Texas Techsan September/October 2018

SEPT/OCT 2018

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TECHSAN VOLUME 71, NUMBER 05 // THE MAGAZINE FOR TEXAS TECH ALUMNI

J U LY/A U G 2 0 1 2

Red Raider Family // From the Heart // A New Adventure

Serendipity Jentry Benke, co-owns Crazy Train Clothing.

A Matador Evening Friday October 19, 2018

CELEBRATING THE TEXAS TECH ALUMNI ASSOCIATION CAREER AND CONTRIBUTIONS OF

Dr. Bill Dean

$1,500 TABLE OF 8 $1,000 tax-deductible scholarship donation $125 INDIVIDUAL TICKETS $75 tax-deductible scholarship donation FOR RESERVATIONS, please visit texastechalumni.org/matador-evening or email britta.tye@ttu.edu

by Oct. 11, 2018.

SPACES AND TABLES ARE LIMITED AND WILL BE ALLOCATED ON A FIRST-COME, FIRST-SERVED BASIS.

Reception 6 P.M., Dinner 7 P.M. Lubbock Memorial Civic Center 1501 Mac Davis Lane, Lubbock, Texas SEMI-FORMAL RED & BLACK ATTIRE

WHAT BETTER WAY TO HONOR THE ULTIMATE RED RAIDER AND EDUCATOR THAN WITH A SCHOLARSHIP IN HIS NAME?

If you would like to donate to the scholarship in Dr. Bill Dean’s honor, please visit texastechalumni.org/matador-evening.

The total amount raised through Oct. 11, 2018, will be announced at A Matador Evening.

IF YOU HEAR BELLS RING AND THINK VICTORY, YOU’RE

ONE OF US.

BEAR YOUR BANNER! Join or renew now at texastechalumni.org

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RED RAIDER FAMILY

SERENDIPITY

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Owners of Diablo Paddlesports give back to honor and support Floyd East, Jr., Memorial Fund.

Jentry Benke, coowner of Crazy Train Clothing, has built a successful fashion label from the ground up.

Jeff Walters is Marketing Director for Emergency Cardiovascular Care Programs for American Heart Association and American Stroke Association.

Bill Dean, Ed.D., takes on a new career in 1978.

DEPARTMENTS

FROM THE HEART

FOR YOUR INFORMATION 6 // THROUGH THE ARCHES 8 // SPORTS 28 // ASSOCIATION NEWS 34 // ALUMNI NEWS 38 // STUDENT SPOTLIGHT 56

A NEW ADVENTURE

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TECHSAN VOLUME 71, NUMBER 05

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photo on the cover by Jeremy Enlow/Steel Shutter Photography // JENTRY BENKE, CO-OWNER OF CRAZY TRAIN CLOTHING, AT THE COMPANY WAREHOUSE IN STEPHENVILLE, TEXAS. photo on these two pages by Wyman Meinzer // STORM AND SPANISH SKIRTS

VOLUME 71, NUMBER 05 MAGAZINE STAF F Publisher, Bill Dean, Ed.D. ’61, ’65, ’71 Editor, Jean Ann Bowman Cantore ’84, ’87 Associate Editor, Jennifer Bell Ritz ’94, ’95 Intern, Maeley Herring

DESIGN Amanda Sneed ’07 Hartsfield Design, Lubbock, Texas

ADVERTISING Kristina Butler ’04, ’18, Vice President for Marketing Texas Tech Alumni Association 17th & University/P.O. Box 45001 Lubbock, Texas 79409 Phone: 806.834.1218 Email: kristina.w.butler@ttu.edu

P RINTER Craftsman Printers, Ltd., Lubbock, Texas Published by Texas Tech Alumni Association

AL UMNI ASSOC IATION EX EC UTIVE BOA RD John W. Redmon ’71, The Woodlands (Chair) Kristina Harris Butts ’01, ’04, Lubbock (Past Chair) Barry Street ’79, Kress (Chair Elect) Bill Brown ’74, ’76 Austin (Endowment Trust Board & Alumni Finance Chair) Bill Dean, Ed.D. ’61, ’65, ’71, Lubbock (President and CEO) David Y. Low ’87, ’03, Lubbock (CFO)

BOARD OF DIREC TORS Savannah Shelby, Student Alumni Representative Nancy L. Birdwell ’74, Salado Michelle Bleiberg ’89, Dallas Mandy A. Carr-Johnson, Ph.D. ’94, ’95, ’99, Highlands Ranch, Colorado R. Heath Cheek ’03, Dallas Missi Currier, Ph.D. ’08, ’09, ’16, Carlsbad, New Mexico Scott Dueser ’75, Abilene Paul W. Foster ’80, San Antonio Mike Gayler ’81, Fort Worth Randy Golden ’77, Dallas ReBecca Heidelberg ’00, Midland Staci Hix-Hernandez, M.D. ’99, ’03, Georgetown Carey Hobbs ’58, Waco (Athletic Council Representative) Tom Hutton, M.D., Ph.D. ’68, Fredericksburg Mark Jones ’79, Brady David King ’74, Tyler Leah McCoy ’04, Washington, D.C. Amy Gunter McLane ’97, Salado David A. Miller ’71, Horseshoe Bay Nathan P. Nash ’05, Dallas Vicki Vannoy Nixon ’73, Lubbock Jennifer Perez-Stewart ’12, San Antonio Rebecca Ramirez ’01, ’05, Lubbock Rhonda Rhodes ’88, Englewood, Colorado John C. Sims ’65, Lubbock (Legal Counsel) Russell Webb ’91, Flower Mound Morris E. Wilkes ’75, Lubbock

Buy Tech Photos The Daily Toreador and La Ventana Visit

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www.dailytoreador.com and click on Buy Photos.

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Texas Techsan is the official publication of the Texas Tech Alumni Association and Texas Tech University. The Texas Techsan (USPS #021-676) is published bimonthly and mailed to members of the Texas Tech Alumni Association. Annual membership is $50 for alumni and friends of Texas Tech.

Editorial and advertising offices: McKenzie-Merket Alumni Center, 17th & University/ P.O. Box 45001, Lubbock, TX 794095001. Telephone (806) 742-3641; fax (806) 742-0283; e-mail jean.ann.cantore@ttu.edu. Periodical postage paid at Lubbock, Texas, and additional offices. Send alumni news information to jennifer.ritz@ttu.edu. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to Texas Techsan Magazine, P.O. Box 45001, Lubbock, TX 79409-5001 or by email to paige.m.kohout@ttu.edu.

We welcome story ideas in writing. We do not accept unsolicited manuscripts.

©2018

www.TexasTechAlumni.org

LUBBOCK, TEXAS

800.766.8041

ALDERSON.COM

806.763.8041

for your information B I LL DEAN, E D.D., PR ESI DE NT & CEO

JEROD FOSTER

Good Times, Bad Times

teams achieved remarkable success this past spring.

The men’s basketball team reached the Elite Eight.

The women’s tennis team reached the Elite Eight.

The men’s track team won both the Indoor and Outdoor Big 12 championships and finished sixth in the nation.

The baseball team went to the College World Series for the third time in the past five years. (This accomplishment was especially notable given that the team lost its No. 1 pitcher, Steven Gingery, the first week of the season and later lost their projected Sunday starter, Erickson Lanning. They also lost one of their top bullpen pitchers, Jake McDonald.)

The men’s golf team finished third in the nation.

Congratulations to all these athletes, their coaches and their supporters.

TE X A S TEC H ATH L ETIC

this column, I am looking at six more months on the job. In the last issue, I covered a number of milestone achievements of the association and tried to thank a number of people who contributed to those achievements.

One of the major blessings I have had in this position is the cooperation and support of the Texas Tech administration. I have worked with 12 presidents and interim presidents, nine vice chancellors (or vice presidents) of Institutional Advancement (or development) and seven athletic directors. I think we have been able to maintain good relationships with each.

I think the association has made great progress, but there obviously have been some bumps in the road. There have been challenges and difficult periods. That comes with the territory. Two such times stick out in my memory.

AS I WRI TE

THE SEAL CONTROVERSY

In 2000, the university conducted an image study of Texas Tech. They hired a Chicago firm, Lipman Hearne, to conduct the study. The findings were that Texas Tech did not have an image, positive or negative, and that we were best known for athletics.

An Austin-based public relations firm, Sherry Matthews, was then hired to produce an advertising campaign. The first thing they recommended was “cleaning up” the university seal, hand-drawn in 1925. They suggested adding color and using computer graphics to produce a sharper image. One of the things that they intended to do in this “clean up” was to eliminate the nine cotton bolls that cross vertically and horizontally on the shield of the seal. However, they did not make this plan clear at first.

Once word got out about the plan, an anonymous email message was sent to a large number of Texas Tech alumni stating that this public relations group was going to eliminate the cotton bolls and restrict the use of the Double T to athletics only. I am sure everyone who received this e-mail passed it on to many others.

All of a sudden, my email box was flooded with questions from alumni about this news. Some just wanted information. A large number of others expressed their unhappiness about the proposed changes. The majority were mad about it and expressed their displeasure in no uncertain terms.

I attempted to respond to these messages. Obviously, I could not respond to each one in a personal way (unless I knew the writer personally) be-

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cause in all, I received and responded to about 1,500 emails in the space of a week. I developed “canned” responses, depending upon the intensity of what I was receiving.

The basic message I sent in response was that the cotton boll removal from the seal was still a proposal and had not been finalized. In addition, I knew of no plans to restrict the use of the Double T, and I have no idea where that came from. This story was fake news.

I also advised the administration to abandon completely the idea of the dropping cotton bolls. I quickly communicated all these suggestions to our board and, subsequently, our board took a very strong position in a letter to the regents, urging them to drop this idea.

At this point, the Board of Regents put a halt to all this planning and formed a committee to study it. I was asked to be on that committee.

In the committee discussion, it was pointed out by the Austin firm representatives that removal of the cotton bolls would help clean up the shield and their feeling was that the use of the cotton bolls was an affront to all our academic colleges, showing preferential to the College of Agricultural Sciences & Natural Resources.

I tried to point out that the use of the cotton bolls did not have anything to do with that college.

Rather, it represented agriculture, which is the major economic driving force of this region. I explained that each of the nine bolls on the seal represents one of the nine cotton-producing counties around Lubbock. Cotton production was one reason Lubbock was chosen for the location of Texas Tech.

The result was that the cotton bolls would remain on the seal but that an academic modifier, minus the bolls, would be created for use by each college. There was never any discussion about the use of the Double T because there was no proposal regarding its use.

By the way, the subsequent advertising campaign, “From Here It’s Possible,” was well done and has been very successful. It just took a long and painful path to get there.

One of the positive outcomes, in my opinion, is that such a large number of our alumni are so passionate and care about their alma mater.

This episode also pointed out to me in no uncertain terms the value of having an independent alumni association to represent the views of our alumni to our administration and our board.

THE FIRING OF COACH MIKE LEACH

You all know this story, but again, it represents a difficult time for Texas Tech Alumni Association.

Once it was announced that Coach Leach had been terminated, all hell broke loose. This time, I responded to more than 2,500 e-mails, letters and phone calls. Most people who contacted us were really mad and threatened to withdraw support from Texas Tech.

I changed my response as time progressed, but I responded to every single inquiry. I was also contacted by all four Lubbock TV stations, the Lubbock Avalanche-Journal, the Associated Press and The Chronicle of Higher Education.

We analyzed who sent these responses, and the breakdown is as follows: • Individuals who were not alumni: 17 percent

#WreckEm #LiveLoveLubbock #WestTexasRealtor

Joy Daniel ABR, CRS, GRI 806.535.1206

jdaniel@westmarkrealtors.com choosejoydaniel.com

• Individuals who were current members of TTAA: 33 percent • Individuals who were lapsed donors: 28 percent • Individuals who were never givers: 22 percent In the long run, it was a difficult experience, but I think we gained the reputation of an association that will respond to e-mails, etc. regardless of the situation.

My experience dictates to me that I would tell all alumni associations faced with a crisis to respond and be as transparent as possible.

That is exactly what my colleagues at Penn State and Michigan State have told me, and the crises they faced were much worse than what we faced.

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through the arches COM PI LE D BY MAE LEY H E R R I N G AN D J E N N I FE R R ITZ

PEOPLE

From left: Smith, Trice, Hunt, Lynn Whitfield, Will Dodd and College of Arts & Sciences Dean Lindquist.

Wess Mitchell was unable to attend—accepting the award in his place are his aunt and uncle, Whitfield and Dodd.

THE TEXAS TECH UNIVERSITY COLLEGE OF ARTS & SCIENCES RECOGNIZED FOUR DISTINGUISHED ALUMNI DURING THE GALA EVENING FOR ARTS & SCIENCES, HELD MAY 5 AT THE CLUBHOUSE OF THE RAWLS GOLF COURSE. The award honors alumni for their contributions to the College of Arts & Sciences and Texas Tech as a whole. The award recipients were: HOLLY HUNT , of Chicago, Illinois, earned a second bachelor’s degree in English from Texas Tech in 1965. Following her time at Tech, Hunt moved to Houston and began her career in the executive training program at Foleys. After working as a buyer, she moved to New York to pursue a career in design in the early 1970s and worked as a design assistant in a costume jewelry firm. She eventually moved to Chicago and founded her first showroom, Holly Hunt Ltd., that featured high-end interior furnishing collections sold exclusively to the Interior Design Trade. By the 1990s, she had begun opening showrooms across the nation, including New York, Miami and Los Angeles and was producing her own Holly Hunt collection of interior furnishings.

Today, a total of 11 Holly Hunt showrooms extend throughout the United States and London. She has received numerous industry awards, including the IIDA Titan Award in 2010, the National IIDA Leadership Award for Excellence in 2013 and a Lifetime Achievement Award for Design Excellence in 2015 from the Society of Architecture and Design at the Art Institute of Chicago.

A. WESS MITCHELL, PH.D. , of Arlington, Virginia, earned a bachelor’s degree in history from Texas Tech in 2001 and graduated Summa Cum Laude. Mitchell went on to receive a master’s degree in German and European studies from Georgetown and a Ph.D. in political science from Otto Suhr Institute für Politikwissenschaft at Freie Universtat in Berlin, Germany. In 2005, he co-founded the Center for European Policy Analysis (CEPA). Mitchell served as the Director of Research for CEPA from 2006-2009 and was the president and CEO from 2009-2017. He also served on advisory boards for several U.S. and European institutes. In Oct. 2017, he was appointed as Assistant Secretary of State for European and Eurasian Affairs, where he is responsible for diplomatic relations with 50 countries in Europe and Eurasia, and with NATO, the EU and the OSCE.

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CHARLES R. SMITH, JR. , of Austin, Texas, earned a bachelor’s degree in psychology from Texas Tech in 1998.

He began his professional career after graduation as a child support officer with the Office of the Attorney General’s Child Support Division, Lubbock. He was promoted several times throughout his career with this organization, ending up holding the Deputy Director of Child Support and Director of Field Operations positions before being appointed by thenAttorney General Greg Abbott to serve as one of the executive deputies for the agency. Under his leadership, the CSD received its first Outstanding Child Support Enforcement Program award from the National Child Support Enforcement Association. In 2015, Texas Governor Greg Abbott selected Smith to serve as the Texas Health and Human Services Executive Commissioner, where he oversees Texas’ Health and Human Services system that consists of a $40 billion annual budget, nearly 50,000 employees and serves 7.5 million Texans annually.

DAVID W. TRICE , of Houston, Texas, earned a bachelor’s degree in geology.

Trice went on to receive a master’s degree in geology from Texas Christian University. He began his professional career with Samson Resources and Sonat Exploration and joined EOG Resources in 1999, where he served as a Senior Geologist. After moving up in the ranks several times during his career at EOG, he received the vice president for exploration and production title at the company’s corporate headquarters in Houston.

Since 2013, he has been responsible for the company’s operations in the Bakken, Powder River Basin, DJ Basin and Anadarko Basin as well as international operations. He shares responsibility for EOG’s company-wide exploration efforts and provides his expertise and experience in geology-centered exploration.

NEWS MICHAEL LATHAM, PH.D., AN ASSISTANT PROFESSOR IN THE DEPARTMENT OF CHEMISTRY & BIOCHEMISTRY AT TEXAS TECH UNIVERSITY, HAS RECEIVED AN $850,876 GRANT FROM THE CANCER PREVENTION AND RESEARCH INSTITUTE OF TEXAS (CPRIT) TO STUDY A PROTEIN COMPLEX’S ROLE IN REPAIRING DAMAGED DNA. The study is focused on the protein complex Mre11Rad50 (MR), which recognizes and begins the process of fixing breaks in our DNA. The CPRIT grant will fund Latham’s research on how MR archives these complex activities. Latham said MR is important to study because random mutations of the complex have been found in certain types of cancer, including breast, ovarian and colorectal cancers.

