tidbits_90803

Posted: 9/5/03

Texas Tidbits

HBTS alumni reunion planned. Alumni, faculty, and staff of Hispanic Baptist Theological School will join in a reunion event Oct. 3-4. The event will begin with dinner on the Riverwalk in San Antonio Friday night before a day of activities Saturday. Current students are organizing an international fair, decorating booths and cooking food from their countries of origin. Alumni will have opportunities to take their best shots at staff in a dunking booth. To RSVP, call HBTS (210) 924-4338 or email rayala@hbts.edu.

Jim Wilkinson

Baylor honors former military spokesman. Jim Wilkinson, who served the last 10 months as director of strategic communications for Gen. Tommy Franks at U.S. Central Command, received the 2003 Baylor Communications Award Aug. 25. The award recognizes those who have distinguished themselves in the field of communications and in their communities. During Operation Iraqi Freedom, Wilkinson served as Gen. Franks' principal spokesman. In addition to a number of other roles within the Republican Party, Wilkinson served as a spokesman for George W. Bush during the Florida recount. From 1992 to 2000, he worked for U.S. House Majority Leader Dick Armey. The Waco Tribune-Herald reported that Baylor President Robert Sloan recently offered Wilkinson a position as vice president for university relations. Instead, however, Wilkinson accepted a new role as communications director for the 2004 Republican National Convention. He is a graduate of the University of Texas at Arlington and Johns Hopkins University.

UMHB receives grant. The University of Mary Hardin-Baylor has received a $200,000 grant from the Thomas Kinder and Martha Farris Foundation of Floydada for the Mayborn Campus Center. Martha White Farris is a 1942 graduate of the university. She served as honorary chair of the university's "Challenge Beyond 2000" campaign that raised $17 million.

Parkses at HSU. Kent and Erika Parks have returned to the Hardin-Simmons University Baptist Student Ministries office for the fall semester as missions consultants. They are Southeast Asia regional facilitators for the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship. Their daughter, Katy, 18, is a fourth-generation family member enrolled as a freshman at HSU this fall.

Bawcom named to UMHB position. Amy Bawcom has been named director of institutional research at the University of Mary Hardin-Baylor. She will coordinate the institutional effectiveness program, which evaluates work processes in all departments for accreditation purposes. The daughter of UMHB President Jerry Bawcom, she is a 1993 graduate of UMHB with degrees in business administration and English. She received a master's in English language and literature from Baylor University, and she currently is working on a doctorate in educational administration at Baylor. She has been a professor of English and assistant registrar at UMHB.

Matthews to perform at Wayland. Marvin Matthews, Christian vocalist and an alumnus of Wayland Baptist University, will headline the Gospel Sing-spiration, a Gaither-inspired evening of music featuring area singers Sept. 20. The event is sponsored by Wayland's Alpha Psi Omega service fraternity and will be held at 7:30 p.m. in Harral Memorial Auditorium. Tickets are $10 per person. Matthews will be present gospel music backed by a mass choir of singers from throughout West Texas.

Tipton named associate dean. Lucia Tipton has been named associate dean of the Scott and White School of Nursing at the University of Mary Hardin-Baylor. She has been a member of the UMHB faculty, teaching adult health and critical-care nursing, since 1976. She received a bachelor of science degree in nursing from Baylor University in 1971. Her graduate degrees include a master's in psychiatric-mental health nursing from Texas Women's University and a doctorate in adult health nursing from the University of Texas at Austin.

BGCT child care available. Free child care will be provided as a service for out-of-town messengers to the Baptist General Convention of Texas Nov. 10-11 in Lubbock. Care for infants through pre-kindergarteners will be offered at First Baptist Church, a five-minute drive from the Lubbock Civic Center. The service will be offered Monday from 7:30 a.m. to 10 p.m. and Tuesday from 7:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Reservations are required. Contact Cathy Jones, preschool minister at First Baptist Church, by Oct. 15, at (806) 747-0281 or cathy@fbclubbock.org.

HSU conference focuses on worship. "Worship: Reaching Up, In and Out" will be the theme of a conference for pastors and ministers of music sponsored by Hardin-Simmons University's School of Music and Logsdon School of Theology Oct. 3-4 on the HSU campus in Abilene. Robert Webber, a nationally known worship leader, will be the keynote speaker. Worship specialists will lead small-group seminars. Cost is $35. For more information and to register, visit the conference website, www.hsutx/edu/mwc/, or contact Clell Wright or Bill Tillman at (325) 670-1426 or (325) 670-1287.

Clarification: One sentence in the Aug. 25 article, "BGCT to create funding channel for some former missionaries," incorrectly stated that the funding channel for former missionaries "will become part of a new, as-yet-unnamed missions network of the BGCT." The funding channel will be offered as a potential project for the missions network once it is operational, but any decision about assuming responsibility for the funding of missionaries rests entirely with the network's board of directors.