More than 760 Dallas Baptist University students participated in SWAT—Student Welcome and Transition—the largest group in the school’s history. Incoming new students joined 125 upperclassman leaders who spread across the Dallas-Fort Worth area to stock food pantries, paint facilities at after-school programs, plant gardens and meet other community needs. Student teams served at more than 20 locations— from Midlothian and Waxahachie in the south, to Dallas in the northeast, to Fort Worth and Arlington in the west—including Mission Arlington, Beautiful Feet Ministries in Fort Worth, Brother Bill’s Helping Hand in Dallas and Voice of Hope in Dallas. “DBU seeks to raise up Christ-centered servant leaders,” DBU President Adam Wright said. “We are thrilled to welcome our newest incoming class of DBU students on University Hill, who will serve as leaders among our community and around the world for the glory of God.”

During Welcome Week at the University of Mary Hardin-Baylor, returning students joined incoming students for the annual Love CTX event, as groups traveled throughout Central Texas to participate in community service in churches, nonprofit organizations and parks. Organizations that benefited from student volunteers included Habitat for Humanity, the Ronald McDonald House and the Belton Christian Youth Center. Hundreds of students helped with projects that ranged from organizing food pantries to landscaping and minor construction.

The Texas Baptist Women in Ministry board elected Anyra Cano as coordinator, effective Sept. 1. The part-time position, the organization’s first staff position since its founding in 2015, is funded by a grant from the Eula Mae & John Baugh Foundation. Cano earned her undergraduate degree in biblical theological studies from Baptist University of the Américas and her master’s degree in global leadership from Dallas Baptist University. She has served on the board of the national Baptist Women in Ministry organization, as well as numerous committees and teams with the Baptist General Convention of Texas, the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship and the Hispanic Baptist Convention of Texas. Cano is youth minister at Iglesia Bautista Victoria en Cristo in Fort Worth and will continue her work there in addition to her role as coordinator of Texas Baptist Women in Ministry.

Wayland Baptist University named Stephen Stookey as dean of its School of Religion and Philosophy, effective Sept. 1. He succeeds Clinton Lowin, who resigned in June to become a chaplain in Germany. Stookey joined the Wayland faculty in 2016 as a professor of religion. He taught at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary from 1995 to 2004 and at Dallas Baptist University from 2006 to 2014. He was a visiting professor at The Evangelical College of Theology in Sierra Leone and a resident fellow at the B.H. Carroll Theological Institute before joining the Wayland faculty. Stookey earned his undergraduate degree in religion from Baylor University and a Master of Divinity degree and doctorate in church history from Southwestern Seminary. He is a trustee of the T.B. Maston Foundation and serves on the board of directors of the Baptist History and Heritage Society. He has been a member on two commissions with the Baptist World Alliance, and he has served with The Fellowship of Baptist Historians and the Texas Baptist Historical Society. Stookey is a member of the American Academy of Religion and the American Society of Church History.

Oza Jones joined the Baptist General Convention of Texas Great Commission Team as evangelism associate for African-American ministries and church revitalization. Jones received his Bachelor of Arts degree in biblical studies from Southern Bible Institute in Dallas. He was pastor of Grace Tabernacle of Praise Church in Grand Prairie.

The Baugh Center for the Visual Arts gallery at the University of Mary Hardin-Baylor features an exhibit of works by faculty members in the UMHB College of Visual and Performing Arts. Participants are Ted Barnes, Barbara Fontaine-White, John Hancock, David Hill, Helen Kwiatkowski, Robin McLaurin, Richard Skurla, Hugo Shi, Matthew Smith, Sarah Andyshak, David Harmon and Hershall Seals. The exhibit, on display until Sept. 14, is free and open to the public.

Michael Evans, senior pastor of Bethlehem Baptist Church in Mansfield and president of the Baptist General Convention of Texas, will speak at the Hardin-Simmons University convocation. The event is scheduled for 9 a.m., Sept. 6, in Behrens Chapel on the HSU campus.

Buckner International named Diego Silva director of the Buckner Family Hope Center in Peñitas. Silva will oversee the daily operations and lead the Family Hope Center team of six in serving vulnerable children and families in the Rio Grande Valley, where Buckner International has operated since 1971. Silva began working for Buckner International in 2013 as a missions group coordinator in South Texas. He holds a Bachelor of Arts in Biblical/Theological Studies degree from Baptist University of the Américas and a Master of Public Administration degree from the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley.