TEXAS TECH UNIVERSITY AND ROCKWALL INDEPENDENT SCHOOL DISTRICT ANNOUNCED A NEW EDUCATIONAL PARTNERSHIP THAT WILL BENEFIT THE DR. GENE BURTON COLLEGE & CAREER ACADEMY. Opening this fall, students will have the opportunity to complete a Texas Tech bachelor’s degree at the Dr. Gene Burton College & Career Academy.

Members from Texas Tech and Rockwall Independent School District signed the agreement that launched this new partnership between the two institutions on May 23.

GOOGLE MAPS/ GOOGLE EARTH

JEREMY MARSTON, PH.D., AN ASSISTANT PROFESSOR IN TEXAS TECH UNIVERSITY’S DEPARTMENT OF CHEMICAL ENGINEERING IN THE EDWARD E. WHITACRE JR. COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING, RECEIVED THE NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION’S CAREER AWARD FOR HIS WORK WITH NEEDLEFREE INJECTIONS. The CAREER award is the most prestigious award in support of junior faculty who exemplify the role of teacher-scholars through research, education and the integration of education and research within the context of the mission of their organizations. It also comes with a monetary grant, of which Marston received $500,000. Marston and his team’s work also could help save the U.S. billions of dollars in accidental needle-stick injuries as well as help stop the reuse of hypodermic needles in developing nations.

TEXAS TECH UNIVERSITY CUT THE RIBBON ON THE UNIVERSITY’S FIRST INTERNATIONAL CAMPUS. TEXAS TECH UNIVERSITY AT COSTA RICA (TTU-CR), LOCATED IN THE CAPITAL CITY OF SAN JOSE, WILL OFFER BACHELOR’S DEGREE PROGRAMS IN ELECTRICAL, INDUSTRIAL AND COMPUTER ENGINEERING; MATHEMATICS AND COMPUTER SCIENCE; AND RESTAURANT, HOTEL AND INSTITUTIONAL MANAGEMENT. These degrees are offered through the Edward E. Whitacre Jr. College of Engineering, the College of Arts & Sciences and the Department of Hospitality & Retail Management within the College of Human Sciences. All classes will be taught in English and applications are now available for fall 2018. The ribbon-cutting ceremony celebrated the completion of TTUCR’s first phase, which includes classrooms, laboratories, a library and media center, administrative offices, and amphitheater and student services. This international location represents one more step in the university’s efforts to increase its global presence and provide greater access to the quality of a Texas Tech education for students in Costa Rica and Central America.

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through the arches

From left are Henninger, McGuire, Serwadda, Pearson, Kelly and Zook. Not pictured: Petrenko, Greenhalgh-Spencer, Smith, Shimkowski and Pearl.

THE 2018 NEW FACULTY AWARD RECIPIENTS WERE RECOGNIZED BY PRESIDENT LAWRENCE SCHOVANEC FOR THEIR QUALITY TEACHING AND RESEARCH DURING THE ANNUAL FACULTY HONORS CONVOCATION WEDNESDAY, APRIL 18, IN THE STUDENT UNION BUILDING. In order to assist Texas Tech in attracting and retaining world class faculty, the Texas Tech Alumni Association established the New Faculty Awards program in 1987 to recognize outstanding new members of the faculty in each college and the School of Law. This year’s recipients were Jacqueline Henninger, Ph.D., J.T. & Margaret Talkington School of Visual & Performing Arts; Liam McGuire, Ph.D., College of Arts & Sciences; Abdul Serwadda, Ph.D., Edward E. Whitacre, Jr. College of Engineering; Michelle Pearson, Ph.D., College of Human Sciences; Brendan Kelly, Ph.D., College of Agricultural Sciences & Natural Resources; Julie Zook, Ph.D., College of Architecture; Oleg Petrenko, Ph.D., Jerry S. Rawls College of Business; Heather Greenhalgh-Spencer, Ph.D., College of Education; Allie Smith, Ph.D., Honors College; Jenna Shimkowski, Ph.D., College of Media & Communication; Alex Pearl, School of Law.

From left to right are Alan White; Lee Ann White; O. Wayne Isom, M.D.; President George W. Bush; Kelli Ford and Jerry Ford.

As part of its groundbreaking Unmasking Innovation campaign, the Texas Tech University College of Arts & Sciences hosted a benefit April 26, featuring a former Texas governor-turned-U.S. President. Titled “Unmasking Innovation: An Evening with President George W. Bush,” the dinner was held at the Hyatt Regency in Dallas. Proceeds from the event will benefit the more than 10,500 students and 600-plus faculty and staff in the College of Arts & Sciences.

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TEXAS TECH UNIVERSITY HOSTED THE 2018 SPRING COMMENCEMENT CEREMONIES MAY 18 AND MAY 19 AT THE UNITED SUPERMARKETS ARENA, AND A TOTAL OF 4,313 UNDERGRADUATE AND GRADUATE STUDENTS WALKED THE STAGE. Jason Jenkins, a graduate of Texas Tech and senior vice president of communications and community affairs for the Miami Dolphins football club, served as the speaker for the ceremonies. Jenkins earned his bachelor’s degree in broadcast journalism in 1997 from the College of Media & Communication and has worked in the communications field in the National Football League since 2002. He was also selected as a College of Media & Communication Outstanding Alumni Award winner in 2017.

David Copeland, a 1982 graduate of the School of Law and executive vice president of SM Energy Company, spoke at the Texas Tech University School of Law Hooding Ceremony May 12. Copeland joined SM Energy, a publicly traded independent energy company, and was named a distinguished alumnus of the Texas Tech School of Law in 2011. He has been involved in the negotiation of directing legal activities related to the consummation of more than $30 billion of energy and energy related transactions, nationally and internationally. He is currently a member of the Board of Trustees of the Texas Tech Law School Foundation and serves on the Energy Law Advisory Board.

Copeland and his late wife, Janet Scivally, established the Copeland Energy Law Endowment, the Copeland Fellows Program, and the Janet Scivally and David Copeland Endowed Professorship.

TEXAS TECH UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF MUSIC HOSTED AN EVENT ON APRIL 27 THAT FEATURED TEXAS TECH’S MARIACHI LOS MATADORES AND LUBBOCK HIGH SCHOOL’S MARIACHI DE ORO. Mariachi Los Matadores was established in 2010 as an academic mariachi program and a part of Texas Tech’s Vernacular Music Center. Currently directed by assistant professor of musicology Lauryn Salazar, the group represents a wide variety of majors and demonstrates the importance of a science, technology, engineering, arts and mathematics approach to learning.

The program aims to represent mariachi music as a pathway to higher education through recruitment and retention. The Mariachi de Oro features students from Lubbock High School under the direction of Texas Tech graduate Gregory Cavazos, a member of the Mariachi Los Matadores.

TEXAS TECH UNIVERSITY WAS NAMED A TOP 10 MILITARY FRIENDLY SCHOOL AND TEXAS TECH’S MILITARY AND VETERAN PROGRAM (MVP) INDUCTED THREE NEW MEMBERS INTO ITS WALL OF HONOR ON MAY 25. This is the eighth consecutive year Texas Tech has received the Military Friendly designation; however, this is the first year that the institution has received the Top 10 award. The designation recognizes an institution’s commitment, effort and success in creating a sustainable and meaningful educational experience for the military community. The MVP is dedicated to assisting veterans and their families in being successful on and off campus. They provide resources for financial aid, navigating federal forms and offer educational benefits. Texas Tech is consistently recognized for its efforts in serving its military and veteran community. In 2014, the university was designated as the first Purple Heart University in Texas by the Military Order of the Purple Heart. Since 2013, Military Times has included Texas Tech on its Best for Vets Colleges list each year, and the Jerry S. Rawls College of Business Administration also has been listed as a Best for Vets Business School. Another way Texas Tech University recognizes and supports its military heroes is by inducting members into the Wall of Honor at Drane Hall. The Wall of Honor recognizes military members from Texas Tech who have distinguished themselves in battle and tributes them for their courage, character, service and sacrifice. This year’s honorees are GEN. RICHARD EDWARD CAVAZOS, 1ST LT. LEE ROY HERRON AND 2ND LT. DARRYN DEEN ANDREWS . Cavazos graduated from Texas Tech in 1951 with a bachelor’s in geoscience, played football and was a member of the ROTC program. He is survived by his wife, Caroline Cavazos, ’52. Herron graduated in 1967 with a bachelor’s in political science, served in the Marine Corps and was posthumously awarded the Navy Cross. Andrews graduated in 1998 with a bachelor’s of business administration in general business and was posthumously awarded the Texas Legislative Medal of Honor. The Wall of Honor is symbolic of Texas Tech’s appreciation for what these people have done for this country and the example they provide.

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Family TECHSAN texas

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SEPT/OCT 2015

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TECHSAN VOLUME 68, NUMBER 05 // THE MAGAZINE

BY JENNIFER RITZ | PHOTOS BY JEROD FOSTER

FOR TEXAS TECH ALUMNI

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The Humanities Center // A Closer Look // TTU and Peggy Pearce Retirement // Grapes, Wine

The Devil’s in the Details

Diablo Sports was featured in the September/October 2015 Texas Techsan.

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IN THE FALL OF 2017, Red Raider-owned Diablo Paddlesports saw an opportunity to reach out and help a fellow Red Raider’s family after tragedy struck. On Monday, Oct. 9, 2017, Texas Tech police officer Floyd East, Jr., was gunned down in the line of duty.

“When we heard the news about Officer East, we were shocked and upset,” says Thomas Flemons, El Jefe and cofounder of Diablo Paddlesports. “We love Texas Tech. As alumni, we wanted to be able to do our part to help the family of Officer East, and we decided a great way to do that is by donating one of our kayaks.”

Diablo Paddlesports designs and builds top-of-the-line single watercraft that offer the benefits of both a stand-up paddleboard and a kayak. The company was started by Texas Tech alumni Jay Korbell and Thomas Flemons. Thomas’ wife, Megan Mandigo Flemons, is also an alumna and helps run the Martindale, Texas-based company.

Diablo Paddlesports owners donated the “Amigo” model, pictured below and at left, bottom. This Amigo is called “The LBK” and is red, grey and sand camouflage.

Thomas and Megan Flemons, Jay Korbell

Thomas reached out to the Texas Tech Alumni Association about raffling the kayak and donating the proceeds to the Floyd East, Jr., Memorial Fund established by Texas Tech University.

“One of our goals at the Texas Tech Alumni Association is to support Texas Tech University,” said David Low, chief financial officer of the TTAA. “When we were approached by Diablo Paddlesports and offered the opportunity to partner with them in raising money for the family of Officer East, we gladly accepted. This donation showcases the generosity of our alumni. Officer East was one of us, and we were grateful for the chance to help.”

The kayak donated was the “Amigo” model, what Thomas calls “the LBK,” a mixture of red, grey and sand camouflage.

The TTAA sold tickets—one for $25 or five tickets for $100— from Oct. 17, 2017, through Nov. 16, 2017. The name of the winner, Kirk Dooley of Dallas, Texas, was drawn prior to the Texas Tech vs. TCU football game.

Thanks to the big hearts of the Diablo Paddlesports owners, $8,975 was donated to the Floyd East, Jr., Memorial Fund from the raffle proceeds. Officer East is survived by his wife and two daughters.

On Oct. 9, 2017, Texas Tech University police office , Floyd East, Jr., was shot and killed in the Texas Tech Police Department (TTPD) by a student who was brought in for booking. The parents of Hollis Alvin Daniels, of Seguin, who was a 19-year-old second-year freshman at the time of the shooting, requested a welfare check from the TTPD on their son. Officers arrived at Daniel s empty dorm room on the evening of Oct. 9, where they discovered drug paraphernalia. During the visit, the student arrived. Officers, including Floyd East, Jr., arrested Daniels and transported him to the Texas Tech Police Department.

At 7:44 p.m., while undergoing questioning, Daniels pulled a gun he had stolen the previous day and shot Officer East. Daniels then fled the building and was a large on the Texas Tech campus for an hour and 40 minutes. He was apprehended by law enforcement at 9:26 near the Lubbock Municipal Coliseum. The TTPD was assisted in the search for Daniels by the Lubbock Police Department, the Lubbock County Sheriff’s department, Texas Department of Public Safety, Texas Rangers, the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms.

On Nov. 1, 2017, a Lubbock grand jury indicted Daniels for capital murder. He is awaiting trial.

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Serendipity

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By Jennifer Ritz | Photos by Jeremy Enlow, Steel Shutter TECHSAN

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Where dreams and inspiration meet, remarkable things transpire.

This story is about a young woman—Jentry Benke—who struck out on her own, determined to make her mark. And make her mark she has: at the tender age of 28, she co-owns a multi-million dollar fashion line, Crazy Train Clothing.

Her road hasn’t been without bumps, but she has reached a horizon of sorts—and she’s enjoying the view.

Jentry grew up in Spring Branch, Texas, just northeast of San Antonio. Her father Russtin Benke is a self-employed welder, her mother, Melissa, has worked for USAA insurance in San Antonio since before Jentry was born. Both of her parents grew up in the San Antonio area. When it came time to select a college, Jentry decided on Texas Tech—400 miles from home. She visited Lubbock during a trip with her high school agriscience teacher Joe David Lehmberg, who received a bachelor of science in interdisciplinary agriculture in 2002, and fellow FFA officers.

“We went to the convention and all the other kids were saying, ‘This is far from home. There are no trees out here,’” Jentry recalls with a chuckle. “And, for some reason, I guess I just felt like, this is kinda home. I should explore this. And of course, my parents were nervous. They said, ‘It’s too far.’ They’d hoped I’d opt for Texas State, where my mom went, because it was only 45 minutes away.”

But Jentry felt it in her bones: Texas Tech would be her next home. When she reflects on the young woman who moved to Lubbock on her 18th birthday—Aug. 16, 2008—she recalls a dreamer who was determined to succeed.

“My whole life I have always been looked at as average,” she says. “I wasn’t the valedictorian and never claimed to be a genius. But, I finally put all society’s judgments aside when I stepped foot onto Tech’s campus and decided that I would prove myself right this time and not worry about proving everyone else wrong. I wouldn’t stop until I felt like I accomplished something, but I wouldn’t do it for anyone else but myself. To prove to myself that I wasn’t just average, I was Jentry, and I could be whatever I dang well pleased.”

She moved onto campus and didn’t know a soul. She attended Red Raider Camp and met a handful of people whom she says she is still friends with today. She thought she wanted to major in agriculture because she had been so involved in FFA: showing steers, serving as an officer in her chapter and winning a state team competition in agricultural sales.

“I started out ag comm (agricultural communications) and very quickly discovered that, while I was so ag-involved in high school, I didn’t see myself making a career out of it,” explains Jentry, who received her bachelor of science in Interior Design and minored in Agricultural Communications and Architecture. “And I wanted to do something in the design field. And so, I went for it. I switched, even though I had to start the whole program over. So, I did my five-year lap. I’m very happy that I did. I enjoyed all of my classes, and I think it was a good decision.”

One part of finding her place in Lubbock included locating a church home.

She began attending Bible study every Wednesday at the West Texas Church at the Barn. She became fast friends with the couple who hosted the Bible study— Kodi and Baker Chapman.

“Baker and I loved Jentry right away,” says Kodi. “She has a bubbly personality and was never afraid to speak up and ask questions. One thing that stood out to me from the moment we met was that she has the ‘it’ factor. We knew God had great things in store for her. I’ve followed her progress through the years and enjoyed watching her business grow. She really is as good as gold.”

Jentry says she believes God has placed her where she needs to be. While she was an undergrad, Jentry took a job at a boutique in the mall called Get Gussied Up. The job was a pleasant diversion from her coursework, and Jentry notes if she wasn’t in class, she was in the library studying. The part-time job gave her brain a much-needed break—and turned out to be serendipity.

Jentry was able to tap into pure creativity, and began designing headbands, which the store’s owner, Kylee Schumacher-Chester, started selling in her stores.

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“It was a success,” says Jentry of the headbands. “So, I got a little taste of designing and creating some things. And she (Schumacher-Chester) started saying, ‘Well, hey, I can’t find this or I can’t find that, can you design this? Could you make these things?’ And I’d say, ‘Well, let me try it.’”

Jentry and Schumacher-Chester began collaborating on more designs, and, in 2013, Crazy Train was born.

“We really based this company on what we couldn’t find for Get Gussied Up,” says Jentry.

While Jentry had an eye for design and was receiving the education to go along with it, SchumacherChester had the experience in the fashion business.

“I was 16 when I started in the business,” Schumacher-Chester says. “I made jewelry and slowly started adding clothes to what I sold.”

Schumacher-Chester began attending the Denver Market when she was still in high school. She already had an Amarillo location of Get Gussied Up when she opened the Lubbock store at age 24. Her store manager in Lubbock hired Jentry, and, when Schumacher-Chester met her, she recognized something distinctly different in her new employee.

“She had drive and self-motivation,” says Schumacher-Chester. “She would go above and beyond with everything she did. She would redecorate the store without being asked, and she has a fantastic sense of style. She is very creative.”

