Texas Tidbits: Gift benefits Wayland music school

Gift from Reeves Trust benefits Wayland music school. Wayland Baptist University’s School of Music received a $154,000 donation from the Roberta Wright Reeves Trust in Dallas. The donation will enable the school to purchase 11 Steinway and Sons, Boston and Essex model pianos for use in faculty studios, classrooms and practice rooms. The gift advances Wayland’s All-Steinway Initiative, which calls for 98 percent of the pianos on the Wayland campus to be Steinway and Sons, Boston or Essex models. Once the initiative is complete, Wayland will be one of six colleges and universities in the Texas—and the only Baptist school in the state—to carry the All-Steinway designation. Worldwide, 113 colleges and university are registered as All-Steinway institutions. The entire project at Wayland is estimated to cost $614,000. With the Reeves Trust donation, $158,000 remains to complete the initiative. 

Sanders named assistant provost at ETBU. Tommy Sanders has been named assistant provost at East Texas Baptist University and associate professor of religion in the School of Christian Studies. Tommy SandersSince 2006, Sanders served at Dallas Baptist University, where he was director of graduate programs in children’s ministry and family ministry and an associate professor of Christian education, leadership and research. From 1996 to 2003, he was director of childhood ministry publishing for LifeWay Christian Resources. Sanders has served on staff as a minister at Park Cities Baptist Church in Dallas, Hyde Park Baptist Church in Austin, First Baptist Church in Waco, First Baptist Church in Hewitt and Calvary Baptist Church in Waco. He also served as an adjunct professor at DBU and New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary. He completed his undergraduate studies at Baylor University, earned his master’s degree in religious education at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary and earned a doctorate in leadership studies at DBU. He and his wife, Treva, a Marshall native, have three grown children—Katie, Jayne Claire and Kyle.       

DBU history professor honored. Mike Williams, professor of history at Dallas Baptist University, received the W.O. Carver Distinguished Service Award from the Baptist History & Heritage Society. The award honors individuals who have made outstanding contributions to the cause of Baptist history. The Oak Cliff Chamber of Commerce also honored Williams as the 2013 Educator of the Year in Higher Education. Williams recently returned to the classroom full time after 15 years as dean of the College of Humanities and Social Sciences at DBU. Williams and his wife, Robbie, have three children and live in Aledo. They attend the First Baptist Church of Willow Park.