The Texas School Public Relations Association named Charles Foster Johnson, founding executive director of Pastors for Texas Children, as its 2018 Key Communicator. Johnson received the award in recognition of his advocacy for public schools and adequate school funding. His former pastorates include Trinity Baptist Church in San Antonio and Second Baptist Church in Lubbock.

“Hope for the Struggle” is the theme of the African-American Evangelism Conference, scheduled at two locations next month—Sept. 14-15 at Dallas Baptist University’s Global Missions Center and Sept. 21-22 in Lubbock. The Sept. 21 event will be at Faith First House of Hope Baptist Church in Lubbock, and the Sept. 22 sessions will be at Wayland Baptist University’s Lubbock campus. Keynote speakers are Michael Evans, senior pastor of Bethlehem Baptist Church in Mansfield and president of the Baptist General Convention of Texas, and Delvin Atchison, director of Texas Baptists’ Great Commission Team. Registration cost is $20 per person. For more information, click here.

Literacy Connexus, a ministry partner of the Texas Baptist Christian Life Commission, will offer Teaching English with Excellence training at multiple locations over the next few weeks. The program prepares volunteers to teach English-as-a-Second-Language classes in a faith-based setting. Basic ESL training will be offered Aug. 18 from 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. at First Southern Baptist Church of Gardendale, near Odessa; Aug. 24 from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. and Aug. 25 from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. at First Baptist Church in The Woodlands; Aug. 25 from 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. at First Euless Church; Sept. 8 from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. at San Antonio Baptist Association; Sept. 21 from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. and Sept. 22 from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. at West University Baptist Church in Houston; and Sept. 22 from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. at Twin Lakes Fellowship in Cedar Park. Higher Level Extended ESL Training will be offered Aug. 18 from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. at Cross Roads Baptist Church in The Woodlands. Two training events are scheduled Sept. 29 at Southcliff Baptist Church in Fort Worth—Cross-cultural Witnessing from 8:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. and Basic Pronunciation from 12 noon to 3 p.m. For more information, click here.

Students in the University of Mary Hardin-Baylor’s Doctor of Education degree program recently visited the Baptist Joint Committee for Religious Liberty offices in Washington, D.C., where staff discussed advocacy for the separation of church and state. Graduate students in the program participate in three summer institutes, each built around studying education from a different perspective—state, national and international.

The Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges granted approval to Houston Baptist University to begin three new undergraduate programs and a master’s degree program. Beginning in the 2018-2019 school year, HBU College of Engineering will enroll students for Bachelor of Science degrees in cyber engineering, computer science and electrical engineering. This fall, HBU’s Archie W. Dunham College of Business will offer a Master of Science in Management and Entrepreneurship.

Baptist Health Foundation of San Antonio, in partnership with the Tenet Healthcare Foundation and Baptist Health System, has created a $2 million scholarship program to help make higher education accessible for economically disadvantaged high school graduates in the San Antonio area who want to pursue a career in healthcare. As part of the scholarship program it initiated in 2005, Baptist Health Foundation is providing the new initiative a $1,076,000 grant, and Tenet Healthcare Foundation will provide $1 million over the next five years. The program will give priority to graduates from six school districts—Edgewood, Harlandale, San Antonio, South San Antonio, Southside, and Southwest. Remaining funds will be awarded to graduates from other San Antonio-area districts. Scholarships will be offered to 12 universities and colleges in the San Antonio area with health-related academic programs such as nursing, pharmacology, social work, psychology, nutrition, dental, medical, counseling, therapeutic care, hospital administration and emergency medical technician training.

Dallas Baptist University awarded an honorary doctorate to Jorge Juan Pastor, lead pastor at the First Baptist Church of Dénia, Spain, at its summer commencement ceremony. Pastor was keynote speaker at the event. Pastor is director of the Protestant Pioneer Center of Camps in Spain and founder of the Alfa y Omega School in Dénia, Spain’s only private Protestant educational institution. He also is a co-founder of the Center for Theological Studies, an extension of the Baptist Seminary of Spain, where he was professor of missiology, leadership and social ministry. He is a past president of the Baptist Union of Spain and former vice president of the Baptist World Alliance.

