Texas Tidbits

Doctoral program approved in Baylor School of Education. Baylor University regents approved a new doctoral program in curriculum and teaching in the School of Education. Students in the program will be able to specialize in fields such as mathematics education, social science education, science education and other high-need fields. Once they complete the program, graduates will serve simultaneously as teacher educators and educational researchers whose work will make an impact on local schools. The board also announced a gift from Baylor alumni Ted and Sue Getterman of Waco for the Getterman Softball Practice Facility, and regents approved the renovation of the Baylor Tennis Center building.

Foster youth lobby lawmakers. More than 325 foster youth from across the state rallied at the Texas Capitol armed with a legislative agenda for the 2009 Youth in Action—Voices for Change Day, sponsored by the Texas Network of Youth Services. About 40 young people from the Preparation for Adult Living program in San Antonio, Kerrville, Corpus Christi and the Rio Grande Valley—affiliated with Baptist Child & Family Services—met with legislators and their staff to discuss issues important to them, such as college tuition vouchers and health coverage. The young people advocated for increasing subsidies to foster parents, pushing back the deadline for foster youth to begin college in order to receive tuition vouchers—currently set at age 21—and extending Medicaid benefits to age 25.

Four schools named to service honor roll. Four universities affiliated with the Baptist General Convention of Texas were named to the 2008 President’s Higher Education Service Honor Roll. Baylor University, Dallas Baptist University, Howard Payne University and the University of Mary Hardin-Baylor were among 20 Texas schools named to the honor roll, which recognizes colleges and universities nationwide that support innovative and effective community service and service-learning programs. The honor roll is a program of the Corporation for National and Community Service and is sponsored by the President’s Council on Service and Civic Participation, the U.S. Department of Education & Housing and Department of Urban Development.

UMHB trustees approve budget. University of Mary Hardin-Baylor trustees unanimously approved a $57.8 million budget for the 2009-2010 school year—a 3.9 percent increase from the previous year. The budget includes a $30 per credit hour increase in tuition for the 2009-2010 academic year, which becomes effective June 1.  The room and board rate and other academic fees will not be increased. The average cost of attendance for resident students will increase 3.5 percent, the lowest increase in more than 10 years.  “We recognize the difficult times facing many of our students and their families and tried to be very responsive to this when establishing next year’s rates and the scholarship budget,” UMHB President Jerry Bawcom said. The budget also includes additional financial aid and five new faculty positions and three new staff positions for the new fiscal year.