Bell Labs

One person with one goal can make some of the biggest impacts on our lives. It’s people like Victoria Bell who not only made a difference for her children, but left a legacy of hardworking, compassionate people who have touched Texas Wesleyan in different ways.

Victoria is the mother of Thomas Bell, Ph.D., professor of business administration at Texas Wesleyan. But she’s also the mother to five other children, several of whom graduated from the university.

After her husband passed away, Victoria became the sole provider for the family. She had previously been a stay-at-home mother, raising her children and taking care of their home.

“When he passed, it turned our whole world upside down,” Dr. Bell said.

Victoria found a job as a housekeeper at Texas Wesleyan –where she worked for 28 years and retired. This allowed her to give the younger children an opportunity to receive a higher education at the university, which was right down the street from their Stop Six neighborhood. The family was excited because they always thought that Texas Wesleyan would be a good school to attend.

“Going to college was never really an option, it was expected,” Dr. Bell said. “Being able to provide us the opportunity to take advantage of that perk that she had, it was a godsend.”

But the legacy doesn’t end with her own kids. Her grandchildren also have degrees from Texas Wesleyan, and her great grandson is also considering attending the university.

“I would say, in my extended family, there are 15 to 18 degrees from Texas Wesleyan,” Dr. Bell said. “I can’t say I have a degree from Texas Wesleyan, but I do have the good fortune of being a part of Texas Wesleyan.

“My mother often jokes about the fact that she doesn’t have a degree, but really she’s got 12 degrees because of the family,” he said.

When reflecting on his parents, he recounted that they didn’t have the same opportunities that he had. It was their hard work and motivation to provide more for their kids that helped the Bell children become successful.

“They instilled in us the dream to see something bigger for our own lives, realizing that just because this is where you are, doesn’t mean this is where you have to be,” he said. “If you’re willing to apply yourself, develop a work ethic – the sky’s the limit.”

Bell took classes at Texas Wesleyan but then transferred to Prairie View A&M University to study electrical engineering. He worked in engineering and was beginning to get into management when his major professor told him he should consider teaching.

“I never really thought much about it because it wasn’t on my radar,” he said. However, after his professor found an opportunity for him to teach a weekend program at TXWES, his mother also urged him to come to the university.

“You do what your mother says,” he laughed. “I haven’t had one day of regret ever since. I’m just having the time of my life.”

Bell started working at Texas Wesleyan in 1995 as a weekend professor but was soon offered a full-time position. He and his mother worked together at the university for a few years before she retired.

“It was neat, because I would see her on campus, and I would get a chance to hang out with her,” he said. “When she retired, I felt like I lost my best friend.”

Through a program at Texas Wesleyan that helped master’sprepared professors get their doctorate, he was able to get a doctoral degree and gain tenure. And despite being offered a position at a historically black college and university (HBCU), Bell chose to stay at Texas Wesleyan.

“I couldn’t, at this point, imagine being anywhere else,” he said. “I did feel a sense of obligation, but you got to bloom where you’re planted. And I just felt like this is where I need to be.”

Bell touched on how he was contacted by his alma mater, an HBCU, because it needed more black professors – a trend seen in academia still to this day.

“When I’m reminded that I’m a [minority] professor, that’s not something I think about,” he said. “I don’t feel it, I don’t see it. I just see my peers, my co-workers. I don’t feel any special or feel any different. I’m doing what I enjoy doing with people that I enjoy working around and with.”

It’s something that he also understands touches the lives of his students. He understands that seeing someone that you can relate to can help bring inspiration to others.

“I don’t dismiss or discount the role that I play when I step into the classroom,” he said. “I have students that look at me, certainly as a professor, but also because of what I represent as a black male. I’m just representing me – and trying to be the best person I can be when I step into the classroom.”

What stands out most about Bell is the smile he has on his face when he talks about the opportunity that his mother and Texas Wesleyan provided him, something that he knows sheds light on who he is today.

