ACU Today Fall-Winter 2021

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Fall-Winter 2021

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C OMING UP Wildcat Visits ............................................ See acu.edu/visit for available dates or check out our virtual tour Sing Song at the Paramount Theatre ................................................. April 22-25 Class of 1970 Golden Anniversary Virtual Reunion................................. April 20 Class of 1971 Golden Anniversary Virtual Reunion................................... April 21 Day of Giving ............................................................................................. April 27 May Commencement at Wildcat Stadium ............................................... May 7-8

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Wildcat Week ................................................................................... August 17-20 Season-Opening Football at SMU ................................................... September 4 Family Weekend ........................................................................ September 17-18 115th Annual Summit ....................................................... Starting September 19 Homecoming ................................................................................... October 14-17 JMC Gutenberg Celebration .......................................................... October 14 Sports Hall of Fame Dinner and Lettermen’s Reunion ................. October 15

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acuedu • acusports SCOTT DELONY

MVP (Most Valuable Place) With Moody Coliseum under renovation and many other large spaces being repurposed or seeing multiple new uses during the pandemic in 2020-21, Wildcat Stadium has proven to be much more than home to the football program. When physical distancing is necessary, major gatherings of the campus community look first to the stadium, which became the venue in August for many events, notably ACU’s first outdoor Commencement in 55 years (see pages 2-3), and the traditional Candlelight Devo for freshmen at Wildcat Week.

Research and Resources to Fuel the Future NEXT Lab and STAR detector position ACU on the frontier of groundbreaking science exploration

Alumni Awards

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Conquering COVID-19

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Moody Renovation

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Outlive Your Life Award

From the PRESIDENT

ACU Today is published twice a year by the Division of Marketing and Strategic Communications at Abilene Christian University, Abilene, Texas.

STAFF

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with spartan comforts, rooms illuminated at night by kerosene light, and few buildings with running water.

As this issue of ACU Today went to press, we were looking back at a historic and disruptive winter storm in Texas, and a glimpse of what A.B. Barret and Jesse P. Sewell and others endured and overcame early in the 20th century.

Moreover, the pandemic of this past year has all of us feeling like pioneers as we, together, navigate the many ways it has altered life as we knew it.

We are grateful for your prayers and other generosity as we learn to thrive amid all kinds of challenges. I could not be more proud of our stalwart students and the heroic work of our faculty and staff, who continue to live up to ACU’s reputation as one of the nation’s most innovative and forward-thinking universities. Our alumni, too, represent us in amazing ways as they lead and serve others.

This issue delivers content I believe will inform and inspire you:

• Groundbreaking research at ACU (pages 6-15) is raising the visibility

of engineering, physics, chemistry and biochemistry programs while advancing important research in energy, medicine and clean water.

• U.S. News & World Report’s 2021 “America’s Best Colleges” again ranked ACU as the best in Texas and among the nation’s most effective in qualitative ways leading to student success (pages 16-19).

• “The Angels Among Us” reflects on the selfless efforts made by countless Wildcats to help our students and others conquer COVID-19 in our personal and professional lives (pages 20-39).

• Alumni awards (pages 50-55) spotlight difference-making graduates.

• Among new developments, a major renovation is underway of landmark Moody Coliseum, which will return in late 2022 as a gleaming new home for Chapel, athletics, Commencement and other major events at ACU (pages 48-49). A prototype for the residence hall of the future is rising on East North 16th Street, and will anchor a new Freshman Village concept (page 74).

• We will soon realize new opportunties to expand our recruiting and elevate our brand in the western U.S. through membership in a venerable Division I athletics conference (pages 42-47).

• We have a record enrollment for the third straight year (page 62), and in our next issue we will share more exciting news about ACU’s future.

God is good, and faithful. Your faithful support truly makes a difference in our work each day.

May you and yours be safe and well. Thank you for believing in us and in our mission! 

DR. PHIL SCHUBERT (’91), President The mission of ACU is to educate students for Christian service and leadership throughout the world.

JEREMY ENLOW

e have often wondered what it must have been like to be among our founders in 1906, endeavoring to establish a Christian school in West Texas

Editor: Ron Hadfield (’79) Assistant Editors: Wendy (Waller ’01) Kilmer, Robin (Ward ’82) Saylor Sports Editor: Chris Macaluso Production Manager: Amber (Gilbert ’99) Bunton Contributing Writers This Issue: Dr. Cheryl Mann Bacon (’76), Dr. Cole Bennett, Sarah Carlson (’06), Katie Noah Gibson (’06), Jonathan Smith (’06) Contributing Photographers This Issue: Greg Andersen, Amber (Carroll ’06) Brantly, Steve Butman, Scott Delony (’06), Rick Dempsey, Jeremy Enlow, Brett Garcia (’21), Gerald Ewing, James Fitzgerald III, Rick Freeda / WWE, Taylor Leigh Hassan, Kristi Jones, Kim Leeson, Glenn Losoya, Lexi McCown (’22), Mike Mulholland, Mackensie Nellis, Tim Nelson, Clark Potts (’53), Gunnar Rathbun, Gary Rhodes (’07), Ben Solomon, Deanna (Romero ’16) Tuttle, Maria Fernandia Hernandez Vasquez, Paul White (’68) Contributing Graphic Designers/Illustrators This Issue: Greg Golden (’87), Holly Harrell, Todd Mullins, Amy Willis (’19 MBA) Editorial Assistants: Vicki (Warner ’83) Britten, Emerald (Cardenas ’08) Cassidy, Sharon (McDaniel ’79) Fox, Rachel (Jinkerson ’11) Goodman, Rendi (Young ’83) Hahn, Sean Hennigan, Riley Wills

A Legacy OF LOVE AND SERVICE

ADVISORY COMMITTEE Administration: Suzanne Allmon (’79), Kevin Campbell (’00), Dr. Stephanie (Toombs ’90) Hamm, Dr. Robert Rhodes Advancement: Jim Orr, J.D. (’86), Billie Currey, J.D. (’70), Samantha (Bickett ’01) Adkins Alumni Relations: Craig Fisher (’92), Jama (Fry ’97) Cadle, April Young (’16), Mandy (Becker ’13) Collum Marketing and Strategic Communications: Linda Bonnin Student Life: Tamara (Boyer ’03) Long Ex-officio: Dr. Phil Schubert (’91)

