Food Safety portrait |
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| Texas A&M University | |
|---|---|
| Term | January 3, 2008 – present |
| Predecessor | Robert Gates |
| Born | August 14, 1959 Havana, Cuba |
| Alma mater | Florida International (1981) Virginia Tech (1987, 1990) |
| Spouse | Dr. Peter S. Murano |
| Website: http://www.tamu.edu/president/ | |
Elsa Alina Murano (born August 14, 1959 in Havana, Cuba)[1] is the current and 23rd President of Texas A&M University.[2] Prior to being elected president, she served as the vice chancellor and dean of Texas A&M's College of Agriculture and Life Sciences from 2005–07 and as the U.S. Under Secretary of Agriculture for Food Safety from 2001–04.[3]
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[edit] Early life and education
Murano was born as Elsa Casales in Havana, Cuba in 1959. She fled Cuba with her family in July 1961, when her parents decided to leave during Fidel Castro's communist uprising.[4] The family fled to Curacao, and then moved to Colombia, where her father worked for IBM. She later lived in Peru and then El Salvador before moving to Puerto Rico to start kindergarten. Once her parents divorced, she moved with her mother and three siblings into an apartment in Miami, Florida in 1973. Although Murano spoke no English upon her arrival, she enrolled at Miami Coral Park High School. Her mother, who worked as a security guard and a department store clerk, urged the children to graduate high school and attend college. In 1977, Murano graduated from high school, and enrolled at Miami Dade College, a nearby junior college. After two years at Miami-Dade, she transferred to Florida International University, relying on loans and scholarships to handle tuition costs. She received her bachelor's degree in biological sciences from FIU in 1981. Though she planned on attending medical school, she was more interested in research, and decided to expand her educational background. She attended Virginia Tech to receive her master's degree in anaerobic microbiology in 1987, and then her doctorate in food science and technology in 1990.[5]
[edit] Professorships and USDA Undersecretaryship
From 1990 to 1995, Murano served as an assistant professor in the Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Preventative Medicine at Iowa State University.[6] In 1995, she joined Texas A&M as an associate professor in the Department of Animal Science and as the associate director of the Center for Food Safety within the Institute for Food Science and Engineering. She later served as director of the center from 1997 to 2001. During this time, she became a full-time professor and the holder of the Sadie Hatfield Professorship in Agriculture.
In 2001, U.S. president George W. Bush appointed Murano as the Under Secretary of Agriculture for Food Safety for the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the highest ranked food safety U.S. government official. As the under secretary, she oversaw Food Safety and Inspection Service policies, ensuring U.S. meat products are safe, wholesome, and correctly packaged.[7] Over the years in her position, she oversaw dramatic decreases in the number of food recalls. Food recalls, which were rising since the mid-1990s, decreased from 113 in 2002 to less than 50 in 2004.[4][8] She served as the under secretary before resigning in November 2004 in order to return to Texas A&M.[9]
[edit] Return to Texas A&M
Murano returned to Texas A&M in January 2005, becoming the Vice Chancellor of Agricultural and Life Sciences of the Texas A&M University System, the Dean of the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, and the director of the Texas Agricultural Experiment Station.[5] In December 2007, after controversy regarding the way she was selected,[3] she became the sole finalist for the Texas A&M presidency, which was previously held by Robert Gates, who vacated the position in 2006 to become the U.S. Secretary of Defense.[10] An acting president was installed upon his departure. The Texas A&M University System Board of Regents voted 8–1 in support of her — the one opposing vote came from Gene Stallings, who voted for another unspecified candidate.[3] Once Murano had taken full duties as president on January 3, 2008,[11] she became the first female, the first Hispanic-American, and the first person under the age of 50 to serve the position.[3]
[edit] References
- ^ Haurwitz, Ralph K.M.. "A&M set to name first female and Hispanic president", Austin American-Statesman, 2007-12-08. Retrieved on 2008-02-29.
- ^ Associated Press. "Elsa Murano Becomes First Hispanic to Lead Texas A&M", Dallas Morning News, 2008-01-03. Retrieved on 2008-01-03.
- ^ a b c d Hacker, Holly. "Texas A&M poised to name Elsa Murano as president", Dallas Morning News, 2007-12-07. Retrieved on 2007-12-08.
- ^ a b Tresaugue, Matthew. "AN AMAZING JOURNEY FROM CUBA TO A&M", Houston Chronicle, 2007-12-18. Retrieved on 2008-02-29.
- ^ a b "Murano named vice chancellor at Texas A&M", Southwest Farm Press, 2004-11-22. Retrieved on 2008-02-29.
- ^ "A&M President Honored By State Department", KBTX, 2008-02-29. Retrieved on 2008-02-29.
- ^ USDA’S ELSA MURANO RESIGNS FOR POST AT TEXAS A&M. National Pork Producers Council (2004-11-05). Retrieved on 2008-03-30.
- ^ Weise, Elizabeth. "The food industry digests a challenging year", USA Today, 2004-12-29. Retrieved on 2008-03-30.
- ^ USDA (2004-11-04). "Statement of Dr. Elsa Murano USDA Under Secretary For Food Safety". Press release. Retrieved on 2007-12-08.
- ^ Tresaugue, Matthew. "Murano set to be A&M's first female president", Houston Chronicle, 2007-12-08. Retrieved on 2007-12-08.
- ^ "New president named at Texas A&M University", San Antonio Business Journal, 2008-01-03. Retrieved on 2008-02-29.
