Baylor Line | Spring 2019

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THE BAYLOR LINE

T H E B AY L O R L I N E | S P R I N G 2 0 1 9 PUBLISHED BY THE BAYLOR LINE FOUNDATION SINCE 1946

Executive Vice President Allen Holt allen@baylorlinefoundation.com Editor-in-Chief Craig Cunningham craig@baylorlinefoundation.com Publication Designer Haley Gandy cedargandy.com CFO James McInnis james@baylorlinefoundation.com Marketing Director Shelby Pipken shelby@baylorlinefoundation.com Member Services Kellie Juandiego kellie@baylorlinefoundation.com Social Media Communications Michelle Case michelle@baylorlinefoundation.com Staff Writer Cole Niles cole@baylorlinefoundation.com Producer Libby Tidwell libby@baylorlinefoundation.com Letters and Comments can be sent to baylorline@baylorlinefoundation.com Contact Info The Baylor Line P.O. Box 2089 Waco TX 76703 254.732.0393

BAYLORLINEFOUNDATION.COM @THEBAYLORLINEFOUNDATION @BAYLORLINEFOUNDATION @BAYLORLINEFDN

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ince its founding in 1859, the Baylor Line Foundation has established a legacy of unwavering loyalty and support for our alma mater across the generations.

And what better way to kick off our 160th anniversary year than by celebrating Baylor’s best and brightest. On February 1, alumni and friends of the university gathered at the Baylor Club for the 54th Hall of Fame Awards Dinner. We celebrated the accomplishments of twelve individuals and one family who have made us all proud to be a part of the Baylor Family. It was a great event and one we look forward to every year.

And this is just the beginning of what will prove to be a banner year for the BLF. This spring, we will be announcing our next group of Legacy Scholars. This year the BLF will give over $100,000 in scholarship assistance to Baylor students. If you would like to participate in this program, you can find more information on our website at www.baylorlinefoundation.com.

We will also be coordinating with the university the announcement of the newest alumni-elected regent to the Baylor board. This is a relatively new process that enables all alumni to let their voices be heard. Throughout the summer months and into the fall, we will be hosting various events to celebrate our birthday and bring Baylor alumni together. These will culminate with our annual Homecoming Tailgate at the Texas Sports Hall of Fame on Saturday, October 12, before the Bears take on Texas Tech.

The Baylor Line Foundation is the oldest organization of alumni in the state of Texas and we are very proud to have been a part of this great university for 160 years.

We are grateful to all alumni who have volunteered their time and resources over the years to this organization. We are grateful to be able to serve our members, and all Baylor alumni, in the years to come. And we are looking forward to not only achieving our goals and continuing to be the voice of alumni, but to working alongside our alma mater, as a valued partner, and helping reach the goals of the Give Light campaign.

We hope you’ll continue to be an active participant in our organization and spread the word among fellow Baylor alumni to get involved. Send us your thoughts, ideas, family stories and life events, and we’ll share them with our Baylor Family. Please visit our website at www.baylorlinefoundation.com for all the important information. It’s been a great 160 years. Here’s to 160 more!

Sic ’em, Allen Holt

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HAPPY 160TH BIRTHDAY 5 A T I M E L I N E O F T H E BAY LO R L I N E F O U N DAT I O N 7 HALL OF FAME AWARDS 9 B E TW E E N T H E L I N E S W I T H K I R K WATS O N 3 7 LETTER FROM SLOANE SIMPSON 40 A R E A LU M N I A S S O C I AT I O N S ST I L L V I A B L E ? 41 PENLAND 214 43 REMEMBERING DR. ROBERT PACKARD 45

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STAY CONNECTED T O T H E BAY L O R FA M I LY H E R E ’ S H OW: AUTHENTIC RELATIONSHIPS

GIVING BACK

o Nominate and celebrate a diverse group of

o Help future students afford a Baylor education by

o Let your voice be heard by submitting candidates to

o Follow and donate to our list of nonprofits that

alumni who are honored each year at our Hall of Fame Banquet. be Alumni-Elected Regents, ensuring that alumni have representation on the Baylor Board of Regents.

o Join us at annual events and meetings like the

Homecoming Tailgate.

contributing to our Legacy Scholarship Program. are led by Baylor grads.

o Make gifts to the Baylor Line Foundation to

ensure that our independent mission to connect alumni and support the university can stay strong for another 160 years.

STORIES AND NEWS o The Baylor Line magazine will continue to be the Voice of Alumni,

just as it has been since 1946.

o Follow alumni updates, job opportunities, and online stories through

our social media channels.

o Join our email list to receive our Friday Five, a curated list of five

stories to keep you updated about what’s going on at Baylor.

o Listen to our newly-launched Between the Lines podcast for interviews

with noteworthy alumni and conversations about issues in higher education.

o Submit stories, ideas, and unique alumni to our team so that we can

share with other Baylor grads.

T H E BAY L O R L I N E F O U N DAT I O N

BELONGS TO YOU!

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Due to economic hardships caused by the Depression, the Baylor Monthly and the alumni office are closed, not to reopen until the end of the decade.

Fourteen years after Baylor University was chartered by the Republic of Texas, Baylor President Rufus Burleson announces the creation of an alumni association, and Baylor graduates begin formally meeting.

1932

The alumni association sponsors the first Baylor Homecoming.

1859

The Baylor Centennial Foundation begins soliciting funding for the new Student Union Building. The group launches the Baylor Century magazine in October 1938.

Subscriptions are $1 a year.

The Baylor Monthly is launched as the official publication of the Baylor University Alumni Association, with J. M. Dawson serving as editor.

1936

April 1925 1909

Key dates in the history of

The Baylor ExStudents Association is reorganized as the Baylor University Alumni Association, and a new dues-paying membership system is established.

BAA and Baylor University sign agreement granting BAA a long-term, fully-paid-up license to use the names and marks of Baylor Alumni Association and The Baylor Line.

Sept. 1993Â (formerly the Baylor Alumni Association)

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The Baylor Ex-Students Association is legally incorporated, but without a full-time director.

The Baylor Century magazine is renamed the Baylor Line, the name being a phrase from the school’s alma mater, and the first issue under that title comes out in October 1946.

The magazine is now produced by the Baylor Ex-Students Association, which, in the spring of 1946, appoints its first full-time executive secretary, Jack Dillard. In a letter to alumni dated June 20, 1946, Dillard writes, “Your Association, for the first time, is operating separately from Baylor University itself. The history of all outstanding Ex-Students groups shows that they operate best when separate from the university.”

The Baylor University Alumni Association is legally incorporated as a nonprofit organization and moves from the Student Union Building to the new HughesDillard Alumni Center.

1946

1978

1942

University and BAA sign a “Memorandum of Intention and Understanding” that guarantees the continuation of the association’s access to the alumni database, the use of the Baylor Alumni Association name, and office space.

The Baylor Administration takes a series of actions to restrict BAA’s access and sever the association’s coordinated operations with the university. Baylor begins tearing down the Hughes-Dillard Alumni Center in July 2013.

The University follows through on its threat to sue in June 2014, and the BAA files its counterclaim later that summer after settlement negotiations fall apart.

As an independent alumni organization, the Baylor Line Foundation has continued efforts to connect alumni to the Baylor Family through events, news and stories, and opportunities to give back through scholarships and fundraising initiatives.

2015 - Present May 2003

2009 - 2014 BAYLOR FAMILY

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On February 1, 2019, the Baylor Family gathered to honor alumni who have made us all proud. The 54 th Hall of Fame Awards Banquet provided an opportunity to congratulate twelve individuals and a family who were nominated by you. These awards span a variety of disciplines and achievements. Proceeds from the evening went towards our legacy scholarship program that will help fifty students achieve their dreams of attending Baylor. Join us in celebrating these deserving alumni.

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Photos by Kathryn Kreuger Stories by Cody Carlson

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ALFRED ANDERS ON ABNER V. MCCALL HUMANITARIAN AWARD

Alfred Anderson is a Superintendent for York Builders Inc. and an alumnus of the National Football League. Anderson was a starter all four years of his collegiate career at Baylor University in his hometown of Waco, Texas, while being named “Freshman of the Year” in 1980. He is the second all-time leading scorer in Baylor football history.

Anderson was drafted in the third round by the Minnesota Vikings in 1984 as a running back. During his rookie year, he led the team in rushing and was named the “NFC Offensive Rookie of the Year”. Anderson played for the Minnesota Vikings for eight seasons before retiring in 1992.

In 1997, Alfred was inducted into the Baylor Sports Hall of Fame; In 2000, he was inducted into the Waco Independent School District Athletic Hall of Fame.

Presently, he resides in Mansfield, Texas with his wife Kimberly, and he has three sons. Alfred attends Cornerstone Baptist Church, where he serves as an Elder and an usher.

Alfred’s time at Baylor began before he stepped foot on campus. He recalls the time after he had just signed his National Letter of Intent. Coach Grant Teaff came by his house that morning, and he stepped outside the door. Then, Coach Teaff shouted a loud “Ya-Hoo!” He turned around, saw him smiling and knew then he had made the right decision to become a Baylor Bear.

He gives credit to Coach Grant Teaff for helping to mold him into the man he has become today. Through that mentorship, he became more than just a coach.

He became a father-figure to Alfred. Coach Teaff once told him: “If I ever had a son, Alfred, I would like him to be like you”. That meant so much coming from Coach Teaff, who was and still is, such a well-respected man. Under his guidance, Alfred went on to accomplish such honors as SWC Freshmen of the year, 1st Team All-Conference and MVP of the 1983 Blue Bonnet Bowl. Most importantly, he was able to grow in his faith as a man and become a Christian role model for his family: his beautiful wife Kim, three sons and grandchildren.

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ASHLEY KILLOUGH OUTSTANDING YOUNG ALUMNI AWARD

Ashley Killough is a reporter-producer for CNN covering Congress and based in the network’s Washington Bureau. Prior to reporting from Capitol Hill, she covered the field of Republican candidates in the 2016 presidential race as an embed producer for two years, ending on Donald Trump’s campaign.

Since joining CNN in 2011, Killough has held a variety of reporting and producing roles covering politics across multiple platforms. From Plano, Texas, Killough is graduate of the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism and Baylor University and spent a year in Armenia on a Fulbright grant working on journalistic projects. At Baylor, she participated in the BIC program and majored in international studies and journalism. Ten years later, she is still chasing stories.

Ashley got her start in journalism while working at The Baylor Lariat, where she covered the Baylor administration as well as the 2008 presidential election when candidates came through Central Texas. The political bug never quite left her after that.

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JILL MC CALL ABNER V. MCCALL HUMANITARIAN AWARD

Jill McCall, a Waco native, has dedicated her professional life to helping the children and families in the Central Texas community. After graduating from Baylor, Jill started in public service for McLennan County as a Juvenile Probation Officer.

Jill has served on many nonprofit boards, including a year as the President of the Junior League of Waco. In 1990, she was elected to the Waco ISD school board and served for six years, including a term as President.

In 1999, Jill took a big leap by becoming the Executive Director of Compassion Ministries, which at the time was a still new, but struggling, nonprofit. Compassion Ministries of Waco provides transitional housing and support services for up to six months to homeless families with children.

In 2016, Jill had an enormous professional challenge with the announcement that the government would no longer grant funds to transitional housing programs. She had anticipated this change and created an endowment fund for the organization many years before. However, faced with losing one-third of the organization’s annual operating budget in just a few months, Jill threw herself into a final endowment fundraising campaign to ensure that no homeless families in the Compassion Ministries program would lose any services, now or in the future. Two years later, the endowment fund is within striking distance of the final $5.5 million goal.

In 20 years at that organization, Jill and a committed staff have developed a program that is a respected standard for homeless care in the Waco community.

Along with her professional accomplishments, Jill has taught Sunday School for pre-schoolers at Columbus Avenue Baptist Church for 37 years!

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J o h n - Pa u l H a y w o r t h OUTSTANDING YOUNG ALUMNI AWARD

John-Paul C. Hayworth is the Executive Director of the DC State Board of Education.

He joined the State Board in 2015 after serving in two mayoral administrations and on Capitol Hill, including as an advisor on federal, congressional and local affairs specializing in education, economic development and budget issues.

Mr. Hayworth serves as the appointed agency head for the elected State Board. He is responsible for day-to-day operations of the agency, as well as leading policy development and research on topics under the State Board’s purview.

John-Paul was in the Gamma class of the Baylor Interdisciplinary Core. BIC is a program where a group of 200 incoming freshmen satisfy their general education requirements like English, history and religion in an integrated and challenging curriculum. BIC’s reliance on primary texts and team-taught classes by some of Baylor’s best professors had a monumental impact on John-Paul. He helped to create a student leadership council to guide the program and provide a liaison between the university, students and professors.

While at Baylor, John-Paul also served as Social Chair of the Men’s Glee Club, Round Up Yearbook section editor, and was the self-appointed, unofficial photographer of the NoZe Brotherhood.

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VINCENT CLARK GEORGE W. TRUETT DISTINGUISHED SERVICE AWARD Vince Clark graduated from Baylor University with a BA in History and fell in love with Central Texas and Waco. He graduated with a J.D. from Baylor Law School in 1985, moved to Tyler, TX and practiced law for five years as a trial attorney specializing in civil litigation—mainly defense.

Vince Clark returned to Baylor and graduated with an M.A. in History in 1991. After teaching at Baylor for one year, he entered the University of Virginia to pursue a PhD in History. Vince completed his coursework, passed all his boards, and wrote a dissertation on the leadership style of Baylor President Abner McCall. In the meantime, Vince went to work in the History Department at McLennan Community College in 1995. He was named an Assistant Golf Coach in 2000 and became Head Golf Coach in 2007.

Clark never defended his dissertation. As of 2018, however, he has taught over 12,000 MCC students. His golf teams have won three NJCAA National Championships. In 10 seasons as head coach, Vince Clark coached 19 AllAmericans, 13 Academic All-Americans, and 7 Academic All-American teams.

He was named the NJCAA Coach of the Year three times and the GCAA Coach of the Year once.

In 2015, Clark was among the initial inductees in The MCC Foundation’s Hall of Fame. In 2016, he was inducted in both the NJCAA Golf Coaches Hall of Fame and the GCAA Hall of Fame. Clark was an undergraduate and graduate assistant to legendary Baylor History professor Robert Reid, and over the course of more than 10 summers, the two led alumni and student tours of Europe.

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S U Z I I PA Y N T E R DISTINGUISHED ALUMNI AWARD

After nearly six years as executive coordinator of the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship (CBF), Suzii Paynter is serving as co-director of Pastors for Texas Children. CBF is a fellowship of Baptist Christians and 1,800 churches who share a passion for the Great Commission of Jesus Christ and a commitment to Baptist principles of faith and practice. Pastors for Texas Children mobilizes the faith community for public education, support and advocacy.

Prior to joining CBF in March 2013, Paynter served in executive management of the Baptist General Convention of Texas (BGCT) as the director of the Texas Baptist Christian Life Commission and as director of the Advocacy Care Center. Paynter directed public policy initiatives for state and federal issues and led international relief and development projects. During her tenure at the BGCT, which spanned more than a decade, Paynter focused on creating and managing large-scale programs that focus on ministering alongside and advocating for the least of these.

Over the past decade, Paynter has gained a national reputation for her advocacy on important ethical issues such as religious liberty, hunger and poverty, human trafficking, immigration reform and the environment. She has been recognized by numerous national religious and secular organizations such as the Sierra Club, American Association of Retired Persons and Samaritan Counseling Centers. In 2013, the Baptist Joint Committee for Religious Liberty honored Paynter with the J.M. Dawson Religious Liberty Award. She also received the T.B. Maston Award for Christian Ethics in 2017.

Paynter was ordained to Gospel ministry by Austin Heights Baptist in Nacogdoches, Texas. She is on the Duke Divinity School Board of Advisors, serves on the board of Christian Ethics Today, is a member of the executive committee of the Baptist World Alliance and chairs its Human Rights Advocacy Committee.

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DR. MARK ADICKES DISTINGUISHED ALUMNI AWARD

Dr. Mark Adickes was raised all over the world as the son of an Army chaplain.

He attended high school in Berlin and Munich, and graduated from Killeen High School while his father was stationed at Fort Hood. Dr. Adickes excelled in sports and received a football scholarship to Baylor University. At Baylor he appeared in three bowl games and in his senior year was the team captain and honored as a first team All-American. He received a BBA in management and marketing upon his graduation from Baylor.