CORRESPONDENCE ACU Today: hadfieldr@acu.edu ACU Alumni Association: alumni@acu.edu Record Changes: ACU Box 29132, Abilene, Texas 79699-9132, 325-674-2620

ON THE WEB Abilene Christian University: acu.edu Address changes and EXperiences: acu.edu/alumni ACU Advancement Office (Exceptional Fund, Gift Records): acu.edu/give ACU Alumni Website: acu.edu/alumni Watch Us on YouTube: youtube.com/acu Find Us on Facebook: facebook.com/abilenechristian facebook.com/acusports facebook.com/welcometoACU Follow Us on Twitter: twitter.com/acuedu twitter.com/acusports twitter.com/acuadmissions Follow Us on Instagram: instagram.com/acuedu instagram.com/acualumni instagram.com/acuadmissions

an (’73) and Donna Garrett have been involved in the Abilene Christian University community for half a century, from Donna’s role as faculty and in Women for ACU, and Dan’s work in Advancement, on the Board of Trustees and as the first president of The ACU Foundation. Throughout it all, they welcomed thousands of students into their home for Sunday meals and conversations.

Dan stepped down from his role as president in 2018 and officially retired this past May. Through his new emeritus role, he’ll continue to work with families to help them accomplish their planned giving needs.

This transition is an end of an era, said the Garretts’ youngest son, John (’07).

To honor their parents and mark this family milestone, John and brothers Grant (’99) and Mack (’01) decided to create an endowed scholarship in their parents’ names.

“Legacy is a word we have heard our dad use hundreds of times over the years,” said John Garrett.

“He has also always preached the importance of ACU’s endowment and how it creates an annual lifeblood for the university that makes Christian higher education affordable for future generations. Creating an endowed scholarship in mom and dad’s name is one of the best ways we can honor them and their legacy.

“We are proud of the legacy our parents have written at ACU,” he continued. “We are proud of how it lives on in each of us, in our families and in their grandkids. And we are proud to know it will continue as new students, for generations, will receive their generous scholarship and hear their story. Thank you for everything, mom and dad, and congratulations for your incredible lives of service.”

If you are interested in creating an endowed scholarship at ACU, please contact our team.

Hunter Welcome Center ACU Box 29200 Abilene, Texas 79699-9200

800-979-1906 • 325-674-2508 • theacufoundation.org • bradleybenham@acu.edu

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Research and Resources to Fuel the Future U.S. News Rankings The Angels Among Us: Conquering COVID-19 Outlive Your Life: Jeannette Lipford Welcome to the WAC Court Vision: Moody Renovation Begins 2020 Alumni Awards 2 Horizons

56 #ACU

58 The Bookcase 62 Hilltop View 68 Academic News

Don’t let the Colorado state flag on Lunsford Foundation Trail fool you. This is Abilene and ACU’s campus, namely the east face of the Hunter Welcome Center under one of this winter’s three rare but major snowfall events, this one greeting students returning for Spring 2021.

(Photograph by Scott Delony)

ON THE COVER

Sophomore engineering major Keaton Chance (left) and Dr. Tim Head measure the temperature of a vessel into which molten salt has been dispensed in the NEXT Lab at ACU. (Photograph by Jeremy Enlow)

74 Campus News 80 Wildcat Sports 87 Your Gifts at Work 88 EXperiences 112 Second Glance

OUR PROMISE

ACU is a vibrant, innovative, Christ-centered community that engages students in authentic spiritual and intellectual growth, equipping them to make a real difference in the world.

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The Saturday night Sing Song show in February 1975 drew a sold-out crowd after students comtemplated a boycott, in part, over a proposed major concert canceled by ACU administrators because of its cost.

INSET Neil Diamond (left), Ray Charles (top right) and pop band The Association (right) were among the most popular concert stars of the Moody Coliseum Attractions series. A lithographed poster advertising The Association concert misspelled the name of the college.

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HORI Z ONS Moody Moments: Major concerts were lifeblood of coliseum’s early years Now that it’s undergoing a massive renovation (see pages 48-49), it’s a good time for a look back at some Moody Coliseum moments that made ACU history.

The arena was a natural for concerts, and the Moody Coliseum Atractions series from 1968-70 brought a variety of pop, folk, jazz and blues standouts of the day, including: The Association, Dionne Warwick, Sergio Mendes and Brasil 66, Ray Charles and Neil Diamond.

Later, Jose Feliciano (1971), Kenny Rogers (1972), England Dan and John Ford Coley (1977), Air Supply (1981 and 1983), Kenny Loggins (1982), Chris Christian (1983), Lee Greenwood (1984), Michael W. Smith (1987 and 1991), Barbara Mandrell (1989) and others attracted fans. The most frequent featured act was country star Ronnie Milsap (1980, 1981 and 1984).

ACU students love their concerts, and in January 1975, grievances over a canceled one being negotiated with Kris Kristofferson and then-wife Rita Coolidge in Shotwell Stadium contributed to the Students’ Association considering a boycott of Sing Song. Students eventually voted to participate and the result was the largest attendance yet for the the annual February extravaganza (see page 67) in an arena where many memorable concerts have been held.

Watch social media and your mail for an opportunity to participate in a campaign to leave your name on the new version of one of Abilene Christian’s most beloved venues.

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HORI Z ONS Coronavirus precautions move Commencement to Wildcat Stadium in 2020

ACU president Dr. Phil Schubert (’91) speaks to the Saturday morning crowd Aug. 8 in Wildcat Stadium.

SCOTT DELONY

INSET Natalie Flores waves to family members after earning her Bachelor of Science in Nursing degree, and ACU board chair April (Bullock ’89) Anthony prepares to hand a diploma tube to a new alumna.

Health precautions during the COVID-19 pandemic caused a major reshuffling of May Commencement, with the event rescheduled to Aug, 7-8, 2020, and the venue changing to Wildcat Stadium.

The home for ACU football games was the only one large enough to accommodate the physical distancing required; some five to seven events would have been necessary to hold ceremonies in their traditional home of Moody Coliseum.

The first outdoor Commencement since 1967 required special chairs and footwear (no spike or high heels) to protect the turf on Anthony Field, distanced seating, and plenty of bottled water for hydration.

Three ceremonies were held early (9 a.m. Saturday) and late (8:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday) to keep everyone cool and the mid-summer heat at bay.