As her 2013 graduation date neared, Jentry says she had a monumental decision to make.

“Kylee and I started playing around with these ideas, probably in March of that year, to kind of test whether the Crazy Train idea would work,” Jentry explains. “Because I either needed to go to the big-girl world and get a job and start at the bottom of the totem pole, or I needed to take a risk.”

Jentry says her father, an entrepreneur, encouraged her to go for it—and, she says, her mom was there with practical advice. She also had faith in herself and Schumacher-Chester, who had spent a number of years navigating marketing in the fashion world with Get Gussied Up. With almost nothing to her name except bills from college, Jentry decided to give entrepreneurship a go.

“I didn’t want to say ‘goodbye’ to the area yet—it was still my home,” Jentry says. “And so we (Jentry and Schumacher-Chester) stayed in Lubbock for a little while. We worked out of a spare bedroom (in SchumacherChester’s home). I was hand-making jewelry and painting it—I think we had two t-shirt designs.”

She and Schumacher-Chester, who grew up in Oklahoma, then moved to Canyon to begin expanding Crazy Train. Initially, they opened a plus-size retail store and called it Fully Fabulous. The retail store paid the bills, while, in the back of the store they worked on growing Crazy Train. By 2014, she and Schumacher-Chester constructed a new warehouse in Canyon, and Jentry purchased a house adjacent to the warehouse.

Jentry is expecting her first child, As Crazy Train became more successful, Jentry found herself torn. a son, in September.

“I was starting to get some ducks in a row, but I realized, my family duck wasn’t there,” Jentry shares. “My heart was calling me home.”

Jentry began to explore the Texas map and landed on Stephenville. Its central location in the state and proximity to Dallas/Fort Worth made it appealing.

Also, it’s a college town (Tarleton State University), which meant an abundance of qualified employees to staff Crazy Train. And, it was closer to home.

Jentry and her partner, who recently married and now lives in Pampa, began working toward facilitating the move. By mid-2016, many of the puzzle pieces were in place, yet Jentry was having a difficult time with the idea of moving from West Texas back to Central Texas.

She was ready to go, but she wasn’t ready to leave. She and SchumacherChester were wringing their hands over the move, and how they would manage logistics with one partner in Stephenville and one in Pampa.

Jentry received a jolting push that took the decision out of her hands.

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Hop On!

Since Crazy Train was launched in 2013, Jentry Benke and her business partner, Kylee Schumacher-Chester, have sold more than a million items. Everything from t-shirts (their bread and butter item), to leggings, jewelry and dusters. The business started small, with headbands, and grew to the point that, when it came time to graduate from Texas Tech, Jentry was faced with a decision: go big or go home.

“My favorite quote is, ‘Without big risk, there is no big reward,’” says Jentry.

And the risk the ladies took has reaped big rewards. While the train never derailed, they have experienced the typical growing pains of a burgeoning business. Where to place the headquarters, how to manage growth, the best way to market their product. These were all things that were problems, but good problems.

Having received a degree in interior design, Jentry learned a lot about designing on computers. She parlayed that knowledge into her t-shirt and clothing designs. The only other ingredient required is inspiration. Where do they get that?

“Songs,” she says with a smile. “We’ve got a lot of George Strait songs that inspire us. Some things we see, maybe we’ll find a cool painting or somebody did something interesting with a chair or whatever, we’ll try to take those ideas and turn it into clothing somehow. Or we’ll watch trends.

“I don’t like to use other people’s ideas. I like Crazy Train designs to blossom from our own ideas…So, I try to find inspiration in my surroundings. Or, maybe, what my friends are liking on Facebook. Take serape, for example, I’ve always liked serape blankets. So, how do we transfer that over to clothing so I can ‘wear’ that blanket.”

Crazy Train now has a showroom at the Dallas Market and Denver Market, with more than 20,500 registered retail stores across the United States, Canada and Australia. Jentry and Schumacher-Chester currently employ 12 women—students who attend Tarleton State—at their Stephenville shop, with plans to add two to four more in the near future. Their t-shirts are still printed in Lubbock. As for their sales numbers, they’ve soared from slightly more than $300,000 in 2013, to an expected $8 million for 2018.

There’s nothing crazy here.

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“This adventure isn’t just by chance. Nothing in my life has been chance, even my wreck.

I do wholeheartedly believe that He is guiding me every step of the way, even though life has thrown me a lot of lemons. I think that he trusted me with this business to do something much bigger and I am excited to discover just what that is as we continue to grow, ’cause I know it’s not just to sell crazy-cute clothing. There is something more and it’s on its way.”

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It was August 2016 and Jentry was headed back to Canyon from Stephenville. She had already purchased a home in Stephenville and had been scouting a location for Crazy Train’s new office and warehouse. She was near Snyder on Highway 84 when an 18-wheeler pulled in front of her, subsequently blocking all lanes of traffic.

“I slammed into him,” she says. “I don’t remember any of it, thankfully. Just what other people have told me, but that’s been a challenge for me to get over, to be honest. I had my puppy dog with me. So, I lost her in my wreck. I broke my leg. I had a collapsed lung, broken ribs, a gash to the head and a broken hand.”

The accident was crippling—both physically and emotionally.

“It really set me back,” Jentry says.

She awoke in the hospital in Lubbock, unaware of why she was there. A friend, Jamie Talley, was there to explain and hold Jentry’s hand as she struggled to understand what had happened and why the right side of her body was shattered.

“I was in the Lubbock hospital for about nine days and then I went to Weatherford Rehab Clinic and stayed in-house for physical therapy for another month,” she says. “And then, after that, I got to come home, but I was still in a wheelchair.”

“Home” ended up being her new house in Stephenville.

“So, it was kind of a God-sent message, or a ‘God thing’ in my mind,” Jentry says. “He told me, ‘You don’t get to decide anymore. You’re moving down there now.’”

The move from West Texas, though it wasn’t on her timeline, had been decided. Moving to a new town, still a fair distance from her parents, Jentry knew she needed help. Salvation came in the form of her brother, Blake Benke, who moved to Stephenville to help his sister heal.

It was almost a year before she was fully recovered. In the time since her accident and subsequent recovery, she was able to assist her brother in launching his own business, Diamond Bills, which fabricates metal cut-outs and affixes them to caps.

With her brother’s help, she was able to get better and keep Crazy Train rolling. She and SchumacherChester shuttered Fully Fabulous in January. Jentry sold her Canyon house and, later, the warehouse.

Stephenville was, finally, in every sense, home.

She located a property in Stephenville with a small house, in which Crazy Train’s manager lives.

Behind the house she constructed a warehouse—in June 2017—with office space, a conference area and loads of room for storing and shipping Crazy Train products.

Schumacher-Chester notes that the move was perfect because they have an almost limitless supply of qualified employees and shipping to customers is faster due to Stephenville’s central location. Although they’re half a state apart, she and her partner have not only made Crazy Train work, they’ve made it even more successful.

However, Jentry has made it clear to anyone who will listen that she doesn’t take full credit for her accomplishments. “…I want to make sure I give credit to the big man upstairs,” Jentry adds. “This adventure isn’t just by chance. Nothing in my life has been chance, even my wreck. I do wholeheartedly believe that He is guiding me every step of the way, even though life has thrown me a lot of lemons. I think that he trusted me with this business to do something much bigger and I am excited to discover just what that is as we continue to grow, ’cause I know it’s not just to sell crazy-cute clothing. There is something more and it’s on its way.”

Stay tuned…

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from the

By Jean Ann Cantore Photos by Jeremy Enlow/ Steel Shutter Photography

Hearts are everywhere.

Chocolate boxes shaped like hearts, children’s clothing adorned with cute hearts, home furnishings decorated with hearts. You can find heart shapes in everything from jewelry to pencil erasers to pet ID tags, pillows, placemats, purses and even more random items that express love—or at least like.

In handwritten notes, some people use a tiny heart to “dot the ‘i.’” With the internet and cell phones, “I ♥ you” messages routinely fly from person to person. (No need for the word “love” when a heart symbol works, right?)

You hear about happy hearts, sad hearts, black hearts, heavy hearts, kind hearts, loving hearts, full hearts, broken hearts, heart-felt thoughts, heartless people and matters of the heart.

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Yet, behind this simple symbol of love-and-like is something serious and real—the human heart. If this vital organ doesn’t function, you don’t have a life.

Jeff Walters, marketing director for emergency cardiovascular care programs for American Heart Association, agrees. His job is to promote heart health and raise awareness about preventing heart disease, cardiac arrest and stroke.

According to Walters, the American Heart Association (AHA) is the nation’s oldest and largest voluntary organization dedicated to fighting heart disease and stroke. The organization was founded in 1924 by six cardiologists and has grown to include more than 33.5 million volunteers and supporters.

“Our nationwide organization includes 155 local offices and more than 3,400 employees, with our national headquarters in Dallas,” Walters says.

Walters started with the organization 12 years ago. His first job was as marketing manager of American Stroke Association, part of American Heart Association, based in Dallas. His next job move was to senior marketing manager for cardiovascular care. He then was promoted to corporate marketing director, overseeing the entire group—something he’s enjoyed doing for eight years now.

“What drew me to American Heart Association is their mission—‘Building healthier lives, free of cardiovascular disease and stroke.’ The mission and the people are the reason I am still there,” Walters says. “I love it so much. I feel good about what we do.”

He works with association employees, volunteers, a board and medical professionals to create strategies and campaigns to educate the public about heart health.

According to American Heart Association, one in every three deaths in the United States is caused by heart disease or stroke.

Among the risk factors the organization cites are that 83 percent of Americans believe that heart attacks and strokes are preventable but that they aren’t motivated to act. Also, 72 percent of Americans don’t consider themselves to be at risk for heart disease. Finally, and perhaps most daunting, is that 58 percent of Americans put no effort into improving their heart health.

“I hope to continue to use my talents at the American Heart Association to make a positive impact on the association, as well as the lives of as many people as I possibly can,” he says. “I want to do good work and bring big thinking and creative solutions to improve the health of all people.”

Education plays a large role in preventing cardiovascular disease. American Heart Association continually works to improve and upgrade measures such as Basic Life Support (CPR) and other techniques that can save lives.

The organization makes heart health information accessible and, hopefully, an essential part of people’s lives by making it personal. For example, at the bottom of each AHA employee’s email signature is the phrase “life is why™” and sometimes a

listing of names of people for whom the person is striving to stay heart healthy. In Walters’ case, he lists his daughters, Amelia and Abby, with his wife’s nickname (Mel) underlined.

“God willing, in five years I see myself in a senior leadership position with the AHA, watching my girls develop into strong, brilliant young ladies charging into the world and making their own path to helping others,” he says.

Although Walters has found his niche careerwise with American Heart Association, he wasn't always sure what he wanted to do. The Sherman, Texas, native, followed his older brother, Windell, a 1981 Texas Tech architecture graduate, to Lubbock.

He began his college studies in engineering.

While an undergraduate student, he lived in Sneed/Bledsoe residence hall and played intramural sports—football and basketball. He even belonged to the Tech Gymnastics Club for a while.

Walters played tuba in the Goin’ Band from Raiderland for three years. He was a member of Air Force ROTC and Arnold Air Society. Two activities of which he is particularly proud are serving on the Sabre Flight Drill Team and as part of the Color Guard.

“I was on the field for every bowl game from 1993 to 1998, either in the band or with the Color Guard,” he says.

Throughout college, Walters was a member of the Black Student Association. For a time, he belonged to the National Society of Black Engineers.

“I was an industrial engineering major when I decided to switch to marketing,” he says. “I was spending up to 18 hours a day programming and realized that I needed more human interaction, although my major involved human factors. I switched to marketing, and it was a good decision.”

Early in the spring of 1998, his graduation year, Walters interviewed with OLDE, a brokerage company that was on campus to hire students. The Detroitbased company offered him a stockbroker position in Dallas, and they paid for him to study and test for various securities licenses while he worked there.

“I liked the idea of making money and learned quite a bit about money, investing and people,” he says. “This job was a great start to my career.”

Roger P. Whitney, with WWK Wealth Advisors in Fort Worth, worked with Walters when he was starting out at OLDE.

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heart FACTS from Jeff Walters, American Heart Association

Every 25 seconds, someone in America will have a coronary event.

One in every three deaths in the United States is caused by heart disease or stroke.

Every 39 seconds, someone dies from heart disease or stroke.

Every year, an estimated 785,000 people in America will have their first heart attack and 470,000 will have another.

“Jeff was fresh out of college when he joined my office as a financial advisor trainee,” Whitney says. “From the start, he was ready to work and learn. Jeff has a great ability to zero in on the core purpose of a project. Although he is very creative, he never loses sight of the end result the client is looking for. What I’ve always appreciated about Jeff is the kindness he brings into a business environment. Extreme competence, kindness and work ethic—he’s got them, and that makes him hard to stop.”

Although he enjoyed his job, especially studying the markets and sales, he felt there were better ways to help people improve their lives than the risk-reward nature of financial services.

He wanted to pursue an advanced degree, so he returned to Lubbock and to Texas Tech in 1999.

While a graduate student in interdisciplinary studies, Walters began working at Texas Tech University Press. Despite his graduate classes and his full-time job at the press, he also worked part-time as a bar back and bouncer at Cricket’s on Broadway.

In 2000, the graduate student pledged Alpha Kappa Psi business fraternity, where he met some of his very best lifelong friends. In fact, he and six of his friends travel to Ruidoso for an annual guys’ trip.

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“Jeff and I met in Fall 2000 through the business fraternity AKPSI,” says Kayla Andrews Peltoma, director of finance and administration for Baptist Standard Publishing Co. “I had pledged in Fall 1999 and met Jeff when he pledged in the Fall 2000 while he was in graduate school.

“He is dependable to a fault, a caring family man, loyal friend, travel enthusiast and careerminded. He stands out among others because of all of his strengths, but also he has an engaging smile and personality that welcomes you right in from the very beginning.

“Just like in his personal life, Jeff approaches his work life with equal hope of making a difference. His abilities to continue learning, listening and building connections are what allow him to make a difference in so many lives. Marketing can mean so many things in today’s business world, but Jeff amplifies this role by his consistent evolving and creating new and better solutions.

“Jeff and I are still such good friends because we have a love of Texas Tech as our foundation and we have created a bond that continues to celebrate Tech achievements and also family and friend life events.”

In fact Jeff is a member of the Texas Tech Alumni Association Collin County Chaper of which Peltoma is president.

“He and his family are truly salt of the earth people, and there is an attraction to stay connected to someone like that,” Peltoma says.

Walters is pleased with his choice of college, saying, “I am glad I found Texas Tech, and I am glad Texas Tech found me.”

Walters stayed with Texas Tech University Press for five years, including a short time after he graduated with his master's degree in 2002. During his time with the press, he traveled to Colorado Springs, Colorado, to the Western Historical Association conference with Texas Tech University PresidentEmeritus David Schmidly, Ph.D., to promote the professor’s book about agriculture on the Plains.

“The highlight of working at Tech Press was meeting my wife, Melody,” he says. “She was attending the conference in Denver while working on her doctorate in history at Arizona State University. She and her friend came by my booth several times because I had free gum. We talked a lot. We continued to talk on the phone every day and email and instant message each other after the conference.”

Despite their divergent career paths, the two maintained a strong connection way beyond their Colorado meeting.

Melody Miyamoto, Ph.D., completed her doctoral degree in history in 2006 and began teaching college history at Coe College in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. Walters took a job in Boston, working at Wiley-Blackwell Publishing in 2005, something he did for two years.

His oldest brother, his wife and their two daughters lived there, so Walters spent eight months sleeping on their couch. He met a lot of people. Then, his brother and family moved back to Dallas.

Walters stuck it out for another year, but became homesick for his family and began researching a way to get back to Texas.

“As it turned out, one of the editors at Wiley-Blackwell served on an American Heart Association board. She was able to introduce me to a few staff,” he says. “Eventually, I was able to get names and I cold-called one of the people over marketing for the association and continued to stay in touch with him and other contacts I made there.”

After three months, a trip to Dallas for an interview and a quick relocation (driving more than 23 hours straight) from Boston to Dallas, Walters began his job as marketing manager for American Stroke Association.

“A big part of my job was to educate the African-American community about their increased risk of stroke,” he says. “Two days into the job, I was in Los Angeles, marketing the organization at an event.”

He and Melody eventually merged their lives, marrying and maintaining careers in Dallas. Melody began teaching history at Collin College in McKinney, Texas. She just finished her ninth year on the faculty there.

Not too long ago, avid historian Miyamoto Walters was pleased to discover a treasure trove of letters between her Japanese grandparents, who met just before and lived in Hawaii during World War II. The correspondence became the basis for her book “In Love and War: The World War II Courtship Letters of a Nisei Couple.” The book examines the culture in Hawaii following the bombing of Pearl Harbor in 1941 and how Japanese Americans were treated. (“Nisei” refers to children of Japanese immigrants who lived in the United States or U.S. Territories.)

