Around the State: Wayland students read to elementary classes

Wayland Baptist University quarterback Nick Quintero is accustomed to reading defenses—not reading books to elementary school students. But Quintero joined 15 other Wayland students who participated in the Plainview Independent School District’s Love of Reading program, reading to students at Highland Elementary School. While Quintero’s part took about as long as running a two-minute offense, it was a little unnerving, he acknowledged. “Those little kids are more intimidating than linebackers in my opinion,” Quintero said. “They have a lot more opinions. … All of their opinions matter to me more than the linebackers.”

The National Council for State Authorization Reciprocity Agreements certified Stark College and Seminary to offer online or remote classes in every state except California. The school, which primarily has served South Texas with campuses in Corpus Christi and McAllen and teaching sites in San Antonio and Victoria, recently welcomed its first out-of-state student, an individual from Pennsylvania.

The Hutcherson Flying Queens Foundation will break ground on the Flying Queens Museum at 10:30 a.m. on Feb. 19 at the Mabee Regional Heritage Center on the Wayland Baptist University campus. The Flying Queens—the women’s basketball team at Wayland—won more games than any women’s program at any level in the nation with more than 1,700 victories. The program from 1948 to 1982 was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 2019. The museum will tell the story of the Hutcherson Flying Queens and the women involved. The foundation is collecting memorabilia that tells the Queens’ story. Wayland will provide the space and properly catalog and preserve the pieces that will appear in the museum. Plans include interactive videos, memorabilia donated by former Flying Queens and story boards that chronicle the Queens beginning, rise to international success and the impact they had on basketball and women’s athletics. The museum will also stress Wayland’s role in providing educational opportunities for women. Wayland was the first college to offer women four-year athletic scholarships.

Howard Payne University’s School of Nursing will host an open house 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. on Monday, Feb. 21. The School of Nursing is located in the Thompson Academic Complex, 1005 Clark St. in Brownwood. To make reservations, click here or contact Melissa Sanderson at (325) 649-8182 or [email protected].

As part of Black History Month, the University of Mary Hardin-Baylor Jazz Ensemble and the Wind Ensemble from UMHB’s College of Visual and Performing Arts will present “Celebrating Black History Through Music” at 7:30 p.m. on Feb. 22. The concert will be presented in the Baugh Performance Hall in the Sue & Frank Mayborn Performing Arts Center. Special guest vocalist UMHB senior Angel Tolbert will join the instrumental ensembles. This event is free and open to the public. The program showcases music by African American composers and will conclude with Mark Camphouse’s “A Movement for Rosa,” written in honor of Rosa Parks. Following the performances, Lynn Eaton, UMHB professor and director of faculty development, will facilitate a dialogue with the audience. The UMHB Association of Black Students also will host gospel stage play “Prodigal” by KZAmore Enterprises, a faith-based company. Performances are scheduled at 7 p.m. on Feb. 25 and at 3 p.m. on Feb. 26 in the Baugh Performance Hall in the Mayborn Performing Arts Center. General admission tickets are $20 each, and VIP tickets with preferred seating are $30 each. Admission is $15 for UMHB students, employees and alumni. Partial proceeds from ticket sales will benefit the Association of Black Students.

The John Templeton Foundation awarded Baylor University researchers a $2.7 million grant to examine virtue formation in higher education moral communities, both secular and faith-based. Sarah Schnitker, associate professor of psychology, and Perry Glanzer, professor of educational foundations and resident scholar with Baylor’s Institute for Studies of Religion, are leading the project. They will work in partnership with other scholars at Baylor, as well as colleagues at the University of Notre Dame, Wheaton College, the Oxford Pastorate, Loyola Marymount University and the Anselm House Christian study center. Over a two-year period, researchers will conduct longitudinal studies of students at three religiously affiliated institutions, five centers or institutes for Christian study that promote spiritual formation and community for college students, and the five secular universities whose students those Christian study centers serve. The research team will employ both qualitative and quantitative data gathering and interviews, along with program mapping and evaluation, to measure intellectual, moral, performance and civic virtue development and to investigate the impact on virtue formation across different contexts.

Mike Wood, a Southeast Texas native and veteran chaplain, has joined the staff at the Calder Woods senior living community as chaplain to residents. “Mike is a man of great faith who I believe will be able to forge strong connections with residents and help them continue their spiritual journey,” said David Ummel, executive director of Calder Woods in Beaumont, part of Buckner Retirement Services. Wood grew up in Nederland, earned his undergraduate degree from Lamar University in Beaumont and master’s degree from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in Fort Worth. Early in his career, Wood was minister of education/administration in churches in Corsicana, Cedar Hill and Austin, as well as at congregations in the Golden Triangle area. He more recently served as a unit chaplain for 13 years with the Texas Department of Criminal Justice. In his last year with TDCJ, Wood supervised chaplains in Region III, covering Beaumont to the north and Brazoriato the south. Wood described his ministry style as relational. “I love people. I love hearing their life stories,” he said. “I discovered some time ago my purpose in life is to prepare the saints for the work of ministry. Because of this, I am grateful to serve an organization like Buckner Retirement Services and work at its Beaumont community, Calder Woods.”