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Research engineer Jessica (Price ’20) Yerger and senior engineering major Aline Ineza take a sample of molten salt at the NEXT Lab in ACU’s Engineering and Physics Laboratories at Bennett Gymnasium.

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to fuel the future Students and faculty in engineering, physics, chemistry and biochemistry bring new opportunities to ACU, building on a legacy of research and excellence

S TO RY BY W EN DY K I LM ER • PH OTOG R A PH Y BY J EREM Y EN LOW

CU’s first physics department chair, Dr. Charles Ivey (’65), joined the faculty in 1969 as a 20-something, fresh out of a Ph.D. program at The University of Texas at Austin and with some unconventional ideas about an undergraduate physics program.

His friend, Ray McGlothlin Jr. (’49), a member and future chair of the ACU Board of Trustees, had recruited him with the promise of building a department from the ground up.

“We didn’t have to follow the path of other departments; we could accelerate ourselves,” Ivey said. “Instead of simply going to class and learning as an undergraduate, we went for a model of ‘go to class, then go to the lab and do research, then present and defend it in front of peers.’ What I wanted to do, and what we did, is get research grants, teach graduate-level material in undergraduate classes, and bring really high-quality physicists to become faculty.”

Those ambitious aims in the early days shaped the department for the next half century, taking students to the nation’s top laboratories

and, more recently, bringing industry-changing research opportunities to campus in Abilene through the Nuclear Energy eXperimental Testing Laboratory’s foray into the world of advanced nuclear energy and the longtime work of the Atom Smashers research group in unraveling the mysteries of the building blocks of the universe.

next lab

too good to be true

As president of the university, Dr. Phil Schubert (’91) knew he shouldn’t pour cold water on the ideas of his faculty. But, realistically, this was too good to be true. Wasn’t it?

Dr. Rusty Towell (’90), professor and then-chair of the Department of Engineering and Physics, and his colleagues had presented a vision for building a molten salt reactor that would create safe, clean energy and had potential to cure cancer, help the environment and provide clean, drinkable water.

“I’d always heard the phrase ‘If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is,’ and that’s where ACU TODAY

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Dr. Kim Pamplin (’91), Dr. Rusty Towell (’90) and Dr. Tim Head discuss strategy. Pamplin is professor of chemistry and biochemistry; Towell is professor of engineering and physics, and director of the NEXT Lab; and Head is professor and chair of engineering and physics.

TOP RIGHT: Research engineer Vicente Rojas (’17), senior engineeering major Yves Ngenzi and research engineer Jessica (Price ’20) Yerger insert a molten salt storage container into its support frame.

LEFT: A NEXT research student monitors thermal images of the Molten Salt Test Loop during operation.

my thoughts immediately went,” Schubert admits. “I was skeptical that the picture they were painting was reasonable.”

Still, he trusted their expertise and instincts and wanted to support their interests.

“I kept asking questions, and the more I heard them describe it and saw their excitement, I began to think, ‘Part of research is failure. Maybe it’s credible, maybe not, but it’ll be a good experience for faculty and students,’ ” Schubert said. “So I put aside whether it was realistic and said I’d try to help secure funding to get them out of the gate.”

Towell, now director of NEXT Lab and professor of engineering and physics, knew the feeling. It’s what kept him from seizing the idea for a few years prior, even as Ivey, now a member of the department’s Visiting Committee, peppered him 8

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on a regular basis with the question, “What do you think about a molten salt reactor?”

Ivey had heard about the molten salt reactor in its early days from Dr. Eugene Wigner, one of the pioneers of the technology and a Nobel Prize-winning nuclear physicist. Wigner visited The University of Texas at Austin while Ivey was a doctoral student doing graduate research, and the two met and had conversations about molten salt reactors. Although Ivey was intrigued by the technology, he was in the midst of his own research, and the idea took a backseat until his retirement.

“When I retired, I wanted to stay in Abilene and help students,” Ivey said. “And in doing some reading, I saw the molten salt reactor subject had come back up. I started talking to Rusty and David Halbert, M.D. (’54).

David had this round table in his kitchen, and we met at that table regularly for the next year. I’d explain to him why this was so important: This is the way we can clean up our environment, we can produce water, we can do all kinds of things. And I kept talking to Rusty about it.”

Persistence paid off, even though Towell’s initial reaction was similar to Schubert’s.

“When I first looked into it, it seemed too good to be true,” Towell said. “But I had a sabbatical coming up, and I said I would use some of that time to think about it. I learned about advanced reactors, did more reading, attended conferences and talked to industry partners.”

His sabbatical research culminated in an 18-minute talk at the first TEDxACU event in 2015.

The presentation quickly captured the attention of several people – Ivey and Halbert, of course, but also Jim Porter, G. Randy Nicholson (’59), Jack McGlothlin (’51), and Jack’s son, Shawn McGlothlin (’89) – who were interested in funding and supporting the idea. In 2016, ACU’s Nuclear Energy eXperimental Testing Laboratory officially formed.

The McGlothlins purchased the team a molten salt pump, and the group began learning what it means to melt salt, how to work with it and where the current technology gaps were – pieces such as a flow meter, pressure meters and level sensors.

“Detectors and instrumentation are things ACU has been doing at national physics labs for years, so

that was where we began,” Towell said. “We started small, building a loop and a flow meter. We reached out to engineers within our department and the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, and said, ‘We want to build this program.’ We started looking at nuclear energy. We knew we wanted to focus on building things, not just designing them.”

Molten salt reactors have long been dubbed “chemistry reactors.”

That’s because their success depends on understanding properties of corrosion, salt’s interaction with anything it touches, the composition and purification of salt, and the types and amounts of elements created by nuclear reactions.

So involving ACU’s Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry was essential from the beginning. NEXT Lab makes use of its equipment and facilities, and partners with colleagues to assess the best set of analysis tools. Two faculty and 10 students from the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry are on the NEXT Lab team. Their department boasts a similar focus on undergraduate research on and off campus, and through internships around the nation.

NEXT also collaborates with faculty and students from the School of Information Technology, computer science, mathematics, accounting, and advertising/public relations.

was overcome by finding the right people, in the right places, at the right time. One of the first and perhaps most influential people was Doug Robison, J.D. After getting the go ahead from a still-skeptical Schubert, Towell presented the NEXT Lab’s molten salt research reactor idea to the President’s Venture Council, a group of ACU benefactors and entrepreneurs who provide funding for emerging opportunities outside the normal budget.