“This is a great place. I tell my wife I’m not going to work; I’m going to school. This is my home away from home,” he said. “My siblings and I are proud of my mom, glad that she provided us with the love and support that she did – and if not for her, I’m sure I wouldn’t be here now.”

Katie Baugh named new women’s soccer coach

Jaelynn Williams jumps to new heights – breaking school records in track and field

Jaelynn Williams is leaving a legacy everywhere she goes. From high school to college, she has set and broken records at every level of her track career.

Jaelynn Williams is in her first season as a track and field athlete for the Lady Rams and is already leaving her mark at Texas Wesleyan University. In the first meet of the 2022-23 season, she ran a 7.91 to set a program record in the 60-meter dash. Fast forward to the NAIA/JUCO meet at Pittsburg State where she ran a 7.73, breaking the record she set just a few months prior.

The fastest time to date in the 60m was set in the 2017 season with a time of 8.04 – making Williams the first woman to break 8 seconds in school history.

Williams said it felt awesome to break a school record but that it made it even better that it was a record she set herself.

“It was really cool,” Williams said. “But I know I have more work to do. How do I get that time even lower?”

Williams transferred to TXWES this year from the University of Louisville and hit the ground running (pun very intended). She said that she’s been training hard with her teammates to prepare for this season, and the key to her success is not giving up, even on those hard days.

“It’s definitely hard work. Me and my teammates put in work every day and do 110%, whatever we got,” Williams said. “And it’s starting to show on all levels.”

As the powerhouse that she is, Williams has secured her name in the

TXWES record book for not one, not two, but three events!

The 4x400 is a relay event where four athletes each run a full lap around the track, passing a baton to the next person signaling the start of a new lap. This was an event Williams was unfamiliar with going into this season – an event she never thought she would participate in, let alone break a record in. Alongside her teammates, Williams broke the school record with a time of 4:04.27.

Williams said the best part of this moment was being able to do it with her teammates.

“I was happy because I did it with my team,” Williams said. “And I know all the hard work they put in on and off the track, and it’s finally paying off.”

The 200m is another event that Williams has continued to see success in – she set a new personal record on top of breaking a program record for fastest time with a 25.81. The last time this record was broken was in the 2017 season with a time of 26.24.

She said that she was shocked but happy to hear that she broke another record. “It was kind of funny, because the way this track is set up, I was kind of confused on how I was supposed to run a 200,” she laughed. “But I did it.”

Her next big goal? Nationals.

“I definitely want to break another record in the long jump,” she said, talking about how the team is gearing up for the outdoor season. “Being conference champions for outdoor is definitely a goal as well.”

She credits the success she’s had this season and the three records broken to her hard work and the dedication from coaches Randy Dalzell and Darvis “Doc” Patton.

“They’re both good motivators and both know what they’re doing. They produce good energy, which is something that I definitely need,” Williams said.

And even as she continues to shine on the track, she also works just as hard in the classroom. Williams mentioned that being a student-athlete can be difficult at times, but knowing how to balance the different areas of her life has helped her be successful both on the track and in the classroom.

“It’s tough. It’s very tough. Trying to find that balance between your athletic life, your academic life and your social life is definitely tough,” she said.

“I also got to watch what I’m doing. I’m representing myself. But I’m just trying to set an example, especially for freshmen. We got to do this together, because we’re only as strong as our weakest links.”

Texas Wesleyan University Athletics is excited to name Katie Baugh as the new coach of the women’s soccer program.

Baugh had an impressive playing career at Texas Wesleyan, including 52 starts, an SAC Commissioner’s award and a game-winning goal against. Bacone College. Following her time as a player, she has spent the last three seasons as an assistant coach for the Lady Rams.

Baugh says although this was not her first career goal, she is thankful to be in this position.

“It’s very exciting,” she said. “You always have the idea that you could end up coaching, but I never thought this would be the path I ended up taking. My original plan was to go into athletic training, but after Coach Gibbs presented me with the opportunity to coach alongside him, I decided to go for it.”