Her family still lives in Hawaii, and she, Jeff and their daughters enjoy visiting them regularly.

As successful as they both are in their careers, the couple feels family is most important and that their greatest accomplishments are their daughters.

“I have found an appreciation for being with my family,” Walters says. “When we had our first daughter, everything changed. With the second one, things changed even more. I had no idea how much it would mean to my life.”

Sounds like a sentiment straight from the heart.

To learn more about American Heart Association/American Stroke Association or about heart health, please visit www.heart.org.

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Adventure

A New

By Jean Ann Cantore

The year was 1978.

Bill Dean, Ed.D., was enjoying his faculty position teaching mass communications, journalism and public relations in the School of Mass Communications.

He was an adviser to the Phi Delta Theta fraternity and directing Texas Tech Student Publications, all things that were near and dear to him.

He and his wife, Peggy Clark Dean ’66, were parents to two active young boys, Troy and Rob. Dean was happy coaching his sons in baseball and also working with other young athletes. His life was more than full.

It was a good time to be Bill Dean.

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TEXAS TECHSAN, JANUARY/ FEBRUARY 1990 TEXAS TECHSAN, AUGUST/ SEPTEMBER 1981

TEXAS TECHSAN, NOVEMBER/ DECEMBER 1982

Things took a rather unexpected turn one evening in February 1978. There was an opening for the director of the then-named Texas Tech Ex-Students Association, a group founded in 1927, immediately after the graduation of the first class of Texas Technological University.

In the years since 1927, during the Great Depression and World War II, the organization had many stops and starts. The Korean and Vietnam Wars loomed and threatened the importance of college loyalty. Yet, the association remained a constant.

Texas Tech alumni loved being involved with their school, via the association.

When there was a need for a new person to lead the group in 1978, Richard G. “Wick” Alexander, D.D.S. ’58, chair of the Ex-Students Association board, experienced a light-bulb moment. His challenge was to replace the former director of the association. It seemed an impossible task.

“One evening in February 1978, I was going through our Texas Tech yearbook, and I came upon a page showing my fraternity, Phi Delta Theta, and one person’s face just ‘popped out’ to me,” Alexander says. “I went to the telephone and called him. ‘Bill Dean, this is Wick, and this phone call is going to change your life!’”

The call came out of the blue. Dean was surprised, flattered and uncertain about what to do.

“He indicated to me that he wanted to nominate me to follow Wayne James as director of the ExStudents Association,” Dean says. “I was hesitant to apply because I knew there had been turmoil involving the association and the university administration.

I agreed to be interviewed, and when I was offered the job. I did accept it, after some soul searching.”

No one was happier about the outcome than Alexander.

“Of all my efforts and activities for my alma mater over the years, hiring Bill to be the Ex-Students director was my greatest contribution,” Alexander says.

“He has been an incredible leader as Texas Tech has grown into a world-class university.”

TOP: Dean, far right, with the 1990 association executive board members. From left are Robert Gossett ’70, Carrolton, chair-elect; Keller Smith ’68, Fort Worth, chair; and Ilah Coffee Merriman ’57, Dallas, past chair.

MIDDLE: New Old Red Club members, from left, John Owen, Dean, Jim Douglass and Bill Gustafson, Ph.D., received their red jackets during the Lubbock Chapter meeting in 1981. The Old Red Club was a group of members who secured or gave $500 in new or additional contributions in money or kind to the Loyalty Fund.

BOTTOM: Christmas is one of Dean’s favorite times of year. Here he decorates the association’s tree.

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Dean says he didn´t have any long-range plans when he began his position. He first needed to learn the lay of the land, who was who and how the association was received by the university administration.

It didn’t take long for Dean to determine that the university president, Cecil Mackey, Ph.D., was not terribly supportive of the association. In fact, the Office of Development decided to try to take Dean’s newness in the position as a chance to bring the organization under their control—and that of the university.

“Fortunately for me, Dr. Mackey left later in the year for Michigan State, where he clashed with the Michigan State Alumni Association, and a civil war developed,” he says.

“Ultimately, he did take control of the association there. As far as the Texas Tech Office of Development was concerned, I received great cooperation from Dr. Clyde Kelsey, who was in charge, and we became good friends. Any talk of a take-over soon evaporated.

“The biggest initial challenge was an effort to develop good relationships with the administration, the development office, the Red Raider Club, etc. The biggest ongoing challenge is increasing membership and developing programs that interest our alumni and support our university.”

Dean has earned the respect of his board and his staff. His honest and practical approach to his job lets people know where they stand with him. He will stand up for what he feels is right.

Katie Fullen Texas Tech Alumni Association National Board members and Student Alumni Association Board members enjoyed an evening at E&J Smokehouse in Lubbock during their 2018 June board meeting. From left are Barry Street, Texas Tech Alumni Association National Board chair-elect; Dean; Kristina Harris Butts, National Board past-chair; John Redmon, 2018 National Board chair; Savannah Shelby, Student Alumni Board president; Dylan Angel, Student Alumni Board executive member; and Allison Sandefur, Student Alumni Board executive member.

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“One thing that I was extremely impressed with during my involvement with the association is how hard Bill Dean works,” says Diane King Scovell ’68, chair of the Texas Tech Alumni Association National Board of Directors in 1999, and a long-time friend of Dean’s.

“People don’t realize how many hours Bill works and how organized he is. He is so dedicated he will never leave a stone unturned. Neither his teaching nor his work at the association has suffered because he made sure he did his work both places.”

When Dean came on board in 1978, the board allowed him to continue teaching in mass communications, something near and dear to his heart, with a reduced salary at TTAA. The arrangement is unusual in the alumni association field.

“He was very enthusiastic, despite being so conservative,” Scovell says. “Bill was very respectful of peoples’ gifts and how we used their money. When he accepted a gift for the association, he felt personally responsible for it.

“In addition to growing the association space, he grew the staff. He oversaw new programs such as the Ring Ceremony.

And he also encouraged more women to be on the board and active positions on various committees. I appreciate that he did a good job of integrating women into what was primarily a male group for many years.”

Along with the association, Texas Tech University has made dramatic changes over the years. The campus size and number of buildings has grown in leaps and bounds, and the school’s reputation has grown along with it. Becoming recognized as a Tier One Carnegie Institution was a long-term project that took the work and cooperation of faculty, administrators and staff.

“This is not your grandfather’s university anymore,” Dean says. “Moving from the Border Conference to the Southwest Conference to the Big 12 has greatly benefited Texas Tech. I think being in the Big 12 greatly aids our academic recruiting efforts. As I have said many times, Texas Tech has done more with less than any institution we compete with, athletically or academically.”

´´Bill was very respectful of peoples´ gifts and how we used their money. When he accepted a gift for the association, he felt personally responsible for it.´´

ARTIE LIMMER

Dean, right, presents John Scovell and his wife, Diane King Scovell, former chair of the Texas Tech Alumni Association National Board of Directors, with the Lauro F. Cavazos Award from the Alumni Association during Homecoming 2016.

With more than 40 years of experience in this role, Dean is well respected in the alumni field. He has served as a consultant for other alumni associations across the country and has made numerous presentations. He also has served as president of the Council of Alumni Association Executives.

“For me personally, I have gratefully benefited from his mentorship as a treasured and trusted colleague,” says Amy Button Renz, president and CEO of the Kansas State Alumni Association. “We first met during a conference in 1994. Bill openly welcomed me as a newly appointed president and CEO, and we very quickly made a connection that through the years has grown into a lifelong friendship. I have learned so much from him about the alumni relations profession and deeply admire his thoughtful and compassionate leadership style. He is highly respected among our peers, and Bill has truly earned the admiration of all. He is an inspiration for the type of professional we all aspire to be.

“I admire his passion for his alma mater. You can’t meet a Texas Tech graduate that doesn’t know Bill Dean, the alumni CEO, but also Dr. Dean, the professor. Everyone admires Bill and his insight. He truly is the dean of the profession, and his humor has always provided levity to our discussions. Texas Tech Alumni Association is one of the best associations in the country, and it all points back to Bill’s leadership.”

Dean and his wife, Peggy Clark Dean, visit with R.G. “Wick” Alexander, D.D.S., at the ribbon-cutting for the Bill and Peggy Dean Expansion to the then-named Merket Alumni Center, July 19, 2010.

Dean notes that during his tenure at the association, the greatest accomplishments were “because of dedicated staff, board members and supportive alumni.” He says that the expansion of what is now the McKenzie-Merket Alumni Center and the creation of the Frazier Alumni Pavilion were major accomplishments.

“Achieving solid relationships with our partners on campus has been very important,” he says. “Publishing a first-class magazine has been a great accomplishment. Changing the name from the Ex-Students Association to the Texas Tech Alumni Association was a change that I had some heartburn about because I vividly remember the fight to change the institution’s name from Texas Technological College to Texas Tech University, but our name change went through very smoothly.

“Keeping up with the changing environment that I discussed earlier has been a major challenge and one that a very talented marketing staff has consistently achieved. The recent re-branding that changed our logo has been a significant development.”

Dean says his favorite part of the job is working with his staff and meeting alumni at chapter events both in Texas and elsewhere.

“That is what I will miss the most. I enjoy coming to work every day and my interaction with a very dedicated and talented staff.

“I think the basic strength of the TTAA is that we have established credibility with our publics over the years and are regarded as a team player as Texas Tech grows and develops.

“I wish the Association great success and growth in the future. I would like for it to be said that I left TTAA better than I found it.”

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sports COM PI LE D BY J EAN AN N CANTOR E

No. 9 Tech Wraps 2018 Season in Game 10 of CWS

THE RED RAIDERS RALLIED FOR A COMBINED SIX RUNS IN THE SEVENTH AND THE EIGHTH, BUT WERE UNABLE TO HOLD OFF THE GATORS, ENDING THE SEASON IN OMAHA. BY MICHAEL MINSHEW,

ASSOCIATE DIRECTOR, TEXAS TECH ATHLETICS COMMUNICATIONS | PHOTOS COURTESY OF TEXAS TECH ATHLETICS COMMUNICATIONS

THE NO. 9 Texas Tech baseball team concluded its 2018 campaign with a 9-6 loss to No. 1 Florida on Thursday night ( June 21) at the College World Series at TD Ameritrade Park, Omaha, Nebraska.

The Red Raiders (45-20) finished the night with six runs on 12 hits against the Gators (49-20). The result pushed Tech to 2-6 all-time at the CWS, as Tech was one of only three schools in the country to earn three appearances in Omaha over the last five years and was one of the last five teams remaining in this year’s tournament.

Four Red Raiders finished the night with multi-hit bids at the plate, as senior Zach Rheams, junior Cameron Warren and sophomores Josh Jung and Brian Klein all had two knocks in the game. Warren was the only Red Raider with an extra base hit, shooting a double to left-center field in the seventh inning.

Sophomore right-handed pitcher Caleb Kilian got the starting nod in Tech’s third game of the 2018 College World Series and went 4.1 innings against the Gators. He carried a no-hitter into the fourth inning but finished the night with three runs allowed on three hits, walking three and striking out four in the contest.

Florida plated the first run of the night in the fourth inning on a wild pitch for a 1-0 lead. India began the frame with a full-count walk, then moved to second on a wild pitch & third on a stolen base. He would score with two outs in the frame on another wild pitch to put the Gators ahead in the contest.

In the next inning, UF added two more runs to make it 3-0.

A pair of singles by Reese and Horvath put two with one out, allowing a double from Liput down the first base line to score the first run of the frame. After the change to Harpenau, an RBI groundout brought home another run for the three-run advan-

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tage. The Gators tacked on another two-spot in the sixth inning on a two-run homer from Schwarz to extend the lead to 5-0.

Tech got on the board in the seventh inning with three runs for some late-game life. Warren kicked off the frame with a double to deep left-center field, then a single from Fulford & a walk to Holt loaded the bases. Klein followed with a single to center to easily score Warren for the first Tech run of the night.

After a pitching change, Jung smoked an RBI single to right field, scoring Fulford to make it 5-2. Then, Little sent a ball off the glove of the shortstop to plate another to make it a two-run game.

However, Florida pieced it back to a five-run lead in its next trip to the plate behind three runs to push the lead to 8-3. A lead-off double from Dalton and a sacrifice fly from Langworthy after a grounder to move him to third, followed by a triple from Smith scored the first two runs of the inning. Then, a single from Horvath brought the score to 8-4.

Tech added three more in the eighth inning to once again cut the lead to two. Warren once again began things for the Red Raiders, starting the frame with a walk, then a single (Holt) and a walk (Klein) loaded the bases for Jung, who sent an RBI single to right field to make it 8-4. After a change on the mound, Little sent a two-RBI single to left field to trim Florida’s lead to 8-6.

However, Florida got an insurance run via a Red Raider throwing error to push its lead to 9-6 in the ninth, and Tech wasn’t able to rally a third time in the bottom half of the inning.

The Red Raiders finished the season with 45 wins, doing so for the second consecutive year and fourth time in five seasons.

The 2018 campaign marked the third time in five years Tech secured a trip to the College World Series in Omaha.

Tadlock Garners ABCA/Diamond Regional Coach of the Year

TADLOCK EARNS REGIONAL ACCOLADE AFTER PROGRAM’S THIRD TRIP TO COLLEGE WORLD SERIES IN FIVE YEARS. BY MICHAEL MINSHEW, ASSOCIATE DIRECTOR, TEXAS TECH ATHLETICS

COMMUNICATIONS | PHOTOS COURTESY OF TEXAS TECH ATHLETICS COMMUNICATIONS

head coach Tim Tadlock has been named 2018 American Baseball Coaches Association (ABCA)/Diamond Midwest Regional Coach of the Year, it was announced July 2.

It’s the second time Tadlock has earned the accolade, last doing so after the program’s first trip to the College World Series in 2014. The 2018 award comes on the heels of Tech’s third trip to the CWS in five years.

Tadlock, who just completed his sixth season at the helm of the Red Raider baseball program, guided Tech to a 45-20 overall record in 2018, with a 15-9 mark in Big 12 games and a 6-3 slate in the NCAA Tournament. It was the second-straight year and fourth in five seasons Tech has won at least 45 games.

The Red Raiders opened the season at 14-0, the best record to start a season in school history.

Included in that stretch was Tadlock’s 200th victory as head coach of Texas Tech, coming in a 5-0 shutout of UTSA on Feb. 24. His overall record now sits at 239-132 over his six years in Lubbock.

The 2018 squad scored the school’s most runs (529) and hit the most homers (82) since 2004, recorded its highest hit total since 2001 (695), had the most RBI (492) since 1997 and put together its best batting average (.309) since 2006. The Red Raiders also struck out 565 opponents, the most since a school record 589 in 1997, and tallied five shutouts for the second time in three years.

Five Red Raiders picked up First Team All-Big 12 awards in Gabe Holt, Josh Jung, Caleb Kilian, Grant Little and Zach Rheams, while Holt was named Big 12 Freshman of the Year. Little was named a unanimous All-American, earning honors from six different publications, as Jung (five), Rheams (one) and Holt (one) also racked up All-America accolades.

Holt also was recognized with four freshman AllAmerica nods. The Red Raiders also had 11 placed on the Academic All-Big 12 squads.

Eleven Tech student athletes were selected in the 2018 Major League Baseball Draft, the most in program history. Grant Little (74th – San Diego Padres), Steven Gingery (123rd – St. Louis Cardinals), Ryan Shetter (262nd – Atlanta Braves), Jose Quezada (291st – San Diego Padres), Davis Martin (408th – Chicago White Sox), Ty Harpenau (472nd – Atlanta Braves), Caleb Kilian (595th – Baltimore Orioles), Cody Farhat

T E X AS TEC H BA S EBA L L

As we were preparing to go to press with this issue of the Texas Techsan, Tadlock was recognized July 12 by D1Baseball.com as the 2018 D1 Baseball National Coach of the Year. It was the second time Tadlock has earned a national award of this caliber. The last time was his being named to the College Baseball Hall of Fame, following the Texas Tech program's fir t trip to the College World Series in 2014.

(703rd – Cleveland Indians), Michael Davis (724th – Minnesota Twins), Dylan Dusek (796th – San Francisco Giants) and Zach Rheams (800th – New York Mets) were all taken in this year’s class, which had the most of any D-I program through the first 30 rounds of the draft.

The regional award for Tadlock made him one of the eight nominees for the ABCA/Diamond National Coach of the Year award, which was awarded to Pat Casey of Oregon State University July 3.

Tadlock and the other seven regional honorees will be honored on Friday, Jan. 4, on the main stage of the clinic hall prior to the start of clinics at the 75th annual ABCA Convention, which will be held on Jan. 3-6, 2019, in Dallas, Texas.

The ABCA, founded in 1945, is the primary professional organization for baseball coaches at the amateur level. Its nearly 10,000 members represent all 50 states and 23 countries. Since its initial meeting of 27 college baseball coaches in June 1945, the association’s annual awards program has grown to include nine divisions: NCAA Division I, II and III, NAIA, NJCAA Division I, II, III Pacific Association Division and High School.