Towell had barely made it to the back of the room after his presentation when Robison pulled him aside and asked, “If you were fully funded, what could you do?”

The question took Towell aback, but it was a genuine and natural question for Robison. In addition to running an oil and gas exploration and production company at the forefront of the hydraulic fracturing revolution, Robison had served on the Texas Energy Planning Council. He chaired its Energy Supply Committee and spent a year conducting hearings around the state about how to maximize energy production.

One of the major findings in his report? The only technology that exists to replace hydrocarbons is nuclear. That was in 2004, more than

a decade before his “right time, right place” encounter with Towell.

“I had been working on things like this for close to 20 years,” Robison said. “It was easy for me to see the potential and importance of this technology, knowing that we have to, at some point, move on to the next form of energy production.

Non-renewables are nonrenewable for a reason. There’s a finite supply.

Our current nuclear power is a great source of energy, but there are issues with it. This technology solves those issues. That’s what got me excited about it and made it easy for me to make that leap. I saw the fulfillment of things I had been working on for well over a decade.”

Robison’s initial commitment came in the form of $3.2 million contributed through the Robison Excelsior Foundation in 2018, and in that same year, molten salt flowed through a test loop at NEXT Lab for the first time.

Any lingering skepticism lurking in Schubert’s mind was disrupted by a phone call to his office in 2018 from then-U.S. Secretary of Energy Rick Perry. The former Texas governor had heard of the nuclear energy project and wanted to send someone from his office to ACU to learn more.

“Wow,” was Schubert’s reaction.

The Right People, the Right Place, the Right Time From the start and throughout the process, Towell said the initial skepticism of “too good to be true”

Senior chemistry major Melissa Powell performs chemical analysis on a salt solution with a flame atomic absorption spectrometer in Onstead Science Center.

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LEFT: Architectural rendering of the proposed Science and Engineering Research Center (SERC) at ACU. BELOW: Junior biochemistry major Benjamin Ash (left) and junior chemistry major Emma Bonamie work on a process to perform chemical analysis of molten salt in Onstead Science Center.

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Perry’s office sent the nation’s then-chief nuclear energy official, Ed McGinnis, to Abilene to visit the newly formed NEXT Lab and hear from Towell and others about plans for the future. He was impressed and told Schubert as much.

“He pulled me aside and said, ‘What your scientists are doing is amazing. This is what the U.S. needs to do. You are in exactly the sweet spot of what needs to take place.

I’d like to get my whole team in a room and have you explain what you’re doing, so we can be engaged and advise you and proceed down this road. We believe this is really important,’ ” Schubert said.

McGinnis made arrangements for Robison, Schubert, Towell and Dr. Tony Hill (’90) to meet with his team at the U.S. Department of Energy in Washington. It was the first of several trips the group would take to D.C., beginning the processes of acquiring necessary materials and seeking licensing through the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

All along, ACU’s planning and research wasn’t taking place in a silo; Towell, Ivey and Hill reached out to colleagues from other universities.

They shared ideas, brainstormed and looked at possibilities for collaboration. In 2018, those plans formalized as Georgia Institute of Technology, Texas A&M University and The University of Texas at Austin joined ACU to form NEXTRA, the NEXT Research Alliance, with the goal to design, license and commission a molten-salt-cooled, liquid-fueled research reactor to be hosted on or near ACU’s campus.

Meanwhile, Robison undertook a different kind of research – exploring the best way to fund such work, beyond dependence on governmental grants. After

consulting with legal experts, Robison landed on sponsored research as the best solution and formed Natura Resources, a for-profit entity designed to be the funding instrument for the research.

In 2020 Natura Resources announced funding of $30.5 million to NEXTRA over the next three years, with $21.5 million going to ACU and the remaining $9 million divided among the other three universities.

“Money is a tool,” Robison said.

“We all have some measure of time, talent and treasure, and we’re going to spend those accordingly – maybe for good, maybe for bad – but we’re going to use them for something.

And I couldn’t think of many other things that could have as much impact for good.”

The potential for good is explicit in the mission of NEXT Lab: to provide global solutions to the world’s most critical needs.

“Ultimately, we want to advance liquid-fueled molten salt reactors to address the world’s need for clean, inexpensive and safe energy, water, and medical isotopes to treat cancer,” Towell said. “When thinking about the potential impact on the world, this project is like no other; its longlasting implications are amazing. To be part of that is very exciting.

When I think about that goal of blessing the world through this technology and how it aligns with ACU’s mission, it seems to be a perfect match.”

Next Steps In working toward the ultimate goal, a significant intermediate one is to complete construction of a molten salt research reactor by 2025.

To date, the NEXT Lab’s progress includes having secured the first patent – for a high-temperature

flow meter – and having a second patent in the provisional stage.

A second version of the salt test loop was installed in the Engineering and Physics Laboratories at Bennett Gymnasium in January, and by early summer 2021 the former Taylor Elementary School gymnasium will become the new home of research space to include a radiochemistry lab and a larger scale molten salt test system. Abilene ISD built a new Taylor campus in northeast Abilene, and ACU purchased the original school property on the corner of East North 16th Street and Judge Ely Boulevard.

Once funding is secured, ACU will break ground on a 28,000-square-foot Science and Engineering Research Center on the former Taylor property.

The SERC is scheduled for completion in 2022 and will house the next iteration of molten salt test system, allowing all the components to be tested in full size before constructing the actual research reactor. This research facility will be the centerpiece of the renovation and development of the former Taylor site.

A Whole Lot of Sense The view in 2021 is a bit different than in the early days of dreaming in 2015.

“This has grown so quickly and so big, it’s sometimes challenging for me to understand where we are,” Towell said. “We now have 26 faculty and staff and 46 students working on the project, just at ACU, and more than 100 if you include the other institutions. That sort of rapid growth is something I never envisioned as possible. But belief in it by president Schubert and Doug Robison, having their funding and support, put us in this position.”

Schubert’s perspective has

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The hot salt heats a second fluid that causes a turbine to produce electricity

Q&A: Understanding molten salt reactors Where did this technology originate?

Liquid-fueled molten salt reactors are not a new idea, but the concept has been dormant for some time. A successful research program at Oak Ridge National Laboratory in Tennessee was dedicated to this work from 1958-76, and from it came important advances in nuclear reactor research.

