Around the State: Major gift endows chair at Truett Seminary

An anonymous $1.5 million gift established the William J. Abraham Endowed Chair in Truett Theological Seminary’s Wesley House of Studies. Jeff and Debbie Wooley of Woodway made an additional $1 million gift to establish a scholarship to support the program’s students. The endowed chair is the first established through Baylor University’s Illuminate Chair Matching Program, which supports the Give Light Campaign’s goals to increase endowed faculty positions.  “The Baylor Illuminate Chair Matching Program has been created to inspire more members of our Baylor Family to come alongside our efforts to grow faculty endowment at Baylor, and we are grateful for this first chair at Truett, in memory of Dr. Abraham and in honor of his ministry, and for the Wooley family’s inspiring support of our Truett students,” Baylor President Linda A. Livingstone said.

Artist Rachel Wimpey visited East Texas Baptist University in mid-November to present her art as a gift to the university and speak to students during chapel. Her artwork, now on display at ETBU, features “Let There Be,” a 7-panel series depicting the Genesis account of God’s creation, as well as two individual works titled “All I Have,” a depiction of the feeding of the 5,000 found in John 6, and “Lion of Judah.” She worked two years on the “Let There Be” project. “When God speaks, everything changes. The atmosphere, the molecules, everything is in alignment with what he says,” Wimpey said. “I’ve really learned about the power of God in doing this project.”

Dallas Baptist University named Karen Alexander, a former missionary who teaches English and Spanish courses in the College of Humanities and Social Sciences, as the Piper Outstanding Professor of the Year. Alexander, who has served on the DBU faculty for about 10 years, earned her undergraduate degree, a master’s degree and a doctorate from Baylor University. She also earned a Master of Fine Arts degree in creative writing from the University of Virginia and conducted post-doctoral studies in Spanish at the Universidad Nacional de Córdoba in Argentina. Before coming to DBU, she and her husband Mark served 25 years with the Southern Baptist Convention’s International Mission Board in Argentina.

Howard Payne University welcomed 120 students, university personnel, alumni and event sponsors to the university’s second annual Career Summit. The two-day event featured a luncheon seminar, a résumé writing workshop and career consultations with alumni. Dale Meinecke, vice president for development at HPU, moderated a panel discussion at the luncheon.  Panelists were Joe King, owner of Bishop Distributing in Brownwood; Natalia Lopez, an immigration lawyer with offices in Brownwood and Fort Worth; Scott Venable, lead pastor of Northwood Church in Keller; and Clay West, minister of small groups and administration at University Heights Baptist Church in Huntsville.

East Texas Baptist University welcomed retirees, Legacy of 1912 Society members and endowed scholarship donors to campus Nov. 10 for the annual Legacy of 1912 Society Luncheon. The Legacy of 1912 Society is comprised of alumni and friends who, through estate planning and other forms of planned giving, ensure resources will be available to support ETBU far into the future. “The Legacy of 1912 Society is named in honor of the year the charter was signed establishing a Christian college in Marshall, Texas,” ETBU President J. Blair Blackburn said. “Every student at this luncheon is a student that our faithful donors have enabled, through their investment, to come to ETBU and pursue Christian education. We have a responsibility to the Lord, to each other, and to the future generation of students, to carry forth what God has put in our hands—the responsibility to ensure that this institution remains faithful to him and never moves from its foundation as a Christ-centered university.”

The Howard Payne University School of Nursing baccalaureate degree program in nursing received accreditation from the Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education. The CCNE is recognized by the U.S. Secretary of Education as a national accreditation agency that ensures the quality and integrity of baccalaureate, graduate and residency programs in nursing. HPU’s undergraduate nursing program was accredited by the CCNE after meeting the organization’s four accreditation standards, related to the program’s mission and governance, institutional commitment and resources, curriculum and teaching, and assessment and achievement of program outcomes. “The gold standard for baccalaureate nursing education is national accreditation,” said Nina Ouimette, dean of the School of Nursing and professor of nursing. “Accreditation from the CCNE will affirm quality national education standards for our program. It enables our students to have more opportunities for graduate education and career choices, in addition to opening up eligibility for additional student scholarships and financial aid.” In 2018, the HPU School of Nursing received unanimous approval from the Texas Board of Nursing to offer the pre-licensure Bachelor of Science in Nursing degree. The organization reaffirmed its approval for the program in 2020.

Baptist General Convention of Texas leaders at Texas Baptists’ annual meeting announced the creation of the Pastor Sabbatical Grant Program. Tammy Tervooren, director of ministers financial health in the Center for Ministerial Health, will lead the program, which aims to assist and encourage churches in providing sabbatical for their pastors. Texas Baptists developed the sabbatical grant program in response to the ongoing effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, which has seen pastors experiencing higher rates of burnout, increased stress, and difficulties in finding time to unplug from the demands of ministry. The grant program will help churches make a pastoral sabbatical possible by providing financial support of up to $2,000 for churches to employ an interim in the pastor’s absence and provide travel and financial assistance for the pastor. “Pastors experiencing burnout are more likely to leave the ministry. We want to support pastors and help churches in providing rest and renewal for their pastors by providing the funds and resources needed to make a sabbatical financially possible and beneficial for the congregation and the pastor,” Tervooren explained. To be eligible for the grant, churches must be affiliated with the BGCT, contribute annually to Texas Baptists’ Cooperative Program and submit a short essay. A committee will review grant applications and select recipients based on eligibility criteria and essay responses. Churches will be notified of grant approval or denial within two weeks of application submission. Applications will be accepted through the end of 2022 or until funds no longer are available. For more information and to apply, visit txb.org/psgp.