Football was career number one for Dr. Adickes after being drafted in the first round by both the NFL and the USFL. He played two years with the LA Express in the USFL, followed by four seasons with Kansas City Chiefs and three with the Washington Redskins. His professional football career culminated with a Super Bowl Championship with the Washington Redskins.

Numerous injuries, surgeries and rehabilitations led to the conception of Dr. Adickes’ second career choice. He attended George Mason University to complete his pre-med studies and was accepted to Harvard Medical School. Dr. Adickes’ medical school experience was enhanced by his selection to deliver the commencement address at graduation. He then attended orthopedic surgery residency at the world-famous Mayo Clinic. Upon completion of residency he was honored to be offered a fellowship position at the renowned Stedman Hawkins Clinic. His fellowship included extensive training in the treatment of knee, shoulder and hip injuries.

Dr. Adickes’ ultimate goal as a physician is to heal, and he approaches every patient with a curious mind and a dogged determination to achieve that goal. He often tells his patients, “I will treat your problem as if it were my own or that of a family member.” When seeking treatment for an injury, one cannot ask for more.

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LEVI PRICE GEORGE W. TRUETT DISTINGUISHED SERVICE AWARD

Levi Price graduated from Baylor University in 1964. While at Baylor, he was a football varsity letterman. He graduated from Golden Gate Baptist Theological Seminary with a Master of Divinity degree in 1972 and a Doctor of Ministry degree in 1976.

Price married Luethyl (Lu) Dawkins in 1962, after their second year at Baylor. Lu and Levi were hometown sweethearts. For two years, Lu and Levi ran the light and sound for Baylor Religious Hour, and it was a great experience. The Prices have two married children, Timothy and Sara, and have six granddaughters and a grandson. One granddaughter is already a graduate of Baylor.

Since leaving the full-time pastoral ministry in 2002 to teach at Truett Seminary, Price has served in 19 pastoral interims (one for 23 months and twice in one church). He received the Maples, Williamson, Daehnert Intentional Interim Award in 2018. He has served on the National Review Team and the Texas Review Team for Intentional Interim Pastors.

He also has served as a Baylor Regent and as a member and chair of the Advisory Board of Truett Seminary.

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T O M K E L LY HERBERT H. REYNOLDS RETIRED FACULTY AWARD

Dr. Tom Kelly first came to Baylor as a student, graduating in 1965. Following graduate school, Tom began his teaching career in 1969 and remained at Baylor for almost 49 years. Tom was a professor of economics and served as director of the Baylor Center for Business and Economic Research, a position he held for 28 years.

His economics courses included urban economics, business forecasting, and macroeconomic theory at the undergraduate and graduate levels. He also served as graduate program director for Baylor’s Department of Economics.

Dr. Kelly has developed annual economic forecasts for the Central Texas economy since the early 1980s, leading to a deep understanding of business activity in the region and its connection to national and global conditions. He provides data and insight to prospective investors in Central Texas and regularly contributes his views through the local media. His bi-monthly consumer price index for Central Texas is used by many employers and property owners to adjust wages and rents.

Dr. Kelly consults continuously with civic leaders, bankers, purchasing managers, home builders, and others about local business conditions. He has developed models to measure the local economic impact of Baylor athletics, the Heart of Texas fair complex, the mammoth site, and many other projects. Outside Central Texas, he has examined the economic impacts of stadium investments in other local communities, including an analysis for the City of Arlington of the new Cowboys’ stadium. His involvement in many study groups, such as the VA Hospital task force, has provided valuable service to the local community.

Tom is famous at the McMullen Faculty Dining Center for saying, “To make a long story short” and then telling a story that takes at least 30-45 minutes for him to tell. In the Baylor Economics Department, Tom is a ‘utility player’ who can teach any course, a graduate director who cares deeply for students, and a wonderful colleague who is always ready to help.

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W I L L I A M J. D U B E I I I W.R. WHITE MERITORIOUS SERVICE AWARD

Following graduation from Baylor University in 1968, Bill spent two years in the United States Marine Corps. Bill had the opportunity to join Baylor in the scholarship and financial aid office in August of 1973. This opportunity eventually led to serving as Assistant Vice President for Student Financial Aid. In 1989, Bill became Dean for Admissions, Academic Scholarships and Financial Aid. It was during these 22 years of involvement with scholarships and student financial aid that Bill developed his passion and energy for scholarships and assisting students and families in meeting the costs of attendance at Baylor.

In April of 1997, Bill joined University Development as Director of the Endowed Scholarship Program. This provided the opportunity to be a part of increasing those resources that were so needed in scholarships and financial aid. In June of 2014, Bill became Senior Director of Stewardship and the Retired Professors and Administrators Program. After 44 years of service, Bill retired from Baylor University on June 1, 2018.

As a member of St. Paul Lutheran Church, Bill taught the 7th and 8th grade Sunday School Class for 25 years and served as President of the Congregation and Board of Directors for over 16 years. He served for six years on the Central Texas Senior Ministries Board (Meals & Wheels) and three of those years as President of the Board. Bill currently serves on the Waco Symphony Association Board of Directors. As Uncle “B,� Bill is the proud great-uncle of eleven great-nieces, and nine great-nephews.

Bill spent 44 years serving Baylor, everyday filled with great experiences, meeting and interacting with great folks, and so many that have become life-long friends. His life and career has been dedicated to serving students and families in making it possible for them to attend Baylor. He firmly supports and believes that endowed scholarship funds are one of the best investments a donor can make in the lives of students.

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T H E Y E LV I N G T O N , S T R I C K L I N , M A R C H FA M I L Y FIRST FAMILIES OF BAYLOR AWARD The spark for all things Baylor was ignited in 1916 when a young preacher named Jesse Leonard Yelvington stepped onto the Baylor campus. He came because he sought a Christian education in a strong academic environment. He was married to Lessie Ramsey, and they had two small children, Ramsey and Harriet Mae. He was pastor of the baptist church in West Point, TX. His children, Ramsey and Harriet Mae, followed his passion and moved to Waco to attend Baylor.

Ramsey was a yell leader and involved in drama. Later, he became a professor in the drama department under Paul Baker. His granddaughter, Perrin Worrell, served as a trainer for the Baylor Bears football team while a student and graduated in 2000.

Harriet Mae met an energetic young man named Caso March who lived in her boarding house. She was selected a Baylor Beauty, and Caso was head yell leader and a champion debater. President Pat Neff was his mentor and encourager. After Caso’s Baylor Law School graduation, he and Harriet Mae married and had two children, Ann and Ben. Ann came to Baylor in the fall of 1954 and was a proud member of the “Baylor Greatest of the Great Class of 1958.” History repeated itself when as a freshman, she was chosen as a Baylor Beauty, met and fell in love with a yell leader, Gil Stricklin. They were married in 1958, at First Baptist Church in Waco the day Ann graduated from Baylor. They were blessed with two sons, Art and Cliff.

Art was in the Baylor class of 1984. While at Baylor, he was sports editor for The Baylor Lariat. His career in sports writing continues today.

After graduating from Baylor in 1986, Cliff went to law school, was a federal prosecutor, and is now a partner at Bryan Cave LLP in Denver, CO. Art’s daughter Allison, Class of 2014, became a school teacher and his daughter Ashley will be a Baylor graduate in May of 2019. Cliff’s son, Cal, graduated from Baylor in 2018 and was a men’s basketball manager while a student.

Ben was in the class of 1969 and graduated with a business degree. His career was spent in business and working for the university as executive director of development. He met the love of his life, Anita Holt, at Baylor and they were married in 1968. Anita worked for Baylor in various departments while their children, Wendy and Ramsey, were students.

Wendy, class of 1994, received her undergraduate degree from Baylor and has worked for many years in the area of human resources. Wendy’s son, Benjamin, will be a freshman at Baylor in the fall of 2019.

Ramsey met Haley Fuller at Baylor, and, following their graduation, they married. They live in Dallas with their three children, and Ramsey is managing director and partner with Stream Realty Partners.

And so their “Good Old Baylor Line” has continued for five generations! There must be a “Cloud of Witnesses” peering over the balcony of Heaven cheering for them, led by Jesse Yelvington. They all came to Baylor for a Christian education in a strong academic environment and left to lead the next generation to “light the ways of time.”

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DON WILLETT DISTINGUISHED ALUMNI AWARD

Don Willett serves on the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit.

Before joining the federal judiciary, Judge Willett served a dozen years on the Supreme Court of Texas. He has devoted his professional life to public service, and prior to becoming a judge, he served as legal counsel to a Texas Attorney General, a Texas Governor, a U.S. Attorney General, and the President of the United States.

Raised by a widowed mom in a doublewide trailer in a town of 32 people, Judge Willett is his family’s first college graduate. He earned a triple-major BBA from Baylor University and then three degrees from Duke University: JD with honors, MA in political science, and LLM in judicial studies.

After law school, he clerked for Judge Jerre S. Williams on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, and then

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practiced law at Haynes and Boone, LLP before entering public service.

Judge Willett publishes widely and speaks frequently throughout the country. He is also a Senior Lecturing Fellow at Duke University School of Law and will soon be the Jurist in Residence at J. Reuben Clark Law School at Brigham Young University. He is the former editorin-chief of Judicature—The Scholarly Journal For Judges, and has been honored four years in a row for “exemplary legal writing” by The Green Bag. He is a member of the American Law Institute, and a Life Fellow of the American, Texas, and Austin Bar Foundations.

A native Texan, Judge Willett is a former rodeo bull rider and professional drummer, and in 2015 he was named the Tweeter Laureate of Texas. He and his radiant wife, Tiffany, are the exhausted cofounders of three wee Willetts.

JOHN MC CL AIN DISTINGUISHED ALUMNI AWARD

John McClain grew up in Waco and graduated from Richfield High School and MCC before earning his degree in journalism at Baylor in 1975.

He worked for the Waco Tribune-Herald from 1973 to 1976, when he accepted a job with the Houston Chronicle. This is his 44th year at the Chronicle and his 41st covering the National Football League, including the Houston Texans for the last 15 years.

McClain has a plaque in the Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton, Ohio as the 2006 winner of the Dick McCann Memorial Award presented annually to a writer for his long and distinguished coverage of the NFL. He is past president of the Pro Football Writers of America. He’s a member of the Pro Football Hall of Fame Selection

Committee, the Pro Football Hall of Fame Seniors Committee and the Texas Sports Hall of Fame Selection Committee. In 2015, he was named as a Gridiron Legend in Texas, becoming the third member of the media, behind Dave Campbell and Mickey Herskowitz.

McClain can be heard six times a week on the Texans Flagship, Sports Radio 610, in Houston, and twice a week on KRZI in Waco. He also does weekly sports talk shows in San Antonio, Austin, Nashville and Knoxville. He appears regularly on the NFL’s Top 10 series on the NFL Network.

McClain also has appeared in eight movies: The Rookie, The Longest Yard, Spring Breakers, Invincible, Secretariat, Cook County, The Game Plan and Make It Rain.

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W e wa n t t o h e a r f r o m y o u !

HALL OF FAME AWARDS BANQUET 2020

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Do you know outstanding alumni who should be honored at the Hall of Fame banquet in 2020?

Nominations are now open on our website at BAYLORLINEFOUNDATION.COM OR CALL 254.732.0393

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Interview by Kyle Knighton

The following interview is taken from a recent podcast between The Baylor Line and Texas Senator Kirk Watson.

Photo by Jenny DeMarco

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BLF: So how did you wind up at Baylor?

BLF: So after Baylor, what brought you to Austin?

KW: My freshman year in high school, we had a brand new drama and speech teacher. I think the way you tried out for the debate team was you were the most talkative person in class, you were the loudmouth, you were kind of the pain in the neck, because she picked a group of us, and I was part of that group.

Well, we went to debate tournaments.

That summer, I found myself in Waco on the Baylor campus going to the Baylor debate camp. I started going to Baylor debate camps every summer. By the time I had started looking at where I wanted to go to college, I felt like I knew Baylor like the back of my hand.

KW: I got a job with a Baylor guy, Sam Johnson, who was a judge on the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit. And his family has a lot of Baylor connections. But, we were going to move here for one year. Liz had a job working as a reporter and anchor. And we got here and it wasn’t three months where we were looking around saying, “Oh my goodness, I wonder if we could make a living in Austin.” And that was in 1981, so almost 40 years later here we’ve been. And I think it just was a gift, it just was a gift.

BLF: I guess if you’re good at arguing, then law is the natural career path.

KW: I stayed in trouble all the time talking. And so I remember very vividly my old man saying to me, by about the fourth grade, “Son, we have got to figure out a way for you to make a living with that mouth, otherwise you’re going to just stay in trouble.” There were no lawyers in our family, but Daddy knew a few lawyers.

My guess is he would say, “What do you do with a kid that all he does is talk, and maybe the only talent the child has is talking?” But all of them told him that if you wanted to go to a law school that would train you to be a first-class lawyer, trying cases in a courtroom, Baylor Law School was the place to go.

BLF: Was there ever a consideration to do something else?

KW: No, in fact. If I had anything to say about it looking back now all these years later, I would say I was too directed. And here’s why I would say that. I graduated from high school in 1976, and then I walked off Baylor’s campus in 1981, so five years later I had my law degree. And that was because Baylor had what I think is a great program. They called it the three and three program back then. Well, that was a great program for somebody like me because the cost was significantly diminished if I could get into law school quicker and get out. And I really hope Baylor will look back at that.

BLF: What is it about the city that pulled you in?

KW: Well, part of it was it was just the most beautiful place we had seen. And part of what also played out with that was we immediately fell in love with the culture, the music. So Liz anchored the weekend. I remember vividly what would happen is on a Saturday about 9:30, I’d find a payphone and I’d call her and tell her what club I was going to be listening to music in. She would read the 10:00 news, finish at 10:30, and then by 10:45, maybe 11:00, would meet me someplace and we’d listen to music.

BLF: So how did you transition to politics?

KW: The truth of the matter is that was always something I was interested in. I worked in different people’s political campaigns, including another Baylor person, Governor Ann Richards. And she appointed me the chair of a state agency.

The state agency at that time was involved in air quality.

And one of my jobs was to work with the chair of the water commission to merge those agencies into what we now know as the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality.

And like I say, I was always involved in one way or another.

But it really wasn’t until I got very, very sick. During the first part of ‘92, I was diagnosed with what ended up being metastatic testicular cancer. And so I had three surgeries and chemotherapy. I just went back to work when it looked like I was going live. It was in ‘95 that on a routine cat scan they found another tumor in my abdomen. When I say they field dressed me, they went in and cut me from stem to stern and stripped lymph nodes in my abdomen. That was when I said, “Okay, January of ‘97, I’m going to do something different.”

And what happened was people started saying to me, “What about running for mayor? The mayor’s not running for re-election. You love public policy. You like politics. You’re looking to do something different. Why not run for mayor?”

And my running joke was, “Well that would make me the only guy in the world that thinks being mayor of Austin’s better than chemotherapy.”

And I loved being in public office and enjoyed that experience. I was reelected, ran for another office in 2002 that wasn’t successful. And then this opportunity to be in the Senate looked like it might come up. I was elected to this in 2006 and been doing that since.

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BLF: Did you think having cancer motivated you?

KW: Well, it didn’t drive me, it gave me freedom.

One of the gifts of cancer was it gave me freedom that I didn’t have before. And part of that was the freedom to do things that I thought maybe I would do, that I’d even kind of talked about or whispered about from time to time, but never did. And you know, part of that gift is that you live your life in increments of time. If you’d have asked me at 32 years old, before I got sick, “Watson, where you going to be in 20 years?”

If I’d have been honest with you, I’d have told you where I thought I was going to be within about a week. I really thought I had the world by the tail only to find out that I might not live to be 35.

Well, now I try to live my life with a short-term focus but with what I call a long-term vision.

BLF: Let’s switch gears and talk about the cost of higher education. What are some things being discussed?

KW: Well, there are a couple of things. We have to figure out a way to make it easier. And I’ll tell you, the State of Texas has a set of goals through the Higher Education Coordinating Board to have 60% of people between the age of 25 and 34 having some sort of degree or certificate by 2030. The question becomes, can you achieve those without doing some things that are very important.

One is we need to make it a whole lot easier to transfer hours from a community college to a fouryear college. A few years ago, I was very pleased to see that Baylor was entering into specific contracts with community colleges where, if a student got out of that community college with an associate’s degree, they were admitted to Baylor. What they did is they had an affiliation agreement that allows those courses that you’re taking at that community college to transfer toward a degree. Now granted, that plays into tuition, and you’d rather have that tuition coming to the school than going someplace else, but the truth of the matter is it might work better for somebody like a Kirk Watson to go back home in the summer, have a job, be picking up hours, and then come back for that sophomore year or junior year or whatever. So I think we have to do a much better job with what we call transferability of those hours. And I think private schools ought to play a role in that as well.

