More than 100 University of Mary Hardin-Baylor students, faculty and staff participated in the Big Event on April 10, a student-led day of service deploying teams to 15 sites around Bell County. “I am so proud of the committee of students who led this event,” said Daniel McAfee, director of the UMHB Baptist Student Ministry, which organized the day of service. “They worked through multiple iterations of how to make this day a reality in the midst of a COVID-19 world. They stuck it out with phenomenal attitudes, which was humbling to observe.” Service opportunities included Foster Love Bell County, Crossroads Church, Hope Pregnancy Center, Churches Touching Lives for Christ, Un-Included Club, Ronald McDonald House, Belton Christian Youth Center, Summer’s Mill, Belton Parks and Recreation, and individual homes of widows from Temple Bible Church. Volunteers worked in flower beds, cleaned churches, handed out food, picked up trash, washed cars, raked leaves and cleaned gutters.
East Texas Baptist University’s School of Nursing was recently ranked as a No. 1 program in Texas by RNCareers.org. To create its rankings, RNCareers.org evaluated 55 Associate in Nursing degree programs and 37 Bachelor of Science in Nursing degree programs in Texas. Each institution’s first-time National Council of State Boards of Nursing passing rates were obtained, in addition to the number of students taking the licensure test and the program nursing accreditation. The results were then compared against other nursing programs in Texas to provide its state rankings.
Buckner Retirement Services recently announced a series of leadership promotions. Charlie Wilson, who has worked 21 years at Buckner, moved from senior vice president to president. Albert Reyes, president and CEO of the parent company Buckner International, retains the chief executive officer role for the retirement division. Vice President Brian Robbins is now the provider’s chief operating officer, overseeing all Buckner senior living operations. Chuck Childress, executive director of Ventana by Buckner in Dallas, is now director of operations for Buckner Retirement Services. Phil Elmore transitions from his role as Buckner director of hospitality to director of development. Abraham Mathew will continue as executive director of Buckner Parkway Place in Houston, but under his new title as senior executive director, Mathew will support all Buckner communities and lead special projects.
Louise Kretzschmar, professor of theological ethics at the University of South Africa, will be the keynote speaker for the B.H. Carroll Theological Institute’s online Frank and Pauline Patterson Spring Colloquy. “Living Truth in a Cheap Talk World” is the topic of the May 24-25 event. Kretzschmar is past vice president of the Commission on Christian Ethics for the Baptist World Alliance. She also is the author or editor of seven books on expressions of Christian ethics and evangelical Christianity in South Africa. To register for the free webinar, click here.
Baylor University named Linda Plank dean of the Louise Herrington School of Nursing in Dallas, effective May 1. She has served as interim dean since last summer. Plank earned her Bachelor of Science degree in nursing from Baylor, a Master of Science degree from Texas Woman’s University and her Ph.D. from the University of Texas at Arlington. She worked more than three decades at Baylor University Medical Center in Dallas as a registered nurse, a nursing administrator and eventually as vice president for medical-surgical nursing.
Greggory Keiffer, interim dean of the Archie W. Dunham College of Business and assistant professor of management, has been named Houston Baptist University’s Piper Professor for the 2020-21 academic year. Keiffer joined the HBU faculty in 2017 and teaches in both graduate and undergraduate degree programs, specializing in human resource development, organization development and change disciplines. Before his time at HBU, Keiffer worked 21 years in the marketing and advertising industry. He earned his undergraduate degree and his Master of Business Administration degree from HBU and a Ph.D. in human resource development with a specialization in organization development and change from The University of Texas at Tyler.
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