Texas Tidbits

Estate gift establishes Baylor business scholarship. A gift to Baylor University from the estate of Lee and Millie Harris of Bartlesville, Okla., established an endowed scholarship in the Hankamer School of Business. The scholarship honors the couple’s three granddaughters who each earned degrees from Baylor’s business school—Stacy Lessman of Yukon, Okla., Lori Rodgers of Frisco and Kristi Blauser of Rockwall. The endowed scholarship provides significant support for students pursuing a Baylor business degree who are Christians and have demonstrated high ethical standards. The Harrises were members of the First Baptist Church of Oklahoma City before they moved to Bartlesville a few years ago. She died in February, and he died just one month later. They would have celebrated their 65th wedding anniversary this year.

Communications interns on the job. Crystal Donahue, a senior at the University of Mary Hardin-Baylor, and Lauren Heartsill, a senior at the University of Alabama, are serving as Texas Baptist communications interns 10 weeks this summer in a cooperative venture involving the Baptist Standard and the Baptist General Convention of Texas communications office. Donahue is pursuing a double major in communications/journalism and Spanish at UMHB, where she has served three years on the campus newspaper, The Bells, including a stint as editor-in-chief. Heartsill is working on a major in journalism and a minor in music, and she has served as a contributing writer to the University of Alabama Internet magazine, The Missing Link, and to The Tuscaloosa Sun in Northport, Ala. 

DBU receives foundation gift. Dallas Baptist University has received $100,000 from the Stemmons Foundation, to be applied toward construction of the Patty and Bo Pilgrim Chapel, scheduled for completion later this summer. John M. Stemmons, a Dallas business leader who gave the initial gift of 100 acres upon which the DBU campus was established, was honored in 1988 as the recipient of the Russell H. Perry Free Enterprise Award at the first annual banquet aimed at providing scholarship funds for DBU students. The Stemmons Foundation has provided aid for significant building projects on campus, including the Tom and Alicia Landry Welcome Center and Spence Hall.

Foundation awards scholarships in San Antonio. Baptist Health Foundation of San Antonio provided $153,513 to the Baptist Health System School of Health Professions for 125 summer term scholarships. These scholarships were awarded to students enrolled in the school’s nursing and allied health educational programs. Earlier this year, the foundation awarded 163 scholarships for spring semester students totaling $138,240.

Student missionaries on the field. This year, 333 Go Now missionaries are serving in 30 countries and 16 U.S. states through Go Now Missions, the Baptist General Convention of Texas student missions program. Of these, 232 started serving May 15 and will return Aug. 1. Dallas Baptist University hosted a recent orientation attended by 170 students.