The other thing is, it’s incumbent on the State of Texas to provide more funding to help students. If you look at the number one funding sources for scholarships, it’s called the Texas Grants Program. And we have degraded it, in my view, over year after year, where less money is actually going to those students because we’re not willing to fund it.

Baylor’s the single largest recipient of what we refer to as TEG, Tuition Equalization Grants. But if you look at what the State of Texas has done in terms of putting money into TEGs, we’re only a couple of million dollars more than what was put in in 2002. So the state is not doing what it ought to do to educate its population.

Those are two big things I would say. One is we need to make it easier to go to a cheaper school for a while. And the second is, the state needs to be putting money into helping these students that don’t have the wherewithal.

TO LISTEN TO THE REST OF THE INTERVIEW AND SUBSCRIBE TO THE PODCAST, VISIT OUR WEBSITE AT

BAYLORLINEFOUNDATION.COM

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To make a difference in the life of a student like Sloane, CONSIDER A DONATION TO OUR LEGACY SCHOLARSHIP PROGRAM. Details are available at baylorlinefoundation.com

Legacy Scholarship Program D ear F riends, My name is Sloane Simpson, and I am a recipient of the Baylor Line Foundation Legacy Scholarship. I wanted to thank you very much for your financial contribution to my education. I am a Junior studying Entrepreneurship and Marketing and serve as the 2018-2019 Student Body External Vice President.

Your contribution allows me to be an active and engaged student at Baylor.

This scholarship is very important to myself and family, since I am one of five children who will be attending a four-year university. Because of the scholarship, I do not have to worry or burden my parents with the financial stress of attending Baylor.

I am incredibly thankful for my time at Baylor and for all the people who have made it possible for me to thrive during my time here. I have learned so much about myself as a leader through my three years serving in Student Government, which I believe will help me thrive in my job following college.

My classes have taught me critical skills that I will need in my future career as a marketer and, eventually, founder of my own business.

Ultimately, it has been Baylor’s strong community of faith which has encouraged me to be bold and pursue the passionate life I believe God has called me to. I am eager to see what areas of need God will call me to and inspire me to pour into through various business opportunities.

Sincerely, Sloane Simpson

BAYLOR FAMILY

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ARE ALUMNI ASSOCIATIONS STILL VIABLE?

W

hen I graduated from Baylor a decade ago, I left with a network in my pocket. Friends, professors, and potential employers were now a click away through Facebook, the revolutionary platform

by Craig Cunningham that launched during my freshman year. I distinctly remember sitting around Penland with roommates, awestruck over the ease with which we could find out information about other students. By graduation, the platform had matured and expanded. With ten minutes and an internet connection, I could find pretty much anyone. Not just at Baylor, but from any point in my life. I could pinpoint where they lived, what they did for a living, and how I could reach out to them directly. If I needed news about Baylor, I could have Google send stories directly to my email.

To be perfectly honest, joining an alumni association never crossed my mind. Why would I? What could the alumni association provide that Google and Facebook weren’t already doing for free?

Fast forward ten years, and all of the technology that prevented me from joining the association has accelerated and become even more effective at connecting people around the world. Twitter, Reddit, and Instagram have joined the merry band of immediacy. We’ve almost entered the post-click world. Notifications are delivered to me throughout the day. A search for ‘Baylor’ on Facebook turns up close to a hundred subgroups – Baylor in the 70s, Baylor Young Grads in Austin, Baylor Theatre in NYC, and on and on. In other words, alumni have formed their own associations based on specific interests, each with their own rules, culture, and motivations. And all of those friends I had at Baylor?

I know exactly when they have babies or get a new job or eat an interesting meal. t the Baylor Line Foundation, we have been trying to wrestle with these factors for years. What is an appropriate business model? What is the difference between our online and offline audiences?

How can we add real value to membership? What can we do that Baylor grads cannot live without?

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he Baylor Line Foundation is in a particularly unique position, not only because of the complicated history with the university, but because we are one of 20 or so independent alumni associations left in the U.S. With 5,000 universities, that puts us in very rare company.

(Oddly enough, six of those independent associations are in Texas.) Whether independent or not, associations are struggling to dangle enough carrots to be chased. Discounted trips, credit cards, and coupons had their day, but that day has passed. The alumni magazine, once the most thorough and up-to-date news available about the university and her alumni, is often a day late and a dollar short. Wellmeaning leaders of associations around the nation set lifetime memberships at $1,000, complicating future changes to business models.

We aren’t the only alumni association trying to answer these questions.

I spoke to three leaders of alumni associations around the state. Kathryn Greenwade, who is the Vice President of the Association of Former Students at A&M, highlighted their primary challenges: “1. Like all alumni organizations today, we are faced with communicating with alumni from the age of 22 to 100.

Communicating in a way that appeals to each of these five distinct generations, while delivering a consistent message, with limited staff keeps us on our toes. 2. There are many more ways to engage with one’s university today than there were when I graduated in 1988. Technology allows our former students to keep up with events on campus in real time which changes what we communicate and the immediacy of our communications.

3. There are also more organizations seeking financial support for Texas A&M which can create confusion among our constituent base.

4. Technology is constantly changing and we have to keep up, but on limited budgets. 5.

People gather differently today than they did 30 years ago. They are able to engage with one another virtually and are sometimes not as drawn to events such as the traditional 10, 20, 30, etc., year reunion.”

Curt Langford, the President and CEO of the Texas Tech Alumni Association, referenced the challenge of being a strategic partner with the university: “Our model is independent, but we’re intent not to act like it. In other words, we leverage the benefits of independence for the university’s sake, working collaboratively on campus without creating conflict. Our future success will be our ability to amplify the university’s academic initiatives while also inspiring alumni to help support them.”

Mike Pede, who heads up the alumni association at the University of Houston and is a thought-leader in regards to alumni associations, told me that they completely removed annual memberships in 2013 and haven’t looked back. Their staff was spending 70% of their time on something that provided 30% of their revenue. He also mentioned the struggle of being “all things to all people.”

We have the exact same issues. In my opinion, there are two ways of looking at the long-term viability of alumni organizations.

One is that alumni associations have taken the same road as Blockbuster and Borders Bookstores. Social networks have made them obsolete, and organizations like the Baylor Line Foundation are dinosaurs. If they are hanging on, it is by the tips of their fingers.

The second, and more hopeful view, is that this is the time to redefine the role of the alumni association.

I personally ascribe to this view. Rather than focusing on the barriers, it is exciting to focus on the opportunities. Everything, from our business model to our print strategy to our social media, must evolve if we want to stay viable.

“

B

ut here’s what won’t ever change: We want to help you stay connected to the Baylor Family. The word ‘Family’ is important.

Each one of us came to Baylor not because it is the best school in the world, and certainly not because it is affordable, but because we wanted Baylor to be a part of our individual stories. That binds us in a special way. We can help you stay connected to that story. The first way we do that is through authentic relationships. That includes events like the Hall of Fame, where we recognize alumni who may not have made big gifts to the university, but have made incredible contributions to our world. A person just like you is going to receive a Hall of Fame Award this year. The second way is through news and stories.

As an independent organization, it is our responsibility to deliver stories about Baylor and alumni that aren’t limited by bias, politics, or dogmas. The third way is by creating opportunities for our supporters to give back. An example of this is our scholarship program.

The honest-to-God-truth is that we don’t have a magic pill for alumni associations. But I do believe that we are asking the right questions, and that our hearts, minds, and efforts are pointed in the right direction.

I recently attended an event at our home church in Waco, and the newly-hired pastor took the stage to discuss his vision for the coming year. He said something that stuck with me. Without quoting him exactly, he said something along the lines of: “I’m not going to grow this church. You are.” he Baylor Line Foundation doesn’t belong to our staff or our board of directors. It doesn’t belong to Baylor University. This organization belongs to you, the Baylor Family. This organization has belonged to you for 160 years.

We are here to serve your vision for how to make an impact on Baylor and her alumni. Send us stories. Send us pictures.

Send us obituaries. Send us your artwork. Connect with us on social media. Offer up alumni-elected regent candidates.

Nominate Hall of Fame recipients. Pass along ideas on how to build this community. Tell us what Baylor is doing that you love, and what concerns you.

The Baylor Line Foundation doesn’t belong to our staff or our board of directors.

It doesn’t belong to Baylor University.

This organization belongs to you, the Baylor Family.

”

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ARE ALUMNI ASSOCIATIONS STILL VIABLE? YOU TELL ME.

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Penland 214

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by Libby Tidwell

n paper, it shouldn’t have gone well – a small-town preacher’s kid and a city boy with an admitted wild streak. Against all odds, it has created a lifelong friendship for Darrell Rollins (‘83) and Steve Reynolds (‘83).

The potluck roommates first met in Penland 214 in the fall of 1979. Potluck may have created their friendship, but the bond they have formed by walking through the ups and downs of life together ever since has cemented the relationship.

That, and their annual Duffers golf tournament.

“We were kind of oil and water,” Steve said. “But, actually, that turned out to be why we hit it off so well, because we were different.” Their antics and adventures started almost immediately. Their freshman year in Penland, the two decided Room 214 needed a pet. The room was already the biggest attraction on the second floor thanks to a handmade arbor laced with ivy, but the ante had to be upped. To add to the nature theme of the room, the pair purchased a goldfish and named her Railroad. Using macramé rope and netting, Railroad hung down from the arbor, floating in the middle of the room between the two beds.

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... the potluck roommates created a lifelong friendship The next year their friend group of six or so guys decided they were going to rush ATΩ, where they already had a few friends. They went through the whole process, having already agreed they were only going to join if everyone in the group was accepted. The guys made sure the fraternity knew they were a packaged deal. When bid day came, the fraternity members split the friend group in half, telling both groups they had made it and the other group of three had not been chosen.

Steve remembers the feeling of being incensed and chewing out the bearers of the “bad news.”

When the six were reunited, they quickly realized they had been pranked.

Steve and Darrell, along with other friends from their hall in Penland, lived together throughout college. Now that they lived off campus, the guys decided to upgrade their pet from a goldfish to a mouse named Bubbles that Steve had somehow procured. As the new house mascot, Bubbles roamed freely around the house, and she would even sit on their shoulders as they watched television. Bubbles passed away over the summer, and instead of burying her right away, Darrell decided to freeze her until everyone was reunited in the fall and could give her a proper send off. The roommates and their girlfriends gathered along the Brazos and gave Bubbles a Viking burial.

“We thought it was kind of funny and a joke, but it turned oddly emotional because it summarized the end of a relationship [with Bubbles], and, while we were standing there, the end of our senior year,” said Darrell.

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fter leaving Baylor, the two knew they wanted to maintain their friendship.

In 1985, Darrell and Steve, along with their friends Brad Lancaster and Randy Stevens, created their Duffers golf trip. Since then, the crew has played every year, taking turns choosing where the tournament will be played. They both admit that the round is typically sloppy, due to both playing in the winter and the skill of the golfers.

The frequent libations prescribed by their lengthy rule book don’t help either. Besides the wacky rules that make the yearly trip entertaining, the stakes are raised by the winner getting to take home a trophy. The loser doesn’t go home empty-handed, though: they get a brick.

Both Darrell and Steve admit the tournament is goofy, but it has allowed them to maintain their bond. What started as an obvious mismatch has turned into a relationship entering its fortieth year. Steve said it best: “Darrell and I were just blind luck.”

Do you have stories about lifelong friendships that began at Baylor?

Send them to craig@baylorlinefoundation.com

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REMEMBERING

robert Packard

W

hen I heard of Bob’s death, a torrent of emotions and memories flooded over me.

Dr. Robert Packard was, without a doubt, one of the most remarkable men I have ever known.

Our friendship started over sixty years ago – in 1957. I was working in the Union Building Cafeteria and serving in the Colonial Kitchen, which was the Faculty Dining Room. Whenever I would hear cackling laughter, I would always know that Dr. Packard had showed up for lunch. One day he told me that he had a headache and asked if we had any aspirin. I went into the kitchen and made an elaborate salad of lettuce, tomatoes, cucumbers, and radishes. In the middle of the salad I placed two aspirin. When I brought it to him, there was a burst of that beloved cackling – and our friendship was set forever.

I was a student in his freshman Physics class – just an ‘average’ student. But years later he told everybody that I was the most outstanding physics student he had ever had. His statement about that was theologically incorrect.

One of the highlights of my life was the privilege that came to me in 1972, when I became his pastor at Columbus Avenue Baptist Church.

His spirit was always bright and joyous, and he loved to tease. For many years, he and I talked about leading a revival together in which I would preach and he would lead the singing. If you ever stood by him at church and heard him sing, you know that would have set church music back for many generations.

A Baylor co-ed came to visit with me one day and told me that she had signed up for Dr. Packard’s physics class. I told her that there was one thing that not many people knew about him – that he had a glass eye and loved for people to ask him about it! A few days later, the young co-ed asked Dr. Packard about his eye. As you might guess, he pretended as if he were taking it out, cleaning it off, and putting it back in its socket. Bob loved joking and going along with other people’s jokes.

There were so many things that made Bob stand out. He was a brilliant scholar, an articulate and inspiring teacher, and a compassionate Christian.

One day I asked him about university politics. He said, “Marshall, I have no interest in university politics. My only interest is in the students.” That was always true. Baylor students knew that they had a great friend and a forceful advocate in Dr. Robert Packard. There was a lovely goodness about his faith. As he shared his faith, there was never any harshness about it; and he was never judgmental of others. The loveliness of his faith was a great witness for the Lord. His joy was infectious with everybody around him. I don’t think he ever had a bad day.

During my years as pastor of Columbus, he was a wise and caring counselor and a friend to me.

He taught in our college department, and I loved going up to the third floor to watch him scurry up and down the hall, trying to find enough chairs to seat the college students.

Joyce, one of Bob’s very best days was when God brought you into his life. What a dynamic duo you have been, always encouraging each other, always supporting each other’s career, and always being there for each other every single day. We all loved watching the two of you interact together. He was so very proud of you!

And here we are, almost forty years since I left Columbus Avenue. You and Bob have continued to be the great friends for Doris and me and for Scott and Cindy. Our family would like to thank you for making us a part of your family, and for the love and encouragement that you have heaped on us through the years.

I can hear it now: when Bob went to be with Jesus, there were whispers that started in heaven among Baylor professors, Baylor students and friends. They were saying, “Have you heard?

Bob Packard’s here! It’s going to be a great day!”

We always talk about a person’s legacy and what that person accomplished that made a difference in the world. Bob’s legacy is so massive! Literally thousands of people are better because they brushed up against Bob Packard along the way.

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– Marshall ad Doris Edwards

Photo courtesy of The Texas Collection

“THOUSANDS OF PEOPLE ARE BETTER BECAUSE THEY BRUSHED UP AGAINST BOB PACKARD ALONG THE WAY”

BAYLOR FAMILY

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HANGING IN THE BALANCE 49 CHERRY BOMBS AND PEACEFUL PRAYER 53 C ATC H I N G U P W I T H J O S E P H C A O 5 9

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HANGING IN THE BALANCE

by Craig Cunningham

Baylor’s new CBO Brett Dalton recently sat down with the Baylor Line for a wide-ranging interview about the university’s financial status and goals.

Additional reporting by Libby Tidwell

O

ver the past year, Baylor administrators have reinforced their efforts to become a Tier One Research University, while also introducing a billion-dollar fundraising campaign. With the university at such a critical juncture, alumni may be wondering who is steering the financial ship.

Enter Brett Dalton, Baylor’s new Chief Business Officer.

Dalton’s perspective of Baylor is untainted by familial ties or emotion. In fact, he could be considered an objective outsider. His life has been centered around Clemson University, where he holds two degrees, and where he served in various administrative roles for the past three decades.

Nearly everyone in his family, from his wife to his cousins to his grandfather, also went to Clemson. Dalton’s salt-ofthe-earth persona and southern drawl may not match the cliché of a “numbers guy,” but his track record of success at Clemson aligns with the research and growth goals that have been laid out by President Livingstone.

“This was just an opportunity that we felt like, if we didn’t explore it we weren’t being obedient,” Dalton said of taking the position at Baylor. “I wasn’t looking for a job.

My son is in the 10th grade. I was a year and a half short of full retirement at Clemson University. But we saw this as a calling.”

While Dalton has enjoyed his time in Waco thus far, he has his hands full in managing Baylor’s finances.

