Traditions of Excellence

Excellence was showcased in East Texas Baptist University’s prestigious School of Nursing and Elementary Teacher Prep Programs, which were both recently recognized by state and national organizations.

The School of Nursing was ranked as the #1 BSN program out of the 119 programs evaluated in Texas in 2020 by the Annual RegisteredNursing.org Registered Nurse (RN) Program State Rankings.

“God has blessed us in so many ways – dedicated faculty and staff, networks of health care providers, community support, and state-of-the-art facilities,” Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs Thomas Sanders said. “Through these and many other gifts, God makes all things possible. This ranking is an example of God’s grace and gifts to prepare nurses for His healing ministry.”

RN Program State Rankings are measured through analyzing the National Council Licensure Examination (NCLEX-RN) pass rates, or, the percentage of graduates who pass the NCLEX following graduation. Many state boards of nursing use the total overall NCLEX pass rates to determine a nursing program’s ability to produce prepared and equipped students.

“This is such an honor to receive this recognition for our nursing program,” ETBU Dean of the School of Nursing Rebekah Grigsby said. “Our mission at ETBU is to educate our students, and provide them with knowledge and competencies to deliver holistic, high-quality patientcentered care. Our value and emphasis in Christ-centered nursing care is foundational to the excellence in nursing our graduates provide. The success of our program reflects the commitment and hard work of both faculty and students. We celebrate this achievement, and our pursuit of excellence in nursing education continues.”

ETBU’s School of Nursing consistently pursues the highest-quality learning outcomes to educate nurses who will leave the University and move into the community, nation, and world to minister to the needs of the patients they serve in the name of Jesus. With the move to the recently-restored, state-of-the-art education center in the Marshall Grand, East Texas Baptist’s School of Nursing continues its almost 30-year tradition of providing both a cutting-edge and Christ-centered educational experience.

“When we moved to the new building, we saw how much work was put in to create a facility that would now meet the standard of our nursing program,” senior nursing major Chloe Jenkins said. “The Marshall Grand is a good picture of where ETBU’s program is at, because we’ve accomplished so much. It’s so motivating and exciting to be part of the success.”

The National Council on Teacher Quality (NCTQ) has named East Texas Baptist University’s Elementary Teacher Prep Program as one of the top 15 programs out of 1,000 programs across the nation for its strong commitment to evidence-based reading instruction. The NCTQ is a nonpartisan, not-for-profit research and policy organization

that is committed to modernizing the teaching profession.

“The School of Education strives to provide the best instruction for our teacher candidates in all areas while also applying our biblical Christian faith in order to serve all students,” Dean of the School of Education John Sargent said. “The ability to read and understand serves as the basis for all learning. We are pleased the National Council on Teacher Quality recognizes our program performance in early reading instruction. This recognition reflects the efforts of our professors to incorporate the principles of scientifically based reading research and explicit instruction throughout our coursework and experiences in the classroom.”

A part of the NCTQ, the Teacher Prep Review, whose fourth school evaluation edition was released in early 2020, is composed of field experts dedicated to analyzing the requirements, syllabi, assignments, and coursework of respective graduate and undergraduate elementary teacher prep programs around the country. The mission of the NCQT is to forward the teaching profession, ensuring quality teachers for all children through the quality of teacher training institutions.

“Given how uniquely popular nontraditional programs are in Texas, the low performance by these programs serves a real roadblock to improving literacy rates,” President of NCTQ Kate Walsh said. “Alternative certification programs provide close to 60 percent of the new teachers hired each year in Texas.”

With a high illiteracy rate across the United States, and Texas falling below its usual performance this year, the NCTQ stated that ETBU serves as a role model and example of excellence for other programs that have not yet attained the same level of quality teacher training to emulate in seeking to improve.

“Texas is committed to utilizing evidence-based techniques identified in the science of teaching reading so that every child can not only learn to read, but read well.” Texas Commissioner of Education Mike Morath said. “This requires those preparing to be elementary teachers to be trained on these techniques, and the science behind them. By requiring mastery of these instructional strategies, as the state legislature has now done, we will positively change the trajectory of educational outcomes for countless Texas children.”