As a former player, Baugh shared the difficulties of going from a player to an assistant coach to now head coach of a place she knows all too well.

“Transitioning from a player to a coach was hard at first,” she shared. “I had to coach former teammates, and it was a big adjustment for me at the start of my career. I had to find a balance and look at the game from the point of view of a coach rather than a player.

“It was a real learning experience, but it definitely prepared me to take on the role of head coach,” she said.

Baugh spoke highly of former head coach Josh Gibbs, who recently moved into a different role on campus. As it stands, Gibbs is the winningest coach in women’s soccer history at Texas Wesleyan. The two-time Red River Athletic Conference Coach of the Year and 2018 SAC regular season champion has left behind a history of success for the new head coach.

“He built this program,” she said. “His legacy speaks for itself, but one of the things he told me was to build this program in my eyes rather than trying to fill his shoes. He told me to make it my own and not think about it being his program.

“This program is mine now, and I look to continue the history of success,” Baugh said.

Baugh is excited for the season to start.

Gold Line Dancers compete in American Dance Collegiate Competition

Texas Wesleyan University’s Gold Line Dancers had a fantastic showing at the American Dance Collegiate Competition on Saturday, March 25. The team, comprised of 16 members, competed with Team Hip Hop and Team Open Performance, a style consisting of jazz, pom and hip hop, in a two-minute segment. American Dance (@danceADTS) places Texas Wesleyan in the DIII category, with over 26 collegiate teams attending. The contest is Texas Wesleyan’s fifth appearance in the competition since the team began in 2017, only missing the 2020 COVID year.

Here is how they placed:

• College Division DII/III Soloists – Winner: Mariaya Lewis

• All Divisions College Duet – Winner: Mariaya Lewis and Kiley Redd

• All Divisions Academic Champions – 3rd Place: Team GPA 3.331

• College Division DIII Team Hip Hop: 1st Runner Up

• College Division DIII Team Open Performance: 1st Runner Up

• College Division DIII Overall: 3rd Runner Up

The team is under the direction of coach Emily Snow. Team Hip Hop was choreographed by alumni Gold Line Dancer Ashton Williams. Current Dallas Cowboys cheerleader Kally B choreographed Team Open Performance.

“If I could, I’d start the season tomorrow,” Snow said. “This past season was a bit of a struggle, but it was a learning experience nevertheless. I am looking forward to the players getting back to playing and just having fun. I have a group of players that want to play for me and believe that I can do this, and it is the greatest feeling in the world.” lose a feeling of connection. Hospital staff would walk around with a picture of them on their protective equipment so patients would know what they looked like.

Alumna Eddye Gallagher inducted into TIPA Hall of Fame

Alumnus Victor Test awarded the AMA Medal of Valor

Test credits the medal to the hard work of his staff during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Victor J. Test ’86, M.D., was awarded the American Medical Association Medal of Honor for his work on behalf of patients and his community during the COVID-19 pandemic.

But for Test, the medal isn’t just his –it’s for his entire team. It signifies all the hard work and dedication his staff did during the pandemic.

And his motivation comes from one veteran patient whose picture resides on his desk, Colonel Fox. Fox had been awarded the medal of honor in Vietnam.

“He said he was proud to have it and wear it for all the other marines who deserved it and didn’t get it,” Test said. “But when people pat me on the back, I try to remember what he told me.”

It was Fox that made the impression on Test of how to honor his entire team.

“I think about Colonel Fox every day. I just loved that man,” he said. “He changed my life.”

Remembering how Fox wore his medal for every other marine, Test wanted to take the advice and display his medal for everyone on his team.

“I think it’s important to remember that for every person that gets recognized, there’s an iceberg of people around them that did their job, did it well, put it on the line for someone else and nobody noticed,” Test said. “[My team] couldn’t have done it without each other.”