The university is currently rated an A+ Debt Issuer, but Baylor is also in the midst of a billion-dollar fundraising campaign, lawsuit settlements, a thinner-than-ideal endowment, buildings in need of renovation, and a tuitiondependent model, all of which must be considered in

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relation to the aspirations of the administration. Dalton is tasked with pointing the dollars in the right direction.

“One of the areas that President Livingstone has focused on with me is the need for not just running a professional, administrative, and support division, but really providing some entrepreneurial leadership. And to look at some new opportunities to generate resources, without large tuition increases. To look at ways to generate revenue and products, that Baylor has not thought about, or has not engaged in, in the past. That’s my preference.

I’m not happy with the status quo. I’ve never been happy with mediocrity.”

Part of Dalton’s appeal is his warm personality and entrepreneurial spirit, but that may not be as vital as his experience in generating revenue and prestige through graduate research – a key goal of Illuminate. At Clemson, Dalton spearheaded the effort to grow from a third-tier public university to a top 20 public university. For the past 11 years, Clemson has been rated as a top 25 public university in the US News and World Report.

Dalton’s hiring coincides with two major initiatives announced by President Livingstone in the last year. The first is Illuminate, the academic strategic plan that would move Baylor closer to becoming a Tier One Research University. The second is Give Light, the fundraising campaign with a stated goal of $1.1 billion to both fund Illuminate and also build new facilities. The plan kicked off at Homecoming, where it was announced that the $500 million raised since 2014 would be credited to the campaign as part of the “silent phase”.

A brand-new Alumni Welcome Center, state-of-the-art laboratories, athletic facilities, and new cloud-based administrative systems are all on deck to receive hundreds of millions of dollars of funding over the next few years, and they are all necessary investments if Baylor wishes to pursue Tier One status.

But the question remains: where is the money coming from?

In some ways, the success of Illuminate is dependent on a twofold bet.

One is that Baylor graduate researchers can acquire significant external funding. In order to win grants, they will need equipment and facilities that currently don’t exist. To attract well-respected personnel and build those facilities will require a huge investment of resources. The hope is that external funding will then offset those new costs. Even when the facilities are built, the question remains whether external funding will be granted to a sectarian university with an overt Christian mission. Dr. Livingstone has addressed this concern at length, in this publication and elsewhere. The second factor of the billion-dollar bet is whether Give Light, the new fundraising campaign, can boost $500 million into the endowment, a stated goal of the campaign.

If that bet falters, the burden can only be carried by tuitionpaying undergraduates.

Dalton acknowledges the predicament of Baylor’s current model.

“Baylor is more tuition dependent than its peer set,” he stated.

“When I was referring to the president’s charge for me to be more entrepreneurial, creative, help us gain some efficiencies, that was one of the big drivers.”

For many peer institutions, their endowment alleviates some of the reliance on tuition dollars. For universities that are overly tuitiondependent, attempts at growth often must be offset by an increase in tuition, an increase in enrollment, or an increase in debt.

Currently, Baylor costs approximately $60,000 per year.

Dalton has heard the concern, both from colleagues and alumni.

“I’ve heard it from the Board of Regents,” he said. “Joel Allison’s been a very strong leader in this respect. There is a real sensitivity with the President and the Board of Regents to ensuring that future generations and current generations are able to afford a Baylor education. That we pay careful attention to our price, to our tuition levels.”

Dr. Livingstone has also been asked about the cost of a Baylor education. She told the Baptist Standard, “Like other universities across the nation, we are keenly aware of the importance of affordability, especially as a private institution.

T

he $60,000 cost per student does not tell the whole story.

Baylor often points out that 95% of their students receive some form of financial aid, both from the university and from outside organizations. Financial aid granted from the university is counted against tuition income. While Baylor received $720 million in tuition in 2018, they redistributed $310 million of that in the form of aid, rather than being able to draw from the endowment. Full-paying students are essentially subsidizing the cost for non-full-paying students.

Many students also supplement those scholarships with loans.

According to the national database at lendedu.com, 52% of Baylor students graduate with loans, with an average student loan debt-per-borrower at $44,859. Only Hardin-Simmons has a higher loan debt-per-borrower rate in the state of Texas. Across the nation, only 29 schools have a higher debtper-borrower rate than Baylor.

We are endeavoring both to keep costs down and to find new revenue sources that aren’t as tied to tuition.

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Dalton dismissed the idea of significantly increasing enrollment. He anticipates undergraduate numbers to remain stable, but for graduate enrollment to grow. Baylor’s enrollment of undergraduates has grown modestly over the past five years, moving up from approximately 13,300 to 14,300. or some alumni, the concern over growth has more to do with incurring additional debt than the cost of tuition or enrollment numbers.

Nostalgic alumni may harken back to the days when President Reynolds famously kept the university free from debt. Currently, Baylor has total liabilities of approximately $857 million, with $597 million of that in notes and bonds payable.

Dalton’s philosophy towards debt is more market-based.

“Debt is something that has to be examined in context,” he said. “The first thing to look at is, what’s your bond rating? Baylor is an A+ rated debt issuer. So very high quality, very low risk in the eyes of the investors in the financial world, which means that Baylor’s fundamental financial position is very strong.”

According to Dalton, rating agencies take into consideration market position, nationwide demand of the Baylor brand and the prospects of growing donations and the endowment. The data has favored Baylor based on admissions and applications, which has yielded the strongest academic performing class in history. Graduation and retention rates have also continued to strengthen.

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“Baylor has taken on more debt, but that debt is still in the context of enrollment, financial strength, and in line with peer institutions in our rating category,” Dalton added.

“That’s the more important thing, is the debt in the context of your overall balance sheet . . . When Baylor has issued debt, it has made long term, strategic capital investments, which pay off. That’s important, too. That was reassuring to me, before I agreed to come here, to look at some of those fundamentals.”

The administration is focused on strategically upgrading facilities that are in line with the goals set forth in Illuminate, placing priority on supporting infrastructure that can improve research capacity. Dalton and his team have been evaluating the use of space on campus, and have considered how to best utilize existing buildings, even if that means leasing space in downtown Waco. In addition to research infrastructure costs, residence halls that were constructed in the 1950s, 60s, and 70s continue to need expensive upgrades to electrical systems, HVAC systems, and other safety features.

“If Baylor doesn’t invest in its infrastructure, students will stop coming,” Dalton said. “Parents will not send their students to sleep in substandard housing. If they come from a high school that had better chemistry labs than they’re going to have in college, they’re not going to come.

The reality is, keeping that infrastructure so that it’s safe, that it’s functional, that it meets the needs of the faculty and students, requires the use of debt.”

One solution to Baylor’s tuition-dependency challenge is simple: stop growing and stop spending. However, that approach is at odds with the stated goals of the administration, who view Baylor as an institution with a moral responsibility to change the world through research.

As Dalton has been evaluating priorities in relation to Dr. Livingstone’s overall goals, he suggested that the key to unlocking Baylor’s potential lies in growing the endowment.

If there is a magic pill to alleviate financial burden on undergraduate students while simultaneously positioning Baylor to support graduate research, a robust endowment is it. Universities like Rice have built such a strong endowment that they recently eliminated tuition entirely for students who come from families making less than $130,000 per year.

While that may not be feasible for a university like Baylor, it is clear that a healthy endowment allows for creative solutions to rising tuition.

“As much as possible, we would like for gifts to serve the endowment, to become a part of Baylor’s growing, permanent endowment, and to be able to use that revenue stream to support capital plans and facilities,” Dalton said.

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“It’s very early in the Give Light campaign. Very early. We are awaiting word from certain gifts, and certain opportunities that we hope will materialize.

Roughly, we’re hoping that, I would say, 75% of what we bring in can go to grow the endowment, while roughly 25% might be spent on a more annual basis.”

A major challenge for fundraising for the endowment is that donors often want to see their gifts put to use immediately. Beautiful buildings, outdoor features, and the immediate needs of individual schools offer a tangible expression of a donor’s interests. When major gifts come in, the donor rightfully indicates how he or she would like the money to be used.

From 2013-2018, Baylor’s endowment grew from $1.05 billion to $1.3 billion. That change doesn’t account for the new $100 million Foster Business School or the $266 million McLane Stadium.

“I would not refer to the endowment’s growth as stagnant,” Dalton said. “I think you might be surprised when you look at Baylor’s return over the past 5-year period, 10-year period, 15-year period, compared to the benchmark higher-ed endowments. I have really been impressed with what the investment group here has been able to do. The only part that I would qualify is, with the stadium and some other major projects, instead of those dollars going into the endowment, they went straight in to fund those capital projects.”

Dalton later added, “Let me say this. A capital gift is an endowment. Because you’re not spending cash on a program, and it’s gone. But when you’re building an asset, that may have a 50, 75-year life, that’s a different form of an endowment.”

However, new facilities create ongoing costs, like staff, renovations, insurance, and bills, all of which impact cash flow. Though the number is in constant flux, Baylor reported $75 million in cash in 2018.

According to Dalton, Baylor is in a strong financial position to handle upcoming challenges, both known and unknown.

After high-profile settlements with former football coach Art Briles, President Ken Starr, and sexual assault victims, the final cost of the sexual assault scandal is still unknown. The trial of Jane Does 1-15 vs. Baylor is tentatively scheduled for October 2019, and has the potential to greatly impact the university’s financial outlook. Many of the settlement agreements remain confidential, so specifics are still lacking for those outside of the legal team and the administration. Back in 2016,

Bears for Leadership Reform, a group of large donors to the university, estimated the cost at $223 million. It also remains unknown how much of the final tally will be covered by insurance. alton fully evaluated these possibilities prior to taking the position, and remains confident in Baylor’s outlook.

“At a macro level, what I will tell you is that information is reviewed by rating agencies,” he said. “It’s reviewed by the audit firms, and it’s certainly available to folks like me. All of that has been factored into the information that I shared with you. For rating agencies, all of that legal information has to be disclosed.

“When I say to you that Baylor is strong financially, and you look at the financial statements, and you see that Baylor’s unrestricted net assets have grown throughout this period. Adjusting for any legal cost, any settlements, Baylor’s total assets have grown. Those are a real cost that have been factored into operating plans.”

Brett Dalton is determined to use his experience at Clemson to help Baylor reach the goals stated in both Illuminate and Give Light. But at the end of the day, he is reminded of his ultimate purpose each time he looks out the window.

“My sole focus now is trying to do what’s best for Baylor,” Dalton said. “When you sit here, in this corner office of Pat Neff, and I see the thousands of students walking by, it’s easy for me to focus on what I need to be doing.”

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CHERRY BOMBS AND PEACEFUL PRAYER: WHAT IT MEANT TO PROTEST THE VIETNAM WAR AT BAYLOR

by Jonathon S. Platt

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It

was January 1967 – 22 years since Ho Chi Minh’s August Revolution. American boots had officially been on the ground in Vietnam for 12 years. The governmental and societal structures of the war-torn, southeast Asian country were creaking. U.S. troop escalation was underway.

And on January 5, almost one year before the Tet Offensive in 1968, when 40,000 North Vietnamese troops conducted surprise attacks against American troops, the Lariat ran the results of a Baylor student government poll.

“Should America continue its commitment in Vietnam?” asked one of the questions. There were 710 student responses. 386 students strongly agreed, 253 expressed general agreement, 49 students disagreed, and only 22 strongly disagreed. In early 1967, these results were generally synchronous across the country.

Later in the year, the Johnson administration was briefed by the RAND corporation that as troop escalation rose, public support of U.S. involvement in the conflict was falling.

Basically, as the Lariat ran those numbers on the front page, public support had peaked. The Pentagon Papers tell us the latter half of 1967 would be the beginning of outspoken opposition to the war in Southeast Asia. Though images of Berkeley, Kent State, and that great scene in “Forrest Gump” come to mind when speaking of Vietnam protests, hostility toward the war was present at Baylor just as well. Debates filled the editorial pages of the Lariat, and student-led oppositional efforts occurred throughout the late 1960s and early ‘70s. Thankfully, from the efforts of Baylor libraries, all digitally archived copies of each Lariat issue we have available allow us to revisit how students reacted to the Vietnam War. All photos courtesy of The Texas Collection FEATURED STORIES

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On

Jan. 31, 1967, Lariat editors ran an editorial on page two of the paper. “Deferments remain big problem,” the headline read. The piece set the stage for both what was happening in the world – difficulties in reaching a peace agreement with North Korea, aftermath from the capture of U.S.S. Pueblo, strained relationships continuing with Russia. The piece also expressed the sentiment of what it meant to be a young male in a time of war. The draft was imminent, and this worry was in stark contrast to the sense of assuredness and complacency male students carried weeks before while studying for finals, the editors wrote. With troops being escalated by the Johnson administration and modifications to the draft process, a student had to worry about his GPA status as well as his status as II-S. The editors saw it as “frightening,” and maybe this helps explain why public opinion, especially among youth, was changing on the war.

“I can remember about half of the leisure time that we students had,” said Tom Belden, Class of ’70. “Especially in ’67, ’68, ’69, half of our time was spent talking about the draft and talking about the war, and what were we going to do.”

One year prior to this article about troop escalation, news of an orphaned baby Baylor bear ran across the front page. There was talk of regent votes, new building construction, the Baylor Beauties elections. But then 12 months of increased conflict in Vietnam went by, 12 months of not a week without the Lariat running some headline on Vietnam, fallen soldiers, or alterations to the draft process. There are 503 issues of the Baylor Lariat between 1967 and 1973 that contain articles, editorial commentary, and photographic mention of the Vietnam conflict. That is from Johnson’s escalation to Nixon’s peace agreement. That is also close to 54 percent of articles during that time – a staggering amount.

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“Thursday, the Lariat carried a story concerning the closing of the UB Lobby to the Committee to End the War in Vietnam. It seems that people got out of hand — and on the Baylor campus that is unthinkable!” read a letter to the editor from June Freiberger, Class of ’70, which ran on March 1, 1968. Protest, dissent, opposition was “unthinkable” at Baylor at the time, but, yet, it was present.

The events Freiberger mentioned in her letter concerned President Abner McCall’s decision to ban the Committee to End the War in Vietnam, a student resistance group that had been meeting regularly in the SUB Lobby, from using prominent campus space for their future meetings. To be clear: McCall did not order the end of this committee, but decided to no longer have Baylor appear to “endorse” the meetings. The students were provided space on the third floor of the Student Union. Freiberger (and three others in the “Letters” area of the March 1 Lariat) expressed their concern against such an action of censorship by university administrators.

This decision did not come from thin air, though. Days before, a group of counter-protestors had encircled a table for the committee and began taunting. Things grew heated.

“There is a war,” Freiberger’s letter continues, “and young men and women are questioning whether or not it is right. I cannot agree heartily with the committee, but I cannot disagree with their right to be heard. I would rather see a riot involving concerned human beings than a nation of apathetic fools.”

Two days before Freiberger’s letter voicing support for freedom of expression, a different kind of group met. Whereas Freiberger’s letter was published publicly and the Committee to End the War had gathered with an open invitation to all of Baylor, a group of anti-war Baylor students (“and a few onlooking faculty”) gathered in a closed, secret session to discuss appropriate measures to oppose the war in Vietnam.

The Lariat obtained information and a leaked copy of prescribed literature from the meeting. The article read that the members of this group sought to develop “viable means of protesting, on the Baylor campus, the Vietnam War.” The literature called the war “immoral, un-Christian, un-American and inhuman.” A “total program” of concerted, “literate [and] effective anti-war protest,” was to come at Baylor, the group claimed.

Quotes from mimeographed copies of the anti-war groups notes ran next to the administration’s decision to curb their endorsement of groups gathered to express dissent against the war. A few inches down, a small clipping from the Associated Press read, “North Vietnamese gunners shot down a big U.S. Marine helicopter Wednesday.”

The article reported that 22 U.S. soldiers were killed in that single altercation. The next Monday, the largest headline on the Lariat’s front page read, “U.S. Death Rate in Vietnam Tripled.” There were 9,353 U.S. deaths in Vietnam in 1967.

“FOR A MOMENT, BAYLOR MIRRORED THE TENSION THROUGHOUT THE REST OF THE NATION.”

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On April 6, 1967, the first protest of Vietnam was held on Baylor’s campus. In total, there were four protestors, two students and two faculty members.

It was a “silent vigil” outside of Waco Hall, by Judge Baylor’s statue. The four stood peacefully, with pamphlets for anyone interested in their stance.