Anniversary

15^th for Charles Redding as children’s pastor and administrator at Lamar Baptist Church in Arlington. The church invites friends and former members to join in celebrating his anniversary at 6 p.m., Sept. 9, at 1000 W. Lamar Blvd., Arlington, TX 76012.

Texas Baptist Men volunteers served cold water, snacks and lunch to police officers who attended the memorial service for a fallen officer, Senior Cpl. Jamie Givens. Givens, 55, was killed by a suspected drunk driver. Hundreds of law enforcement personnel from throughout Texas attended the funeral at Prestonwood Baptist Church in Plano.

TBM and their out-of-state partners completed disaster relief work in Weslaco July 28 after contributing more than 9,200 volunteer hours and making nearly 1,500 personal contacts with individuals and families affected by flooding. They tore out damaged drywall and flooring from 93 homes and treated 114 houses to mitigate mold. Volunteers distributed 5,241 boxes to residents who needed to gather and store their belongings. They provided access to more than 600 showers and washed 380 loads of laundry. The Baptist workers distributed 334 Bibles, presented the gospel at least 144 times and recorded 24 professions of faith in Christ.

The East Texas Baptist University School of Nursing attained a 100 percent pass rate on the National Council Licensure Examination for the fourth consecutive year. Measured by analyzing the current and historical licensure exam pass rates, RegisteredNursing.org recently recognized ETBU as the eighth-ranked RN program in Texas out of 114 programs evaluated and 50 ranked.

The Baylor University Symphony Orchestra, led by Baylor Conductor-in-Residence Stephen Heyde, received The American Prize in Orchestral Performance in the college/university category, making this its fourth consecutive year to win first place. The orchestra also is the first ensemble in any of the competition’s categories—professional, community, university, high school or youth—to win first place four times in a row. The American Prize, the national nonprofit competition in the performing arts, has honored 22 American orchestras nationwide for musical excellence within their divisions, for community outreach and educational enrichment.

Dallas Baptist University received a $13,000 grant from the Alice Givens Jones Foundation for equipment to aid visually impaired students who use DBU’s Vance Memorial Library. In addition, three current DBU students with visual impairment will receive scholarships from the foundation. Pamela M. Ajayi and Georgia M. Barnes began the Alice Givens Jones Foundation in honor of their mother and grandmother, Alice Givens Jones, a former nurse who became visually impaired at age 58.

Anniversaries

40^th in ministry for Jimmy Towers and 20^th as pastor of LifeWay Fellowship in Killeen. The church will host a reception from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m. Aug. 12 at the Central Texas College’s Anderson Campus Center.

Retirement

Charlie Dodd will retire as congregational care pastor at First Woodway Baptist Church in Waco, effective Aug. 31.

Representatives from East Texas Baptist University traveled to Peru as a part of the Global Study and Serve Program in early July. Cary Hilliard, chair of the ETBU board of trustees; Tom Webster, dean of the School of Performing Arts and Communication; and Angela Webster, children’s minister at First Baptist Church in Longview, led the group. The University Singers performed and ministered at public schools, community centers and medical facilities. The ETBU team partnered with Camino de Vida, a multi-site church that has served in the capital city of Lima 29 years. Students joined in outreach efforts to deliver more than 2,000 bread rolls and 55 gallons of coffee to guards, patients and family members at a hospital. The group also distributed Spanish Bibles and assembled wheelchairs for 40 disabled individuals, gave necklaces with crosses to women at the Casa Gracia shelter, and volunteered at an orphanage for special-needs children and a nursing home.

For the seventh time, Baylor University attained Honor Roll status as a “Great College to Work For,” according to The Chronicle of Higher Education. The results are based on a survey of employees at 253 colleges and universities. Only 84 institutions achieved “2018 Great College to Work For” recognition, with 42 named to the Honor Roll as the standouts in their size categories. Baylor is included in the large university category with 10,000 or more students. Baylor was cited in 11 categories—collaborative governance; compensation and benefits; confidence in senior leadership; facilities, workspaces and security; job satisfaction; professional/career development programs; respect and appreciation; supervisor/department chair relationship; teaching environment; tenure clarity and process; and work/life balance.

Bill Harden, an alumnus of Hardin-Simmons University, has returned to the Abilene school as director of bands. Harden will lead both the HSU Cowboy Band and the Concert Band. Since 1998, he has been band director at Odessa High School. He has been a bassoonist with the Midland-Odessa Symphony Orchestra since 1988. He earned his undergraduate degree from HSU and his master’s degree from the University of Cincinnati.