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Red Raider Golf Advances to NCAA Match Play Round TECH, THE NO. 3 SEED, FACES ALABAMA.

BY BLAKE ZIMMERMAN, DIRECTOR OF SOCIAL MEDIA, TEXAS TECH ATHLETICS COMMUNICATIONS | PHOTO BY ELIZABETH HERTEL/TEXAS TECH ATHLETICS

late flurry in the final holes of the day, the Texas Tech men’s golf team advanced to the match play portion of the NCAA Championships, in Stillwater, Okla.

The Red Raiders earned the No. 3 seed via their third-place finish in stroke play, the best performance in program history. Tech faced No. 6 Alabama in the quarterfinals.

Should Tech win, the Red Raiders would play their semifinal match later in the day, against the winner of the match between Duke and Texas. The other side of the bracket featured Oklahoma State— Texas A&M, and Oklahoma-Auburn.

Adam Blomme faced Lee Hodges first, then Ivan Ramirez took on Davis Riley, followed by Kyle Hogan against Wilson Furr, Sandy Scott faced Davis Shore and Hurly Long played Jonathan Hardee.

This marks Tech’s second NCAA match play appearance in program history.

“I couldn’t be more proud of every guy on this team,” Tech head coach Greg Sands said. “To fight back again like that for the second-straight day, on a course like this, and in front of the big OSU crowds following us all day, was incredible. It’s a dream come true to coach in match play. In 2010, we were extremely happy to make match play, and I’m not sure we were completely ready to go, but I think this group could do something special. They’ll be ready to play.”

For the second-straight day, the Red Raiders had issues with the front nine. Tech carded 15 overpar holes before Hurly Long got a birdie on No. 5.

By then, the 13-shot cushion over the cut the Red Raiders started the day with, was erased.

After two more bogeys on No. 6, Tech eased the bleeding slightly with a pair of birdies on the par-3 seventh from Long and Ramirez.

From there, No. 8, one of the toughest holes on the course, slammed Tech with four bogeys. After that, Kyle Hogan made a brilliant eagle on No. 9, holing out from 100 yards out in the fairway. That shot got him back to 4-over, and made his score count toward the team tally.

Disaster struck again, however, on holes 10 and 11.

Tech combined to go 8-over on those and suddenly found themselves at +14, and tied for eighth place, right on the cutline.

POW ERED BY A

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Coach Greg Sands, front, congratulates Ivan Ramirez on his play.

Like they did on Sunday (May 27) Tech caught fire late.

Hogan birdied the par-3 15th, Blomme birdied the par-5 14th, and Long got a birdie on 14 as well. Then, Ramirez laced a second shot within a few feet on 14 and drained his eagle putt to move Tech back up to +12, five shots clear of the cut.

From there, Ramirez birdied 15, Blomme made an unreal par on 17 after his drive went into the trees, and Long chipped in from the fairway to make birdie on 17. After all that, Tech was safely back in third, seven shots clear of the cut.

Blomme and Long birdied 18 to seal it, and the Red Raiders could finally exhale. The team, including Big 12 Player of the Year Fredrik Nilehn, who is out with an injury, came together just off the 18th green, congratulating one another.

Ramirez shot a 1-over 73 to finish the tournament at -5, tied for fourth.

It’s the best individual performance at an NCAA Championship in program history.

“The goal was to get to this point, and we knew with (Nilehn) out others were going to have to step up,” Ramirez said. “I’m so glad we were able to do so and get to match play, where anything can happen. We played with Alabama on Sunday, and they have a very good team, a top-10 team in the nation. We are going to do the same thing we’ve been doing—have fun and stick to what we know on this course. If we do our job, we can put ourselves in position to win.”

Texas Tech Men Finish Sixth in the Nation

TREY CULVER AND DIVINE ODUDURU BOTH EARN SILVER MEDALS IN THEIR HIGH JUMP AND 200-METER COMPETITIONS. BY JEREMY O’BRIEN, ASSISTANT DIRECTOR, TEXAS TECH ATHLETICS COMMUNICATIONS T HE R ED RA I DERS ended their NCAA Indoor Track & Field Championships competition with a sixth-place team finish for the men, marking the secondhighest finish in program history.

Tech also snagged two silver medals, bringing the total medal count to three this weekend (March 10).

“I’m really proud of our kids,” head coach Wes Kittley said. “We have been ranked high all year long, but this is a truly hard meet to win. Our kids competed really well and we learned a lot and have the opportunity to improve on those things outdoors. The biggest thing for us was not having anything working our way…The DQ was disappointing, and Divine and Andrew both had difficult lanes in the 200 which was a tough situation. We will learn from it and move forward. Overall it was a great indoor season and I am so proud of our guys for everything they have accomplished so far this year.”

Senior jumper Trey Culver fell just short of a three-peat, claiming the silver medal in today’s high jump competition. Culver cleared four-out-of-five bars in his first attempt, ending the day at a 2.29m/7-6 height. This jump closed out Culver’s indoor competition with a No. 4 all-time record, now giving him the 1-4 spots this year alone.

“What can you say about Trey… you jump 7’-6” and get beat, that is some competition that is just unheard of. Trey has been so consistent all year and that’s the first time all year that he has been beat. Always proud of him and what he does and how he represents this program.”

Earning first team All-America honors in both the 60m and 200m races was freshman sprinter Divine Oduduru. With a 20.21 final in the 200m, Oduduru snagged Texas Tech’s second silver medal of the day. This time marked his second-fastest 200m dash this year, just behind his 20.18 race from earlier this season. This is a No. 2 all-time mark for Oduduru in the Texas Tech indoor records, serving as his fourth entry in the event.

Oduduru also ran in the 60m, finishing sixth overall at a time of 6.62 to notch a new No. 3 all-time record.

Andrew Hudson joined Oduduru in becoming a first team All-American in the 200m. Hudson finished sixth in the race in a time of 20.73. In yesterday’s competition, Hudson competed in the 60-meter prelims, clocking a time of 6.68 for second team honors.

Closing out the horizontal jumps was Charles Brown in the triple jump, claiming ninth-place overall. Brown had a best leap of 16.17m/53-0.75 on his fourth attempt to earn his second team honors. Yesterday, Brown claimed the first of the medals this weekend with his bronze finish personal-best 8.12m/26-7.75 jump.

Overall, the Red Raiders ended the weekend with six first team and five second team All-America accolades.

“A fabulous performance by all of my veterans. Those guys led us just like they always have. I’ve been saying all along this would be razor thin.

Overall we have momentum with no injuries and have a great opportunity to continue this into the outdoor season.”

Following the indoor championships, the Texas Tech men’s track & field team tied for fifth at the NCAA Outdoor Championships Friday evening (June 8) in Eugene, Oregon. Their point total of 33 matched that of Alabama’s.

Sophomore Divine Oduduru qualified for the finals with a 20.33 on June 6. He entered the 200m title race with the fifth-best time. Set to run outside in lane eight, the sprinter proceeded to run a 20.28 to grab the national

Top, Trey Culver Above, Divine Oduduru

title, a first for a Texas Tech sprinter. He was named to the First-Team All American at outdoor nationals.

On June 7, the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA) named Texas Tech high jumper Trey Culver the Google Cloud Track & Field Academic All-American of the Year. He also was named to their 2017 Academic All-American team. This spring, the sport management graduate student either won or finished as runner-up in all six of his outdoor meets leading into the national meet. His first win came at the Michael Johnson Invitational thanks to a leap of 2.21m/7 feet-3 inches.

Later in the season, Culver turned in a season-best mark of 2.25m/7 feet-4.5 inches to earn eight points and help the Red Raiders complete the indoor/ outdoor sweep of Big 12 Championships. The height earned him his third spot inside Tech’s all-time high jump performance list. He went on to win the high jump at the NCAA West Regional, and his season ultimately culminated with a First-Team All-America performance at the NCAA Outdoor Championships, in which he placed fourth.

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from the president LAWR E NCE SCHOVAN EC PR ESI DE NT, TEXAS TECH U N IVE RSITY

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ENJOY RESPONSIBLY © 2017 Anheuser-Busch, Bud Light® Beer, Houston, TX | 100% of Bud Light Special Edition Texas packaging is brewed in Houston, TX.

getting to know Texas Tech Alumni Association Board Members

SCOTT DUESER

WHAT IS ONE OF YOUR FONDEST MEMORIES FROM YOUR TECH DAYS? My fondest memories from college are the friends I made

IN WHAT CITY DO YOU RESIDE?

at Texas Tech who continue to be my closest friends today.

Abilene, Texas.

WHAT IS ONE THING YOU’VE ENJOYED SEEING OCCUR RECENTLY AT TEXAS TECH? I have enjoyed seeing Tech grow in quality,

WHAT IS YOUR POSITION ON THE ALUMNI ASSOCIATION BOARD? Texas

Tech Alumni Association National Board Member.

WHAT WAS YOUR MAJOR AND CLASS YEAR AT TEXAS TECH, PLUS ANY OTHER DEGREES YOU MAY HAVE EARNED? I earned a BBA in account-

ing and a BBA in finance from Texas Tech in 1975.

I graduated from the Southwestern Graduate School of Banking at Southern Methodist University in 1981.

WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE BOOK? The Bible.

WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE MOVIE? “The Big Chill.”

WHERE ARE YOU EMPLOYED AND WHAT IS YOUR POSITION? I

WHAT ARE YOUR INTERESTS AND HOBBIES? Hiking, swimming,

have been with First Financial Bankshares, Inc., for 41 years.

skiing and surfing.

WHAT ARE THE NAMES OF YOUR FAMILY MEMBERS? Parker

Handlin, Pearson Handlin and Matthew Dueser.

WHAT CHARACTER TRAIT DO YOU VALUE HIGHLY IN AN INDIVIDUAL? Sincerity.

MAJOR ACTIVITIES IN WHICH YOU WERE INVOLVED AS A STUDENT AT TECH: Vice President of University Center, chairman of

IF YOU COULD ASK FIVE OR SIX PEOPLE TO YOUR HOME FOR AN EVENING, WHO WOULD THEY BE? My family.

the International Interest Committee University Center, Student Government, Beta Theta Pi Fraternity.

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stature, number of students on campuses across Texas, reflecting that Tech is the major university in West Texas, as well as being recognized for its quality across the United States and globally.

The bold, fundable ideas that are coming to reality such as the dental school in El Paso and the veterinary school in Amarillo are very exciting and reflect that Tech is serious about its role in improving education across the state.

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REALTOR, GRI, CRS 36

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alumni news COM PI LE D BY MAE LEY H E R R I N G

A G LI M PS E AT TE XAS TEC H’S H E R ITAG E

From the 1948 “La Ventana” yearbook, “The Hardin Simmons Game, the first game played in the new Clifford and Audrey Jones Stadium.”

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BOOKS

ROBERT “ROB” E. MICHIE, JR. (BS ’70 Industrial

Engineering) Olympia, Washington, has recently published a Christian parable novel that was advertised in the New York Times. “The Unexpected Hour: A Journey of Tragedy, Faith & Love” tells the story of how a fictional character, Michael Channing, overcomes trying events in his life to find a new purpose that allows him to cope and heal. He creates a non-profit venture that is spiritually-based and geared toward assisting others facing similar challenges in their personal lives, providing insight to questions about faith, God’s plan and other inquiries about Christianity in general.

MICHAEL E. RAMIREZ (BA ’99 Sociology) Corpus

Christi, Texas, has published a new book this past April. In “Destined for Greatness: Passions, Dreams, and Aspirations in a College Music Town,” Michael examines the lives of 48 independent rock musicians who seek out professional careers in a college town renowned for its music scene. The pursuit of a fulltime vocation in the music business is nothing more than a fantasy for most; however, Michael uses his knowledge in sociology to explore a life-course approach to understand the wealth of experience that led to some, but not all, individuals to careers in the music industry. He is currently an associate professor of sociology and coordinator of the women and gender studies program at Texas A&M University— Corpus Christi.

1972 CARL F. EWERT (BBA Finance) Dallas,

Texas, has announced his retirement from managing/internal director at JLL, a professional service firm specializing in commercial real estate. As a member of JLL’s commercial real estate tenant representation team, specializing in office, Carl has proven himself as a leader of character.

During his tenure at JLL, he led more client engagement teams in the Greater Dallas CBD and surrounding areas that have set new real estate market industry trends for customer occupancy savings than any other real estate broker in the Dallas Metroplex.

His wife is Trisha.

TIBOR P. NAGY, JR. (BA Political Science)

Lancaster, South Carolina, has been nominated to serve as Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs. His confirmation hearing was held June 13, before the United States Senate Committee on Foreign Affairs. Ambassador Nagy served as the vice provost for International Affairs at Texas Tech University for more than 14 years before retiring this past December.

He is currently a member of the Honors College faculty and the Ambassador-inResidence for the Institute for Peace and Conflict. During his time at Texas Tech, he also served on a voluntary basis as an adviser for several presidential candidates during the 2008, 2012 and 2016 elections and served as co-chair of the African foreign policy group for Gov. Mitt Romney’s campaign. His wife is JANE WHITFILL NAGY ’05 (MA Interdisciplinary Studies).

1974 SAMUEL “SAM” L. BOYD (BS Mathematics, MBA Business Administration ’77) Dallas, Texas, has been named the Top 100 Lawyers Magazine’s 2018 Attorney of the Year and has received their prestigious Lifetime Achievement Award in the field of law. Sam is a senior partner, owner and practicing attorney at Boyd & Associates, a leading law firm located in Dallas. He was also honored as an Outstanding Alumni in 2015 by the Texas Tech School of Law. Beginning in 1974, Sam created J. Hadley Edgar and Don Hunt advocacy awards and continues to contribute to them in order to honor those great lawyers who have influenced his career so directly. His wife is DeLilah.

1981 BRIAN O. BARKLEY (BA History) Plainview,

Texas, recently completed 30 years of service to the State of Texas with the Texas Health and Human Services Commission.

Brian is also celebrating his 10th year as pastor of the First Baptist Church in Edmonson, Texas. His wife is Susan.

1984 LARRY G. AUTREY (BBA Finance) Fort Worth, Texas, has been named North Texas Community Foundation’s Professional Advisor of the year. Larry, managing partner at Whitley Penn, is a Certified Public Accountant with more than 30 years of tax, advisory and valuation public accounting experience focused on public and private clients. He has served as the firm’s Managing Partner for more than 17 years and has been instrumental in the continued growth and development of the firm. Under his leadership, the firm has increased revenue by more than 15 percent annually and has successfully expanded to the Dallas, Houston and Austin markets.

DEREESA P. REID (BBA Accounting, MBA General Business ’95) Irvine, California, joined the Shriners Hospitals for Children, Portland Leadership Team as hospital administrator. She came to this position with

S E P T / O C T 2 0 18

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top-level members

A SPECIAL THANK YOU FOR THEIR CONTINUED SUPPORT

The Honorable Ginger ’92 & Mr. T. Kevin Nelson ’92

Dr. James Burkhead ’84 & Dr. Sandra Gee

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Mrs. Iris M. Anderson

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Mr. Larry ’57 & Mrs. Patricia Byrd

Dr. Bryant ’95 & Mrs. Whitney Bonner ’96

Mr. Ben ’76 & Mrs. Jeannie Ralston ’77

Mr. Thomas & Mrs. June Cameron ’64

Lt. Col. Mark ’83 & Mrs. Diane Bryant, (Ret.)