The objective was the development of liquid-fueled molten salt reactors, and this work successfully demonstrated their viability.

If it was so successful, why didn’t it continue?

The research program was canceled prematurely, not because the technology was invalid or impractical, but for various nonscientific reasons, such as the development time and political, military and commercial issues. The primary developer paying for the original nuclear power plants was the U.S. Navy, which wanted the quickest path to deploying nuclear power for submarines.

Is it safe to have a nuclear research reactor on a university campus?

Yes. Nuclear power in western countries enjoys the best safety record in the world, and the improvements in liquid-fueled molten salt research reactors provide significant safety enhancements.

It’s impossible for a molten salt reactor to cause a nuclear explosion and release of harmful radiation. The use of low-pressure coolants removes the largest single risk from current nuclear plants. The use of liquid fuel allows for a drain in the bottom of the small reactor.

If anything were to go wrong with the plant, the fuel and coolant would drain to a passively cooled sub-critical storage location where the salt would then solidify, safely containing all of the fuel and radioactive fission fragments.

expanded as well, from an idea that was “too good to be true” to a project that makes too much sense to pass up.

“This work extends from an existing area of competency and strength – our longstanding

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Fission heats the salt in the reactor core

Cancer-fighting medical isotopes are produced in the core and can be removed from the salt Emergency “freeze plug” makes the reactor safe Passively cooled salt dump tank

What size is the research reactor to be housed at NEXT Lab? The research reactor will be small, roughly the shape of a cylinder 6 feet tall and 5 feet in diameter. A small amount of low-enriched uranium-235 is the nuclear fuel required, and it is only available through the U.S. Department of Energy. It is not high-enriched uranium used by the military for making weapons.

Are there reactors on other university campuses?

Yes, reactors at other universities have been safely located for years in urban areas.

There are 31 research or test reactors in the U.S., including three in Texas. The one on the campus of The University of Texas at Austin is the newest in the nation, having been built in the 1990s. Another in a densely populated major city is in Boston at Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

Others are at universities in California, Colorado, Florida, Idaho, Indiana, Kansas, Maryland, Missouri, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Utah, Washington and Wisconsin.

incredible excellence in the Department of Engineering and Physics for 30-plus years,” he said.

“And now we’re looking at pushing forward to provide basic needs of humanity. I can’t think of anything that fits better with what we’re about

Turbine

Heat exchangers

Extra heat from the secondary fluid can desalinate water

How does a reactor create clean drinking water?

Liquid-fueled molten salt reactors operate at high temperatures that allow them to be efficient heat sources for industrial applications, including the production of synthetic fuels and desalination of water.

Given that one in three people around the world suffer from a shortage of fresh water, development of this technology can meet a fundamental global need.

How do medical isotopes come into play?

Radioisotope treatment and diagnostic methods are common in a variety of clinical practices, including oncology, cardiology, hematology, urology and nephrology.

Molybdenum-99 (Mo-99) and bismuth-213 (Bi-213) are two radiopharmaceuticals that show great promise, especially for cancer treatment.

Mo-99 is in high demand because of its applications in radiodiagnostic procedures that allow doctors to make diagnoses quickly without the need for an invasive procedure.

Bi-213 has opened doors for targeted alpha therapy, used to kill dispersed cancers such as leukemia and lymphoma. This provides a new treatment option, one that would spare patients from chemotherapy, and in limited trials it has been effective.

Bi-213 and Mo-99 are both formed most efficiently in the natural nuclear processes inside a liquid-fueled molten salt reactor. 

at ACU – being God’s hands and feet in the world. For those reasons, this just makes a whole lot of sense.” 

Visit acunextlab.org to learn more

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world-class physics research, close to home A long history and established reputation in the area of undergraduate physics research made possible ACU’s leadership role for NEXT Lab and NEXTRA, and in 2020, it also afforded a new opportunity for Abilene Christian to work on experiments with national laboratories while staying on campus.

For nearly 40 years, undergraduate physics students at ACU have been devoting their summers to working alongside faculty in national laboratories, and their research has been continuously funded by the U.S. Department of Energy. But like almost all aspects of campus and life, the COVID-19 pandemic changed the research experience.

The physics group – who coined the name Atom Smashers – usually travels to top laboratories such as Brookhaven (New York), Fermilab (Illinois) and Los Alamos

Nursing major Maxwel Kiplagat delicately cleans a scintillator tile for the new STAR hadron calorimeter. This tile is one of 7,000 produced by a diverse team of students on campus at ACU and shipped to Brookhaven National Laboratory in New York.

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Dr. Jim Drachenberg talks with junior physics majors Emily Branson (left) and Beth Jennings as they apply reflective paint to the edges of scintillator tile stacks.

ABOVE: Junior engineering majors Colton Gates (left) and Lily McIntosh use a polishing wheel to bring two edges of each scintillator tile to a mirror finish. The other two tile edges are sanded and coated with reflective paint.

(New Mexico) but didn’t have that opportunity in Summer 2020.

However, ACU’s commitment to allow research to continue in safe ways led to a historic first: completing hands-on work on a major U.S. detector right here in Abilene.

ACU is one of the lead institutions on a $2 million National Science Foundation grant to improve the STAR detector, an experiment at the Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider at Brookhaven National Laboratory on Long Island. Over the last 18 months, ACU, The Ohio State University and UCLA all participated in machining scintillator tiles for a hadron calorimeter for the STAR project.

Valparaiso University was involved with the final clean-up process and packaging of components.

“We were the only institution to perform the whole process: receiving the raw materials, performing all machining and cleanup, and shipping completely finished detectors to Brookhaven,” said Dr. Jim Drachenberg (’04), ACU associate professor of engineering and physics.

“Whereas the efforts at OSU and UCLA were done by professional machinists, ours was done entirely by undergraduate students, all on our campus. What’s more, we pulled this off in a global pandemic.”

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but was disrupted mid-semester

by COVID-19, along with the rest of campus life. While much of the university and the world remained at some level of shutdown, the state of Texas and ACU deemed research to be an essential activity, and Abilene Christian students in the Department of Engineering and Physics worked from late spring through the summer and early fall machining tiles that are now part of the fully assembled calorimeter at Brookhaven.