The Prison Entrepreneurship Program, a nonprofit organization that provides mentorship and education to incarcerated men, received the Community Partner of the Year Award at Dallas Baptist University. In accepting the award, Bryan Kelly, chief executive officer of the Prison Entrepreneurship Program, noted 73 DBU faculty and students had ministered in prisons through the program. He also reported 100 percent of inmates who complete the program are employed within 90 days of being released.

The Texas Board of Nursing unanimously approved Howard Payne University’s proposal to offer the pre-licensure Bachelor of Science in Nursing degree. HPU is authorized to admit incoming students declared as nursing majors as early as the fall 2018 semester. These students will subsequently undergo a process to gain admission to the university’s School of Nursing during the spring semester of their sophomore year. If admitted to the program, students will start coursework toward their bachelor’s degree in nursing the following semester. In addition to incoming first-year students, transfer students and HPU upperclassmen may enroll as nursing majors with plans to apply to HPU’s School of Nursing during the latter portion of their sophomore year.

Anniversary

150^th for First Baptist Church in Dallas. Robert Jeffress is pastor.

Texas Baptist Men disaster relief teams and their out-of-state partners have contributed more than 6,500 volunteer hours to ongoing ministry in Weslaco. Unseasonable summer storms dumped 15 inches of rain on Weslaco in four hours June 20, flooding more than 2,300 homes. As of July 18, TBM disaster relief volunteers and chaplains, along with Baptists from other states, contacted more than 1,200 individuals and distributed more than 5,200 boxes for residents to gather and store their belongings. The Baptist volunteers tore out damaged drywall and flooring from 53 homes and treated 70 homes to mitigate mold. They distributed 288 Bibles, presented the gospel at least 136 times and recorded 23 professions of faith in Christ. To contribute financially, send a check designated “disaster relief” to Texas Baptist Men, 5351 Catron, Dallas, TX 75227, call (214) 275-1116 or click here. EDITOR’S NOTE: This item was revised June 19 after it originally was posted to reflect updated totals as of June 18.

The Association of Recovery in Higher Education recognized Bob and Laura Beauchamp of Houston, whose $2.5 million gift to Baylor University in 2017 created the on-campus Beauchamp Addiction Recovery Center, as Recovery Philanthropists of the Year. The recovery center at Baylor opened during the fall 2017 semester and immediately began providing both support services for students who are in the initial stages of identifying an addiction and continued support for students who have completed rehabilitation programs. By the end of the spring 2018 semester, 53 students with around-the-clock access to the center were involved in the community and regularly attending meetings. The center also has served as an educational resource, helping to reduce the issues surrounding addiction and empower students to serve as advocates and sources of support for students in recovery.

C.C. Risenhoover, senior pastor of The Church on Thistle Ridge in Granbury and U.S. Air Force veteran, received the Meritorious Service Medal from the Military Order of Foreign Wars of the United States. Risenhoover is the author of 25 published books and served as a press representative with the Baptist General Convention of Texas, public relations director at Baylor University and assistant to the president at the Southern Baptist Convention’s Radio and Television Commission.

Steve Wells, pastor of South Main Baptist Church in Houston, and Brad Creed, president of Campbell University in Buies Creek, N.C., will be the featured preachers, and Todd Still, dean of Baylor University’s Truett Theological Seminary at Baylor University, will lead adult Bible study at Paisano Baptist Encampment’s annual family camp, July 22-27. “Deeply Rooted in Holy Ground” is the theme of the camp, which includes activities for all ages. Ben Hanna, urban missionary with San Antonio Baptist Association and former Southern Baptist missionary to Eastern Europe, will guide the missions time, and Linda Millican, a licensed marriage and family therapist associate and licensed chemical dependency counselor, will lead the family hour. Jim Cleaveland, minister of worship and media at First Baptist Church in El Paso will lead the music, along with pianist Nancy Russell and organist Jonathan Pinto. Paisano Baptist Encampment is located in Paisano Pass, between Alpine and Marfa. For more information, click here.

