August is always an important month on the Angelo State University campus. We welcomed thousands of new and returning students for the start of the fall semester, the fall athletics seasons got underway, and the annual list of the nation’s “Best Colleges” was released by The Princeton Review.
Additionally, this August was particularly eventful for ASU, including the purchase of The Nexus at Angelo Statefacility on Sunset Drive, new name and mission for ASU’s Kay Bailey Hutchison Institute, the launch of a new AI Center of Excellence, and the 17th straight year of ASU making The Princeton Review “Best Colleges” list.
But as always, there are other events and activities going on “behind the scenes,” and August was a banner month for several ASU faculty and alumni. Their stories are included here with links for readers who would like to see more details and photos.
Endangered Species Research Earns National Attention
Dr. Loren Ammerman of the Angelo State biology faculty has been featured by the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service for her long-running research into populations of the Mexican long-nosed bat at Emory Cave in Big Bend National Park.
The Mexican long-nosed bat plays an important ecological role as a pollinator of the valuable flowering agave plant. Each summer, females travel to Emory Cave during their annual migration from Mexico, seeking refuge to raise their young.
The feature on the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service website is titled “Harnessing technology to uncover the secrets of an endangered pollinator.” It details Ammerman’s research utilizing thermal-infrared cameras, which was also recently published in its official form in the Journal of North American Bat Research.
From 2008 to 2023, Ammerman and her student researchers joined with researchers from the Warnell School of Forestry and Natural Resources and the Washington Fish and Wildlife Office to conduct an annual census of the bats in Emory Cave. The goal was to provide themselves and other researchers with reliable data on population dynamics.
In doing so, they moved away from the traditional methods of counting bats – such as surface-area estimations and mist nets – and instead employed newer technology by using thermal-infrared cameras to provide more accurate counts.
ASU Counseling Psychology Professor Wins National APA Award
Dr. Nicole Lozano of the Angelo State psychology faculty has received the 2025 Early Career Award for Distinguished Professional Contributions to Counseling Psychology by the Society of Counseling Psychology, a division of the American Psychological Association (APA). She was presented with her award at the APA’s recent national conference, APA2025, in Denver, Colo.
An associate professor in the Department of Psychology, Lozano joined the ASU faculty in 2017. She has helped generate over $230,000 in research grant funding and has published scholarly articles in various professional journals, including Journal of Student Affairs and Research, Women’s Reproductive Health, Violence and Victims, and the Journal of Interpersonal Violence.
“Having the work I do noticed feels so special,” Lozano said. “The work of training and counseling is sometimes hard, but this award and recognition reminds me that what I do is meaningful to my students, colleagues and community.”
Lozano has also given dozens of presentations at professional conferences across the U.S. and in London, and she has been nominated for multiple ASU faculty awards for teaching and research. She holds a Ph.D. in counseling psychology from the University of Nebraska at Lincoln.
ASU History Alum Wins Prestigious Teaching Award
Dr. Kyle Longley, a 1987 Angelo State history graduate and now a professor of history at Chapman University in Orange, Calif., was recently awarded the inaugural LeFeber-Wood Prize for Distinguished Teaching by the Society for Historians of American Foreign Relations.
Named for Molly Wood of Wittenburg University and the late Walter LaFeber, who taught for many years at Cornell University, the award honors excellence in teaching and mentoring in the field of American diplomacy.
A member of the Chapman faculty since 2020, Longley is also the Henry Salvatori Professor of American Values and Traditions and director of the graduate war, diplomacy and society degree program. Prior to that, he spent 25 years on the faculty at Arizona State University, ending his tenure as the Snell Family Distinguished Professor, and he has also served as director of the Lyndon B. Johnson Presidential Library and Museum.
“I can honestly say that the professors at Angelo State played a huge role in my development as a teacher,” Longley said. “Dr. Shirley Eoff was especially significant and continues to be important, and others, including Dempsey Watkins and Charles Endress, played a substantial part in me seeing the importance of teaching and mentoring.”
Outside of the classroom, Longley has also published nine books and won several publishing awards, including the A.B. Thomas Award from the Southeastern Council on Latin American Relations, the Best Book on Arizona History Award from the Arizona/New Mexico Book Co-op Committee, and the Southwest Book Award from the Arizona Historical Society. He is currently working on “The Forever Soldiers: Americans at War in Afghanistan and Iraq,” which is slated for publication in fall 2026.
Recent ASU Graduate Profiled in National Online Magazine
Kennison Thomason of Flower Mound, a May 2025 Angelo State graduate with her Bachelor of Science (B.S.) in exercise science, has been featured by the Women’s Outdoor News (The WON) national website for her exploits as a shotgun sports athlete.
During her time competing for ASU, Thomason was named an All-American by both the National Collegiate Shooting Sports Athletic Association (NCSSAA) and the Association for College Unions International (ACUI). Some of her top awards include Gold Medals from the ACUI/SCTP Lower Midwest Regionals in both super sporting and sporting clays, and First Place, High Over All from the TSCA Texas State Super Sporting Championship
The profile of Thomason is the second installment of The WON’s three-part “Syren Savvy” series on outstanding young women shooting sports athletes who use Syren brand shotguns. It details her journey from competing in high school to her time as a member of the ASU Rams Clay Target Team (now ASU Shotgun Sports), to helping coach the next generation through the 4-H Shooting Sports program.
In addition to excelling for the Rams Clay Target Team, Thomason was also a regular on the ASU Dean’s List and was inducted into the prestigious Alpha Chi and Phi Kappa Phi national honor societies. She plans to attend UT Southwestern Medical center to earn her doctorate in physical therapy.
From the WON interview: “This sport is so much more than just hitting targets; it’s about building confidence.” Thomason said. “Learning lifelong lessons and joining a community full of supportive, lifelong friends. Everyone at the range wants to see you succeed, and collegiate teams are always excited to welcome new shooters.
Global Security Professor Talks Foreign Policy on C-SPAN
Dr. Bruce Bechtol, director of Angelo State’s graduate global security studies degree program, was recently invited to appear on the “BookTV” program on C-SPAN 2 to discuss his new co-authored book titled “Rogue Allies: The Strategic Partnership Between Iran and North Korea.”
During his appearance, Bechtol discussed and answered questions dealing with the influence of the two rogue states, whose defiance of the U.S. and U.S.-backed countries has serious consequences for international relations. He also touched on the origins of this decades-long alliance, elements that these two nation-states have in common, and how their relationship undermines neighboring regions, disrupts peace efforts in the Middle East and East Asia, and has dramatic implications for global security.
The “BookTV” episode featuring Bechtol aired four times throughout the day on Aug. 10, and it can now be viewed on the “Book TV” website. Bechtol has appeared previously, having made numerous appearances over the last two decades to discuss his earlier books. One of the nation’s foremost authorities on North Korean military and political issues, his previous books include “North Korea and Regional Security in the Kim Jong-un Era” in 2014, and “North Korean Military Proliferation in the Middle East and Africa” in 2018.
“Rogue Allies” is available for purchase through Amazon, Barnes & Noble, University Press of Kentucky and other online booksellers.
— From Tom Nurre Jr, ASU Office of Communications and Marketing.