The demonstrators included Hope Bronaugh, who was a lecturer of German; Ronald Baker, a graduate assistant in English; Curtis Clogston, a Houston sophomore; and Don Donham, a senior from Rising Star, Texas. As students filed out from chapel, they were dismayed by the small group.

“It was quite a surprise when [the demonstration] happened,” remembers Belden. “I was in required chapel. I came out of chapel with all my fellow students, and I can’t remember now if it was a Monday or a Wednesday, but we came out and here were four people standing silently in front of Judge Baylor’s statue right there on Speight Street, directly across from Waco Hall. I can vividly remember it. Most people just kind of quietly observed and then went on their way. There were a few cat calls and jeers.”

A counter-protest grew. Hecklers shouted insults.

Pennies and crumpled up papers were chucked at them. Eventually, a counter-protestor found the switch for ground sprinklers, and the protest was forced to end early.

The administration had been informed prior to the small protest. McCall had even asked for the protestors to be left alone, according to related Lariat coverage of the event. With the stipulations that the vigil not disrupt the academic process and that the material distributed remain factual, McCall gave his blessing.

“Matter of fact, [I] commend them for praying for peace,” McCall said at the time.

Contradictorily, Jan Johnson, Class of ’67, wrote in a letter to the Lariat editors, “I defend the hecklers because we are the ones that will be in Vietnam next.” And Johnson minces no words, calling the protestors “three ‘nice boys’ and one pacifist old lady.” Another student’s letter was published next to Johnson’s. This is “to be expected, but not condoned,” wrote Cody Phillips, concerning Johnson and the other hecklers.

As plans were made for another vigil, Johnson said, “I plan on heckling them [again.]” The chairman of Baylor’s Young Americans for Freedom chapter, Ronnie Smith, however, disagreed with this tactic.

When Donham’s groups announced the date of the next anti-war gathering, the Young Americans decided to hold their own.

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“Our main purpose is to present a positive program and informative material,” Smith told the Lariat at the time. The group was holding a counterdemonstration as an alternative outlet for student expression, not as a counter-protest. Smith also said a main purpose of the group’s assembly would be to discourage heckling of Donham and other Vietnam protestors because Young Americans “respect the academic freedom of those students.”

However, that is not what happened.

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In that pivotal scene of “Forrest Gump,” where Tom Hanks’ character accidentally — in full military uniform — ascends into the spotlight of an antiwar protest, there is “only one thing [he] could say about the war in Vietnam.” If you have seen the movie, you may recall that the camera pans across a sea of people gathered around the National Mall in D.C.

At

Baylor, the second protest was comprised of 11 students and faculty, total.

“There was a very large protest in Washington D.C. called Mobilize Against the War,” Belden explained. “I was at that one in Washington.

There was in the neighborhood of 300,000 or 400,000 people there. A massive crowd and there were lots of famous speakers. Peter, Paul, and Mary sang. The whole works. Then . . . the same movement called for demonstrations in every city and the demonstration on the Baylor campus was part of that.”

In the “Forrest Gump” scene, there are hundreds of signs at the D.C. protest. Some read, simply, “Peace!” Others say, “Bring our troops back home!” Behind Forrest, a banner implores, “Respect our troops! Bring them home!” Several read, “End the war.” One sign says, “We cry for peace.” At Baylor, the demonstrators had one, single sign. It was tacked into the ground and read, “Silent Vigil.”

They stood as statues, silent and collected, again in the stony shadow of Judge Baylor.

Around the corner, a slightly larger group of 16 – made up of Young Americans for Freedom and some former military men – grew antsy and soon moved toward the 11. They too had a sign. “Better Free Than Under Ho Chi,” it read. The Lariat reports a crowd of over 1,000 eventually gathered around the statue to Baylor’s founder. Most, the article says, began as bystanders. (One student milled through the crowd, hollering, “Peanuts! Popcorn! Candy!”)

Pamphlets from the anti-war group were set ablaze by one student. “Burn it, baby. Burn it,” was chanted, according to Lariat reporting.

Another student uprooted the “Silent Vigil” sign, although it was soon replaced by an onlooker. Someone lit a cherry bomb and threw it into the group of 11 silent protestors, and, upon its distracting explosion, another student grabbed the remaining pamphlets and papers from the organizers and threw them all into the wind. Another cherry bomb went off.

For a moment, Baylor mirrored the tension throughout the rest of the nation.

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If they wanted to discuss the war, they should have requested an auditorium, McCall said of the incident.

If the students had wanted safety, “they chose the worst possible setting and situation for administrative protection,” he told the Lariat.

For the group of anti-war protestors, they saw the unfortunate event and McCall’s reactions as a win.

Vietnam, they told the Lariat, was now on the forefront of minds at Baylor. In the following days, the paper ran interviews with those involved from both sides and also from many onlookers. Campus was abuzz. This second vigil had been the tipping point.

“The first stated purpose of Baylor defines the purpose of a university as to promote learning in an atmosphere of freedom,” wrote Belden in the Lariat in 1968.

It was the beginning of a crucial time in Baylor’s history. In retrospect, some actions — made by students and administrators alike — were appropriate, others were not. Ultimately, though, these demonstrations, the acts of censorship, the published articles, columns, editorials, and the public and private decisions by the administration all contributed to what Baylor was then and played a part in shaping what Baylor is today. To remember them is to preserve a valuable piece of Baylor’s history, to honor both the bravery of those who stood against the war and the voices of those who felt doing so was unhealthy. This period, at minimum, demonstrates that respect for all freedoms of expression is crucial.

Because, in the end, it helps to make us who we will be.

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Catching Up With Joseph Cao

by Tom Kertscher

This year marks the 10th anniversary of Cao entering Congress.

T

he Vietnam War was nearing its end in the spring of 1975, with South Vietnam falling to Communist North Vietnam, when 8-year-old Anh “Joseph” Cao and two of his seven siblings were spirited by their mother onto a military plane in Saigon, bound for the United States. Their mother was later told the three children had been killed, as the airport had been bombed soon after she left them. But in fact the plane had safely departed.

Fifteen years later, in 1990, Cao (pronounced “Gow”) had gone from refugee to Baylor graduate, with a degree in physics and plans to become a doctor. But then there were turns that led Cao into the seminary and later, at age 41 in 2008, to become the first Vietnamese-American ever elected to Congress — a Republican defeating a nine-term Democratic incumbent in an overwhelmingly Democratic House district in New Orleans.

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This year marks the 10th anniversary of Cao entering Congress.

Then, and as he does now, he saw the institution as one bent on winning, not governing.

Early childhood: From trauma, courage Cao went to live alone with an uncle in a government-subsidized apartment complex in Goshen, Ind., that was inhabited mostly by elderly people.

“Most of the time I was by myself, from the age of 8 to 12, and growing up in the tropics, I was not familiar with snow and blizzards and things like that,” he recalled. “And, of course, growing up in a family of eight children, being by myself most of the time was extremely difficult — and scary, at times, especially during the winter when my uncle did not come back from work until 8 or 9, 10 o’clock at night.

“Living through that experience, it created in me a sense of resilience and built a level of courage, because I would have to overcome a lot of my own fears and a lot of my own insecurity. I was also a very shy person. But, in order to overcome my loneliness, I would have to go out and seek friends.”

Associated Press photo

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Baylor leads to seminary, politics Cao later moved to suburban Houston and decided to attend Baylor, intending to become a doctor. He said of his undergraduate years: “It was a moment of soul searching: What am I going to do with my life?”

Then a career aspiration from childhood — to become a Catholic priest — re-emerged after Cao spent time with priests while at Baylor. So, after earning his physics degree in 1990, Cao entered a Jesuit (Society of Jesus) seminary rather than medical school.

The Jesuits sent him to work with the poor and the disabled in the United States and Mexico and with Vietnamese refugees in Hong Kong — moves that eventually directed him to politics.

“Through working with all of these disadvantaged people, I began to think about what would be the best way to help them,” Cao said. “My first thought was to affect social policy, in order to bring about change. Because in working with them, and actually living with them, I knew of their struggles, I knew of the obstacles that they had to face in order to improve themselves.”

By age 29, Cao decided against becoming a priest in order to become a politician, and left the seminary. After having earned a master’s in philosophy from Fordham, a Jesuit university, he got a law degree from Loyola University in New Orleans, another Jesuit school, in 2000.

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A long shot winner After an unsuccessful run as an independent for the state legislature in Louisiana, Cao drew the attention of the state Republican Party, which was looking for a candidate to run for a New Orleans-area seat in Congress in 2008. Cao believed that even though the district was overwhelmingly Democratic, he could win the seat, as the unchallenged Republican nominee, because the Democratic incumbent, William Jefferson, was the target of a federal corruption investigation. Jefferson, whom the New York Times called a “fortress” in New Orleans politics, was charged the year before the election with money laundering and bribery after the FBI found $90,000 in his freezer. (Jefferson was later convicted and sentenced to 13 years in prison, but he served less than six.)

Cao was also helped by Hurricane Gustav, which forced a postponement by one month of the general election for Congress. That meant that Jefferson, an African-American, would not be on the same ballot as Barack Obama, who won his first term as president in that election. Lower turnout on the part of African-American voters, along with Jefferson’s legal problems, helped carry Cao to his historic victory.

How unlikely was his win? The New York Times noted at the time: Mr. Cao was a refugee from Vietnam at age 8, a former Jesuit seminarian, a philosophy student with a penchant for Camus and Dostoevsky, an unknown activist lawyer for one of the least visible immigrant communities here and a Republican in a heavily Democratic district.

“All of the pieces fell into place,” Cao said. “Whether you believe that was the divine providence or what have you, who knows; because I thought about the race many, many times and how unlikely it was for me to win. All of these things had to happen in order for me to win and lo and behold, everything that I wanted to happen actually happened.”

(The election of the second Vietnamese-American to the House occurred in 2016, when Democrat Stephanie Murphy defeated incumbent John Mica, a Florida Republican.)

More on Joseph Cao Article: New York Times: “History and Amazement in House Race Outcome”

Disappointment during lone term But Cao’s dream to change policy was not to be, as he entered the House when Democrats were in the majority. In what could be a description of today’s Congress, he found that both Democrats and Republicans didn’t seem interested in working together.

“Because I was trained in the Society of Jesus, you work with people, you compromise. My focus was simply to sit down and to solve problems; that’s what I wanted to do. And, of course, the reality of Congress was the total opposite of that. People don’t sit down and discuss solutions. We don’t sit down to solve problems in a bipartisan way,” he said.

“It was all about party, staying with the party lines; it was not about problem solving, it was not about helping people. It’s about you as the minority party trying to get the majority, and the majority party trying to retain your majority. And to do this, you need to come up with policies in order to make your constituents happy, whether or not they are good policy.”

Not surprisingly, not everything fell into place two years later and Cao was defeated in his attempt to win a second term.

But service in Congress earned Cao something that had eluded him. He said he was able to undo red tape at the Federal Emergency Management Agency office in New Orleans and free up funds that helped people rebuild from Hurricane Katrina.

“For the first time in my life, I actually felt fulfilled,” he said.

Article: Washington Post: “Joseph Cao, the unlikely congressman from New Orleans” Documentary: PBS: “Mr. Cao Goes to Washington”

Joseph Cao timeline 1967: Born in Saigon (now Ho Chi Minh City), Vietnam during the Vietnam War.

1975: Escapes at age 8 from what was then South Vietnam to America with a brother and sister, while his parents remained, and eventually is raised in Houston 1975-1979: Lives in Indiana alone with an uncle 1990: Graduates from Baylor with a degree in physics 1995: Earns a master’s degree in philosophy from Fordham University in New York

2000: Earns law degree from Loyola University in New Orleans 2000-2007: Practices law 2008: At age 41, is first Vietnamese-American elected to Congress, a Republican representing a mostly AfricanAmerican and Democratic district that includes New Orleans who defeated nine-term Democratic incumbent William Jefferson 2010: Loses his re-election bid to Cedric Richmond, an

African-American Democratic state legislator

2012: Documentary “Mr. Cao Goes to Washington” is released Milwaukee journalist Tom Kertscher was a 35-year newspaper reporter, finishing that career as a PolitiFact Wisconsin reporter at the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. His reporting on Steven Avery was featured in Making a Murderer. He’s the author of sports books on Brett Favre and Al McGuire. Follow him at TomKertscher.com and on Twitter: @KertscherNews and @KertscherSports.

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MAKING DONUTS WITH THE WREN BROTHERS 65 F I N D I N G F R A M E S W I T H T H E FA R R I S FA M I LY 6 7 HUMANIZING THE BADGE WITH BRAD UPTMORE 69 SEND US YOUR ALUMNI STORIES 71 WINNING AWARDS WITH BECKY WADE 72 MAKING THE CUT WITH KYLE JONES 73 BREWING EXCITEMENT WITH DAVID STONEKING 75 R A I S I N G A U T I S M AWA R E N E S S W I T H KAT O L I V E R 7 7

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Making Donuts With The Wren Brothers

W

by Libby Tidwell

aco may not be known for its nightlife, but Eric and Jackson Wren are getting people to stay up late for their donuts.

Nightlight Donuts is the brainchild of the twin brothers who graduated from Baylor in 2014. The business launched less than a year ago, but the idea has been in the works since the two left Baylor.

On Jackson’s first day of business school, he was commuting between Waco and Austin when he got stuck in traffic for several hours late at night on Interstate 35.

“I had pulled off [the road] as far as I could, and it was late at night and all the donut places were closed,” Jackson said.

“I was like, ‘I want a donut so bad.’ I just wished there was a donut place open.”

The idea of opening a late-night donut place stuck with him while he was earning his MBA. Jackson even wrote a business plan for the concept, stashing it away on his computer.

Not long after this, Eric and Jackson moved to New York together, where they became more inspired to begin Nightlight.

“So when we moved to New York, we saw that donuts were huge there,” Eric said.

The brothers lived near a twentyfour-hour croissant donut shop that they frequented. Their love of the donut shop only confirmed their idea to bring late night donuts to Waco, and the Wren brothers started contemplating their move back to Texas to start a donut truck.

There was only one problem. They didn’t know how to make donuts.

Before they left New York, they knew they needed to find a teacher. After

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posting an ad on Craigslist, a baker who had owned a donut tricycle in Paris reached out, offering to teach them how to make croissant donuts. “He was like, ‘I’ll basically work with you for a set amount of time and sell you my knowledge.’” Eric regularly commuted from Manhattan to Brooklyn, where the baker taught him everything about donuts. “The first batches I made were disgusting.” But they finally developed their method, just in time for Jackson to start law school back at Baylor in May of 2018.

Once Eric and Jackson returned to Waco, they found investors for their new company. They used the investment to purchase equipment and a custom donut trailer from a vendor in Portland, Oregon.

Currently, Nightlight leases a kitchen space and sells out of their trailer, but the venture has been so successful that they are already making plans for a brick and mortar location.

Without paying a dime for advertising, the company has hit key demographics, such as Baylor students and Waco-area families.

With a brick and mortar strategically placed, they think their audience can grow to include travelers stopping off of I-35.

The Wren brothers want to do more than keep Waco residents up late for donuts. The long-term goal is to franchise Nightlight in college towns and big cities across the country. The two have been asking, “Should we just try to go to New York City after this?

Should we try to operate in Texas first?” Eric and Jackson aren’t sure what the future holds for Nightlight Donuts. No matter what, they are excited to see what’s in store.

“It’s so funny,” Eric said. “I never would have thought that I would have gone to Baylor to get my education and own a donut place. It’s so ironic. Sometimes I laugh and I’m thinking ‘I’m working, but . . .’”

...THE WREN BROTHERS WANT TO DO MORE THAN KEEP WACO RESIDENTS UP LATE FOR DONUTS...

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Finding Frames With The Farris Family

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s a 10-year-old girl sat in the stands of Floyd Casey Stadium watching the Baylor Line run the field and the Bears prepare to play, Kariss Hurst knew this sense of school spirit was something she wanted to experience for herself.

Her uncle, Jonathan Evans, BA (Communication Specialist) ‘03, played football for Baylor and her frequent attendance at home games cultivated her love for the Bears.

“We would come up every weekend for the four years that he played,” Kariss said. “So, I feel like Baylor was really part of what I remember from growing up.”

Kariss fulfilled her dream of attending Baylor by entering as an Apparel Merchandising major with the aspiration of becoming a fashion designer.

During her junior year, she switched her major to Studio Art because she was discovering a desire for a broader arts education that would allow her to refine other artistic skills.