Mr. Sam & Mrs. Jacque Rich ’72

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Dr. Nancy Ruff ’69

Mr. Adan ’02 & Mrs. Carmen Cano

Mr. Robert ’90 & Mrs. Kristy Copeland ’91

Mr. Robbie ’79 & Mrs. Kathleen Sartain ’79

Mr. Joe ’64 & Mrs. Jo Canon ’66

Mr. Floyd E. Cotham, Jr. ’83

Mr. John ’68 & Mrs. Diane Scovell ’68

Mr. Howard R. Carlson, IV ’08 & Ms. Ali Carlson

Mrs. Margaret P. Cowden

Mr. Kenneth & Mrs. Catherine Sheffield ’79

Mr. David R. Carter ’87

Mr. Jason & Mrs. Robin Elliott ’95

Mr. Jim ’74 & Mrs. Alice Skinner

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Mrs. Helen J. Geick ’61

Mr. Chase T. Street ’05

Mr. Eugene ’66 & Mrs. Carole Chambers

Mr. David ’74 & Mrs. Janis King

Mr. Dale ’65 & Mrs. Cheryl Swinburn

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Mrs. Peggy B. LaFont ’61

Mr. Max ’67 & Mrs. Doris Swinburn

Mr. Mark A. Cina ’75

Mr. Rowland C. Lawson ’84

Mr. David F. Thomas ’83

Mrs. Peggy Clark ’64

Mr. Michael J. McVean ’84

Mr. Fred ’71 & Mrs. Pam Underwood

Mr. Bobby D. ’73 & Mrs. Rhonda Clifton

Mrs. Joyce Perkins ’64

Mr. Tommy W. Velasquez ’93

Mr. Robert ’87 & Mrs. Margaret Cobb ’86

Mr. Steven Pomerantz & Ms. Karen Tandy Pomerantz ’74

Mr. John ’80 & Mrs. Karen Wald ’80

Mr. Ronald & Mrs. Deidra Althof

Mr. Michael ’98 & Mrs. Rebecca Pubentz ’99

Regent John ’68 & Mrs. Lisa Walker

Mr. David ’91 & Mrs. Marquel Copple

Mr. John ’71 & Mrs. Ann Redmon ’71

Mr. Geoffrey ’97 & Dr. Leslie Wayne ’02

Col. Jimmy D. Cox, (Ret.) ’63

Ms. Anita R. Smith ’63

Mr. Charles ’77 & Mrs. Debra Weber

Mr. Terry & Mrs. Kelly Crofoot

Mr. Barry ’79 & Mrs. Sudeline Street ’79

Mr. Edward ’64 & Mrs. Linda Whitacre ’65

Mr. Brenton ’96 & Mrs. Carrie Croley ’95

Mr. Randall ’86 & Mrs. Dona Vines ’84

Mr. Dan ’79 & Mrs. Debbie White

Dr. Charles ’76 & Mrs. Salty Cruser

Mr. Mark ’77 & Mrs. Barbara Waters ’77

Mr. John ’88 & Mrs. Karen Wilkins ’89

Mr. Charles ’59 & Mrs. Barbara Cummings

Mr. L. E. ’84 & Mrs. Lorie Willis

Mr. Ronald ’75 & Mrs. Barbara Cummins

DIAMOND [$5,000+ ANNUALLY]

PLATINUM [$2,500-$4,999 ANNUALLY] Mr. Barney ’75 & Mrs. Kandy Adams ’75

GOLD [$1,000-$2,499 ANNUALLY]

Mr. Grant F. Adamson ’81

Mr. Mike ’63 & Mrs. Diane Abbott

Mr. Mike & Mrs. Jan Baca ’70

Mr. James D. Abbott ’48

Dr. Edward ’68 & Mrs. Jan Broome ’68

Mr. Joe ’60 & Mrs. Nancy Abston

Mr. Robert ’59 & Mrs. Elena Brown

Mr. Kevin L. Acosta

Mr. Patrick C. Bryan ’06

Mr. Darrell Adams ’81

Mr. Steve ’83 & Mrs. Elizabeth Burleson ’84

Mr. Robert ’95 & Mrs. Keeley Adcox ’95

Mr. Ralph ’59 & Mrs. Kay Campbell

Mr. David ’01 & Mrs. Amy Akins ’00

Ms. Maria R. Carter ’87

Dr. R. G. “Wick” ’58 & Mrs. Janna Alexander ’58

Mr. Clay ’97 & Mrs. Ashley Cash

Mr. Robert & Mrs. Janis Allen

Mr. Lynn ’80 & Mrs. Lisa Cowden

Mr. Ronald ’79 & Mrs. Deidra Althof

Mr. Tim ’81 & Mrs. Annette Culp ’81

Mr. Jeffrey ’80 & Mrs. Cynthia Anderson ’78

Mr. Richard R. Davila, II

Mr. David ’84 & Mrs. Susan Anderson ’85

Mr. Enoch ’60 & Mrs. Frances Dawkins

Mr. Steve ’70 & Mrs. Barbara Armstrong ’69

Chancellor Robert ’76 & Mrs. Terri Duncan

Mr. C. Kevin ’81 & Mrs. Gay Atkins ’79

Mr. Daniel F. Frye, III ’73

Mr. Charles ’73 & Mrs. Leslie Baker

Mr. Ralph G. Goodlet, Jr. ’82

Mr. David ’65 & Mrs. Sandra Barber

Mr. J. Todd ’85 & Mrs. Nancy Gregory

Mr. Mark Meyer & Mrs. Peri Barker Meyer ’81

Mrs. Geneva Griffin ’51

Dr. Carl & Mrs. Robin Beard ’12

Mr. Will ’69 & Mrs. Karen Hagood ’71

Mr. Joe ’69 & Mrs. Patricia Beaty ’75

Mr. Peter & Mrs. Julianna Holt ’69

Mr. Weston ’12 & Mrs. Cat Benoit ’11

Mr. H. Wayne Henry ’75

Francille Bergquist, Ph.D. ’68

Mr. Bob L. Herd ’57

Mr. Paul ’73 & Mrs. Deborah Berner

Mr. Michael Herd ’10 & Ms. Whitney Wolfe

Mr. Oran ’71 & Mrs. Linda Berry ’70

Mr. Thomas ’95 & Mrs. Stephanie Hilbun ’95

Mr. Brent ’87 & Mrs. Tonya Bertrand ’86

Dr. William ’74 & Mrs. Joann Hinchey

Mr. William Bomberger ’79 & Ms. Sharon Simandl

Mr. Thomas ’70 & Mrs. Leslie Hix ’71

Mr. Lynn ’84 & Mrs. Susan Bourdon ’84

Mr. Jeffrey ’80 & Mrs. Karlene Holloman

Mr. Samuel ’74 & Mrs. DeLilah Boyd

Mr. Peter & Mrs. Julianna Holt ’69

Mr. Bennie ’65 & Mrs. Mary Brigham ’66

Mr. Don J. Howe ’71

Mr. Larry ’69 & Mrs. Judith Britton

Regent Chris ’91 & Mrs. Robin Huckabee ’92

Mr. Randy ’79 & Mrs. Cindy Broiles

Mr. Ken ’75 & Mrs. Jaye Huseman

Mr. Alan Brown ’69

Mr. Tom ’87 & Mrs. Jerri Jacobs

Mr. Bill ’74 & Mrs. Karen Brown

Mr. Parker ’97 & Mrs. Victoria Johnson

Mr. Eddie ’60 & Mrs. Billie Brown

Mr. Mark ’94 & Mrs. Cynthia Key

Mr. Ronald ’73 & Mrs. Rebecca Bryant

Mr. Lanny ’77 & Mrs. Joni Layman ’79

Mr. Ronald ’72 & Mrs. Shelley Buckalew

Mr. Layne ’88 & Mrs. Cindy Levine

J. Fred Bucy, Ph.D. ’51

Mr. Michael ’67 & Mrs. Barbara McKenzie ’68

Mr. Matt & Ms. Lacie Bullard ’04

Mr. Glenn D. Moor ’84

Mr. Kevin & Mrs. Cathy Bunch

Mr. William ’72 & Mrs. Ann Daniel Mr. Jim & Mrs. Mary Alice Daniel ’78 Mr. Cody ’11 & Mrs. Ashley Davis ’12 Mr. Sean ’86 & Mrs. Donna Davis Mr. Kenneth ’84 & Mrs. Lisa Davis Dr. Miles & Dr. Audra Day ’99 Dr. Bill ’61 & Mrs. Peggy Dean ’66 Mr. Todd ’86 & Mrs. D’Aun Denton Ms. Jane B. Dickson ’74 Dr. Michael ’73 & Mrs. Ginger Doherty Mr. Jim ’70 and Mrs. Patti Douglass ’85 Mr. Michael B. Dowell Mr. John ’66 & Mrs. Edie Downs Capt. David ’82 & Mrs. Paige Drake Mr. Scott Dueser ’75 Mr. Travis ’93 & Mrs. Leslie Duke ’94 Mr. Robert ’72 & Mrs. Bonny Eakens Mr. Stan ’68 & Mrs. Jane Edwards Mr. Michael ’73 & Mrs. Patty Erspamer ’74 Mr. C. Robert ’69 & Mrs. Lee Fabling Mr. Quinton A. Farley ’81, ’85 Mr. Andrew ’88 & Mrs. Kristen Fickman Regent L. Frederick ’78 & Mrs. Ginger Francis ’79 Mr. Ricky & Mrs. Melinda Gaddis ’84 Lt. Col. Steven G. Gamble, (Ret.), Ph.D. ’67 Mr. James ’72 & Mrs. Dinah Gaspard ’72 Dr. Sandra Gee Mr. Christopher ’07 & Mrs. Mary Gellner ’05 Mr. Benjamin ’08 & Mrs. Kiley Gergen Mr. Bryan ’73 & Mrs. Nancy Gossett Mr. Robert ’70 & Mrs. Diane Gossett ’71 Dr. Addison ’82 & Ms. Tammie Gradel ’17 Mr. Robert W. Graves ’70 The Honorable William ’64 & Mrs. Lanette Gray Mr. Thomas ’64 & Mrs. Mary Ann Green ’64 Mr. Adam & Mrs. Jennifer Gregory ’08 Dr. Dan & Mrs. Terri Guy ’73 Dr. Nadim ’88 & Mrs. Christine Haddad Mrs. Kathy E. Hager Roberts ’72 Mr. Rickey ’74 & Mrs. Sherrie Hale

