Texas Tidbits

Posted: 11/30/07

Texas Tidbits

Couple gives $5 million to Baylor. Baylor University received a $5 million gift from Clifton and Betsy Robinson of Waco. The gift will establish the C. Clifton Robinson and Betsy Sharp Robinson Endowed Scholarship Fund in the Honors College at Baylor. The scholarships will provide need-based financial assistance for academically gifted incoming freshmen, as well as some current Baylor students, who will be known as Clifton and Betsy Robinson Scholars. Scholarship recipients will study in any of the four Honors College programs—Baylor Interdisciplinary Core, the Honors Program, University Scholars and the Great Texts Program —established when the Honors College was created in 2002.

Music scholarship established at HSU. Francis McBeth recently established an endowed scholarship at Hardin-Simmons University to benefit sophomore, junior or senior theory composition majors in the School of Music. McBeth, a former Cowboy Band member and 1954 Hardin-Simmons graduate, served 40 years on the faculty at Ouachita Baptist University, and he was the conductor of the Arkansas Symphony Orchestra in Little Rock from 1968 to 1972. He received the John Philip Sousa Foundation’s Sudler Medal of Honor in 1999, and he was appointed the Composer Laureate of the State of Arkansas.

Baptist Health Foundation grants $4 million. Baptist Health Foundation of San Antonio granted more than $4 million to 74 local and area organizations this year. Recipients included San Antonio Baptist Association, which was granted $250,000 for health ministries. During its first three years, Baptist Health Foundation in conjunction with 2005 grants from the former Baptist Health Services Foundation has awarded more than $11 million in healthcare related grants to 162 organizations in the San Antonio area.

Valley Baptist Medical Center receives international honors. Nurses, physicians and staff at Valley Baptist Health System were honored with three international awards. The awards include the highest honor bestowed by the Worldwide Conventions and Business Forums’ Global Six Sigma Summit. The Platinum Award for the Most Outstanding Organizational Achievement is presented for achievement in improving quality by an organization from any industry, not just health care. In addition, Valley Baptist and its employees received two other awards—Best Achievement of Six Sigma in Healthcare and Six Sigma Vice President of the Year, presented to Tomas Gonzalez. Six Sigma is a quality improvement program that focuses on improving processes in business, industry and organizations.

Convocation honors Borrego. The Hispanic Convocation of the Laity named Baldemar Borrego, president of the Hispanic Baptist Convention of Texas, to its hall of fame during a recent gathering at Highland Lakes Encampment. A letter of commendation from President Bush stated, in part: “The celebration of faith continues to be central to the lives of Americans, offering strength, hope and guidance to people across the country. By sharing God’s teachings, you have helped to enrich lives and have served as an inspiration to your church and your community.”