House Funkhouser
Dr. Funkhouser at Texas A&MDr. Funkhouser began his career with Texas A&M University in 1976 as an assistant professor of plant physiology (now molecular & environmental plant sciences) in the department of plant sciences. Shortly after joining the university, his second daughter was born. Both of his daughters later graduated from Bryan High School and Texas A&M University. He continues to visit them and their families, and learns from his grandchildren. He was transferred to the department of biochemistry and biophysics and later advanced to professor. Dr. Funkhouser served as head for undergraduate programs as director of the Howard Hughes Medical Institute – Undergraduate Intern Program and director of ALPS (Anakletic Laboratory Program in Science), a summer program for high school students. He helped establish the Master of Biotechnology program. Being named executive director of honors programs and academic scholarships was one of the highlights of his career. He was among many who established the Century Scholars program. During his career, Dr. Funkhouser served on the TAMU Faculty Senate, as an officer for several local chapters of honor societies, and as an officer for several regional professional societies. He taught many courses at the undergraduate and graduate level at Texas A&M and has authored laboratory manuals and research papers in plant physiology and biochemistry. Teaching has been his passion.
Picture of Dr. Funkhouser
Personal Life & Professional Career
Dr. Funkhouser is from Ewing Township, Trenton, NJ, which later became known simply as Ewing, NJ. He learned early on that change happens. In his youth, he had three different mailing addresses, different street names, and different house numbers, while living in the same house. His jobs during high school in Ewing included working on a dairy farm, as a counter clerk at a dairy store and restaurant, as a clerk at an electrical supply store, and as a cashier/bagger at a grocery store. One of the highlights of his high school years was attending his junior prom with Norma Field. After a five-year hiatus, they resumed dating and married in 1968.
He attended Delaware Valley College (now University) in Doylestown, PA and graduated with a BS in Horticulture, following a customized degree plan that included many courses from the chemistry and biology majors' curricula. The college was (and is still) committed to experiential learning where during a mandatory summer course for rising sophomores, Dr. Funkhouser gained firsthand experience in agriculture by caponizing chickens, castrating pigs, pruning trees, plowing fields, and milking cows. During this time he formed lasting friendships with faculty and classmates, including serving as a "kid-sitter" for a professor who was also department head and later president. As a graduate student, he had the opportunity to serve as a mathematics and biology instructor.