“The studio art major had a little bit of everything, from photography to printmaking, and it just kind of let me get my feet wet in a ton of different areas,” Kariss said. “That general education in arts helps me with photography in the sense of thinking differently and thinking creatively. It really helped me with a general understanding of art and channeling that into what I do, which is photography, and that just makes it better because I have all these mediums to pull from.”

During her junior year, she connected with Baylor alumnus Joshua Farris, BSME (Mechanical Engineering) ‘12. Farris also shared a passion for photography, and the two became inseparable.

Joshua began a photography brand and the couple worked together. Josh handled photography, while Kariss created a website, edited photos, and posed clients. They held photography sessions for graduates at Baylor and engagements, and business blossomed. They married in the fall of 2014.

After graduation, Josh landed a job at NASA but expressed his intention to quit photography due

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by Joy Moton

to high demands of both jobs. Kariss encouraged him to continue the brand he worked so hard to build. The business continued to flourish, and Josh left his job at NASA at the end of 2016. They became full-time photographers from there. Together, they have built a booming business, photographing figures including former first lady Michelle Obama and Fortune 500 executives.

As husband and wife, they make ideal business partners, with Josh handling the corporate side while Kariss handles the creative side. Kariss photographs everything having to do with love, including weddings, engagements, and babies, while Josh thrives on photographing small businesses, entrepreneurs, and big corporate firms, such as MD Anderson.

“We really balance each other out,” Kariss said.

“The way that we work together is wonderful, and it’s just gotten better over the time that we have both been full-time.”

Seven months into their marriage, the couple learned they would be welcoming their daughter Ellie into the world. Four years later, Kariss gave birth to their son, Joshua II. Kariss cherishes motherhood and faithfully shares pictures of her family on her Instagram, which has over 14,000 followers. She added blogging to her repertoire of creative talents and hopes to use this as an outlet to express her faith, which has driven her to become the woman she is today.

“I just thought, ‘There’s no purpose in being on social media if I’m not screaming the name of the Lord to anybody who comes across my page,’” Kariss said.

“My faith has shaped me into the woman I am today because, with everything that I have taken in, I filter it through a Godly lens so that what pours out of me is Godly, as well.”

As Kariss balances being a mother, a wife, and a businesswoman, she hopes the brand will continue to grow so that she will have more time to dedicate to being a wife and mother.

“I think that God puts us where He needs us and that in each place that he puts us, that there’s purpose to be found,” Kariss said.

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bout 30 miles northwest of Dallas sits the affluent, growing city of Southlake. Known for its premiere shopping and a high-performing school district, the town is far from a hotbed for crime, yet its Department of Public Safety has fans all across the nation.

This is mostly thanks to one man: Officer Brad Uptmore, Southlake DPS Public Information Officer and Baylor alumni (‘03).

Last February, he officially started managing the department’s social media pages. At the time, the Southlake DPS Facebook page had around 9,000 followers. In less than a year, it grew to 35,000.

For reference, the city of Southlake boasts a population of 31,000 residents, and over 35% of that figure is comprised of minors, according to the 2017 Census. Clearly, Uptmore’s audience extends beyond the boundaries of his city. He estimates about four of their social media campaigns have gone viral, which he defines as more than one million impressions. While his posts and videos often spread because people find them hilarious, they are also conveying important messages of safety and, often, kindness.

“Chief Brandon told me on the first day that we want to be open and honest with our citizens,” Uptmore said. “We’ll show you that we’re not just a shining badge, a flashlight in your face or a traffic stop. We’re humanizing the badge.”

This mission comes at a crucial time, as police departments around the U.S. have been the subject of national scrutiny in the past five years. Uptmore, who was an officer with Dallas Police Department for 10 years, knows better than most that there is a dark side to police work.

“I’m not a person – especially after working in Dallas – who believes that the glass is half full,” he said. “Nobody calls 911 to their home for a pat on the back. You’re going to see the worst of the world when you arrive. Whenever you see that day in and day out, it’s hard to stay positive.”

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Humanizing The Badge With Brad Uptmore How One Baylor Graduate is Changing How Police Work is Viewed

By Maleesa Smith

When viewing his posts through Southlake DPS, however, it would be easy to assume that he’s an optimist. The first post that went viral, for example, was written in a humorous, conversational tone that had people laughing for weeks. Now referred to as the “Gurl, Call Me” post, the social media post was addressed to a suspect, Crystal Ladawn Finley, who has since been found and arrested. It read, in part: “We’ve obvi been looking all over for you! Luckily, the loss prevention guys prevented you from getting too much property, amiright? We have the warrant and we’re letting all of our besties know what you’ve been up to... Gurl, CALL ME.” The post ended up getting almost 30 thousand shares and helped lead to her eventual arrest. It also garnered a myriad of new page followers from all over. Uptmore knew he was onto something, but there was also some criticism on the professionalism of the department’s social media.

“We want to be engaging. We certainly don’t mind humor,” Southlake Police Chief James Brandon said. “However, we are still a professional environment. So we don’t ever want to convey that we are anything less than professionals. There are a lot of things that Brad has the freedom to post that I don’t ever see. If he isn’t sure how people will react, he and I will sit down and discuss that. There are times where I might not be aware of a particular way of presenting something.”

When asked if he has found the boundary of professional, yet humorous and engaging, Uptmore laughs and says, “I’ve found a few corners.”

“It was like driving a new car – just trying to figure out what people like and once I saw that they were into the creativity, every day was just trying to find the boundaries,” he said.

By far the biggest hits on the department’s social media pages are the videos that Uptmore produces. In 2018 alone, 11 videos collectively received 2.5 million views. Comments rolled in from Missouri to Colorado to Oregon. Uptmore, who majored in film at Baylor from 1999 to 2003, feels that life has finally come full circle as he uses his creative side as a police officer.

“Back when I was at Baylor I would have never thought that many views on my work was possible, short of making a film for the big screen,” he said. “It just blows my mind.”

Uptmore grew up a few miles north of Waco in West, Texas.

His mom went to Baylor and he received a scholarship, so for him, the choice was a no-brainer. The choice of picking a major, however, was not so simple.

“Everyone I knew at Baylor knew what they wanted to be,” he recalled.

“I never felt that. I knew I wanted to write or create, but I didn’t really know the right way to do that. I had one class in the journalism building, and I saw the stuff that they were doing and I thought ‘I’m going to be a film major.’”

He jumped in with both feet to what was then called telecommunications.

He has fond memories of lectures from Steve Schaefer and opportunities to send script ideas to Baylor alumni in Hollywood.

Uptmore described himself as too practical to try to make it in the film industry in California. So, upon graduating from Baylor in 2003, Uptmore worked in Illinois refinancing subprime mortgages – a job that made him feel, in his words, “icky.” In 2006, he started his career as a police officer with the Dallas Police Department. Even though his creative side was not put to the task, Uptmore would often come home and write up scripts from some of the more interesting calls he responded to.

“We had interesting calls at work and I would come home and write a three to four-page paper to stow it away,” he said. “I always have a different angle or lens to look at things. Police work can be hilarious. You see so many parts of the world and so many weird things happen.”

Things came full circle about a year after he started with Southlake PD. Now, in his role as public information officer, Uptmore is able to use his knowledge of public safety and his creative side to make funny, informative videos and posts that inevitably spread like wildfire. Behind many of those messages, his audience will notice a common theme: One of kindness and compassion.

“The community is able to relate to us and realize that we are people just doing our jobs just like they are,” Chief Brandon said. “There are good days and bad days, and it’s about breaking down those barriers in the community.”

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WE’RE LOOKING FOR WORLD CHANGERS RISK TAKERS AND CHANGE MAKERS. WE’RE LOOKING FOR AMAZING ALUMNI.

Do you know any alumni who should be featured in the Baylor Line?

Send your ideas to craig@baylorlinefoundation.com

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Winning Awards With Becky Wade

By Libby Tidwell

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s a little girl, Becky Wade (Class of 1993) would write and perform plays with her sisters, cousins, and friends. She knew from a young age that she had a love of writing, but it took many years and a few twists in her own story to arrive at the place she is today: a renowned Christian romance novelist.

Born in Riverside, California, Becky developed a love of reading at an early age. Before she could even read, her mother had instilled a love of books in her, reading aloud classics such as the Laura Ingalls Wilder books. Once she learned to read, her love of books only grew. As Becky was about to begin the 5th grade, her father, an art instructor, accepted a position at the Frankfurt International School that moved the family across the Atlantic.

For the next four years she and her family lived in Germany and traveled around Europe. “All across Europe, we were driving around in a sedan, all five of us in this sedan. I would be reading to pass the time in the car.”

When Becky chose to attend Baylor, following in the footsteps of her father (and some older girls in her youth group from California that she admired), she entered as a business major, still not considering becoming an author as a career option. In her four years at Baylor, Becky focused on her business classes and her role as president of Kappa Alpha Theta, and she also met the man that would become her husband, Chris Wade.

After graduation, Chris and Becky decided they wanted to live abroad. Chris accepted a job with an international tennis company that sent them to live in the Caribbean.

While her husband was working, hiring laws prevented Becky from getting a job. “I had to find things to fill my time, and that was when I thought, ‘Maybe I can try my hand at this. Maybe I can write a book.’” Becky sat down and wrote her first manuscript, but soon realized she had a lot of learning to do. After four years of rejection letters and self-teaching, Becky finally became a published author, writing historical romance novels for the general market. After her first novel was published, Becky had two more novels published, as well.

When her oldest daughter was born, Becky stopped writing for seven years, both to focus on raising her children and because her publisher had decided not to renew her contract. “I knew for sure that [God’s] will for me in that moment was to stop and to focus on raising my kids.” For many years, Becky felt as if she wouldn’t get to write again, but seven years later, she felt the Lord calling her back to writing, though this time writing romances from a Christian perspective.

“IT WAS LIKE HE WAS SAYING, YOU KNOW, ‘BECKY, YOU THOUGHT YOU WERE DONE WITH THAT, BUT I’M NOT DONE WITH THAT, YET. I HAVE PLANS, AND NOW IS THE TIME.’” Becky has now written and published 13 novels and novellas in the Christian romance genre. In 2018, her novel True to You won the prestigious Christy Award for Book of the Year. While the recognition has been rewarding, she is focused on finishing her final book in the Bradford Sisters series and planning a series that will follow.

This current chapter of her life is sweet, and Becky is thankful for the twists that have brought her where she is today. “It’s never too late to hit upon a new dream for yourself. And then once you hit upon that dream, it’s never too late to learn what you need to learn in order to make that dream happen for yourself.

That’s what I’ve learned.”

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Making The Cut With Kyle Jones

By Libby Tidwell

Y “

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ou know, golf kind of started out as a babysitter for me. My mom worked when I was young, and then my dad would go golfing with my uncles and his friends.

Instead of getting a babysitter, my dad would take me out to the golf course with him.” What started as a way to keep Kyle Jones busy has now turned into a career: the Baylor alum earned his PGA card in August. Joining the tour is just the first of many goals Kyle has for himself, and he is excited to play among the best golfers in the world to prove he belongs.

It wasn’t until early high school that Kyle realized playing in college and professionally could be an option for him. At 14 years old, he started winning junior tournaments. “When I got to that point, it was kind of like, ‘Oh, maybe I’m actually good enough to go play for a big school.’”

At the time, however, Baylor was not on his radar. In fact, he had never heard of it until he met former assistant golf coach Austin Burke at the U.S. Junior Amateur tournament in Michigan. As an unsigned golfer, Kyle had several coaches out watching him play.

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“I actually played really bad the first day. Really bad,” Kyle said. The next day, the only coach who had come back out to watch him play was Burke. Luckily, his game improved after that first day, and when he returned home to Arizona from the tournament, he had a letter from Baylor waiting for him.

For Kyle, it was important to play golf in college before going pro. The constant practice and coaching gave him a great chance to improve his game and hone his skills. The travel was also a great preview of life on tour, but he had the insulation of being a student athlete and the support of coaches and his teammates. To begin his professional career, Kyle went through Q-school (qualifying), which has four stages, with tournaments at each stage. The best players then advance to the next level, the Web.com Tour. Luckily, Kyle was able to finish Q-school as he wrapped up his degree at Baylor.

Upon graduation, he started the Web.com Tour, the level where he would have the chance to earn his PGA card.

Kyle spent all of 2016 on the Web. com tour, but didn’t play well, causing him to lose his tour card and return to Q-school in the fall of 2016. In 2017, he still had not earned his card back, and so he played on the Adams Tour. While it was frustrating to not be advancing through Q-school and the Web.com Tour, Kyle admits that his time on the Adams Tour was vital, saying, “I wouldn’t be where I’m at

right now if I didn’t do that.” In the fall of 2017, he returned to Q-school, this time making it through to return to the Web.com Tour. During his second time playing on the tour, Kyle played well consistently. In August, he secured his PGA card while playing at the KC Golf Classic, where he broke the 54-hole scoring record by playing 21-under par.

He officially joined the tour in September. “It’s kind of weird. As a kid, growing up, you watch it like, ‘Aw man, that’s crazy, it’s got to be amazing.’ Once you get out there, I mean, yeah, it’s really cool, it’s a dream come true, but you get out there and start playing, and you realize it’s just another tournament.” The strangest part for Kyle has been playing with the guys he grew up watching and admiring. The PGA tour has always been the goal, and now that he’s met that, Kyle has already set some new ones, such as winning a tournament his first year on the tour. While having the chance to pursue those dreams has been amazing, Kyle says the best part of the experience for him has been the self-realization that has come with the process.

“I’ve been dreaming about this since I was six, seven, eight years old, about playing professional golf at the highest level with the best players in the world.

NOW I’M ACTUALLY HERE.”

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Brewing Excitement With David Stoneking

nly a mile from downtown Waco, something has Elm Avenue hopping.

“I think there’s a lot of excitement,” David Stoneking said.

“People have rediscovered it. Waco is growing. Now we’re growing on this side of the river too.”

Stoneking (’07) and Jacob Martinka are the founders of Brotherwell Brewing. Their brewery is located minutes from the iconic Waco Suspension Bridge down the newly-revitalized Elm Avenue.

Brotherwell may just be ahead of the curve. Up and down the street, people are starting to realize the potential of Elm Avenue as a destination.

This potential is what led Brotherwell to Elm in the first place when they bought the former Rubel Junk Company building and transformed it into a full-fledged brewery.

However, the Brotherwell story starts long before they arrived on Elm. Stoneking and Martinka first became interested in homebrewing, and they stepped up their game one batch at a time. After a few years, they had developed a following among family and friends to the point where they were being asked to brew beer specifically for parties and weddings.

“It was three years ago,” Stoneking, a former film student at Baylor, recalled. “Initially our goal was to cover the cost. You know, brew kegs for friends, cover the cost of the grain and the hops. It was just like this slow step ladder upwards until we finally just said, ‘I think we’re doing a full brewery.’”

They began to purchase equipment that could help them drastically increase production.

“Just getting off the ground is extremely hard,” Stoneking said. “We wanted to brew beer, but then we had to learn how to start a company. Where do you find money and how do you ask for it, and then when they’re ready to give it, how do you structure it?”

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by Cole Niles

After a few years of raising funds, they moved into the former scrapyard and transformed it into the brewery you see today. “We were brewing 10 gallons at a time on a good day,” Stoneking said of life before Brotherwell fully came into fruition.

“Now this system brews about 465 gallons at a time.” Lately that slow step ladder seems to be moving a lot faster.

The brewery itself is becoming a destination.

With guided tours and plans to build out the tap room, Brotherwell is excited about being able to share the brewing experience with the Waco community. Starting in the grain room, the brewers want to show every step of the brewing process, finally ending at the bar where they’re pouring beer.

“When we launched, we were focused on getting beer out to bars.

What we didn’t realize is how much people wanted to come here and see the tank, see the space, be here.”

When asked about how Brotherwell fits into Waco’s culture, Stoneking saw a void being filled.

“We are providing something that everybody else across the state is enjoying, which is this local made craft beer experience and product.

It’s surprising that a town this size has lagged behind the craft brew movement nationwide. But local restaurants are learning to expand into the craft beer market.”

Waco residents aren’t the only ones who should be excited. With Waco’s growing tourism industry, Brotherwell is looking to provide a must-see experience for visitors and locals alike. The city’s recent growth points toward Elm Avenue as the next in line for expansion across the river, as the area is lining up real estate investors and trendy businesses. Brotherwell is proud to be one of its building blocks.