Dallas Baptist University presented Baylor University’s Louise Herrington School of Nursing a copy of the “Divine Servant” statue as an expression of a shared commitment to servant leadership. The bronze statue, originally created in 1989 by Max Greiner Jr., depicts Jesus washing the feet of Simon Peter. The statue was dedicated July 10 in honor of Shelley F. Conroy, dean of the Louise Herrington School of Nursing. The nursing school entered into an articulation agreement with DBU six years ago that allows nursing students to attend DBU two years to receive an associate’s degree and then transfer to Baylor’s Louise Herrington School of Nursing for their final two years to complete their undergraduate degree.

Houston Baptist University received a $150,000 gift from the Hamill Foundation. The gift will be applied toward the Hamill Scholars program, which supports undergraduate students in a number of fields of study; scholarships for undergraduate and graduate allied health majors in the HBU School of Nursing and Allied Health; and the HBU Academic Success Center.

The University of Mary Hardin-Baylor received an $80,000 donation from the E. Rhodes and Leona B. Carpenter Foundation to purchase a driving simulator for the university’s new occupational therapy master’s degree program. The equipment will be housed in a laboratory where occupational therapy students will learn how to evaluate the cognitive and physical skills necessary for driving. Students will learn how to help patients attain or regain the abilities required for driving, whether they have had an accident, stroke, surgery or any other condition such as autism that makes driving difficult.

Present and former members of the Howard Payne University Concert Choir and University Singers will travel to Austria June 3-9, 2019, to perform with an ensemble of choristers from all over the world. John Dickson, director of choral studies at Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge, La., will direct the large ensemble in Austria. Interested alumni and community members are urged to contact Christopher Rosborough, director of choral activities at HPU, at crosborough@hputx.edu or (325) 649-8503 to secure their place for this event. A $200 deposit is required by Aug. 30.

Four representatives from the University of Mary Hardin-Baylor sang in the Semifinals of the National Association of Teachers of Singing Student Auditions held in Las Vegas, Nev. Cardarious Bonner, Matthew McKinnon, Gerald Nicholas and Ruben Ortega were selected by audition to compete in this year’s National Semifinals. Nicholas, a 2014 graduate, who won third place in Graduate Men Classical Division, and Bonner, who graduated from UMHB in December and placed fourth in the Junior/Senior Men Division, are the first UMHB students to place in the National Finals of NATS.  Nicholas works as a middle school choral director in Killeen, and Bonner is a graduate student at William Patterson University.

Baylor University’s inaugural Faith and Sport Insitute retreat drew 33 student athletes from high schools throughout Central Texas. Students participated in a variety of activities related to issues of poverty, privilege and school violence. Events included a bus tour of the “other side of Waco” and a lament walk across the Waco Suspension Bridge in which participants were encouraged to reflect on school shootings and biblical passages related to God’s response to injustice. The eight-day retreat focused on theological principles of worship, identity, spiritual growth, suffering and vocation.

The University of Mary Hardin-Baylor brought together its academic programs in nursing, sport science, physical therapy, counseling and related disciplines to create the Mayborn College of Health Sciences, named in honor of donor and former trustee Sue Mayborn. The Mayborn College of Health Sciences under the direction of Colin Wilborn, executive dean, will include three schools. The Scott & White School of Nursing, led by Dean Sharon Souter, offers both the undergraduate Bachelor of Science in Nursing and graduate degrees at the master’s and doctoral levels. It is housed in the Isabelle Rutherford Meyer Nursing Education Center. Cliffa Foster has been named dean of the new School of Exercise and Sport Science, which offers five undergraduate degrees in exercise and sport science specialties as well as two degrees at the master’s level. The School of Health Professions includes three graduate degree programs—the Doctor of Physical Therapy, the Master of Science in Occupational Therapy and Master of Arts in Counseling. A fourth graduate program will be added when a Master of Science in Physician Assistant degree program is launched in Spring 2021. A dean for the new school will be selected later. “The unification of these outstanding programs into a single college marks the emergence of UMHB as a leader in Christian healthcare education, dedicated to meeting the need for highly trained, compassionate caregivers at all levels of the healthcare system,” said President Randy O’Rear. “We expect the Mayborn College of Health Sciences to quickly become known as the source of the finest healthcare professionals to be found.”

