Texas Tidbits

UMHB sets $60 million goal. The University of Mary Hardin-Baylor has launched a fund-raising campaign, Momentum: The Campaign for Mary Hardin-Baylor, with a goal of raising $60 million. The funds will provide support for scholarships, programs, endowment and campus master plan projects including construction of a center for the visual arts, a nursing education center, a new student union building, a football stadium and a performing arts center. The campaign—unanimously endorsed by the UMHB board of trustees—is the largest in the university's 167-year history. Nearly $35 million in lead gifts already have been pledged for this campaign, UMHB President Randy O'Rear said.

Major gift advances Baylor Stadium project. The football field at Baylor Stadium—the planned on-campus sports facility—will be named in honor of John Eddie Williams of Houston, an alumnus of Baylor University and Baylor Law School, and in recognition of his gift to the building project. Williams' contribution ranks among the top five capital gifts in Baylor's history, and it follows the announcement of a lead gift by Elizabeth and Drayton McLane Jr. of Temple. Baylor Stadium, which encompasses John Eddie Williams Field, will be built on a 93-acre site on Interstate 35 near the Brazos River. The stadium will hold 45,000 spectators, with the flexibility to expand to 55,000 in the future. Previously, John Eddie and Sheridan Williams have made major gifts to Baylor Law School's capital and endowment campaign to help finance the construction of the Sheila and Walter Umphrey Law Center, which opened in 2001.

Colloquy focuses on freedom and human rights. The spring colloquy of the B.H. Carroll Theological Institute in Arlington features Raimundo Barreto, director for freedom and justice for the Baptist World Alliance. "Crying Freedom and Human Rights: Baptists at the Global Table" is the theme of the colloquy, May 21-22 in the Wade Building at First Baptist Church in Arlington. All sessions are open to the public at no charge.

Bawcom named UMHB president emeritus. The University of Mary Hardin-Baylor board of trustees unanimously voted to name Jerry Bawcom as president emeritus. Bawcom retires as university chancellor May 31. He served as the 21st president of UMHB from 1991 through 2009. Under his leadership, enrollment grew from about 1,700 to more than 2,700 students, the school added several academic programs, and UMHB built 12 residence halls and apartment buildings, as well the York Science Center, the Parker Academic Center, the Crusader Sports Complex, the Frank and Sue Mayborn Campus Center and the Paul and Jane Meyer Christian Studies Center, and additions to Mabee Student Center, Townsend Memorial Library and Sanderford Administrative Complex.

Hispanic leadership workshop slated. Westside Baptist Church in Seguin will offer a leadership workshop for Hispanic pastors, deacons and their spouses May 19. The workshop begins at 8:30 a.m. and concludes at 2 p.m. To make a reservation for lunch, contact Pastor Juan Manuel Sanchez at (512) 567-6837.