The medal was awarded to Test for his work with patients and the community at the Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center in Lubbock. Test and his staff collected protective equipment and developed protocols to prepare for the pandemic before their first case in March 2020.

“We had the opportunity to take the information from Italy, China, New York and Washington and develop our protocols in advance,” Test said. “In terms of manpower, we knew there was going to be an issue. I essentially took all our older faculty’s clinical rotations in the ICU and did them – I did that to protect my division, because I knew they were going to be super stressed.”

Test then shared the protocols with surrounding hospitals, knowing that many facilities in the area weren’t accustomed to providing the level of care that would be needed during the pandemic. The hospital also shared equipment and face shields made from 3D printing with the other county hospitals.

During the time when the ICU was not allowing any visitors, Test and his staff called family members every night to give updates.

“It was a lot of work. We had to do daily updates on the patients,” he said. “It was really stressful. When you work in that kind of circumstance, and you know you’re going to lose a significant number of patients, it’s hard.”

He humbly added that, “I really don’t think what I was doing was all that extraordinary – we did what we had to do.”

Talking with patients while wearing masks made many patients and staff

“In the end, there’s no substitution for regular human interaction,” he said. Test also worked to take care of his staff, calling yoga studios and counseling providers around Lubbock to provide online classes for them.

“We were really lucky because we didn’t lose any pulmonary critical care doctors,” Test said. “We didn’t lose any from illness or burn out – not to say we didn’t suffer from it. We kept the core of our nurses, too. In the end, I was trying to protect my [staff].”

But becoming a doctor was not something Test ever thought he would do.

As an undergraduate at Texas Wesleyan, Test studied biology with no initial plans to even become a doctor. He came to the university to major in history with the prospect of also becoming a tennis or basketball coach.

“If you had asked me my sophomore year, I probably wouldn’t have said I would become a doctor,” he laughed.

After taking science classes and having friends who were looking to go into the medical field, he felt inspired to also major in biology, which eventually led him to medical school.

“Every science class I took, the professors challenged me, inspired me and gave me confidence that I could do more. It made me wonder what I could do – could I achieve more than I thought I could,” Test said. “That’s really unique in education.”

He mentioned his tennis coach, Doc, many professors and fellow students that consistently motivated him to do more. He credits Texas Wesleyan with helping him find the confidence to become a doctor.

“I loved every minute I was at Texas Wesleyan, and I still do,” he said. He encourages students who are looking to go into the medical field to love people, be hard workers and be dedicated to helping not just the patients, but fellow medical staff.

Eddye Gallagher ’69 sat on a bus, library books stacked on her lap, with her sister Sandra on their way home from the downtown Fort Worth public library. Eddye was eager to get home, not too far from Texas Wesleyan University’s campus, and lay on the living room floor cracking open those books. The rides every other week to and from the library with her sister were a cherished memory for Gallagher. It was what led her to read about famous people like Nellie Bly – the pen name for the American journalist Elizabeth Cochran Seaman known for her recordbreaking, around-the-world trip in 72 days and launching new trends in investigative journalism.

“I’d get my big stack of books to bring home. Then she’d [Sandra] get so mad because before the first week was over, I’d be finished and wanting to go back,” Gallagher laughed.

Discovering Nellie Bly during those library trips with Sandra and reading the papers that her parents subscribed to led Gallagher to think about becoming a writer. And while Gallagher hadn’t thought about going to college, she was encouraged to attend by her high school English and journalism teacher Dorothy Estes.

“Dorothy Estes took me aside and she said, ‘You cannot go through your life being smarter than your boss. You’re going to college,’” Gallagher said. Estes got an application to Texas Wesleyan for Gallagher to fill out, which worked well for Gallagher since the campus was within walking distance.

Gallagher received the induction for her hard work and dedication to collegiate journalism during her 47-year career as an adviser for Tarrant County College’s student newspaper.