Hardin-Simmons University is partnering with Communities Engaging Difference and Religion to provide CEDAR’s first experientially based educational program in Texas. Participants from 10 countries will gather at HSU July 14-27 to live and learn together during a program called “Hospitality and the Stranger.” Twenty-eight scholars, religious leaders, nongovernmental organization officials and community activists from Uganda, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Georgia, Bulgaria, Romania, Kosovo, Kyrgyzstan, Zimbabwe, Tajikistan and the United States will meet at the HSU campus for learning activities and volunteer service opportunities. Since 2003, CEDAR has facilitated over 40 programs in countries from China to Bulgaria to Uganda. Chad Moore, CEDAR network organizer, is Hardin-Simmons graduate and doctoral student at Boston University. The Abilene CEDAR committee is co-chaired by two HSU graduates—Jacob Snowden, minister at First Central Presbyterian Church, and Nathan Adams, missions minister at Pioneer Drive Baptist Church.

Houston Baptist University’s School of Nursing and Allied Health received a $200,000 gift from the John S. Dunn Foundation to fund scholarships for undergraduate and graduate nursing students. The award brings total support from the John S. Dunn Foundation to $2.3 million. The new funds will support 10 undergraduate and 11 graduate scholarships. The new scholarships, combined with Dunn Endowed Scholarships, will provide 29 nursing students with scholarships in the fall of 2018.

Baylor University named Amy Armstrong, executive director of philanthropic operations at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, associate vice president of alumni engagement at the university in Waco, effective July 23. She will oversee planning, implementation and promotion of all alumni and annual giving programs, ensuring all meet diverse alumni needs, while also supporting Baylor’s Illuminate strategic plan and comprehensive campaign in collaboration with university development and other departments across campus. Armstrong served previously as assistant vice president for alumni relations and development at Trinity University in San Antonio and as senior director of operations and senior director of strategic planning and performance enhancement in the division of advancement at the University of North Texas in Denton. Armstrong earned her bachelor of business administration degree in marketing from Texas Tech University in 1996 and her master of business administration degree in strategic management from the University of North Texas in 2012.

East Texas Baptist University received $30,000 from Hal and Joyce Cornish for enhancements to the Cornish Soccer Field. Originally built in 2000, the field was initially upgraded in 2007 with funds also provided by the Cornish family.

Retirement

Cleve Kirby after 23 years as pastor of First Baptist Church in Slaton and 45 years in ministry.

The Scott & White College of Nursing at the University of Mary Hardin-Baylor welcomed high school students to campus for a weeklong camp that offered a look at the nursing school and college life at UMHB. Before they were accepted to the program, junior and senior high school students submitted essays explaining why they wanted to participate in Explore Cru Nursing Summer Camp. During camp, they were introduced to core concepts of nursing through classroom lectures, discussions and simulations in the Isabelle Rutherford Meyer Nursing Education Center, as well as the spiritual and educational environment at UMHB.

Linda Livingstone, president of Baylor University, has invited senior pastors and other faith leaders from throughout Central Texas to a community prayer breakfast July 11 on the Baylor campus. The event will bring together faith leaders to pray collectively for students, teachers, faculty and families as communities prepare for the upcoming school year. A continental breakfast will begin at 7 a.m. in the Paul and Katy Piper Great Hall at Truett Theological Seminary, followed by the prayer service from 7:30 to 8:30 a.m. in the Powell Chapel. Livingstone will lead the devotional. Individuals interested in attending are encouraged to RSVP by contacting Heather Gerber at (254) 710-3386 or by email at eventreply@baylor.edu.

Howard Payne University students and alumni were among a group of 13 from First Baptist Church in May who traveled to Wyoming to serve at the state’s Youth Evangelism Conference at College Heights Baptist Church in Casper. HPU students who participated were junior Isaac Williams, college minister at First Baptist; sophomore Eli Williams, church intern at First Baptist; freshman Hannah Williams; and sophomore Abi Brown. Alumni who served included Nicholas Ewen, assistant professor of theatre at HPU and music minister at First Baptist; Clarrisa Ewen; and Dustin Wright, youth minister at Rocky Creek Baptist Church in Brownwood. Kase Cox, Taylor Cox, Josh McFarland, Wayne Snell, Linzie Wright and Bethanie Ewen, a dual-credit student at HPU also participated.