... WE ARE PROVIDING SOMETHING THAT EVERYBODY ELSE ACROSS THE STATE IS ENJOYING, WHICH IS THIS LOCAL MADE CRAFT BEER EXPERIENCE AND PRODUCT

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Raising Autism Awareness With Kat Oliver

T

by Maleesa Smith

oward the end of 2015, Kat Oliver and her friend Lauren Simoneaux chatted over a happy hour. Less than a month later, the two would become co-founders of The Blue Autism Project, a Dallas area nonprofit dedicated to helping children and families affected by autism.

Like many nonprofits, the Blue Autism Project exists to raise funding and awareness. However, Kat, Lauren and their team are on a specific mission to help cover the cost of therapy for children with autism. Lauren’s nephew is autistic and Kat’s wife is a Board Certified Behavior Analyst, so both co-founders were already well aware of the costs associated with the therapy families needed.

“I was like, ‘Hey, there’s got to be something we can do to help. This is ridiculously expensive and a lot of insurances don’t cover it even though it is absolutely necessary,’” Kat said. “That’s where it came from. We started looking things up and putting it together.”

According to Autism Speaks, a national autism advocacy organization, autism costs families an estimated $60,000 per year. This cost is due to lost wages of one or both parents from an added caretaking demand, but the bulk of this incurs from special services such as therapy. According to the CDC, in addition to medical costs, intensive behavioral interventions for children with autism cost $40,000 to $60,000 per child per year. That’s only an average figure, and very subjective to which therapies the child may need and how much the family’s insurance will cover.

Kat estimates that families with a child who is going to full time therapy could pay up to $145,000, annually. Some kids, on top of Applied Behavioral Analysis (ABA) therapy will go to occupational therapy or speech therapy.

“We want to alleviate financial burden because that seems to be the biggest thing that families have to deal with,” Kat said. “There are different stories that we hear from parents who had to quit their jobs, so they only had one income because they needed someone to stay home with the child full time, but then that child needs therapy and they couldn’t afford it with one income.”

While a large part of the nonprofit’s mission is to offset the cost of therapy, Blue Autism Project also organizes a variety of social outings for children with autism. The organization sponsors “jump days” at Jump Street, an indoor trampoline park. It’s free for the kids, all they have to do is register and they get to jump during a sensory-friendly time. Additionally, the Blue Autism Project gives camp sponsorships to a therapy center in the DFW area. The camps run for six weeks and are designed to teach social and life skills for children with autism.

Kat runs the nonprofit in addition to her full-time job as the Dallas/Fort Worth regional director for Infinity Consulting. Between attending the social outings they arrange for children with autism, fundraisers for the nonprofit and breaking company records for office openings, Kat has her hands full. But she’s used to it. She graduated from Baylor in 2011 in three years. During that time, she double majored in business management and real estate and earned a minor in photography.

“I’m a constant learner,” Kat said. “I never thought I was really good at school. I was terrible at tests, but I loved learning and I wanted to apply it. I think all of it has come full circle and I still use all of it.”

Learn more about the organization at blueautismproject.org

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S p e c i a l th a n ks to THE BAYLOR LINE SPRING 2019 CONTRIBUTORS

The Texas Collection Baylor Photography Cedar Gandy Waco Work Cody Carlson Michelle Case Jenny DeMarco Marshall and Doris Edwards Tom Kertscher Kyle Knighton Kathryn Kreuger Thomas Moran Joy Moton Cole Niles Jonathan S. Platt Sloane Simpson Maleesa Smith Libby Tidwell

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W E WA N T TO F OLLOW YOU !

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D M U S ON I NSTAG R A M @BAYLORL INEF OUNDATION

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O BI T UARI ES Arthur (Art) Mills Stranz was born in Little Rock, Arkansas on July 5, 1924. At the age of 94, he passed peacefully on the morning of November 10, 2018 to be reunited with his beloved wife of 66 years, Betty, and into the awesome presence of his Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.

Art was born to Otto A. and Madelyn Mills Stranz, and while life’s journey took him to many places that he called home and he was proud of his Arkansas roots, Art’s heart never really left his adopted home of Plano, Texas.

Art graduated from Central High School in Little Rock in 1942. He began to study Architecture at the Agricultural & Mechanical College of Texas (Texas A&M University) prior to enlisting in the U.S. Navy at the age of eighteen at the onset of World War II. During the war, he served as a Navy Corpsman attached to the 5th Marine Division. Later, he served as an officer in the U.S. Army Reserves.

After WWII, Art returned to civilian life and enrolled at Baylor University where he met Betty and received his Bachelor of Arts degree in 1949. Art and Betty were married in the Chapel at First Baptist Church of Plano on December 19, 1949. Art then received his Bachelor of Science degree in Pharmacy at the University of Texas in 1955 and became co-owner of Harrington’s Pharmacy in downtown Plano with Betty’s father, Charles E. Harrington.

As a family-owned business, Art and Mr. Charlie worked as pharmacists, while Betty and her mother, Elizabeth Stovall Harrington, handled bookkeeping responsibilities and occasionally helped out as soda jerks serving customers ice cream at the front counter.

In 1960, Art became the Mayor of Plano, serving at a time when the city was making the early transition from a rural community to what has become a thriving city of national prominence. After receiving Plano’s Man of the Year Award (1960) and other local recognitions and being featured as the cover story by Texas Journal of Pharmacy, Art received an appointment to the U.S. Food & Drug Administration in 1963.

Art’s career in the pharmaceutical industry began in 1964 with S.E. Massengill Company in Bristol, Tennessee, where he also earned his law degree, specializing in Food and Drug Administrative Law, and culminated with his work in International Regulatory Affairs for A.H. Robins Company in Richmond, Virginia. He traveled extensively throughout Europe, North America and South America, specializing in new drug registrations, as well as regulatory affairs and compliance matters.

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Upon “retirement,” Art joined the Texas Board of Pharmacy in Austin, Texas in 1980 as a Compliance Officer, and eventually returned home to Plano to help open the Board’s new Dallas office. Later, with assistance and in partnership with his friend and former colleague, Bennett Brooke, Art enjoyed sharing his industry expertise as a food and drug regulatory consultant for the next two decades.

Throughout Art’s lifetime, he was an accomplished artist and storyteller. He found comfort and relaxation in painting and it brought him great satisfaction to freely give his work to friends, family, and strangers alike. Art had his own unique style, sometimes making do with whatever he could get his hands on, and his themes, as he said, were heavily influenced by his life experiences, especially growing up during the Great Depression and serving in the Navy. His specialties were maritime and southwestern themes. And, if you knew Art, you know he never lacked a story to share.

He could fill a room and sometimes seemed bigger than life itself. One of his great passions was World War II and those who served. Art’s personal experiences, and the experiences of countless friends and family members of his generation, were ensconced in his memories and central to so many of his stories.

As long-time members of First Baptist Church of Plano, Art and Betty were regulars almost every Sunday and Wednesday, and they rarely did anything separate from one another. They were truly “two peas in a pod.” Two of their favorite activities to do together were volunteering at Medical Center of Plano and serving with the church’s Sunshine Singers, which included bus travels and singing at other churches along the way.

Art loved family and often traveled with Betty to visit their kids and their kids’ families. Art/Dad/Papa/Granddad was always known for his unconditional love for family members. In good times and bad, he was always there for his kids, grandkids, great-grandkids, nieces and nephews.

And, regardless of his world of accomplishments, it was his love and support that his family cherished most.

In lieu of flowers, the family requests contributions be made in Art’s name to the Wounded Warrior Project (855448-3997; https://support.woundedwarriorproject.org).

Following a valiant battle with cancer, Anita Holt March, passed away peacefully surrounded by her family, on December 17, 2018, in Dallas, Texas, and is resting now in the arms of Jesus.

Anita was born on March 8, 1947, in Gatesville, Texas, and during her life also resided in Houston, Dallas, Longview and Tyler. She grew up in Snyder, Texas, where she graduated from Snyder High School and continued her education at Baylor University, where she met the love of her life, Ben Y. March. They married on August 24, 1968, in Snyder. Ben and Anita had the blessing of sharing their fiftieth wedding anniversary this past August.

Anita was an active member of First Baptist Church Waco for most of her life, as well as a former active member and staff member at Park Cities Baptist Church in Dallas. As they lived throughout Texas, she was also active at Tallowood Baptist Church in Houston, First Baptist Longview and First Baptist Tyler. Anita was a hardworking businesswomen her entire life. She began her career as a legal secretary for several highly respected national law firms, worked as a clothing rep for Christian Dior, in various roles at Baylor University, as an executive assistant and finished her career as a realtor with multiple designations for Magnolia Realty.

She was a charter member and served as Pledge Advisor for many years for the Theta Iota chapter of Alpha Chi Omega Sorority at Baylor. She served on the executive committee of the Baylor University Women’s Council in Dallas, as well as the Baylor University Louise Harrington School of Nursing annual gala planning committee. Anita also proudly held a Master Gardener designation. After her faith and her family, she loved few things more than her Baylor Bears. She supported sports, students and staff of the University, and her mark on the school will not be forgotten.

Affectionately known as “Honey” by her grandchildren, Anita will be greatly missed by all who knew her. A strong, West Texas gal, she was fiercely loyal to those she loved and her greatest joy was serving her friends and family.

Anita never met a stranger, never shied away from a good conversation and was famous for her “gentle” stubbornness.

Those who knew her loved and cherished her. She was a reflection to all of us of God’s selfless love and devotion.

Anita knew that she would spend eternity in Heaven, and this gave her hope as she courageously battled cancer to the end.

Though she is greatly missed, there is such joy that she is healed and “home”.

In lieu of flowers, please consider donations to the family’s endowed scholarship, The Ramsey Yelvington Scholarship Fund at Baylor University or a Baylor fund of your choice.

Gerald Douglas Welch, 77, of Anderson, SC, died on Thursday, January 17, 2019. He was born in Washington, DC, the son of Maimo Cain Welch and Warren Douglas Welch. He attended Baylor University for his undergraduate and earned a Masters from the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, where he met his wife, Nancy. After marrying, they moved to California, where he earned a Doctorate of Divinity at Claremont Theological Seminary.

Dr. Welch was the pastor of Wise Baptist Church for 4 years in Wise, VA, where all three of the Welch children were born: Elizabeth, Lynn and Doug. He came to Anderson 41 years ago and joined the Family Counseling Center as a Pastoral Counselor. He then opened Anderson Pastoral Counseling with his wife, Nancy, where he worked until 2012, when he was no longer able, due to Alzheimer’s.

He was on the Board of the Alzheimer’s Association and the Board of the Anderson School for Lay Theology, where he recently was honored as a Board Member Emeritus for his 30 plus years of service.

Jerry was a passionate, outspoken man who was full of life and laughter, even with the difficulties of Alzheimer’s in his last 10 years. He had a deep love of learning, social justice and his work as a therapist and pastoral counselor.

He also loved trains and shared many adventures with his friends and family. He will be deeply missed, and we are grateful for the time we had with him.

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Dr. John Harold Beard was born on March 24, 1927, in Alton, Illinois, to John and Gertrude Beard. He was preceded in death by his parents; sister, Anna Priest and husband, George Priest; and nephew, George Priest, Jr. Brother Johnny accepted Christ as his Savior at an early age and, while in high school, surrendered his life to the ministry. He spent twelve more years in higher education earning a Bachelor of Arts from Baylor University, a Bachelor of Divinity from Northern Baptist Theological Seminary, a Master of Theology from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary and a Doctor of Theology from Luther Rice Seminary.

He was in evangelism for several years prior to pastoring First Baptist Church, Goliad, Texas; First Baptist Church, Lake Jackson, Texas; Calvary Baptist Church, Tyler, Texas; and Colonial Hills Baptist Church, Tyler, Texas. He was honored as pastor emeritus at Colonial Hills Baptist Church. After retiring, he served as interim at Faith Baptist Church, Kaiserslautern, Germany, and other churches in the East Texas area. He was on the Board of Trustees at the University of Corpus Christi and held other offices in the Southern Baptist Convention.

Brother Johnny truly loved people and had sincere concern for their spiritual well-being. His passion in life was to put God first, others second and himself last. The heart of his ministry was missions and reaching the world for Christ, which led many people into special service and the foreign mission field.

Memorials may be made to the Baylor Line Foundation, John H. Beard Scholarship Fund, P.O. Box 2089, Waco, Texas 76703; or to the International Mission Board in memory of John H. Beard, P.O. Box 6767, Richmond, Virginia 23230.

“And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are called according to His purpose.” Romans 8:28

Jim Patton, June 22, 1948 - November 1, 2018 Dr. Jim H. Patton, of Woodway, passed away unexpectedly on November 1, 2018, at his home due to a heart attack.

Jim was born in Amarillo on June 22, 1948. He was the son of James Herbert Patton and Evelyn Patton. He graduated from Twin Falls High School in Twin Falls, Idaho. From there, he furthered his education by attending Idaho State University in Pocatello, Idaho. He earned his bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Idaho State. While attending Idaho State, Jim met the love of his life, Kristi McGarry. The two wed on February 24, 1973. Jim and Kristi then moved to Waco, so Jim could earn his PhD from Baylor University in 1978. After earning his doctorate, Jim, was a postdoctoral fellow at UTMB in Galveston. Jim returned to Baylor University in 1980 to join the faculty in the Psychology and Neuroscience Department.

Most of Jim’s life was spent furthering others’ educational pursuits as well as his own through teaching and leading by example at Baylor University for the remainder of his life. Jim enjoyed the outdoors in many aspects: fly-fishing, hunting, competitive shooting, Scouting, and anywhere with his family outside. Jim also was an avid Scouter. He served many roles in the Scouting community over his entire life and cherished each relationship with Scouts from all over the world.

He was preceded in death by his father at a young age and by his mother later in life.

Jim is survived by his wife, Kristi M. Patton, to whom he was married for 45 years. He is also survived by his only son, Dustin Patton. Jim leaves behind a brother, John Moore and wife, Wendy, of Pocatello, Idaho. He also leaves behind a sister, Becky Chollett and husband, Galen, of Lorena. Jim has many other family members that he is survived by as well: brothers-in-law, sisters-in-law, nieces, nephews, great-nieces and nephews.

In lieu of flowers, Dr. Patton’s family would like donations given to the charity of one’s choice.

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Bill Carden, 81, of Waco, TX passed away peacefully on Sunday, Dec. 30th after a lengthy illness.

Bill was born on August 22, 1937, in Ft. Worth, TX, the older child and only son of William Raymond Carden, Sr. and Minnie Catherine (Atkinson) Carden. He excelled in sports and graduated as the Senior Class President of Carter Riverside H.S. in Ft. Worth, TX. It was at church camp the summer of his senior year that he met the love of his life, Merilyn Brown. To stay near Merilyn during her senior year, he started college playing football for Arlington State before later transferring to Baylor University. He graduated from Baylor with a triple major in religion, philosophy and history. On December 28, 1957, he and Merilyn were married at the First Baptist Church of Arlington, TX. Shortly thereafter, he pastored at Rock Prairie Baptist Church in College Station, TX while completing his degree. Bill went on to earn his M.A. in History under Dr. Ralph Lynn, who Bill later said “had a greater impact on my life than anyone outside of my own immediate family.” It was under the direction of Dr. Lynn that Bill completed his thesis: “Decision for War: The Fear of a German dominated World as the Prime Cause for United States’ Entrance into WW I.” Bill moved his family to Belton, TX in 1960 as he began his teaching career at Mary Hardin Baylor. He earned his PhD in History at Emory University, Atlanta, GA in 1966, and then accepted a teaching position at Stetson University in Deland, FL. He forewent a post-doctoral fellowship at Harvard to return to Texas to be near his aging parents. Back in Texas, he wrote the controversial “Carden Report,” an

assessment of the Baptist colleges and universities throughout the state commissioned by the Baptist General Convention of Texas. In an effort to impact the findings of the report, Bill joined the staff of Baylor University, under President Abner McCall, as Vice President for Academic Affairs. It was in this role that he worked closely with the student government, effecting positive changes within the University’s structure.

It was a difficult decision to leave academia when, in 1970, Bill joined Word Incorporated as vice president, at the invitation of founder Jarrell McCracken, who would become a life-long friend. It was at Word that Bill interacted with talented people like musician Kurt Kaiser and artist Dennis Hill, with whom he also enjoyed lifelong friendships.