Among 14 other schools in Texas to receive A ratings, East Texas Baptist was the only to receive an A+ rating, demonstrating leadership in the realm of quality elementary teacher education and preparation. "ETBU's education program is astounding,” junior elementary education major Kayleigh Hill said. “The teachers and staff are very dedicated to preparing future teachers for anything that may occur in the classroom. I feel very lucky to be a part of this award-winning program."

They’re creepy and they’re kooky, they’re mysterious and spooky, and they came to Marshall in East Texas Baptist University’s special musical performance of The Addams Family, which was staged at the new Memorial City Hall Performance Center in downtown Marshall February 27 – March 1. The musical boasted a Universityrecord attendance of over 1,700 patrons throughout the run of the show.

Based on the zany 1960s sitcom, The Addams Family revolves around the iconic household with an affinity for the macabre: Gomez (sophomore Joshua Bumpas) and his wife Morticia (sophomore Caitlyn Bonnett), daughter Wednesday (junior Sarah Foster), son Pugsley (junior Karli Hubbert), butler Lurch (freshman Joel Simmons), crazy Uncle Fester (ETBU Provost and Vice President of Academic Affairs Dr. Tommy Sanders), and kooky Grandma (junior

Avrie Chapman). The core characters are joined in this Broadway musical re-imagining by their ancestors—ghosts of famous individuals from the past with connections to the Addams family—as well as the outwardly normal Beinekes: Wednesday’s boyfriend Lucas (junior Brock Garrison) and his parents Mal (sophomore Codi Minotti) and Alice (senior Shelby Brown). Theatre Arts major, Junior Lilly Ponder stage managed the productions. "The Addams Family was unique because from the outside it can seem like a weird quirky show," Ponder explained. "The more time we spent with the script, there was a lot of underlying story that everyone can connect to.

From the outset, director and Assistant Professor of Theatre Arts Joshua Scott knew the Addams clan was not exactly a normal family. But, despite the characters’ eccentricities, Scott believes there is an abundance of truth to be found in the script and lyrics of this show.

“The controlling idea we championed from the beginning of the production process intentionally colors every single facet of this show: a family grows in faith when truth wins over deceit,” Scott said. “The story’s counter idea is both just as powerful and truthful as its controlling idea: doubt destroys relationships, community, and family when lies are

championed over truth. These sentiments are echoed over and over again in the Word of God.”

The themes of family, love, truth, and forgiveness are heavily evident in the musical, which ran on Broadway from 2010-2011. Scott intended the rehearsal process to replicate the way professionals prepare for a show, putting a special emphasis on creating meaningful characters and discovering how they interact, respond, and come together as an ensemble cast, while still maintaining a sense of fun and camaraderie.

“The best moments were when the cast would be working through a scene and before you know it, our stomachs hurt from laughing so hard,” music education major Caitlyn Bonnett shared. “What made this show truly unique is the characters. Every single character, including the ancestors, had different traits that made the show interesting. Playing Morticia has stretched me as an actor. Tapping into how dark she is, was harder than I thought it would be, but professor Scott encouraged each of us to make decisions as actors instead of making the decisions for us.”

ETBU students and faculty members in the cast and crew began rehearsing in October 2019 to bring the full-fledged production to the stage, which included eyecatching scenery designed by ETBU Assistant Professor of Theatre Arts, John Dement, exquisite costumes created by Alli Williamson, and original choreography by Shalem Carr combined with a spectacular, Tony Award-nominated score.

“The Addams Family has one of the most complicated musical scores I’ve ever had to sing in a show,” junior theatre education major Elaina Berry said. “The choreography has also been a challenge for us, but there is nothing like the feeling of accomplishment you get when you conquer a challenge. It gives an added layer to the performance that makes it all the more special. I hope when people walked away from this performance, they were thinking about families and the love they share on a deeper level.”

In addition to being the highest-attended show in University history, The Addams Family marked ETBU’s first musical performance held at the recently renovated Memorial City Hall Performance Center. Built in 1907, the Memorial City Hall that once accommodated city offices, courts, and a municipal auditorium was extensively refurbished to house a state-of-the-art auditorium and performing arts center, as well as the Harrison County Veterans Museum. Taking on such a complicated production at a new venue marks a bold new direction for ETBU music and theatre, serving to highlight the departments’ hard work and talent while attracting new talent to join them at ETBU.

“I believe that Mr. Scott and Mr. Dement are moving ETBU’s theatre department in an interesting new direction,” sophomore mass communication major Cody Minotti opined. “With these changes, more people will get to see these wonderful shows and want to be a part of them.