Gallagher was offered several jobs in public relations through the connections she made with both Estes and staff at Texas Wesleyan University. After graduating, she decided to get her master’s in journalism from the University of North Texas. During her graduate studies, she was offered a job as a professor and an adviser for the student newspaper for Tarrant County College. Three years later, she had a fulltime contract with TCC.

Gallagher said that Estes not only introduced her to several people that would help her throughout her career, but also helped her negotiate her contract with TCC. Estes also had Gallagher meet with the Texas Intercollegiate Press Association, the oldest state collegiate association in the nation.

“Dorothy was a loving woman,” Gallagher said. “She helped me make friends and got me in with all [the journalism] people. It was really nice.”

Throughout her 47-year career at TCC, Gallagher worked as a student newspaper adviser and taught English classes. Even when the college decided to move the newspaper to one campus, not needing multiple advisers, Gallagher stayed to continue teaching English. However, she was able to start working with the college newspaper again and even built online classes so that students from multiple different campuses could participate without having to drive across town.

Her work led her to be named TIPA Adviser of the Year in 2005, College Media Association’s National Distinguished Two-Year Newspaper Adviser of the Year in 2015 and be inducted into the Distinguished Hall of Honor from the Texas Community College Journalism Association in 2017.

“I loved so much of it,” she said.

“Tarrant County College is such a good place, and I loved the students. I loved taking the students to conferences. I loved watching them when they come back from a session and get excited about something that they’d learn. I loved it all.”

Her students have gone on to work for National Public Radio in Washington D.C., The Washington Post, and even become editors for papers in other states.

“They’re scattered around just doing things, and I love it when I get to hear from them,” she said. “It’s fun to watch [them grow].”

Gallagher also served in TIPA as secretary, vice president and president. And this year, she was inducted into the TIPA Hall of Fame for her “dedication to educate, inspire and improve the lives of community college journalism students.”

And when asked how she feels about being inducted, she smiled and said, “Amazing. It was a shock.”

Now retired, Gallagher reflects on all the people who touched her life and career in many ways.

“What really mattered the most to me was that I was in a group of people that I respect and who impacted my life,” she said. “And it all started with Dorothy Estes.”

And her love for written words, which led to a career she was so passionate about with help from Estes, all began with those trips to the library with Sandra.

“She just died last year,” she said. “It’s been rough.”

When sharing Sandra’s obituary on Facebook, Gallagher wrote, “I lost my best friend […] she had my back from day one.”

Jeri Simons Chipman '97 named director of alumni relations

Wesleyan Wine Walk is a hit

Patrons visited the Bernice Coulter Templeton Art Studio, The Rosedale student apartments, Graduate Programs of Nurse Anesthesia and West Library

The Wesleyan Wine Walk is quickly becoming one of the most popular events during Texas Wesleyan’s annual Alumni Reunion. This fun event, which was held April 23, gives TXWES alumni and friends the chance to walk around campus and visit various sites. Each stop provides insight into schools and programs and includes wine and food pairings. All participants also receive a Texas Wesleyan wine glass!

Jeri Chipman ’97 has been named director of alumni relations at Texas Wesleyan University. She has worked in the university advancement department for more than three years, serving as alumni events coordinator and assistant director of annual giving. Prior to her work at Texas Wesleyan, Jeri’s professional experience was in marketing and communications, with a brief stint teaching high school English. The daughter of longtime music professor Stephen Simons, Jeri grew up at Texas Wesleyan, even briefly living on campus in faculty housing. She and her family attended Polytechnic United Methodist Church, and she attended William James Middle School, which is adjacent to campus. Jeri graduated from Texas Wesleyan with a degree in English and was a member of Alpha Chi, Sigma Tau Delta, student ambassadors and participated in the Model Arab League under the direction of professor Ibrahim Salih. Jeri’s long connection to, and love for, Texas Wesleyan will be central to her work engaging and connecting alumni to the university to support its mission.