Dallas Baptist University has called on its alumni, supporters and other concerned Christians globally to join in a concerted time of prayer on May 14. The virtual prayer meeting will be held from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m., May 14, on Facebook Live. The come-and-go format will allow participants to engage in times of directed prayer, as well as hear messages from DBU faculty and staff and from Christian leaders around the world. For more information, click here.
David Moseman, senior lecturer in religion at Baylor University, was selected as the 2020 Collins Outstanding Professor, an honor voted on annually by the senior class. The Collins Outstanding Professor Award is provided by the Carr P. Collins Foundation, which recognizes and honors outstanding teachers at Baylor University. The Collins Professor receives an award of $10,000, recognition in university publications, a citation and recognition in the commencement program. Moseman also will deliver a special lecture, date to be determined, on a subject of his choice. His lecture will be published and made available to the university community. Moseman has been on the Baylor faculty since 2007. He teaches several classes, including “Introduction to Christian Scriptures,” “Christian Heritage,” “Introductory and Intermediate Hebrew,” “Former Prophets” and “Senior Seminar.” In recent years, he has been the faculty leader for Christian Pre-health Fellowship mission trips to Nicaragua and Uganda. He is a member of First Woodway Baptist Church in Waco.
Texas Baptist Men named Alan Huesing, former director of international education and vice president for spiritual development at East Texas Baptist University, as state director for Royal Ambassadors and Challengers, effective May 1. Huesing was an RA as a young boy, rising through the ranks and later serving as a state staffer in the early 1970s. He also worked extensively with the mission education program for boys while also expanding the Challengers program nationally through the Southern Baptist Convention North American Mission Board as youth mission education strategist. At NAMB, Huesing developed and published mission strategies and training programs for high school and collegiate groups. Serving as national director for Challengers Mission Organization, he trained and managed mission education efforts for Baptists nationwide. Huesing earned his Bachelor of Science degree from ETBU and his Master of Science degree from the University of Texas at Tyler. He has worked as a math and ESL teacher and a soccer coach.
Students and faculty from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary collaborated as a “virtual choir” to record the hymn, “Be Thou My Vision.” After a professor suggested inviting students in the seminary’s School of Church Music and Worship to sing in a virtual choir, the school issued a call for volunteers. About 60 students and eight faculty responded. Participants recorded their individual parts from their dorm rooms, apartments and homes, and those recordings were compiled into a single, united choir. Once the recordings were made, participants uploaded their videos into a shared online folder. The audio engineer and video editor—each in a different state—produced the finished product. To view and listen to the video, click here.
After serving 10 seasons as head coach of the University of Mary Hardin-Baylor softball team, Larry Hennig is retiring effective May 29. Hennig guided UMHB to a 249-149 overall record (167-67 in conference play) during his tenure. UMHB advanced to the ASC Conference Tournament in all 10 of his seasons. Melissa Mojica, who has been assistant coach the past five seasons at UMHB, will become head coach. Mojica is a graduate of Baylor University and was a two-year letter winner and played in two NCAA Tournaments with the Bears softball program. She and her husband David have three daughters.
Baylor University honored 12 professors with Outstanding Faculty Awards. The awards recognize the best all-around professors based on teaching capabilities, research achievement, time spent with students and church and community service. Each of the honorees will receive an award of $2,500, a citation and recognition by their department. Faculty recognized specifically for teaching are: Sara Alexander, professor of anthropology; Yang Li, associate professor of electrical and computer engineering; Horace Maxile, associate professor of music theory; Edward Polson, assistant professor of social work; Anne Spence, assistant chair and clinical associate professor of mechanical engineering; Scott Spinks, senior lecturer in Spanish; and Edward Taylor, senior lecturer in music theory. Faculty recognized for their scholarship are:
Kenichi Hatakeyama, associate professor of physics; Emily Hunter, associate professor of management; Danielle Parrish, associate professor of social work; and Howard Lee, assistant professor of physics. Randall Umstead, the Charles W. Evans Chair in Voice, associate professor of voice and associate dean for academic affairs in the School of Music, is recognized for significant contributions to the academic community.
Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary plans to resume on-campus instruction on its Fort Worth campus for the fall semester, President Adam W. Greenway announced April 29. The seminary’s common spaces will undergo a “deep cleaning” in the months preceding the beginning of the semester, Greenway said. The seminary will adjust class sizes and the use of classrooms “to ensure all public health recommendations relevant upon re-opening are strictly and faithfully observed, with a heightened cleaning regimen upon resumption of classroom instruction,” he explained. The campus clinic will continue to evaluate student health and provide testing, when appropriate. “As good citizens, our plans will be consistent with any governmental limitations when on-campus classes resume, while also doing everything possible to advance our mission of theological education,” Greenway said.
Following a nationwide search, Baylor University selected Shanna Hagan-Burke, professor of special education and head of the department of educational psychology at Texas A&M University’s College of Education and Human Development, as dean of the Baylor School of Education, effective July 1. Hagan-Burke will succeed Terrill F. Saxon, professor of educational psychology and associate dean for research and graduate education, who has served the past three years as interim dean. Hagan-Burke served on the faculties at the University of Georgia and University of Oregon before joining the Texas A&M faculty in 2005 as associate professor of special education. In 2016, she was named professor and department head of educational psychology. She earned her undergraduate degree in special education and teaching and her master’s in clinical teaching from the University of West Florida, and her Ph.D. in special education from the University of Oregon.
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