He then moved to Dallas in 1973 to join Baylor friend Sparky Beckham in the real estate business. This was foundational to launching a banking career, which he did, at First National Bank, McAllen, in 1977. Bill was eager to return to Central Texas and subsequently accepted a position as President of the American Bank of Waco, working with the Callan/ Bostick/ Deaver families. In 1982, he returned to academia to start and direct the Center for Banking and Financial Studies in the Baylor Business School, formulating a continuing education curriculum for banks around the country. It was during this period that he at various times served as Chairman of the marketing division of the Texas Bankers Association; as President of the Baylor Alumni Association; and as board member of the Waco Chamber of Commerce, the Baylor Development

Council, the Hankamer School of Business and the Baylor College of Arts and Sciences. Bill formed his bank consultancy firm, The Carden Group, in 1985 and spent the remaining years of his career developing relationships with bankers and companies throughout the United States. Those relationships expanded to Board roles at KFC Corporation and Q2 where he devoted a significant portion of his later professional life, creating substantive friendships and unique life experiences.

Bill valued his 40 years in the Waco community and the personal and business relationships he formed there.

Many were solidified in the church families at Seventh and James Baptist Church, Lake Shore Baptist Church and most recently St. Paul’s Episcopal Church, where he led large Sunday school classes and participated in many governance committees. He had a great appreciation of civic responsibility and enjoyed his service on the Waco City Council, as well as the boards of many non-profits, including Caritas.

Bill’s hope for us this coming year is that we: May be able to use our abilities fully to solve whatever challenges confront us; Always act in hope, regardless of the bleakness of the situation; Pursue positive goals to keep us focused on our dreams; Remain serenely happy in knowing that we are loved and cherished by family and friends; and Show the courage to live a life true to our best self, and not the life others expect of us.

Linda Sue Gibson was born February 17, 1934 in Dallas, Texas to Walter and Sadie Remington Wilkinson and grew up in Mesquite, where she graduated high school in 1951. On January 16, 1955 she married Kenneth E. Gibson in Mesquite, and he preceded her in death on August 15, 2007. Sue enjoyed working the ranch they owned in Sidney, Texas, but her greatest love was for that of music.

She received her Master’s in music from Baylor University. In 1973, Sue was called to serve as music minister at the First Baptist Church in Comanche, a role she held in our church for 27 years! She remained a member of the church and still used her musical talent to bring glory to God.

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Warren Wood Mote was born on September 14, 1926; he joined our Father in Heaven early on the morning of June 30, 2018. He claimed to be “the only Texan who was not born in Texas”. He was born in Mountain Home, Arkansas while his father was teaching there for a year at the local college.

Most of you can remember him as he was twenty years ago – attending church regularly and occasionally giving the opening prayer in The Upper Room Class.

During his first seventy years, Warren participated in various churches in various activities and offices, beginning in 1934 at the age of eight. He played the part of Joseph in the Christmas pageant at First Baptist Church in Waxahachie, Texas. Warren joined the Royal Ambassadors and the Boy Scout Troops sponsored

by First Baptist Church. He would continue to participate in the Scouting program until he earned his Eagle Badge, and then again later in life as an Assistant Scout Master.

In Waxahachie, Warren attended Ferris Ward Elementary School. A plaque over the front door said ‘Enter to Learn, Depart for Service.’ It was at Ferris Ward that he met his best friend and later in life brother-in-law, Billy Ray Thompson. Billy’s sister, Betty Jane, was younger by two years.

Warren’s family moved to Corpus Christi, Texas in 1942, when his father accepted the position of the City’s Assistant Controller.

He graduated from Corpus Christi Senior High School in January of 1944, a half year early. He had joined Morgan Avenue Baptist Church and was active in their youth group while he was in high school. His parents had wanted to attend First Baptist Church in Corpus Christi, but Warren was drawn to Morgan Avenue, and the family followed him there.

On February 9, 1944, Warren received a letter from the Morgan Avenue Church, commending him in his desire to become a preacher of the Gospel. He attended Baylor University with the intent of becoming a medical missionary beginning in the Spring quarter of 1944.

In January of 1945, He was inducted into the US Army at Fort Hood, Texas. After basic training and advanced training in Virginia, Warren was part of a group sent to the University of Pennsylvania to learn to be Japanese translators and to study the geography of Japan and its areas of occupation. Fortunately, the unit did not have to finish the program. He did learn to ride a motorcycle while in the service.

On August 12, 1946, He was discharged from the Army with the rank of Corporal, just 32 days short of his 20th birthday. Warren returned to Baylor and eventually changed his major to accounting. His mother, Lillian, claimed that counting things was his hobby; as a child he would count the tiles in the ceiling of the church. Warren later told Betty that the reason for changing his major was the pre-med course in Qualitative Analysis. He realized that he was more interested in accounting than medicine because of the contents of the course.

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While at Baylor, Warren spent Summer of 1947 as a volunteer with the Baptist Encampment at Ridgecrest in North Carolina. His work at Ridgecrest included relying upon his military training for riding a motorcycle. He was later very happy to attend the 50th anniversary gathering of the volunteers from 1947 as he once again returned to Ridgecrest in 1997.

Warren graduated from Baylor on August 19, 1949 with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Accounting, in time to marry Betty Jane Thompson two weeks later in Waxahachie, Texas. He then went to work for an insurance company in Dallas, where his brother-in-law, Billy, also worked. They lived in Dallas for a time before moving to Corpus Christi, where he went to work in his father’s new CPA firm. He later received his own CPA certification in 1952.

They made the move to Corpus Christi in their first car. In all of Warren’s travels before their marriage, he had hitch-hiked. This was in an era of greater trust and greater willingness to help out each other. This was common among those who had experienced the Great Depression.

Their son, Richard Warren Mote, was born in July of 1952. Their daughter, Linda Elaine Mote, was born in October of 1954. By this time, they were members of Travis Baptist Church and then in 1959, they joined the new Parkdale Baptist Church, which was close enough that they sometimes walked there from their home.

With a move to Calallen, Texas in 1964, the family joined Calallen Baptist Church, where they remained as members until 1981. Warren served as a deacon and on various committees at Calallen. This sometimes meant relying on his ability to use a lawn mower and handle a paint brush. The deacons of the church volunteered to serve the food at the Young People’s Sweetheart Banquet in 1972, draped in white sheets to resemble Roman slaves. A good time was had by all.

In 1981, Warren and Betty moved to Seguin, Texas as he changed jobs and there they built the first of their retirement homes. He started working for Texas Lutheran College as the Assistant Controller, then as the Controller, before Warren retired from there in 1996. While working at TLC, which is now Texas Lutheran University, he joined Betty as a volunteer driver for the American Cancer Society, in driving patients from Seguin to San Antonio for chemotherapy treatment.

Warren also participated in the Retired Seniors Volunteer Program, a local group sponsored by TLC. He was also their Treasurer.

Their daughter, Elaine, had been transferred to the Atlanta area in 1986, and in 1998, Warren and Betty moved there to build their current retirement home next door to Elaine. Richard and his wife, Linda Rutland, had already moved back from Alaska, and they lived in South Carolina near Linda’s father after the passing of her mother in 2001.

Dr. Scott Lamar Tatum, former pastor of Broadmoor Baptist Church, reached his eternal home in heaven on September 21, 2018. A service celebrating his life and thanking God for his ministry was held at Broadmoor Baptist Church Worship Center North at 11 a.m. on Saturday, September 29, 2018.

Dr. Tatum was born 98 years ago in Converse, Louisiana and grew up in Mansfield. He was a graduate of Mansfield High School, Baylor University, and Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, where he earned the Doctor of Theology degree. Being a pastor was his calling, and he was privileged to share in joyful events such as baptisms and marriages, as well as times of sorrow with church members. Following early pastorates in Texas, he served as pastor of Broadmoor Baptist Church from 1951 through 1974. He then taught preaching at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary for fourteen years.

Active in Baptist denominational life, he served on the board of trustees at Southwestern Seminary, Louisiana College, Southeastern Seminary, and the Southern Baptist Sunday School Board. He was president of the Louisiana Baptist Convention in 1964-65 and preached the annual sermon at the Southern Baptist Convention in 1969. Particularly interested in missions, he preached in numerous overseas assignments and revivals. He was named Distinguished Alumnus of Southwestern Seminary, where a preaching chapel was named in his honor.

Martha Templeton, 84, of Amarillo passed away Monday, June 11, 2018. Martha was born on August 15, 1933 to Bob and Grace Helen Williams in Austin. She graduated from Austin High School. She earned her Bachelor’s degree at Baylor University, where she was a member of Kappa Alpha Theta. Martha married Robert Templeton in Austin on June 12, 1954. The couple moved from Dayton, OH to Amarillo in 1956. Martha adored her dogs. She had three at the time of her death, a schnauzer named Beau, and two smaller dogs. She enjoyed playing golf and tennis at the Amarillo Country Club as long as her health permitted. Martha enjoyed visiting Las Vegas, and had a second home in Santa Fe, where she spent time in the summer and fall. She played bridge with her close friends for many years, starting when she was 25. She was known for being a great cook and a talented decorator. She was a member of Polk St. United Methodist Church. The family suggests in lieu of flowers, memorial donations be made to Life Challenge of Amarillo.

John S. Holleman, of Livingston, Texas, passed to Eternal Life on Tuesday, November 6, 2018 at the age of 71. John was born in Livingston in 1947, the only child of Judge J. S. and Mrs. Carlin Holleman, and graduated from Livingston High School in 1965. He subsequently graduated from Baylor University and earned a law degree from Baylor University School of Law. John met his wife, Beverly Holleman, at Baylor, and they first made their home in Houston, where John served as a Felony Division Chief in the Office of the Harris County District Attorney for several years in the 1970s and 1980s. In 1986, John and Beverly returned to John’s hometown of Livingston, where John maintained a private law practice before being elected Polk County District Attorney in 1994, a position he held until his retirement in 2006.

John was honored as an Outstanding Graduate of Livingston High School in 2000.

John loved his Lord and Savior and strove to live out his faith. He was active in the community and his church, coaching youth baseball and basketball, mentoring elementary school students, and teaching third grade Sunday School for 18 years. While his passing is a great loss, the memories of times spent with him give his family and friends great comfort.

Memorial contributions may be made to Central Baptist Church of Livingston, the Livingston Green & White Scholarship Fund, or the charity of your choice.

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Robert George Collmer, 91, of Waco passed away peacefully at noon on Wednesday, November 21, 2018, at Ridgecrest Retirement and Health Center in the presence of his wife, Alys.

Bob, as he was known to friends and acquaintances, was born November 28, 1926, in Guatemala City to Christian missionaries, Rev. G. Russell and Constance C. Collmer.

Despite a physician’s warning at the time of his birth that he would not grow up physically or mentally strong, “Bobby” grew to be a six-foot-two-inch tall accomplished academician. He spent his early childhood in the Guatemalan town of Zacapa and proudly called himself a “Zacapateco.” He established many lifelong friendships in Guatemala and made frequent trips “home” over the next 70 years as he continued to work with and support the churches his parents established in central Guatemala.

The family moved to Philadelphia when Bob was still a child. When Bob was a senior in high school, his father moved the family to Laredo, Texas, to be closer to Guatemala. Bob graduated from Martin High School in 1944 and was inducted into the U.S. Army the following year while a student at Howard Payne College. After his discharge, Bob enrolled at Baylor University in 1947, where he met his first wife, Linnie Maffett Burney. They married on her twenty-first birthday. He soon earned his B.A. in 1948 and his M.A. in 1949 from Baylor.

He and Linnie moved to Philadelphia that year to attend the doctoral program at the University of Pennsylvania.

After earning his Ph.D. in 1953, they returned to Texas, as Linnie wanted their first child to be born there. Carol Linda was born December 31, 1954, and Mark Wesley was born two years later. Linnie passed away in 1979 after 31 years of marriage.

Dr. Collmer was a well-respected and well-known scholar. Bob’s early fascination with John Donne and his poetry predated the national interest in this seventeenthcentury English cleric and poet. He taught at institutions of higher education in Pennsylvania and Texas, as well as in Mexico, Paraguay and Jordan. He was active in university administration and served as chairman of the English departments at both Texas Tech and Baylor University. As Dean of the Graduate School at Baylor, he was active in strengthening the Hospital Administration and Physical Therapy degree programs with the U.S. Army at Fort Hood and founding the annual Beall Poetry Festival, The House

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of Poetry and the Beall-Russell Poetry Festival lecture series. He was recognized as Distinguished Professor of English Emeritus in 1995 by Baylor for his sustained superior scholarly performance. Bob’s insatiable curiosity led him to write hundreds of scholarly articles across many academic disciplines and to edit multiple volumes. As a life-long learner, Bob continued to publish articles and participate in academic conferences long after he retired. He relished his collection of rare books. He spoke and read multiple languages, using his skills to translate a seventeenth-century Dutch diary and write Bible stories performed on the radio in Paraguay.

As graduate school dean, Bob continued to teach in the English department. This was where he met nurse and U.S. Army veteran Alys Edney, who invited him to the ballet in Dallas. Thus began their nearly 40-year relationship which took them around the world for pleasure and work. They spent several months in Holland shortly after they married in 1981. In 1997, they moved to Amman, where Bob spent a semester teaching at the University of Jordan.

As an ordained minister, Bob was a devoted Christian and student of the Bible. Faithful his entire life, he exemplified the Christian life. He was loving and patient, bearing no ill will to anyone. He was kind, with a smile and twinkle in his eye and a warm, engaging demeanor. He and Alys were active members of Columbus Avenue Baptist Church, where Bob taught a men’s Sunday School class for many years.

Peggy Holmes Tollett left this life, held closely in the arms of her family, to begin her eternal life in the arms of her Heavenly Father on December 25, 2018.

Peggy was born in Hubbard, Texas on April 12, 1935 to Odis and Helen Holmes and grew up in Waco, Texas. She was the oldest of four children: Don, Mickey and Sharon.

She graduated from Baylor with a B.A. in Elementary Education in November, 1956; worked in Baylor’s Registrar’s Office, and was a member of Who’s Who. She was a soloist in the Baylor Religious Hour Choir and also sang in the Texas State BSU choir for two years. She was also a Baylor Beauty.

Peggy married Dr. Joe R. Tollett on January 12, 1957 at Columbus Avenue Baptist Church and moved to Naha, Okinawa, where Joe served as a Captain in the Air Force. They then moved to Houston, where Joe completed his residency requirements. In 1960, the couple made their home in Jacksonville, Texas and started a new pediatrics practice.

God blessed Peggy and Joe with four children; Mike, Jim, Lottie and Amy. Their

family lived in Jacksonville happily for 35 years.

Peggy volunteered as a Story Time teacher at Jacksonville Public Library and also Eastside Elementary School. After the kids were grown, she worked at their Children’s Clinic. Peggy and Joe later moved to Tyler, Texas and attended Green Acres Baptist Church. Singing praises to God was the joyful passion of her life! She spent many years singing in Central Baptist Church’s choir. She taught her children and grandchildren what it meant to have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ as Savior and Friend.

Lenora Jane Gaasch Crowder, 82, passed away on February 15, 2019, at St. Catherine Center in Waco, Texas.

Lenora was born in northeastern rural Oklahoma, the third child of Troy and Ruby Smith Gaasch and the younger sister of twins, Florene and Lorene. Early in her life, Lenora understood the value of education, and she spent most of her life educating, guiding, and investing in others. She taught junior high and high school science in public schools in Norman, Waco and Robinson, and she served as Director of Placement at Baylor University. She was a life-long learner.

She married W. Eugene “Gene” Crowder in 1957. They moved to Waco in 1959 when Gene accepted a position in the Biology Department at Baylor. At that time, they became a part of the First Baptist Church Waco family.

Gene and Lenora had four children. In the early 1970s, she cared for Gene through a terminal illness. At age 37, she was a widow responsible for continuing to meet the needs of her children. Rearing them alone was certainly a daunting task, but she faced it the same way she faced every challenge — with strength and dignity.

Lenora was incredibly strong, always courageous, and fiercely independent. These traits enabled her to surmount great obstacles and to persevere through terrific challenges, including the final challenge of her own terminal cancer. Most of her life was an uphill climb. In her final days, she stood atop a great precipice, lingering on the brink of glory. Those who knew her best and loved her most celebrate with her as she has taken that final step - that leap of faith. Today she stands in the midst of glory, in the company of her parents, her sisters, Gene, and countless other friends and family who have gone before her.

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Elect the next Baylor Regent on April 29th.

One candidate will be chosen by alumni to serve a three-year term on the board.

The candidates are: Susan (Suzii) Youngblood Paynter, B.A. (English) ’72, Austin, Texas David M. Slover, B.A. (History) ’86, M.B.A. ’89, Dallas, Texas Lindsey Davis Stover, B.A. (Speech Communication/Political Science) ’99, M.P.P. (Public Policy & Administration) ’02, McLean, Virginia

Voting instructions and materials will be provided by Baylor in the coming weeks.

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