About 200 participants in the Global Hunger Relief Run, scheduled during the Southern Baptist Convention annual meeting in Dallas, raised more than $6,000 to support hunger relief projects around the world. Through the registration fees paid by the runners, the event raised about $1,000 more than last year’s inaugural run in Phoenix. Eighty percent of Global Hunger Relief funds are used overseas through the work of the Southern Baptist International Mission Board and Baptist Global Relief. The North American Mission Board distributes the other 20 percent of the money with the help of Baptist state conventions. The Baptist General Convention of Texas was among the sponsors of the 2018 Global Hunger Relief Run.

The University of Mary Hardin-Baylor named Kathryn Fouse dean of its College of Visual and Performing Arts, effective July 2. She earned her undergraduate degree from Baylor University and her master’s degree from Southern Illinois University. She holds a Doctor of Musical Arts in Piano Performance degree from the University of North Texas. Fouse arrives at UMHB from Samford University in Birmingham, Ala., where she has served as professor of piano and associate dean for the Division of Music since July 2011. Prior to her time at Samford, Fouse was the faculties of the University of North Texas, Texas Wesleyan University, Collin County Community College and Lon Morris College.

During the most recent fiscal year—and the first year Linda Livingstone was president of Baylor University—the school raised more than $113 million in gifts. It marked the seventh consecutive year Baylor surpassed the $100 million benchmark in fund-raising. The $113 million was a 12 percent increase over the previous year and the second-largest fund-raising total in Baylor’s history. It also marked an 8 percent increase in the number of donors. New gifts and pledges from Baylor alumni increased by 27 percent over the previous year, totaling more than $62 million. The total value of gifts and pledges made to Baylor’s endowment increased by 70 percent over the year before, and the total amount designated for student scholarships saw a 48 percent increase.

Houston Baptist University received a $2.5 million gift from the Cullen Trust for Higher Education for its College of Engineering. Funds will go toward recruiting and hiring faculty members, student recruitment and equipping laboratories with resources. The College of Engineering also received a $750,000 gift from the William Stamps Farish Fund to support its cyber security programs. The award will be distributed over three years, and will support the development costs of hiring new faculty members, purchasing equipment, and generally supporting the program during its initial years. To date, the college has received more than $3.7 million and aims to launch in the fall semester. Pending final approval from the regional accrediting agency, tracks of study will lead toward a Bachelor of Science in Cyber Engineering degree, a Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering degree and a Bachelor of Science in Computer Science degree.

Baylor University received a $1.6 million gift from the Waco Scottish Rite Charitable Foundation that will create a permanent endowment for Camp Success, a free intensive summer language and literacy intervention program for children through the department of communication sciences and disorders in Baylor’s Robbins College of Health and Human Sciences. Baylor launched Camp Success in 2003, with contributions of both time and resources from members of the Waco Scottish Rite. Since then, the four-week summer camp has been offered annually at no cost to participants. This year, 48 graduate students will work alongside faculty, with support from undergraduates, to provide evaluation, therapy and pre/post-testing for children ages 5 to 17 with language and literacy disorders that affect vocabulary, word relationships, sentence structure, sound structure, reading, writing and spelling. Camp Success clients receive approximately 50 hours of one-on-one therapy—equivalent to a full year’s worth of intervention in many school districts. The children represent diverse cultural and economic backgrounds. Camp Success graduated 84 children last summer. This year, 96 children will participate in the program.

University of Mary Hardin-Baylor football player Haston Adams was voted the 2017-18 American Southwest Conference Male Athlete of the Year. Adams is UMHB’s 11th ASC Athlete of the Year, more than any other conference school. Adams, a senior defensive tackle from Beckville High School, earned ASC Defensive Player of the Year honors after leading UMHB to a 14-1 record and an NCAA Division III National Runner-Up finish. He is a two-time All-American, two-time All-Region and three-time ASC All-Conference selection. Adams played for four ASC Champions and four NCAA postseason qualifiers during his career and was a key member of the 2016 NCAA Division III National Championship team. UMHB posted a 51-4 overall record in his four seasons with the program. Adams was invited to the Arizona Cardinals rookie minicamp this spring.