Chancellor Emeritus Kent R. Hance ’65

Mr. Robert ’84 & Mrs. Anne McNaughton’76

Mr. Thomas ’77 & Mrs. Pamela Sellers ’77

Mr. Keith ’68 & Mrs. Glenda Hansen

Dr. Aaron ’64 & Mrs. Sherri McNeece

Mr. Joe ’89 & Mrs. Brooke Shannon ’88

Mr. Owen ’73 & Mrs. Lois Harrison

Mr. Philip ’84 & Mrs. Lamar Meaders ’83

Mr. David ’71 & Mrs. Patsy Sharbutt

Mr. Jim ’83 & Mrs. Susan Hart ’83

Mr. Kyle ’03 & Mrs. Jacklyn Meismer

Mr. Josh M. Shuster ’00

Dr. Robert Hart ’80 & Dr. Susan Nelson

John S. Menzies, D.V.M. ’75

Dr. Kevin ’95 & Mrs. Tisha Sieck

Mr. Terence J. Hart ’75

Ms. Patsy H. Middleton ’57

Dr. Nancy & Mr. Reagan Simpson ’75

Ms. Whitney H. Hartman ’09

Mr. Jacob ’01 & Mrs. Erica Miller

Mr. Gary ’79 & Mrs. Tammy Skrehart

Mr. Tim ’51 & Mrs. Tommie Hatch ’51

Mr. Lon ’71 & Mrs. Gertrude Miller ’65

Mr. Kenneth L. Slack, Jr. ’71

Mr. Mark & Mrs. Karen Havins ’93

Mr. Tim ’82 & Mrs. Kyla Miller

Mr. Lesley ’86 & Mrs. Amy Smith

Mr. Bob ’72 & Mrs. Nancy Hayter

Mr. Dudley ’52 & Mrs. Patty Montgomery

Mr. John & Mrs. Ashlee Smith ’07

Mr. Daniel ’81 & Mrs. Nita Heinchon ’81

Mr. Joshua ’04 & Mrs. Kristin Moose ’04

Mr. Bobby ’80 & Mrs. Sabrina Smith

Mr. Alan ’64 & Mrs. Cassandra Henry ’67

Mr. Dennis ’70 & Mrs. Diana Morris ’72

Mr. Drue ’93 & Mrs. Jill Smith ’92

Mr. Chad ’99 & Mrs. Heather Henthorn ’00

Mr. Thomas ’79 & Mrs. Laura Morris ’80

Dr. Wade ’98 & Mrs. Esther Smith

Mr. Richard ’73 & Mrs. Emilee Hervey

Mr. Samuel ’99 & Mrs. Leslie Morris

Mr. Shane & Mrs. Kelly Smith

Mr. Gregory ’82 & Mrs. Jacquelyn Hicks

Mrs. Janet G. Moseley ’65

Mr. Lucian ’74 & Mrs. Kristin Smith ’76

Mr. Steve ’69 & Mrs. Jorjanna Hipes ’70

Mr. Tommy ’75 & Mrs. Debra Mrazek ’81

Mr. Marlis E. Smith ’54

Mr. Robert W. Hodge, II

Mr. Jamie & Mrs. Cheryl Nail ’99

Mr. Robert ’82 & Mrs. Tabitha Smith

Mr. Gregory ’86 & Mrs. Lori Hoes

Dr. Thomas & Mrs. Nancy Neal ’85

Mr. Bobby & Mrs. Sabrina Smith

Mr. Ted ’77 & Mrs. Joellen Hogan ’76

Mr. Jerry ’81 & Mrs. Shelli Nevans

Mr. William ’55 & Ms. Sally Snyder

Mr. Kevin ’94 & Mrs. Mona Holleron

Mr. Lyndel ’55 & Mrs. Billie Newsom

Mr. Bryan ’80 & Mrs. Sheri Springston ’81

Mr. Robert ’60 & Mrs. Kyle Hood

Mr. Coby B. Nichols ’98

Mr. Stephen ’74 & Mrs. Kathy Stallings

Mr. Stan ’86 & Mrs. Whitney Horton

Mr. John ’15 & Mrs. Marye Nickens

Regent John ’02 & Mrs. Jaemie Steinmetz ’05

Mr. James ’66 & Mrs. Clara Huckaby

Mr. Benny ’74 & Mrs. Vicki Nixon ’73

Mr. Clifford & Mrs. Lynne Stewart ’78

Mr. Michael & Mrs. Pamela Hughes ’80

Mr. Michael ’85 & Mrs. Melanie Norton ’86

Mr. James ’50 & Mrs. Evelyn Stone ’48

Mr. Jimmie ’56 & Mrs. Betsy Hunt

Mr. Kenneth ’74 & Mrs. Deborah Norvell

Mr. David L. Stoneking ’77

Mr. Rex ’78 & Mrs. Nancy Isom ’80

Mr. David & Mrs. Selena Overholt ’02

Mr. Larry ’70 & Mrs. Linda Strickland

Mr. Steven ’96 & Mrs. Lesley Jeffcoat ’96

Mr. John ’71 & Mrs. Cynthia Owens ’73

Mr. Clayton R. Sykes ’09

Mr. Roger ’74 & Mrs. Deni Jeschke

Mr. Bob J. Paradiso ’79

Mr. Lance ’99 & Mrs. Dawn Taylor ’00

Mr. John ’90 & Mrs. Ann Marie Jeter

Mr. Paul ’05 & Mrs. Rebecca Pardaen

Mr. Tommy ’85 & Mrs. Gwen Taylor

Mr. Jeremy ’00 & Mrs. Trina Johnson ’99

Mr. Joe ’73 & Mrs. Marjorie Parker ’73

Ms. Allison L. Thompson ’02

Mr. Wilbur ’65 & Mrs. Patricia Johnson

Mr. Paul ’82 & Mrs. Crystal Parkinson

Mr. Fred ’68 & Mrs. Kay Timberlake

Dr. Thomas ’73 & Mrs. Susan Johnson

Mr. Andy ’65 & Mrs. Mary-Lees Payne

Mr. Ellis ’67 & Mrs. Marsha Todd ’65

Mr. H. David Jones ’69

Mr. Gary R. Petersen ’68

Mr. Jerry ’68 & Mrs. Diane Turner ’68

Mr. Troy ’57 & Mrs. Lona Jones

Mr. Mike ’79 & Mrs. Martha Petraitis ’81

Mr. Bobby G. Waddle ’55

Mr. Van J. Josselet ’74

Mr. David & Mrs. Lugene Pickering ’77

Mr. Clint ’82 & Mrs. Risa Walker ’91

Mr. Phillip ’09 & Mrs. Kara Danielle Kahlich ’09

Mr. Gregory ’96 & Mrs. Heather Prather

Mr. Herman ’92 & Mrs. Marcia Walker ’94

Mr. Michael & Mrs. Tracy Kiefer ’87

Mr. David ’91 & Mrs. Cindy Proctor ’90

Mr. Ben ’76 & Mrs. Patricia Wallace

Maj. Anthony D. Killa, (Ret.) ’95

Mr. Vernon ’78 & Mrs. Debra Pruett

Mr. Corey ’95 & Mrs. Tracey Waller ’93

Mr. Truitt ’00 & Mrs. Kay Kimbrough ’01

Mr. Mitch Pryor ’86

The Honorable T. John ’64 & Mrs. Elizabeth Ward ’86

Mr. M. Chris ’84 & Mrs. Betsy Kirksey ’83

Mr. Scott ’80 & Mrs. Carroll Pullen

Mr. Stanley ’77 & Mrs. Teresa Waters

Mr. Gaylon ’57 & Mrs. Barbara Kornfuehrer

Mr. Terry ’69 & Mrs. Mendy Putman ’81

Mr. James M. Watson ’58

Dr. John ’00 & Mrs. Emily Kuczek

Mr. Gil ’82 & Mrs. Ann Radtke

Mr. Dan ’61 & Mrs. Molly Webster

Mr. Eric & Mrs. LeAnne Kuefler ’92

Mr. Sean ’05 & Mrs. Corrie Rae ’05

Mr. James ’91 & Mrs. Cheryl Werner ’91

Mr. Brandon ’01 & Mrs. Heather Lairsen ’01

Mr. Samuel M. Ray, IV ’66 & Mrs. Sandra L. Ray

Mr. David ’64 & Mrs. Carla Wight

Mr. Douglas ’94 & Mrs. Carol Lathem ’94

Mr. Jeffery & Mrs. Michelle Rea

Mr. Gary ’81 & Mrs. Angie Wilcox ’81

Mr. Ryan ’01 & Mrs. Mindy Laudermill

Mr. B. Jack ’72 & Mrs. Janet Reed ’71

Mr. M. Greg ’86 & Mrs. Emma Wilkes

Mr. Dan ’73 & Mrs. Debra Lewis

Mr. Joe & Mrs. Stephanie Rentfro ’93

Mr. Bryant ’98 & Mrs. Alison Williams

Mr. Geoffrey ’93 & Mrs. Caroline Lochausen

Mr. David ’82 & Mrs. Jill Ricks

Mr. D. Andy ’91 & Mrs. Camille Williams

Mr. Chris ’93 & Mrs. Stacy Loveless ’92

Mr. Walter ’60 & Mrs. Joyce Rinehart

Mr. Bryant ’61 & Mrs. Brenda Williams

Dr. Julio ’82 & Mrs. Dolores Madrigal

Dr. T. C. ’89 & Mrs. Michelle Robinson

Mr. Chris ’86 & Mrs. Lezlee Williams ’87

Mr. Jack & Mrs. Patsy Martin ’76

Mr. Keith & Dr. Brooks Rogers ’87

Mrs. Jamelle Williams

Maj. Gen. Thomas & Lt. Gen. Wendy Masiello ’80

Ms. Terry L. Rolan ’85

Mr. Tom ’85 & Mrs. Molly Williams ’84

Mr. Bob ’69 & Mrs. Jo Mayo ’71

Mr. Robert & Mrs. Susan Rose ’76

Ms. Mary Jane Williamson ’62

Mr. John ’96 & Mrs. Michelle McAnulty ’98

Mr. David ’89 & Mrs. Kim Rottino

Mr. W. Eric ’92 & Mrs. Jackie Wilson

Mr. James ’87 & Mrs. Lynn McCarley ’86

Mr. John ’88 & Mrs. Elise Roueche

Dr. Gary B. ’73 & Mrs. Sheryl Wood

Mr. George & Mrs. Royan McCleskey ’95

Mr. John ’96 & Mrs. Suzanne Saenz ’95

Mr. Lee ’87 & Mrs. Tammy Wright

Mr. Mark ’73 & Mrs. Annette McCloy

Dr. Martin ’78 & Mrs. Margie Salazar

Mr. Randy ’68 & Mrs. Sharon Wright

Mr. Brian ’75 & Mrs. Wetonnah McCoy

Mr. Alan ’75 & Ms. Kathy Sales ’74

Dr. Scott ’87 & Mrs. Lenore Wyrick

Mr. Paul ’81 & Mrs. Karen McDonald ’81

Mr. W. Joseph ’78 & Mrs. Susan Sammons ’78

Mr. W. Brad Youngblood ’74

Mr. George ’58 & Mrs. Beverly McDuff ’54

Mr. Richard Scales ’60

Mr. John ’74 & Mrs. Ann Zwiacher ’74

Mr. M. Ryan ’98 & Mrs. Kathleen McKenzie ’04

Dr. Alan ’77 & Mrs. Regina Schauer

Commercial Property Services

Mr. George & Mrs. Linda McMahan

Mr. Ryan ’01 & Mrs. Mindy Schneider ’02

The Morris Family Living Trust

Mr. Kevin ’73 & Mrs. Karen McMahon ’73

Mr. Ricky ’81 & Mrs. Lori Scott ’80

Mr. Tom ’67 & Mrs. Carol McMorris ’67

Mr. Jerry ’60 & Mrs. Sue Selfridge

*As of July 17, 2018

alumni news more than 20 years of experience spanning academic medicine, hospital operations, joint ventures, care network management and strategic alliances. Dereesa has held leadership roles at Hoag Orthopedic Institute, Covenant Health System and UMC Health System. She is also a certified public accountant and a published author.

While serving as the CEO of the Hoag Orthopedic Institute (HOI), the Harvard Business School wrote a case study on HOI that is now used nationally as a teaching tool for a value-driven model of care. She has a background in building high performing teams and working directly with physicians.

1985 W. DON STULL, JR. (BS Civil Engineering, MBA General Business) Lubbock, was inducted as a senior member of the National Academy of Inventors. Don is the inventor of four U.S. Patents related to “Microwave Disinfection and Sterilization.” The inven-

tions were a collaboration with Texas Tech University. He currently works with a major international bakery to treat organic preservative free bread to keep it moldfree for more than 70 days versus its usual 10-day shelf life. His wife is Valessa.

1986 KANCHEEPURAM “GUNA” N. GUNALAN

(Ph.D. Civil Engineering) West Jordan, Utah, was elected as the 2019 American Society of Civil Engineers president-elect.

He will serve during the 2020-2021 term.

Guna has held the vice alternative delivery position at AECOM since 2012 and has been heavily involved as a member, executing several leadership roles over the years. He served as the governor for the Geo Institute, member of the steering committee for the 2017 ASCE India Conference, Region 8 director (2009-12), Region 8 governor (2005-07), Utah Section president (2002-03) and Texas Section High Plains Branch president (1992). He will be

inducted as the 2019 President-Elect at the 2018 Convention in Denver, Colorado, in October. His wife is Duru.

1989 BETH BRANIFF HARP (BA Advertising/ PR) Houston, Texas, is the executive director of Kid’s Meals in Houston. During the last decade, the organization has grown into an outfit that delivers more than 2,000 meals daily to kids along six distinct routes throughout Houston. Her works have pioneered Meals on Wheels programs for preschool children around the nation.

1990 JAY M. EDWARDS (BS Civil Engineering) Midland, Texas, who currently serves as chief operating officer for Parkhill Smith & Cooper, is working alongside Winkler Services and Garney Construction to pro-

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A DV E R TO R I A L

Five Texas Tech Students Created Industry-Changing Virtual Reality Technology Difyn LLC

It’s been said that, sometimes, you have to lose something to gain something better. Such was the case for Jayton Jones, who lost two phones and gained a company. It was Spring Break of 2016, and Jones, a mechanical engineering major at Texas Tech University, wasn’t having a great time. He was at a music festival with his friend, Devon Phillips, a Texas Tech student double majoring in finance and management, but it wasn’t going well. The music was good, but on the first day of the festival, Jones lost his iPhone. On the second day, his work phone went missing, too. As a replacement, he chose the Samsung Galaxy S7, which was notable as the first virtual reality-compatible (VR) phone. Shortly after the phone arrived, so did the headset to use the VR capabilities. Jones and Phillips lost no time trying it out. “We’re totally nerding out, roller-coaster riding and whatnot,” said Phillips, who was working part time as a car salesman. “And then the thought comes up, ‘Wow, what if you could buy cars like this?’” The next 48 hours were a blur. They stayed awake, drinking Red Bull and writing their business plan. “Within this business plan, there are two themes,” Phillips said. “One is virtual reality merchandising, but the second is really building a company that Lubbock has never seen, especially from a technology standpoint.” One of the first things they knew they would need was a developer – someone who could actually make their idea a reality. Jones called his friend, Clayton Dorrity, a Texas Tech student studying mechanical engineering, plant and soil science and mathematics. “He goes to the library for, like, 12 hours and comes back with a mockup,” Phillips recalled. And finally – still within that initial 48 hours – Phillips and Jones found themselves at PlainsCapital Bank pitching the idea. Within an hour, they walked out with a $35,000 line of credit to start their business. “From there, we hit the ground running,” Phillips said.

They began as Difyn LLC in April 2016 with Phillips as chief executive officer, Jones as chief operating officer and Dorrity as chief technology officer. Two weeks later, their friend Garrett Dewbre – who had just graduated from Texas Tech with his bachelor’s degree in biology – joined the team as the chief marketing officer. “Our main service is virtual-reality merchandising,” Phillips explained. “We allow car photographers to go shoot the vehicle and place it on our website for a 360-degree interior and exterior view. And if you have a compatible headset, you can place it on your mobile device and shop in virtual reality.” Throughout the fall of 2016, Difyn worked with Reagor Dykes Auto Group in Plainview to build and test a prototype of the technology.

But starting a company is expensive. They had to change their equipment to make the car virtually spin, and they soon found themselves in need of more funding.

They found an option within the university. Texas Tech’s Innovation Hub at Research Park, which specializes in technology commercialization and startup development, hosts its annual iLaunch Competition every spring. Participants receive mentoring along the way and the company that wins receives $10,000. They applied in late 2016 and were selected as finalists for the competition, but it wasn’t until April 2017 and funds were running dry. Because they’d already been working with Reagor Dykes Auto Group, they approached CEO and owning partner Bart Reagor to see if he would invest in their company. “I was kind of hard on them the first time,” Reagor recalled. Undeterred by the rejection, Difyn continued to seek funding. But with two months still to go before the competition, things were beginning to look dire.

Phillips finally turned to another friend, Drew Thornton, who was studying management information systems web application design.

“We had like $5 left in the bank, and Drew came into about $10,000 to $15,000, and that’s what we needed to last until the iLaunch,” Phillips said. For Thornton, who had watched the company’s progression, it was an easy decision to invest and join the company as its digital marketing director. “I had watched them grow for a year, so when they came to me, there was no question,” he said. “I was intelligent about my decision, and I researched things. But from where they started to where they were then, there was progress. I saw that progress, and I saw that progress in my friends.”

A DV E R TO R I A L

iLaunch Competition By the time the iLaunch Competition arrived and the fledgling company had to present its business plan to a judging panel of investors, the team was ready. “The competition was a lot of fun, and we got to meet a lot of people, but I think it did two really big things for us,” Dewbre said. “It helped us put our business plan on paper and really get it prepped for what investors want to see and plan our growth out, and we also got to meet a lot of connections.” When they found that panel members were excited about their technology and wanted to help them make connections, the friends were ecstatic. “That gave us a lot more confidence in our product,” Dewbre said. At the end of the competition, however, the $10,000 prize went instead to a technology intended to prevent children from being left in hot vehicles.

“We didn’t win,” Phillips said. “And that fired us up, 100 percent. Although it was incredible and one of the greatest days of our lives, us not winning took it to the next level.” “We immediately went back to the office and I don’t think we slept for two days because we wanted to put this product out there,” Jones agreed. “We wanted to really complete it and make it that winning product.”

RD Innovations Four days after the iLaunch Competition, the team was back in Reagor’s office.

They had taken to heart some of his suggestions from their first meeting, as well as what they learned from the competition, and were ready to ask him again for funding. When they finished their pitch, Reagor did something unexpected. Instead of talking about funding, he began to ask about buying their company. “I didn’t want anybody else having their technology,” Reagor explained. “I felt like it was a valuable technology, and I wanted to have access to it for Reagor Dykes Auto Group. I felt like it was a smart thing to do at the time.” On June 13, 2017, Difyn LLC became RD Innovations – RDI, for short – one of more than 30 entities within the Reagor Dykes Auto Group. With their technology, a photographer can spend three minutes or less shooting pictures of a car, then the photos are compiled into a 360-degree view and uploaded onto the Reagor Dykes website where customers anywhere in the world can view them. “The main reason we do it is for that customer experience; it’s more engaging,” Phillips said. “We’re trying to be nationwide, serving people in New York or Florida or California. They should be able to see our cars online and be so confident that once they call the salesman, that relationship is already starting off on a good foot.” Because the process is so fast, RDI can shoot and upload dozens of cars in one day. The record is 107. “We already sold cars nationwide and in other countries through the e-commerce program we had,” Reagor said. “But now, nobody else in the auto industry – or any industry – has the technology we have that can be done on a mass scale. We’re able to do business worldwide from right here in Lubbock. It’s been a great partnership.” RDI has grown as well, from five employees to 16. And with their growth comes growth for Reagor Dykes. “I’m no technology guru, but I’m smart enough to understand, ‘Are we getting more visits to our website? Are we getting more return visits to our website? Are people spending more time on our website?’” Reagor said. “And what we’ve noticed is, our volume is going up. I can easily tell that what they’re doing is helping us because our volume continues to rise, we’re getting more visits, more repeat visits, and people are spending three or four times as much time on our website since we’ve added the technology. They’re interested and getting engaged.” So what’s next for the team? “The world,” Jones said. It’s a sentiment Reagor agrees with. “I see more products coming from RDI besides what we have now,” he said.

“The product we have today is state of the art and nobody else has anything like it, but a year from now, we’re going to have to have something better. We’re going to have to evolve. “That’s one of the reasons I bought their company – these guys manage themselves. They’re like me; they’re motivated. They didn’t need anybody to wake them up and tell them to go to work – they went to work. When you have a chance to have guys like this on your team, you make it happen. There’s going to be a lot of huge things happening through RDI.”

iLaunch Applications Open: August 27, 2018 iLaunch Applications Close: January 4, 2019 iLaunch Competition: February 8, 2019

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alumni news mote and enhance water conservation and pipeline technologies to serve the Permian Basin area.

1995

1996

1991

SCOTT T. TERRELL (BSCS Computer Science) Keller, Texas, has been recognized as a Corporate Finalist for the 2018 Dallas CIO of the Year ORBIE Award.

The ORBIE honors exceptional leadership, technology innovation and management effectiveness, representing the characteristics and qualities that empower business transformation and inspire others to achieve their potential. He is a finalist through an independent peer review process led by prior ORBIE recipients. He has more than two decades of experience in transforming, building, growing and evolving successful information technology teams in a variety of companies and industries. Prior to joining Health Markets in 2006, he worked at Capgemini in support of TXU. His wife is Shannon.

RYAN A. NEAL, PH.D. ( BA Political Science)

BLAKE BUCHANAN (BBA Finance)

Lubbock, was selected to be the keynote speaker at the Lubbock Women’s Club Administrative Professionals Day on April 25. Blake is the founder, president and brand owner of Bahama Buck’s, Original Shaved Ice Company. He spoke about how he started selling snow-cones while attending Texas Tech as a means of finding an income which didn’t involve “mowing grass or flipping burgers.” His success with this company can be seen by the expanding numbers of stores nation-wide. There are currently 100 stores operating and 100 stores in the works. His wife is Kippi.

Belton, South Carolina, has been named the new Provost at Anderson University.

He has been described as a “transformational leader.” He has served Anderson University for more than 13 years as a professor of Christian Studies since 2005 and assistant provost since 2016. Ryan has held several other leadership roles within AU. He led the Qualitative Enhancement Program in development of a new careerreadiness initiative, known as AU PRO. He has also directed AU’s honors program for five years, served as chair of the faculty and chaired the faculty status committee, directed the undergraduate department in the College of Christian Studies for five years, served on the task force that created the AU Abroad and Mobile Learning Initiative programs and was recognized as the Michael Boles “Excellence in Teaching”

You can make a powerful impact on Texas Tech Students!

Attend career fairs and recruit TTU students.

Provide internship opportunities.

Serve as an informal TTU Brand Ambassador and share the university's attributes.

Host a webinar that will serve as an introduction to your chosen career path.

Questions? Contact Toni.d.Krebbs@ttu.edu S E P T / O C T 2 0 18

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A DV E R TO R I A L

A COLLEGE TOWN’S COMING OF AGE Born and raised in Lubbock, Kyndra Watson grew up bleeding

Shortly after obtaining her finance degree, Watson moved to

red and black, like any other tried-and-true Texas Tech fan. “I

Dallas, and was there just long enough to discover she wanted to

knew about Texas Tech University even as a young child,” Watson

return to Lubbock. “There were several things that brought me

said. “My family has always gone to football games and Lady

back to Lubbock,” Watson said. “Family, of course, was number

Raider basketball games. Some of that was when Marsha Sharp

one. But the traffic in Dallas is crazy. I lived probably 10 minutes

was still around, so that was the big thing to do.”

from my office, but it took me a good 45 minutes to get there.

Being a single mom is hard enough without the travel time and

Years later, Watson enrolled as a student at Texas Tech, became

not being able to get to the places you need to go.”

a cheerleader and began pursuing a degree in finance. It was during that time she started looking for a job. What she found was the beginning of a career.

Aside from the desire to be close to family and to reclaim her fringe hours, there were other factors that influenced Watson’s decision to make the move. “For me, the Dallas area is so fast-

“I was needing a little part-time job while I was going to school

paced and it’s ‘go, go, go,’” she explained. “You’ve got to get to

and cheering at Tech,” Watson said. “I started working in the

work, you’ve got to get your kids somewhere, you’ve got to just

scanning department at City Bank. I worked my way up through

move and it’s easier to do that in Lubbock. I’ve also been able to

college and got into doing a little more with my degree, so really

build a lot of great professional relationships here and that’s put

I started in the banking industry at 18.”

me in good positions to move up. You have such a better chance to make something of yourself here.”