“We were one of the only shops in our collaboration that were given the opportunity to work safely rather than being completely shut down,” Drachenberg said. As a result, a significant fraction of UCLA’s allotment was handed off to ACU. Students worked long weeks cutting and polishing scintillator tiles, maintaining health and safety protocols, and gaining irreplaceable experience without leaving their home campus.

“Being some of the only people on campus, they forged their own communities within our research group and the NEXT Lab research students,” Drachenberg said. “They worked wearing face masks and shields with physical distancing and all the now-familiar inconveniences that accompany these days, and they performed masterfully. In short, they

worked safely, diligently, brilliantly and joyfully.”

They also recruited roommates who were in town and international students who weren’t able to return home, bringing biology majors, nursing majors and Bible majors to learn the processes and work alongside the physics team.

“It was a great experience to talk to them and bring a different perspective,” said Emily Branson, a junior physics major. “It was fun to explain physics to them and fun to be on campus and working with a lot of different people.”

Branson had spent the summer of 2019 working at Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory and had planned to work at Brookhaven in 2020. When travel plans were canceled, instead of returning home to Colleyville for the summer, she stayed in Abilene with the STAR group.

“I thought it was a really cool opportunity to be able to keep working with the group in Abilene,” she said. “There were about a dozen of us, so it wasn’t too many to manage. We spent the entire summer together. We worked with coronavirus constraints, but we still got to work on cool things, and it was a small enough group to be manageable for professors

The STAR project at Brookhaven National Laboratory includes several types of detectors designed to study the formation and characteristics of the quark-gluon plasma (QGP), a state of matter that exists at sufficiently high energy densities.

Detecting and understanding the QGP offers a glimpse at the early moments of the universe.

to make sure we were following safety protocols.”

Junior engineering major Lily McIntosh began working with the Atom Smashers in Summer 2019. Her initial role in the STAR project involved figuring out how to manufacture the scintillator tiles – what tools, methods and techniques would be needed.

“In Summer 2020, we really hit the ground running on the manufacturing,” she said. “Some had strengths in polishing, and others were good at using the mill. I used the mill a lot; I had been using it before.

People who were strong in certain aspects focused there, but we all did some of everything.”

The students put in 40-hour work weeks with half of the time devoted to the hands-on STAR work and the other half devoted to a variety of research, meetings, learning software programs, and specialized activities many students don’t experience until enrolled in graduate school.

“One major theme for me over the last two summers was learning to trust my own judgment, as a student and professional,” McIntosh said.

“When you’re in a workplace, you have to make decisions and do work to the best of your ability. I doubted what I could do as a freshman coming in, but I learned the importance of work ethic and doing one’s work well, and that it’s OK to trust your own judgment.”

As has been the case historically, a primary benefit for students is the close interaction and collaboration with faculty, whether in Abilene or on location at one of the national laboratories.

“I learned so much by working with the professors and asking

Stacks of scintillator tiles await final clean up for shipment to Brookhaven National Lab. The tiles collect energy deposited by subatomic particles traveling near the speed of light, created at the Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider.

Studying the particles produced in these collisions will illuminate mysteries surrounding the basic building blocks of the universe.

questions,” Branson said. “It’s not just the physics knowledge; it’s being comfortable asking questions and sorting out how our work making tiles in Abilene goes to a detector in New York and how we are able to have a part in that. It’s talking to professors about the overarching big picture, applied physics and what we’re learning in class.”

Drachenberg is a rich source of that type of knowledge. He has been involved in the overall STAR project since his graduate work at Texas A&M University, and he later served as deputy spokesperson for the STAR collaboration.

Even before joining the ACU faculty in 2018, his STAR colleagues asked if he could convince Abilene Christian to join the work, based on its longstanding reputation of involving undergraduates in this type of research. ACU students (including Drachenberg as a student in 2002) traveled to New York annually to work on the groundbreaking PHENIX detector at Brookhaven from 2000-18. The STAR detector is at the same facility as PHENIX, a different part of the same accelerator.

“For years we’ve been having students going to New York to work on the PHENIX project and to Virginia and to Chicago, but now we’re doing hands-on work and research here on campus, thanks in part to our new facilities,” Drachenberg said. “These experiences wouldn’t have happened without the generous donors who made possible the Onstead Science Center and the Physics and Engineering Laboratories at Bennett Gymnasium.” 

Visit bnl.gov/rhic/STAR.asp to learn more about the STAR detector ACU TODAY

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Rankings For a second year in a row, ACU earns a spot among top U.S. universities in the area of student success

Candlelight Devo – as seen here in 2019 and in a pandemic-distanced version in 2020 on the back cover – kicks off Wildcat Week for first-year students at ACU. In 2021, Abilene Christian continues to be ranked among the nation’s best universities in programs that most determine student success.

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BY W E N DY K I LM E R

L

ast year, Abilene Christian University

celebrated as its recognition reached new heights in the 2020 U.S. News & World Report rankings, and this year, a second round of similar honors underscores that ACU has made a name for itself, specifically in the significant area of student success.

For the second year in a row, Abilene Christian was the highest-ranking Texas university in a U.S. News & World Report benchmark focused on programs that lead to student success.

This section of the annual rankings – called “Academic Programs to Look For” – was introduced last year. The list is described as a national benchmark of “colleges and universities that offer well-regarded study abroad, service learning and other special programs that, research shows, are linked to student success.”

In the 2021 rankings, ACU achieved top 10 status in three of the eight areas of emphasis impacting student success, named alongside many well-known, top-tier national universities: •

FIRST-YEAR EXPERIENCE (1) Agnes Scott College; (2) Elon; (3) South Carolina; (4) Abilene Christian, Amherst College; (6) Georgia State; (7) Berea College; (8) Appalachian State; (9) Arizona State, Yale

•

LEARNING COMMUNITIES (1) Elon; (2) Yale; (3) Agnes Scott College; (4) Princeton; (5) Georgia State; (6) Evergreen State College; (7) Appalachian State, Dartmouth College; (9) Abilene Christian, Michigan State

•

SERVICE LEARNING (1) Berea College; (2) Elon; (3) Tulane; (4) Boston College; (5) Portland State, Notre Dame; (7) Georgetown; (8) Duke; (9) Stanford; (10) Abilene Christian

No other Texas university was named in the top 10 of any category in the “Academic Programs to Look For” section.