East Texas Baptist University named Laurie Smith the university’s 2018 Professor with Distinction. The award recognizes professors for excellence in service, scholarship, teaching, and integration of faith and learning. Smith, professor of sociology, received a $1,500 honorarium to be used for professional development and personal enrichment. In 1994, Smith initiated a course on “Death and Dying.” Seven years later, after her son, Andrew, died of SIDS, it became a platform for Smith to talk about how her faith sustained her through her grief. “I openly talk about how the experience affected me and my family, and emphasize how the Lord guided me through the dark and difficult period after Andrew’s death,” Smith said. “I’m doing what God designed for me to do. It is not a job. It is a joy.” Smith has worked at ETBU 27 years and is interim dean of the School of Natural and Social Sciences, as well as chair of the ETBU Department of Behavioral Science. She is a member of First Baptist Church in Hallsville.

Award-winning author Donna M. Johnson will present the 2018 Werlin Lecture at Baylor University. She will discuss her 2011 memoir, Holy Ghost Girl, which explored her childhood experiences on the “sawdust trail” with Brother David Terrell, a big-tent preacher during the 1960s and 1970s. Her presentation will be at 2 p.m. June 22 in Room 100 of the Castellaw Communications Center. The Werlin Lecture is free and open to the public as part of the 2018 Press Women of Texas Conference.

Larry Locke, associate dean of the McLane College of Business at the University of Mary Hardin-Baylor, has been accepted into the Fulbright Specialist Roster. This group of educators and professionals from the United States engage in exchanges with host institutions around the world. Locke served at LCC International University in Lithuania, working with the university to develop a new International Business Law curriculum. Locke hold degrees from Harvard Law School, Harvard Business School and Gordon Conwell Theological Seminary. He has been teaching at UMHB since 2010.

Dallas Baptist University named Barbara Hudson Staff Member of the Year. Hudson celebrated 20 years of service in the DBU financial aid office.

The University of Mary Hardin-Baylor announced its new residence hall for freshmen will be named Lord Hall, in honor of Griff and Kathy Lord, Michael and Sharon Lord Daggett, and their families. Sharon Lord Daggett established the Ida Myrtle Roberts Manning Endowed Scholarship in 1996 in memory of her grandmother. The Lord and Daggett families have made frequent personal gifts to UMHB through the years, along grants from a family foundation. The 46,000-square-foot Lord Hall is under construction on the north side of the campus. The three-story facility will offer dormitory-style housing for up to 214 students. Plans call for Lord Hall to be completed this summer and ready for use when the fall semester begins in August.

Retirement

Robert Protho after 11 years as pastor at Port Caddo Baptist Church in Marshall and 42 years in full-time pastoral ministry. He is available for supply. Contact (903) 926-2955.

More than 200 senior adults participated in worship, Bible study, fellowship and entertainment on the East Texas Baptist University campus during the annual Hilltop University three-day retreat. Guest speakers were David Hardage, executive director of the Baptist General Convention of Texas; Ron Lyles, pastor of South Main Baptist Church in Pasadena; and Bob Utley, founder of Bible Lessons International.

Karen Bullock, professor of church history and director of the Ph.D. program at the B.H. Carroll Theological Institute, received the W.O. Carver Distinguished Service Award at the Baptist History & Heritage Society’s annual conference in Stone Mountain, Ga. The award—the highest honor the society bestows—recognizes individuals who have made outstanding contributions to the cause of Baptist history. Bullock is a fellow at the B.H. Carroll Theological Institute, where she has been on the faculty since 2007. She previously taught Christian history and Baptist heritage years at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary and Dallas Baptist University. She serves the Baptist World Alliance as member of its Religious Freedom Commission and as vice chair of its Baptist Heritage and Identity Commission. She has been a guest professor at seminaries in Uganda, Nigeria and Canada, as well as at numerous Baptist universities throughout the United States. She and her husband, John, live in Granbury. They have two adult children and six grandchildren.

A $2.5 million gift from the estate of Lorene Taylor Davidson, who died in 2013 at age 100, enabled Baylor University to establish the Floyd F. Davidson Endowed Memorial Chair in Biology. It is named for her husband, who served on the Baylor faculty from 1946 to 1977 and was chair of the university’s biology department. He preceded her in death in 1990.

Dallas Baptist University received a $1.5 million challenge grant from the J. E. and L. E. Mabee Foundation of Tulsa, Okla. The funds are committed toward the construction of Phase I of the Transform Campaign, which will develop the university’s east campus and establish DBU’s first Residential College.

Howard Payne University will offer a 50th anniversary reunion concert of the university’s Swingin’ Stingers Band at 2 p.m. July 1. The free concert will be presented at Mims Auditorium on the university’s campus and is open to the public.