The 2005 Signal Service Awards were sponsored by Keystone Foods and Elanco Animal Health.

Jeff Savell Click here to view the presentation (Flash Viewer Required) The AMSA Signal Service Award was established in 1956 and is given to members in recognition of devoted service and lasting contributions to the meat industry and to the association. The third AMSA Signal Service Award winner for 2005 is Dr. Jeffrey W. Savell.

Elanco's Aubrey Schroeder (left) presents the 2005 Signal Service Award to Jeff Savell

For more than 25 years, Jeff has served the university, the meat industry, and AMSA as a visionary leader. Jeff is professor and holder of the E.M. “Manny” Rosenthal Chair in the Department of Animal Science at Texas A&M University. He also holds an appointment on the faculty of food science and technology.

Jeff teaches a variety of courses at Texas A&M. He is best known for teaching ANSC 307, the introductory meat science class, where he had taught over 6,700 Aggies in 67 semesters since 1982. In addition, he teaches or team-teaches classes in marketing and grading of livestock and meats, HACCP, and carcass composition and quality.

Although Jeff’s work with undergraduate students is very much worth noting, it is his guiding of graduate students that has been a special calling to him. He has served as chair or co-chair to over 60 masters’ and 28 Ph.D. students and currently has 15 grad students in his care. These students have been valuable teaching assistants in Jeff’s classes, have conducted research projects that have generated over 260 refereed scientific journal articles, most of which are senior-authored by them, and have helped make so many of the meat science extension programs successful. Jeff is dedicated to producing the next generation of meat science leaders.

Jeff has provided his talents and leadership to AMSA serving on the Executive Board from 1992 to 1994 and as president from 2001 to 2002. He has received both the AMSA Distinguished Teaching and Distinguished Research Awards. He was a team leader on AMSA’s Meat Evaluation Handbook committee.

Other organizations have recognized Jeff’s talents. In 2004, the National Meat Association presented Jeff with its E. Floyd Forbes Award, and in 2003, the North American Meat Processors Association presented Jeff with its Harry L. Rudnick Educator’s Award. In 2003, Jeff and his colleagues received the Texas A&M Vice Chancellor’s Award in Excellence for the highly touted and much sought-after Beef 101 program, a three-day intensive hands-on workshop designed to showcase the total beef industry.

Jeff was born in Dallas, Texas and was raised in Ferris, Texas. He has been married 30 years to his high school sweetheart, Jackie, and they are the proud parents of Jennifer Larriviere and her husband, Thomas, Jeffrey, and Jonathan. Jeff and Jackie are eagerly awaiting the arrival of their first grandchild in January.

For his unswerving dedication to this organization and his unwavering devotion to high-quality research and influential instruction, we salute Jeff Savell as an AMSA Signal Service Award winner.