In addition to its top-10 rankings, Abilene Christian also was #44 nationally in the Undergraduate Research category, making it the only Texas institution to be ranked in four of the eight categories.

“Our placement in these rankings reflects our commitment to student experience, collaboration and the exceptional learning environment offered here,” said ACU president Dr. Phil Schubert (’91). “It’s gratifying when peers and external institutions continue to recognize what we see every day – our faculty, staff and students living out our mission and making a real difference in the world.”

That continued recognition is more than incidental. Over the last year and a half, the university placed a strategic focus on projects and experiences ACU TODAY

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Rankings Resound

ACU is the only Texas institution nationally ranked in four student success areas

#

4 # 9 # 10 # 44

FIRST-YEAR EXPERIENCE

Orientation can go only so far in making freshmen feel connected. Many schools now build into the curriculum first-year seminars or other programs that bring small groups of students together with faculty or staff on a regular basis.

#9 Arizona State, Yale • #17 Princeton • #19 Baylor • #25 Texas

LEARNING COMMUNITIES

In these communities, students typically take two or three linked courses as a group and get to know one another and their professors well. Some learning communities are also residential.

#9 Michigan State • #12 Vanderbilt • #14 Duke • #18 Rice • #21 MIT

SERVICE LEARNING

Required (or for-credit) volunteer work in the community is an instructional strategy in these programs. What’s learned in the field bolsters what happens in class, and vice versa.

#12 Vanderbilt • #14 Cornell • #16 North Carolina • #14 Michigan State

UNDERGRADUATE RESEARCH / CREATIVE PROJECTS

Independently or in small teams, and mentored by a faculty member, students do intensive and self-directed research or creative work that results in an original scholarly paper or other product that can be formally presented on or off campus.

#44 (tie) Boston College, Emory, Penn, Virginia, Wisconsin, Virginia Tech

Category descriptions as defined by U.S. News 2021 “Best Colleges”

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# related to student success. Dr. Susan (Lester ’92) Lewis, vice provost, and Derran Reese (’00), director of experiential learning, led an initiative focused on developing and communicating ACU’s expertise and strength in these student success areas through its Center for Careers and Experiential Learning (ACCEL).

One of those initiatives is a partnership with the Council for Christian Colleges and Universities to host a two-year research seminar series and national conference titled “Best Practices in Christian Higher Ed.” In it, a cohort of scholars from across the nation will participate in workshops and engage in research on a specific topic over a two-year period. The seminar will culminate in a national conference on the Abilene campus in 2022 and an edited volume published by ACU Press.

The first seminar’s theme is “Cultivating Engaged Learners Through First-Year Experiences.”

The first cohort of 12 members began in Fall 2020 with virtual meetings.

A second cohort, focused on global learning and study abroad, will begin in Fall 2022.

Internally, the ACCEL and the Adams Center for Teaching and Learning launched the Experiential Learning Development Program (ELDP), an initiative designed to help ACU’s academic departments develop and implement new experiential learning requirements for students, as well as improve and maximize the current experiential learning opportunities.

“The faculty who have participated in ELDP have risen to the challenge of considering new, effective ways to engage students in key, discipline-specific experiences,” Lewis said. “By focusing on experiential learning at the program level, we have seen curricular innovation and creativity flourish.”

Another initiative, Amplify (AMP)

will create a pathway for holistic student formation and development, integrating academics, spiritual formation, experiential learning, professional development and other aspects of the ACU experience, all tailored to a student’s specific major. Students will chart their progress and forecast what lies ahead through an app where they can earn achievements in various aspects of their student career. This holistic approach is framed by ACU’s mission, encouraging students to focus on their development as Christian servants and leaders for the sake of the world.

“Even in its first year, the work of our Center for Careers and Experiential Learning has been impactful,” Schubert said.

That impact may have been providential during a year when the student experience was threatened

by COVID-19. ACU’s determined balance – implementing safety protocols while still protecting much of campus life and in-person academic interaction – seems to have been significant for students. As of mid-January, freshman retention from the Fall 2020 to Spring 2021 semester was at 90.5% (compared to 91.3% a year ago), a significant number considering the challenges new students faced beginning college amidst a pandemic. Sophomore retention is currently 91.9% compared to 91% last year.

Fall 2021 freshman enrollment continues to show positive indications, despite the limitations on campus visits and reduced travel into major markets. As of mid-January, approximately 569 students had paid their enrollment deposit for Fall 2021, compared to 547 in 2020 and 535 in 2019.

Despite the unusual circumstances, students are committed to investing in their college experience, and

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In USNWR's 2021 “America’s Best Colleges,” ACU also ranked 15th overall among Regional Universities (West), as well as:

# # # #

3 4 9 9

BEST UNDERGRADUATE TEACHING MOST INNOVATIVE BEST VALUE BEST COLLEGES FOR VETERANS

undergraduate students are reaping the benefit of the university’s emphasis on student success and experiential learning. That focus flows naturally from ACU’s mission to educate students for Christian service and leadership throughout the world.

“It’s very rewarding to be recognized nationally for work we consider foundational to our mission and the student experience at ACU,” said provost Dr. Robert Rhodes.

“We have emphasized these types of unique, highly participatory educational experiences for decades and truly believe they make a real difference in the success of our students.” 

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Conquering COVID-19 in 2020 required faith, hard work, sacrifice and some heroic action.

ACU and Wildcats everywhere were more than up to the task.

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Angels ascending and descending a ladder to heaven, as portrayed at the Jacob’s Dream sculpture site at ACU.

Conquering COVID-19

I

“

t felt like the movie Argo,” ACU president Dr. Phil Schubert said, recalling the 2012 film about bringing American hostages out of Iran.

When the White House announced in March that

U.S. borders would be closed in an attempt to stanch the spread of the novel coronavirus, parents, students, faculty and staff interpreted that to mean Study Abroad students would be stranded, Schubert (’91) explained.

University leaders nationwide thought the same.

The 35 students in Oxford were able to return fairly easily, but the group of 16 in Leipzig, Germany, was more challenging. They were on Spring Break and were scattered across Europe. Half the group was contacted and returned, but 11 were farther away in two cities in Portugal.

“We actually started to feel concerned about our ability to get them out of Portugal,” Schubert said.

Then he got a call from a father he knew personally who had a student in that group.

“He asked if he could contract with a private security service, charter a private jet and fly into Lisbon and bring them back,” Schubert said.

