Baylor University announced a $2 million gift from Scott and Susan Orr of The Woodlands establishing the Orr Family Endowed Chair in Medical Humanities and Christian Faith. The gift supports teaching, mentorship and research in the medical humanities program within the College of Arts and Sciences. The Medical Humanities Program is intended to pair foundational science curriculum with courses in history, literature, Christian philosophy and other disciplines to inspire discussion and critical thinking. “We are truly grateful for Scott and Susan Orr and for their family’s generous support of the faculty of Baylor University,” said Baylor President Linda Livingstone. “The Orr Chair provides significant resources with which to support our faculty within the department of medical humanities and to foster strategic growth within the department. We are truly grateful for this family’s commitment to Baylor’s Christian mission and vision, and we are grateful for the support this provides to our faculty, who invest of their time and talents in our students through transformational teaching and mentoring.”
East Texas Baptist University welcomed donors and friends of the institution to celebrate the opening of the newly constructed Billy and Winky Foote Hall at Tiger Yard and ETBU Tiger Ballpark on Oct. 13. Foote Hall at Tiger Yard is a multi-purpose facility that houses loft-style student residences, the ETBU baseball clubhouse and the Blue Bengal Grocery Company, ETBU’s branded micro-market grocery store. The newly renovated ETBU Tiger Ballpark features 535 permanent seatbacks and holds up to 1,500 fans with standing-room areas. A new press box, two radio booths and two suites were added to the stadium. “Billy and Winky Foote met each other on this Hill, and it’s amazing what God sewed together and continues to bless,” ETBU President J. Blair Blackburn said. “The Footes have committed their lives to Jesus Christ, their ministry, their family and their alma mater. … We are so grateful for their ministry, their love for the institution, their love for the Lord Jesus and the contributions to the kingdom they have made through their Christian spiritual leadership.”
The Center for the Foundation of Ethics at Houston Christian University is sponsoring a yearlong interdisciplinary “Foundations of Morality” faculty lecture series. Randy Hatchett, professor of theology in HCU’s School of Christian Thought, will present a lecture about “Theological Foundations for Morality: Reflections Concerning the Need for Revelation” at 3:30 p.m. on Nov. 14 in Hinton 125 on the HCU campus. Presentations already have been offered on “The Nature of Literature and Ethics” with Matthew Boyleston, “How the New Testament Redirected the Foundations of Morality” with Robert Gagnon and “The Ethical Conflict Between Worldview Communities within the Field of Psychotherapy/Counseling” with Eric Johnson. Nine additional lectures, spanning the full range of academic disciplines taught at HCU, are planned, and the collected lectures are slated for publication.
As part of 2023 homecoming at East Texas Baptist University, the university recognized alumni for their contributions. Frances Aguilar Salazar, a 1951 graduate of what was then East Texas Baptist College, received the Golden Lightkeeper Award, a recognition reserved for alumni who graduated over half a century ago and have continued to excel in their vocations, contributions to their church and outstanding service to their communities. In addition to her career as an educator, she supported her late husband Epifanio in his pastoral ministry, and she served as a leader in Woman’s Missionary Union. Orlando Salazar accepted the Golden Lightkeeper Award on behalf of his mother, who is 96. Recipients of the 2023 Alumni Awards included Larry Hemenes, the J. Wesley Smith Achievement Award; Bill and Anita Runnels, the W.T. Tardy Service Award; Alton Holt, the Alumni Achievement Award; Sadé Stewart, the Unsung Hero Award; and Katie Balfe; the Young Alumna Award. Since inception of the Golden Blazer program in 2010, ETBU has honored more than 100 alumni for their financial support and countless volunteer hours to ETBU. The 2023 Golden Blazers are Laura Coursey, Glenn Hambrick, Robin Rudd and Michael Tandy.
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