James E. Major Service Award
The Hendrix Alumni Board of Governors will honor four outstanding alumni at the Alumni Association Awards Brunch April 21 at 10:30 a.m. in Worsham Student Performance Hall in the Student Life and Technology Center.
The James E. Major Service Award will be presented to Lynn McKnight Beatty ’75. The award, given for meritorious service to the College, is named for Dr. James E. Major ’40, senior vice president emeritus of Hendrix and a minister in the Little Rock conference of the United Methodist Church. A Clinton, Ark., native, Beatty completed postgraduate work in library science at the University of Central Arkansas and began working at Olin C. Bailey Library at Hendrix College in September 1976 as assistant cataloger. She is a member of Wesley United Methodist Church, where she has served as church librarian and communications director, and received the church’s 2011 UMW Special Mission Recognition Award. She is also a member of the board of directors of the Wesley Foundation Campus Ministry at the University of Central Arkansas.
Distinguished Alumnus Award The Distinguished Alumnus Award will be presented to Walter T. Murphy ’61. The award is given by the Hendrix College Alumni Association to alumni who have distinguished themselves in their vocations, service to humanity, and service to the College. After teaching mathematics for a year at the University of Arkansas, where he earned his master’s degree, Murphy began a 34-year career with the National Aeronautics and Space Administration. He worked at the Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas, and Vandenberg Air Force Base in California, where he served as chief of shuttle engineering for the Air Force, leading a team of NASA and Air Force personnel and their contractors through the final development and integration of the space shuttle. He served as director of engineering and development at Kennedy Space Center in Florida from 1990 to 1997. Mr. Murphy has received numerous awards including the NASA Exceptional Service Award, the Kennedy Space Center Director’s Award, the NASA Outstanding Leadership Award, and the Presidential Meritorious Executive Award. He was married for 44 years to the late Virginia A. Pool ’60.
Outstanding Young Alumna Award Dr. Eva Hurst ’98 will receive the Outstanding Young Alumna Award given to an alumna of
the College, within 15 years of her graduation from Hendrix, who has shown accomplishments and promise in her chosen profession or in service to the broader community and has demonstrated a continuing loyalty, support, and advocacy for the College. Dr. Hurst joined the faculty of Washington University in St. Louis in 2007. She directs the Washington University Center for Dermatologic Surgery, where she performs more than 1,500 skin cancer surgeries annually. She has lectured nationally on both skin cancer treatments and cosmetic dermatology. She serves on the medical school’s Admissions Committee and is active on numerous committees for the American Academy of Dermatology and the Women’s Dermatologic Society. The Alumni Board of Governors presents its annual awards at Alumni Weekend. Nominations are solicited from Hendrix faculty, staff and alumni. To be considered for the 2013 awards, nominations must be received by Sept. 30, 2012. For more information, visit the Alumni Board of Governors page at www.hendrix.edu/alumni.
Rev. Diane Wimberley ’80 will receive the Humanitarian Award. The honor is given to a graduate who has significantly improved the quality of life in the world through service and dedication to humanity. After graduating from Hendrix, Wimberly worked in a juvenile halfway house before earning her master’s degree in social work. She worked as a crisis intervention social worker at Houston Northwest Medical Center until she entered seminary at Perkins School of Theology at Southern Methodist University. She was ordained as a deacon in 1987 and completed seminary in 1989. She served at churches in Texas until 2003, when she moved to La Paz, Bolivia, to serve as a missionary and to work in pastoral development and theological education and travel throughout the country, visiting local congregations and districts while providing workshops on Methodism, leadership, Bible study, and more.
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Photo by Stuart Holt
Humanitarian Award
2011 Alumni Association Winners Jack Frost ’72, James E. Major Service Award; April Ambrose ’01, Outstanding Young Alumna Award; Clyde Briant ’71, Distinguished Alumnus Award; Chris Barrier ’64, Humanitarian Award
Hendrix Magazine | Spring 2012 43
alumni news
2012 Alumni Association Awards