Following His Footsteps

Since joining Texas A&M University’s faculty in 1985, recent Interim President Dr. John Junkins continues to advance Aggieland’s reputation for academic excellence. To honor his accomplishments, his daughter and son-in-law, Dr. Kathryn ’01 and Benjamin Sarpong, created the Junkins Family Distinguished Lecture Series in the Department of Aerospace Engineering to support an annual lecture from prominent researchers.

The Sarpongs’ gift follows Junkins’ own example of giving back to Texas A&M. As a university distinguished professor and the founding director of the Hagler Institute for Advanced Study, he and his wife, Elouise, committed their own planned gift to fund an aerospace engineering chair for a Hagler Institute Faculty Fellow.

“My dad has been a huge advocate of bringing great talent and intellectual forces to Texas A&M,” Kathryn explained. “He has helped create an environment of learning and intellectual curiosity, and I hope this gift will add to that.”

“This gift is an investment to help develop our most valuable resource—our young people,” Junkins added. “I am confident that it will enrich Texas A&M’s faculty and students for many decades.”