Regents OK relocation of Baylor School of Social Work. Baylor University’s board of regents authorized the relocation of the Baylor School of Social Work to downtown Waco and approved a $403.3 million operating budget for the university in 2010-2011. The School of Social Work, currently housed in the Speight Avenue parking garage on campus, will move to the former Wells Fargo Bank building downtown. Baylor will lease the 33,000-square-foot, three-story building, and the university has expanded its downtown-area shuttle service to include the location to make it easier for graduate and undergraduate students to travel between the main and downtown campuses. The university operating budget, which takes effect June 1, reflects an increase of $13.8 million or 3.55 percent over the original 2009-2010 budget adopted by Baylor regents last year. It includes an increase of $17.4 million or 15.9 percent to support merit and need-based scholarships, graduate assistantships and scholarships for Baylor Law School, Truett Theological Seminary and athletics. Regents re-elected Dary Stone of Dallas to a one-year term as chair. Duane Brooks, pastor of Tallowood Baptist Church in Houston, was re-elected to a one-year term as vice-chair.
ETBU trustees approve budget. East Texas Baptist University’s board of trustees approved a $27.8 million operating budget for 2010-2011—a 2.5 percent increase over the current year’s budget. The budget, which takes effect June 1, includes more than $7 million for merit and need-based scholarships for students, an increase of 5.3 percent. Trustees also approved a recommendation to begin the process of adding two graduate programs—a Master of Arts in Religion degree offered by the School of Christian Studies and a Master of Education degree offered by the School of Education.
Dallas church pledges $115 million. First Baptist Church of Dallas members have pledged $115,062,000 over three years to reshape the church’s downtown campus. In making the announcement May 16, Pastor Robert Jeffress told the church the campaign set a record for a Protestant congregation in the United States. The project includes construction of a 3,000-seat sanctuary, but the historic 1890 sanctuary will be retained for weddings, funerals and special events. New construction includes a religious education building and parking garage, a sweeping glass-fronted concourse and a sky bridge, as well as an acre of green space and a soaring fountain that can be used for warm-weather baptisms. After the church’s building committee finalizes plans and presents them to the deacons, the congregation is expected to vote on the building project June 6.
Run to benefit terminally ill pastor. David Johnson, former pastor of Caprock Baptist Church in Odessa, will participate in the Summer Solstice Six-hour Endurance Run, June 18 in Abilene, to raise funds for the church’s current pastor, who is terminally ill. Mike Johnson, no relation to the runner, was diagnosed with interstitial lung disease in September 2008. He was featured in the Feb. 15 issue of the Baptist Standard. For more information about the benefit run, e-mail David Johnson at runningpreacher@hotmail.com, phone (432) 367-0038 or mail Caprock Baptist Church, Attn.: Paul Miller, 1131 E. FM 1787, Odessa 79766.
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