Other productions in the 2019-20 season included Shakespeare’s Comedy of Errors, directed by ETBU Professor John Dement, and Girls’ Night Out, an evening of one-act plays including Beth Henley’s Crimes of the Heart and Robert Harling’s Steel Magnolias, directed by ETBU theatre education students Emory Lambert and Stephanie Barajas, respectively. The Addams Family was originally scheduled to be followed by a performance of the classic Broadway thriller, Gaslight, by Patrick Hamilton, but the show was cancelled in the wake of the Coronavirus outbreak, as ETBU moved to online learning for the safety of students and faculty. Despite the Theatre Department’s interrupted plans, director Scott believes that in this time of crisis, the themes of family and love in The Addams Family are even more important.

“One of the lyrics from the show that resonated most with our production team—and an ideal that we championed in rehearsals–was ‘Family first, family last, and family by and by,’” Scott added. “How incredible is it that in the midst of all this mess we are blessed with the gift of connecting with our spouses and children as we quarantined at home and learned together how to battle the darkness around us, how to move through the questioning and doubt and be the Light in the midst of it all?”

As a Christ-centered institution, the ETBU student experience is characterized by Christian faith integration. The University is continually finding ways for junior high and high school students to engage socially and spiritually while on campus. In partnership with Texas Baptists (BGCT), East Texas Baptist University hosted a Congreso Experience for the second year in a row. The event, themed “Witness,” focused on Acts 1:8 and encouraged more than 100 local student participants from area churches in their pursuit of God’s calling on their lives.

“The purpose for Congreso is to provide a regional experience for Hispanic students who are in junior and high school to help strengthen their faith in God,” Assistant Vice President for Enrollment Jeremy Johnston said. “At ETBU, we believe in transforming our community. We start with the people on our campus, and we equip them to go and make a difference.”

Texas Baptists is a fellowship of diverse churches,

institutions, and organizations working together to continue Jesus’ ministry of sharing the Gospel and transforming communities. Hosted once a year by affiliated organizations, Congreso Experiences are one-day events held regionally that provide a taste of the annual three-day Congreso conference specifically designed for Hispanic youth in 6th grade and above. The Congreso Hispanic Conference is the largest annual gathering of Hispanic Baptist youth in North America. Over 3,000 students meet each year for worship, preaching, and small group training in evangelism and discipleship.

“The students and families attending Congreso represent the Hispanic Christian leaders of the next generation,” event presenter and ETBU Admissions Specialist Jayme Perez said. “Our hope, as presenters, was for these future leaders to walk away with practical knowledge to put in to practice as Christian youth growing up in a secular world.”

Small group workshops led by ETBU faculty and staff dealt with topics that teenagers often face, such as maintaining relationships in a digital age, while breakout sessions led by Congreso staff focused on pastoring and working with youth.

“You have to work towards what God is calling you to do,” ETBU Admissions Counselor and Worship Panelist Ana Asencio shared. “It is so easy to get discouraged. The more you are devoted to worship, the more you work on it, and the more you develop it. Your calling will hold more value if it is something that you practice often.”

Worship was led by Greenville Church, and the day’s message was delivered by ETBU Alumnus and Director of Expansion and Development at Buckner International Sergio Ramos ('93), who told the story of Mary and Martha found in the Bible to illustrate how easy it is to get distracted from following God.

“What we do becomes the center of everything,” Ramos said to the students. “Jesus wants to be the center of your life, but if you are distracted, the first thing that goes away is your time with God. You’re not going to hear His voice unless you are listening for it. I cannot make you follow Jesus Christ or witness to the people at your school, but I challenge you to make the decision to follow him despite all the obstacles and distractions.”

Students experienced the importance of serving and helping the community through volunteering at the Boys and Girls Club of Marshall, and Dayspring Therapeutic Equestrian Center. These volunteer efforts contributed to the partnerships that ETBU has built with community organizations throughout Marshall.

“My favorite part of Congreso was the service project because we got to help so many kids.” Congreso attendee Eliud Martinez said. “I was really happy because they were happy to be around us. I shared with a little boy who asked me about the Bible. I started talking to him and he was very happy and said that he was glad he got to meet me," Martinez added. "I’ve been to Congreso the past two years and I plan on coming back next year.”