He served as a Belton city councilman and received the Harris Fellowship from the Temple Rotary Club. He also was secretary of Austin’s Northeast Kiwanis Club and president of Abilene’s Key City Kiwanis Club. He received a Friend of Education award from Texas State Teachers Association (1986), served on the Chaplain’s Professional Consultation Committee for Scott and White Memorial Hospital, wrote a weekly column for The Belton Journal, and served on the Parent Advisory Committee for Belton ISD. He served on ACU’s Board of Development (1975-91), its first Visiting Committee for the College of Biblical Studies (1982-87), the university’s Board of Trustees (1991-2007) and its University Council (200816). He received ACU’s Distinguished Alumni Citation in 1980, and in 1991 he and Janelle were presented its Christian Service Award. He was preceded in death by his parents, William Joseph Baisden and Bonnie Dean (Whatley) Baisden. Among survivors are Janelle, his wife of 57 years; a son, Donnie Baisden (’85); two daughters, Jane Anne (Baisden ’86) Cox and Katherine (Baisden ’90) Gibson; and six grandchildren. Dr. Bruce Max Evans (’59), veteran former administrator at ACU and The ACU Foundation, died Aug. 25, 2016, in Fort Worth at the age of 79. Evans was born July 13, 1937, in Snyder, Texas, graduating from high school there in 1955. He married Jane Ann Rogers (’60) on July 13, 1957 and they made their first home in Abilene while he Evans finished his B.S.Ed. and M.Ed. (1960) degrees from ACU, both in music education. He earned an Ed.D. from Texas Tech University in 1968. Evans was a preacher, performing a large number of weddings and funerals, and serving as an elder at Taylor Street Church of Christ in Hobbs, N.M.; Stamford Church of Christ in Stamford, Conn.; and Highland Church of Christ in Abilene, where he and Jane worshipped for 31 years until their move in retirement to Granbury, Texas. A music teacher at heart and by training, he became a beloved and respected professor and administrator at three universities. Between band director roles in two Texas public schools – Rotan ISD (1960-61) and Post ISD (1962-66) – Evans was instructor of music and assistant band director at ACU from 1961-62. He was assistant professor of education at The University of Texas at El Paso (1968-70) before becoming the founding teacher education program chair at Lubbock Christian University (1970-72). He oversaw LCU’s senior college accreditation as vice president for planning and institutional studies (1971-72) before becoming provost and executive vice president (1972-75). From 1975-84, Evans was president of University of the Southwest in Hobbs, N.M. In 1979, he received ACU’s Grover C. Morlan Medal for outstanding leadership in education. Evans was
ACU’s vice president for university advancement (1984-85) and dean of the Graduate School (1985-88) before becoming president of The Foundation for Economic Education in Irvington, N.Y. (1988-92), and executive director/president of Abilene’s Herald of Truth Ministries (19922000). He returned to his alma mater in 2000 as executive director and executive vice president of The ACU Foundation, and retired in 2012. He became a certified financial planner in 1994 and helped Dan T. Garrett (’73) direct The ACU Foundation’s work in estate planning with donors. Evans was an organizer of the Abilene chapter of the National Society for Fund Raising Executives and a member of the National Committee on Planned Giving. He was a founding board member of Disability Resources in Abilene, and a trustee of FaithWorks of Abilene, Austin Graduate School of Theology and World Christian Broadcasting. Evans also was a board member or president of local chapters of the United Way, Junior Achievement and Rotary Club; and a leader in other civic and educational organizations. He was preceded in death by his parents, Bruce and Annie Evans, and a sister, Mary Ann. Among survivors are Jane, his wife of 59 years; a daughter, Melanie (Evans ’82) Bullock; a son, Jay Bruce Evans (’86); five grandchildren; and three greatgrandchildren. Bob Elton Nevill, 70, died Oct. 2, 2016, in Austin, Texas. He was born Jan. 19, 1945, in San Angelo, Texas, and graduated from Sonora (Texas) High School in 1963. He attended Rice University for two years on a football scholarship, and earned a B.B.A. (1973) and MBA (1974) in finance from The University of Nevill Texas at Arlington. In 1967, he married his high school sweetheart, Cecilia Young, and earned an MBA at The University of Texas at Arlington. He was city manager of Sonora, Texas, from 1974-78 before starting Video Vision, a company specializing in cable TV systems for rural Texas and New Mexico communities. He was general manager of a cable TV company in Brownwood, Texas, and was a telecommunications consultant for Nevill & Associates while serving customers in Texas, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Arizona and California. Nevill began work at ACU in 1995 as manager of technical services, retiring 13 years later after various administrative roles in Computer and Network Services, Information Technology and Physical Resources. He was preceded in death by his parents, Tom Nevill and Mercedes “Dee” (Trainer) Nevill, and a brother, John Ed Nevill. Among survivors are a daughter, Heather Slone Nevill; a son, Thomas Wesley Nevill; and two grandchildren.
Former art and design department chair Dr. William Brent Green, 86, died in Abilene on Oct. 22, 2016, following a long illness. Born Dec. 4, 1929, in Dawson, Texas, he grew up in Wooster, northwest of Houston. Green attended Robert E. Lee High School in Baytown, and earned an A.A. from Lee College in Green 1949, a B.F.A. in art from The University of Texas at Austin in 1953, an M.F.A. in painting from The University of Oklahoma in 1962 and a doctorate in art education from The Ohio State University in 1973. He also did graduate work at the University of Houston. As an 18-year-old undergraduate student, he was hired by Humble Oil and Refining as the company’s first assistant draftsman. At UT-Austin, he studied under the renowned Texas painter Boyer Gonzales Jr., sculptor Charles Umlauf and muralist Seymore Fogel. He graduated from junior high, high school and Lee College with Ina Lynch (’63). They married May 29, 1949, and later taught together at ACU for years before retiring together in 1998; she as professor emerita of psychology and he as professor emeritus of art and design. He was stationed at Fort Bliss in El Paso while serving in the U.S. Army from 1953-55. Afterward, he worked in Houston as a draftsman for Tidelands Exploration Company. Brent joined the ACU faculty as an instructor in 1958, becoming an associate professor in 1969, a professor in 1978 and chair of the Department of Art and Design in 1980. He was director of ACU’s Shore Art Gallery and taught classes in painting, drawing, ceramics, art theory and art education. In Abilene, he was an elder at University Church of Christ for 18 years and a deacon at Hillcrest Church of Christ, and Fishinger and Kenny Church of Christ in Columbus, Ohio. He taught Bible classes, made numerous mission trips to Poland and participated in the Zambia Medical Mission. He held memberships in the American Society for Aesthetics and Art Criticism, College Art Association, National Art Education Association and Texas Art Education Association. He also was a member of the Board of Directors and the Advisory Board of the Texas Fine Arts Association. His paintings are displayed in ACU’s Brown Library, Westex Drilling in Abilene and Texas Instruments in Dallas. In 1981, he was commissioned by the Abilene chapter of the American Association of University Women to create a mural commemorating the Abilene centennial; it remains on display at the Abilene Civic Center. He was preceded in death by his parents, William Cazzle Green and Georgia Elizabeth (Bogle) Green, and a brother, Billy Earl Green. Among survivors are Dr. Ina Green, his wife of 67 years; a son, Bill Green (’77); and a daughter, Heather (Green ’80) Wooten; four grandchildren; and a sister, Mary Beth (Green) Woods.
ACU TODAY
Winter-Spring 2017
79