A DV E R TO R I A L

“LUBBOCK HAS GROWN SIGNIFICANTLY OVER THE PAST DECADE, BUT STILL OFFERS THAT SAME FRIENDLY WEST TEXAS HOSPITALITY.” A long way from the scanning room, Watson is now the vice president of City Bank’s real estate department. “I’ve been with them for 14 years,” Watson said. “Even when I moved to Dallas I worked with City Bank. They’ve seen me grow up from an 18-yearold college student to now a mom and a wife.”

Meanwhile, Lubbock has done some growing itself in the last decade. “Lubbock is making major improvements, and it’s only going to get better,” she said. “I’ve been to several meetings talking about all the different things that are coming to Lubbock and how it’s growing every day, and the bigger Lubbock gets the more opportunity there will be.” And as Lubbock grows, it builds upon the foundation of what makes it a great place to live and work in the first place.

“Lubbock has grown significantly over the past decade, but still offers that same friendly West Texas hospitality,” said John Osborne, CEO of LEDA. “Lubbock has added more restaurants and retail stores. Local family attractions have expanded and more schools are under construction. Our downtown is also being revitalized with sizable investments, allowing for new businesses and residents to make downtown their home. Through the significant growth, Lubbock is a well-balanced city where people want to live.”

It’s something that Whitney Kennedy, HR manager for Tyler Technologies, has seen firsthand. “I have talked with lots of people about what brought them here and why they stay,” she said. “The top three reasons are the sense of community Lubbock provides while still being big enough for opportunity, great school systems and no traffic. It’s a great place for quality of life personally and for a family.”

With growth in industries like health care, technology, education, agriculture and the financial sector, Lubbock continues to be a place where professionals, as well as businesses, can thrive. “Lubbock’s corporate sector is very strong, and as these companies grow, they need skilled employees in a variety of occupations such as engineering, sales and financial services,”

said Christine Allen, director of workforce development for LEDA. “LEDA is trying to raise awareness about these higher-paying positions, and we are assisting with the effort to recruit highly skilled, in-demand employees to our community.” One way LEDA is accomplishing this task is through return2lbk.org, which features concentrated, valuable corporate job openings in a variety of industries along with information about life in Lubbock and video testimonials of Texas Tech alumni and Lubbockites who moved away and found an opportunity to return to Lubbock.

“I 100 percent plan on staying in Lubbock,” she said. “I don’t foresee ever leaving. City Bank is important to me and as long as they’ll have me, I will be here. My husband has his own business and has been able to do amazing things in the Lubbock area. I feel like we’ve got a great future ahead of us here.”

For available corporate positions and other employment opportunities in Lubbock, please visit www.return2lbk.org or call 800.687.5330.

alumni news and “Second Mile” award winners. His wife is Jennifer.

1997 JASON M. POND (BBA Marketing) Irving, Texas, received his CPRIA designation from St. John’s University that certifies him as a Chartered Private Risk and Insurance Advisor. He received his eighth consecutive “D Magazine/Best Insurance Agents in Dallas” status. He was also a featured speaker at the Dallas Bar Association’s “Sports & Entertainment Law” briefing regarding his 18-year specialty, insuring and counseling professional athletes, entertainers and their families.

Jason’s firm, Swingle Collins & Associates, recently opened a second office in Fort Worth, Texas, and was named a “Best Practices Agency” for the 10th consecutive year by Reagan Consulting Group. His wife is Kelly.

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2003 REBECCA BABB-NELSEN (BM Music Performance, MA German) Vienna, Austria, will be starring as Marilyn Monroe in an opera “Marilyn Forever.”

2008 BECKY HOLLANDS (BS Apparel Design

and Manufacturing) Houston, Texas, was featured in Vogue Taiwan for her brand that features cutting-edge design. The Becky Hollands brand celebrates the individualistic woman who is confident, artistic, and the ultimate ‘modern sophisticate.’

Her exclusive designs have been seen on celebrities and featured in countless publications.

JORDAN RANDALL SMITH (MM Music Performance) Forney, Texas, has recently

been appointed as conductor of two new posts in the Baltimore area. Jordan will lead the choir, children’s choir and orchestra at Hunt’s Church in Towson and will co-direct the church’s new digital media department. Jordan will also be joining the staff of the Hopkins Symphony Orchestra and will continue to lead Symphony Number One as Music Director.

2013 ALICIA LANGDON (BA University Studies

and ’15 BS Personal Financial Planning) Dallas, Texas, has joined Whitely Penn Financial team as a Wealth Advisor in the Fort Worth office. In her role with the firm, Alicia assists clients with wealth management, investment management, retirement plan design and consulting, tax and estate planning, financial planning and asset protection. Her husband is JONATHAN L. LANGDON (BS ’13 Architecture/MAR ’15 Architecture)

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“Tornado of Ideas” by Tom Otterness

A DV E R TO R I A L

Thank you 2018

Sponsors

A DV E R TO R I A L

The Rawls College of Business would like to formally thank all of our outstanding alumni, generous friends, community leaders and philanthropic advocates for your dona�ons.

It is through these dona�ons that we are able to support our current students, build life-long rela�onships with our alumni, promote the Rawls College of Business to poten�al students, and communicate our research findings with key stakeholders worldwide.

We are grateful for your generosity, your trust in our mission, and most importantly your commitment to our students. On behalf of the Rawls College of Business, thank you for your support.

34th Annual Dallas Scholarship Event

Over $140,000

PREMIER SPONSORS: Ashton Commerical Construc�on - Mike Mourton BBG - Chris Roach Reese Marketos - Joel and Mary Reese

Jim and Alice Skinner Tolleson Wealth Management - Gregory S. Hall

FEARLESS CHAMPION SPONSORS: De’Juan Collins De’On Collins DPR Construc�on - Peter Read EY - David A. Northcut Independent Bank - Julie Meyer Integra Realty Resources - Jimmy Jackson, MAI

Philip and Amy Lang Murphy and Theresa Markham Merrill Lynch, Miller & Hare Wealth Management Silver Oak Commercial Realty - Russell Webb S2 Capital, LLC - Sco� Evere� Whitley Penn - Michael Bodwell

Special Thanks to our TITLE SPONSOR

AND OUR Committee Chairs: King Scovell Ben Jackson Greg Hall Chris Roach

View photos from the event on our Flickr.

JOIN US! Don’t miss out on Texas Tech RAwls Alumni Events near you!

Update your contact information online at alumni.ba.ttu.edu

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SATURDAYS & SUNDAYS [1 WEEKEND / MONTH]

alumni news

In Memoriam BLAIR ANNE ADAMS ’77, Frisco, Texas, died June 15. She is survived by

her husband, Robert.

DOLORES YVONNE GRYDER AICHER , friend of Texas Tech from

Arlington, Texas, died June 13.

EDWARD THOMAS JONES ’84, ’90, Snyder, Texas, died June 14. He is

survived by his wife, Patsy.

THOMAS RICHARD “STEAMY” KELLEY ’49, Salado, Texas, died June 8.

LYNDELL SAMUEL KING ’62, Saratoga, California, died May 2.

DENA R. ANDERSON ’70, Lubbock, died June 10. She is survived by her husband, BYRON M. ANDERSON ’71.

TRACEY STEPHEN KITTEN ’88, Slaton, Texas, died May 22. He is survived by his wife, LORI LANE KITTEN ’91.

ELMER G. ARRIETA ’17, current graduate student at Texas Tech from

COL. DAVID RAY LOVE (RET.) ’67, Mansfield, Texas, died April 17. He is

Lubbock, died June 16.

survived by his wife, Sharon.

MICHAEL “BUBBA” BARBER ’09, Arlington, Texas, died June 6. He is survived by his wife, HAYLEY ARTZ BARBER ’10.

RICHARD J. MARKS ’84, Winchester, Massachusetts, died April 11. He is

ROBERT E. BARNHILL, III ’76, ’80, Lubbock, died May 4. He is survived

WILLIAM CHARLES “BILL” MCCORMICK ’71, Lubbock, died June 16.

He is survived by his wife, FRANCES JEAN “JEANIE” MCCORMICK

by his wife, Jana.

ROMANDA McMILLAN BINGHAM , a former student, Lubbock, died

June 14.

JAMES DONALD “DON” BLACK ’65, Lubbock, died May 18. He is

survived by his wife, Linda.

KATHLEEN ELIZABETH CONNER ’74, Lubbock, died June 9.

survived by his wife, Eileen.

’72, ’88.

JOSEPH PATRICK “JOE” MCINERNEY ’96, a long-time staff member in

the Bob L. Herd Department of Petroleum Engineering in the Edward E. Whitacre College of Engineering Jr. at Texas Tech, Lubbock, died May 2.

PEGGY E. CRAWLEY ’43, Lamesa, Texas, died May 28.

TERRY LEE MIRLL ’81, ’83, Midwest City, Oklahoma, died April 13. He is

DOROTHY DEAN JONES CUSTER ’56, New Braunfels, Texas, died March 14. She is survived by her husband, COL. GOMER C. CUSTER ’57.

LA WANA BANTA MOORE ’65, Lubbock, died May 15.

KIMBERLY ELYSE “KIM” DALBY ’00, Lubbock, died May 13. She is

RICHARD D. MOTL ’56, Clovis, New Mexico, died May 11.

survived by her husband, Michael.

LARRY ALLEN DAUGHETY, JR. , a former student, Lubbock, died March

27. He is survived by his wife, Julie.

EMIAL L. DOUGLAS ’72, Lamesa, Texas, died May 30. He is survived by

his wife, Michal.

C. DOYLE GAMMILL ’61, ’62, Lubbock, died May 5. He is survived by his wife, TAMARA A. “TAM” GAMMILL ’62.

JOYCE ELAINE GARRISON ’64, Lubbock, died May 4.

survived by his wife, Molly.

PETER RODNEY MYERS ’79, ’85, a former faculty member of Texas

Tech from Lubbock, died June 14. He was both a teaching assistant and instructor of English at Texas Tech for 32 years.

SHASTA REDDELL NEELLEY ’74, Austin, Texas, died April 29. She is survived by her husband, DAVID R. NEELLEY ’75, ’78.

PAUL M. NETTLES ’51, Amarillo, Texas, died May 11.

CRAIG STEVEN “BUBBA” NIX , a former student, Lubbock, died June

20. He is survived by his wife, Michelle.

THOMAS EARL HAMILTON ’60, Matador, Texas, died June 10.

TROY PERKINS ’38, Amarillo, Texas, died May 8.

JAMES LEE HANSEN ’51, ’57, Little Rock, Arkansas, died May 5.

MELVA PEARL ASBERRY SEAY ’68, Franklin, Tennessee, died June 11.

She is survived by her husband, DAVID T. SEAY ’65.

SHIRLEY LORAINE “LORI” HASH , a former student from Ovilla, Texas, died May 20. She is survived by her husband, PAUL E. HASH ’83.

JOSEPH MCCRIGHT “MAC” HILL ’53, ’58, Cleburne, Texas, died May 3.

He is survived by his wife, Ruth Ann. COL. WAYNE ARVIS HILTON (Ret.) ’53, Odessa, Texas, died Jan. 27. He is survived by his wife, CHRISTINE M. HILTON ’44.

BOBBY GENE “BOB” HOLMAN ’59, San Angelo, Texas, died Feb. 26.

He is survived by his wife, Fleta.

WILLIAM FRED “BILL” HOLMES ’53, Garland, Texas, died May 17. He is

survived by his wife, Jean.

JAMES RAY HYATT ’63, ’67, Lubbock, died May 16. He is survived by his wife, SAUNDRA V. HYATT ’68.

MARY FRANCES KENNEDY IGO ’44, Lubbock, died May 11.

LOYD CLARKE SENN , a friend of Texas Tech from Lubbock, died May 5.

He held the broadcasting rights to Texas Tech Sports for 10 years. He is survived by his wife, Mary Beth.

VIRGINIA “ANN” STURDIVANT ’71, San Antonio, Texas, died May 16.

JANICE NEWSOM TAPP ’58, Lubbock, died May 25. She is survived by her husband, JAMES P. “JIM” TAPP ’60.

OTIS W. TEMPLER, JR., J.D., PH.D. , a former faculty member of Texas

Tech from Lubbock, died May 8. He was an assistant professor and professor of geography at Texas Tech for more than 45 years, and he served as a chairman of the Department of Geography and an associate chairman of the Department of Economics and Geography during his teaching career at Texas Tech.

JO ANNA ADAMS THOMAS ’87, Tahoka, Texas, died June 5.

ROBERT LLOYD VUICICH ’78, Seagraves, Texas, died May 19. He is

survived by his wife, Elena.

S E P T / O C T 2 0 18

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student spotlight COM PI LE D BY J EAN AN N CANTOR E

COURTESY OF BRENDA CARPENTER

STEM doctoral honoree BRENDA CARPENTER has been selected for the Albert Einstein Fellowship program. Fourteen accomplished K-12 science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) teachers from across the United States have been named 2018-2019 Albert Einstein Distinguished Educator Fellows. The fellows will spend 11 months serving in a federal agency or U.S. Congressional office in Washington, D.C., engaged in the national STEM education arena.

The Albert Einstein Distinguished Educator Fellowship (AEF) Program provides a unique Brenda Carpenter opportunity for accomplished K-12 STEM educators to apply their extensive classroom knowledge and experiences to their host offices to inform federal STEM education efforts.

TEXAS TECH OFFICE OF INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS

RAEL OTUYA , a graduate student in the Department of Plant & Soil Science, was awarded a fellowship to attend the Association for International Agriculture and Rural Development (AIARD) 54th Annual Conference in Washington, D.C., in June. She participated in the Future Leaders Forum. The 2018 conference theme focused on ways to improve functioning and stability of global food systems and increase food security, nutrition, and human health.

Every year, AIARD competitively selects students from both U.S. and international institutions and provides funding for attendance and participation in the conference. The Kenya native’s research involves soil health and microbial community dynamics in sustainable pasture ecosystems.

JENNIFER HEWITT , doctoral student in the Department of Chemical Engineering in the Edward E. Whitacre Jr. College of Engineering, has been awarded a research grant through the Fulbright U.S. Student Program, sponsored by the Department of State. She traveled to Germany in August to research aging in nematodes at the Max Planck Institute for Biology of Ageing (MPI-AGE). Hewitt provided an engineer’s perspective to the study of aging in nematodes, which have a similar biological structure to human beings. Hewitt was one of more than 1,900 U.S. citizens awarded grants to study fields of research abroad. She hopes to gain knowledge from her time in Germany to help with her current study of Muscular Dystrophy and other muscle aging disorders in the nematodes, also known as Caenorhabditis elegans, or C. elegans.

Students from the Texas Tech University Edward E. Whitacre Jr. College of Engineering and the College of Arts & Sciences took first place in the American Institute of Chemical Engineers (AIChE) southwest regional Chem-E-Car Competition in March in Corpus Christi, earning a spot to compete at nationals in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, this fall. Chem-E-Car team members include JOSHUA HOLTZ , team captain and junior chemical engineering major; TYLER CHIRIBOGA , sophomore biochemistry major; CASANDRA ALVAREZ , junior chemistry major; HILARIO “CHRIS” GARZA , junior chemical engineering major and ETHAN THOMAS , sophomore chemical engineering major. For the Chem-E-Car Competition, teams design and construct a chemically powered vehicle within certain size constraints.

The vehicle also must be designed to carry a specified cargo. Teams don’t know the distance the car must travel or the specified cargo it has to carry until the time of the competition. At nationals, their car, “Tortilla Power,” will compete against 50 teams from across the U.S. as well as international teams from Canada, Israel, Saudi Arabia, South Korea and Qatar.

ALYX HORACE , a senior management information systems major, recently spoke at the University Innovation Fellows (UIF) Silicon Valley Meet-up in March in the Silicon Valley. She spoke about how women can overcome the diversity issues in STEM industries and encouraged women to pursue careers in STEM fields. UIF is run by Stanford University’s Hasso Plattner Institute of Design and was originally created as part of the National Center for Engineering Pathways to Innovation, a five-year National Science Foundation grant. Horace, a member of UIF, was chosen out of an international community of 1,500 fellows to help facilitate the conference.

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DEGREES OF IMPACT Dr. Sumner is making an impact as the new Vice President of Diversity, Equity & Inclusion.

“This is a tremendous opportunity to help advance the goals of the university and the work that has already been done to help build a welcoming and inclusive community. I’m humbled because this is an exceptionally important role that is literally breaking new ground on what it means to be a student at Texas Tech now, in the coming years and at a time when we look more intentionally into the next century of Texas Tech. That I can be part of that is incredible.”

Dr. Carol A. Sumner

Vice President for Diversity, Equity & Inclusion

IF THIS IS YOUR IDEA OF A CAPED CRUSADER, YOU’RE

ONE OF US.

BEAR YOUR BANNER! Join or renew now at texastechalumni.org