Around the State: ETBU nursing students awarded Cargill scholarship

Eleven East Texas Baptist University nursing students received the Polly Cargill Nursing Scholarship on behalf of the Cargill family and the university during a recent reception at the Marshall Grand. They are Denesha Bluford, Diana Garcia, Camryn Johnson, Cameron Kaufert, Victoria Miles, Marissa Morgan, Katie Muldowney, Brittan Price, Cameron Schmitz, Katelynn Smith and Laura Staley. The Cargill family—touched by the level of care their mother Polly Cargill received from nurses at Marshall Hospital—established the scholarship in her honor to help students in East Texas become equipped and compassionate nurses. “Our belief in Jesus Christ gives us hope for healing that comes through the compassionate care of the hands and the hearts of nurses. The Cargill family has made it a priority to help these students and future nurses with their education because they believe in what nurses can do in the lives of people who need them most,” ETBU President J. Blair Blackburn said.

Dallas Baptist University received a $500,000 grant from the Dean Foundation to establish the William B. Dean, M.D. Institute for Criminal Justice Leadership. The Dean Institute for Criminal Justice aims to foster collaboration with special law enforcement leaders, offer intellectual engagement through conferences, symposiums, workshops and certificate program opportunities, and seek out ways to financially invest in law enforcement officials pursuing certificate and degree programs in Criminal Justice at DBU. In addition to establishing the institute, DBU will introduce the endowed William B. Dean, M.D. Criminal Justice Servant Leadership Scholarship, establish the endowment to support the William B. Dean, M.D. Criminal Justice Certificate Program, and establish the endowment to support the William B. Dean, M.D. Criminal Justice Servant Leadership Award and Conference. “DBU has a longstanding tradition of advancing our support and work in law enforcement,” said DBU President Adam C. Wright. “The investment of the Dean Foundation will aid our cause in establishing an international center for educating, training, resourcing, collaborating, convening and transforming the work of those aspiring to or leading in law enforcement.”

Craig Gundersen, nationally recognized authority on the economics of food security, has been selected as the inaugural Jim and Tammy Snee Family Chair in Food Security in the Baylor Collaborative on Hunger and Poverty. Gundersen comes to Baylor University from the University of Illinois, where he was a distinguished professor and director of undergraduate studies in the department of agriculture and consumer economics. The Snee Family Chair in Food Security will provide support for Gundersen’s research within the Baylor Collaborative, expanding the organization’s work to alleviate poverty and hunger. The Snee Chair was established by Jim and Tammy Snee of Minnesota through the Baylor Academic Challenge. Gundersen will strengthen the Baylor Collaborative’s focus on research as an essential tool in addressing challenges associated with poverty and lack of access to food resources. “Our work at the Baylor Collaborative on Hunger and Poverty stands on the pillars of research, policy and practice,” Executive Director Jeremy Everett said. “Our field staff and partners around the country are on the front lines, practicing innovative solutions for lifting the burdens of poverty on individuals and communities. And our policy team works with legislators to create more just and equitable systems. But all this work would amount to spinning our wheels without solid research and evaluation to inform what we are doing. This has always been a vital component of our work, but the addition of Dr. Gundersen exponentially elevates our status as the premier research-focused organization devoted to alleviating hunger.”

The Howard Payne University School of Music and Fine Arts will host a concert with Jody Nix and the Texas Cowboys and the Heart of Texas All-Star Jazz Band at 7 p.m. Oct. 21, at 7 p.m. in Mims Auditorium. The concert will fuse together elements of country and jazz, and it will feature arrangements from Nashville and Hollywood. Nix has been playing and performing country and swing music 60 years. He has released 11 albums and was a guest artist on both the Asleep At The Wheel tribute albums to Bob Wills. He received a Western Heritage Wrangler Award from the National Cowboy Hall of Fame in Oklahoma City for his contributions to western music. All proceeds from ticket sales benefit music scholarships at HPU. Tickets may be purchased for $17.50 at www.hputx.edu/jodynix until Oct. 19.

The Avenue Church in Waxahachie—formerly known as Ferris Avenue Baptist Church—is among the 190 congregations nationally selected to receive grants through the Lilly Endowment 2021 National Clergy Renewal Program and the Clergy Renewal Program for Indiana Congregations. The grants help congregations honor and support their pastors by funding a respite from persistent ministerial duties and enabling pastors to engage in a period of extended reflection and renewal. Recipients may use the respite for activities that allow them to reflect and renew while engaging in activities such as travel, scholarly research or immersive experiences with different cultures and traditions. David Brown is senior pastor at The Avenue Church.

Renovadas Campamento de Mujeres, Oct. 15-16 at Hidden Acres Christian Camp and Retreat Center in Kaufman, will offer spiritual and emotional renewal to women desiring to exercise effective leadership in their church and home. Focused on Romans 12:2, the camp will provide an environment where women have the opportunity to reflect and evaluate the importance of prayer, and learn how to maintain emotional health. Registration is $65 per person. For more information, call (214) 991-8979.