The University of Mary Hardin-Baylor marked the beginning of the school year and welcomed about 800 new freshmen to campus during its 178th fall convocation on Aug. 9. A parade of flags represented each of the 30 countries and territories and the 40 states from which UMHB students have journeyed to campus this year. “Students, you are here for a reason, and we hope that you will use this time to grow closer to God, earn a great education, and explore the remarkable purpose God has for your life,” UMHB President Randy O’Rear said. Keynote speaker Adam Winn, associate professor in the College of Christian Studies, talked about becoming God’s new creation. “Our purpose is to be a new creation,” Winn said. “Our heart’s desire will be found when we are reconnected to the God who made us. Here at UMHB, we want to help you understand how your discipline, field of study, or program fits with the larger purpose of being a new creation.”
Texas Land Commissioner Dawn Buckingham will be the featured guest speaker at the Hardin-Simmons University convocation, 9:30 a.m. on Aug. 29 in Behrens Auditorium. A seventh-generation Texan, Buckingham is a medical doctor, earning her degree from the University of Texas Medical Branch in Galveston. She is the first female commissioner of the General Land Office, Texas’ oldest state agency.
Buckner International named Jennifer Mann as vice president and chief human resources officer. Mann will oversee human resources for the nonprofit’s more than 1,300 domestic employees, including Buckner International, Buckner Children and Family Services, and Buckner Retirement Services. The position is effective Aug. 21. Prior to Buckner, Mann served as the vice president of human resources for Bassett Healthcare Network, headquartered in Cooperstown, N.Y. She also worked as chief human resources officer for Damar Services, an Indianapolis-based nonprofit focused on serving children and adults with developmental disabilities.
Several congregations in Caprock Plains Baptist Association participated in events to prepare students, teachers and administrators for the new school year. First Baptist Church in Lockney reported more than 60 people from several churches in the community gathered to pray for faculty and students prior to the first day of classes. First Baptist Church in Hale Center hosted a luncheon for employees of the Hale County School District. First Baptist Church in Floydada provided a drive-by breakfast for teachers and staff to help them start their first day of classes. First Baptist Church in Crosbyton joined other churches in several back-to-school activities, including donating backpacks filled with school supplies and providing fun activities for families to enjoy together to mark the end of summer and the beginning of school.
Dallas Baptist University will present the Tom Landry Leadership Award to Bob Lilly, the first Dallas Cowboy inducted into the national Professional Football Hall of Fame and the first inductee in the Cowboys Ring of Honor, at its 36th annual Leadership Gala. Lilly anchored the “Doomsday Defense” during his 14-year career with the Cowboys and played in 11 Pro Bowl games. DBU also will present the Russell H. Perry Free Enterprise Award to Jim and Sally Nation of Dallas during the gala. They are founders of the Nation Foundation, which helps provide grants to institutions of higher education and civic organizations. Both Jim and Sally Nation have served on the DBU board of trustees, and she was president of the DBU Women’s Auxiliary Board. The DBU Leadership Gala will be held at 7 p.m. on Nov. 6 at the Hilton Anatole Hotel in Dallas. For more information about the event, which provides scholarship fund for DBU students, click here.
The University of Mary Hardin-Baylor will name the university’s golf practice facility in honor of former UMHB golf coach Mac Hickerson and in memory of his late wife Jane to recognize their lead gift for the project. The Jane and Mac Hickerson Crusader Golf Club complex includes a four-hole practice course and a clubhouse and locker room. In addition, the practice course will be officially called “The Mac” Golf Practice Course. Hickerson coached the men’s golf team at UMHB from 1980 to 1999. The complex’s clubhouse and locker room will be named the Conner Golf Performance Center, in honor of university friends Mary Kay and Jerry Conner of Sugar Land.
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