The parent had reputable contacts and was a trusted friend.

The pandemic Emergency Response Team (ERT) the president leads agreed to the plan. The father

Brent Dennis, M.D. (’91), examines his friend and minister, Mitch Wilburn (’90), on a house call the night he admitted him to St. Francis Hospital in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Wilburn was hospitalized 48 days, many of them in ICU, and was twice on a ventilator. (See page 35.)

SHANNON WILBURN

chartered a jet, flew it across the ocean in the middle of night, arranged to get the students to a private airport and flew them out.

“I was getting updates all through the night. What’s the status of the students? Would we get to the airport on time? That was a pretty tenuous time – a lot of those parents were very concerned.”

But it worked.

A lot of things have worked.

None of them have been easy.

It felt like an altered universe Just days earlier, on Monday of Spring Break, Schubert and his family were headed to Katy for the Southland Conference men’s basketball tournament, hoping for a reprise of the 2019 March Madness bid. But by Tuesday other conferences were cancelling their tournaments. On Wednesday, Schubert was on the league’s Board of Directors conference call that would

instruct officials to suspend the game and the tournament just as players returned to the court after halftime.

Suddenly, March Madness described more than basketball.

Schubert’s senior adviser, Suzanne Allmon (’79), was back on campus along with other members of the pandemic ERT that had been created March 3 as awareness grew that a global pandemic could reach the U.S., reach Texas, reach the ACU campus. The team has met most weekday mornings since.

“It felt like an altered universe – things were happening so fast nationwide, statewide, citywide.

Each time we made a decision, and before we could communicate it, something had changed,” Allmon said. “It felt ominous and yet we had no idea of the long-term impact – we even said that.”

Linda Bonnin, senior vice president for marketing and strategic communications, had been in her ACU TODAY

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Purple light bathed the Sowell Rotunda and Tower of Light all spring and summer until students returned for the start of the Fall 2020 semester.

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new role only three weeks after leaving the University of Alabama.

She recalls feeling like she was in a fox hole with a team she had only just begun to know.

“It was the most unusual start to a new job I’d ever had,” Bonnin said, “grappling with things we didn’t expect and making decisions we thought we’d never have to make – trying to move with speed and transparency and make people aware of decisions and why we were making them.”

In the first three weeks of March the university sent 18 messages – via email, video and social media – to students, faculty and staff, parents, alumni, and combinations of those groups.

“We wanted to over communicate, not under communicate,” Bonnin said.

Meanwhile, the campus community moved into crisis mode.

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phone calls, sent 4,976 emails, 2,618 texts and conducted 280 virtual advising appointments during two weeks in March.

Faculty, many of whom had never taught online before, prepared to finish the second half of the semester entirely online. Thousands of students who had left for home or Spring Break travels with just a suitcase were told to stay at home.

More than 100, still in the residence halls, had nowhere to go, so plans were made to keep them safely on campus.

Crises happen in higher education.

Administrators prepare for them.

Universities around the country have coped with fires and hurricanes, mass shootings, financial scandals and more. But no one in a hundred years had dealt with a pandemic.

There was no template, no notes from conference sessions, no graduate courses in campus pandemic management. Just a commitment to

the safety and wellbeing of students, to fellow team members in the fox hole, and to prayer – lots and lots of prayer.

We’re leaving the lights on The Southland Conference Postseason Tournament was canceled Wednesday, March 11.

The next day the ERT announced its decision to extend Spring Break through the week of March 16-20 and move to online only classes for March 23 - April 9. But just a week later novel coronavirus cases rose rapidly, especially in major coastal cities including Houston. Travel became more difficult and tenuous.

“Flattening the curve” became familiar vernacular as officials fought to protect the healthcare system from being overwhelmed.

The big decision came March 20: “We have decided it is in the best interest of the ACU community to extend online learning through

Conquering COVID-19

the end of this semester. Students who complete their degree requirements will still have their degrees conferred in May, and we have rescheduled Commencement ceremonies for Aug. 7-8, 2020.”

The announcement was the easy part.

Berlin Fang, director of instructional design in the Adams Center for Teaching and Learning, was in Dallas for an online learning conference when he saw the email from Schubert.

“It was like a whirlwind – that day when it was announced. I heard we would close campus and students would be online,” Fang said. “I knew the task was going to be heavy – some people had been through some training, but a majority haven’t, so the task of getting people ready was huge.”

Fang, a native of China, is a literary translator and known expert in China in online education, regularly contributing to newspapers and journals there.

“I read in Chinese so I’d been watching how China dealt with the situation after the outbreak of the virus in Wuhan. Chinese teachers went totally online, and I had been observing how people failed and succeeded.”

In February and March, Chinese educators had looked to Fang for help.

“They were desperate for guidance,” he said. “China is going fully online and people asked me, ‘How do you do online teaching?’ ” Those questions and his answers led to a book published in China, Ten Lessons in Online Teaching, based in part on an online bootcamp series he had done several times for ACU faculty. He said writing the book, which his publisher wanted out in 40 days, “made me think more deeply about online teaching.”

The whole Adams Center staff

spent the week after Spring Break thinking more deeply about online teaching and helping ACU faculty to do the same as they prepared for a warp speed conversion of their face-to-face classrooms.

Dr. Laura (Bolin ’96) Carroll, executive director of the Adams Center, and her staff conducted two sessions a day for faculty during what they called Spring Break B. “And we did lots of one-on-one consultations later to help faculty take what they were already doing and make it happen in an online format,” she said.

That first phase was mostly about technical aspects: how to use Zoom, using Canvas, the course management system that has been in use for several years, for an entirely online class. She said that first week was the most frightening for faculty who were asking, “How am I going to meet my course outcomes? This is part of a degree plan for a reason and there’s still seven weeks left – how do I do this in this very odd circumstance?”

Meanwhile, Shannon (Buchanan ’07) Kaczmarek, director of residence life, was tasked with developing a plan to allow students to return to campus to safely move out of residence halls, and with identifying and supporting about 100 students who could not go home for a variety of reasons, making sure they were safe and fed.

Kaczmarek said some students didn’t have access to internet at their homes. Some had jobs they needed to continue. Many international students could not go home because of travel restrictions. And some from California and other distant U.S. cities felt safer in Abilene because of how the virus was surging at home.

“Others were out of the foster care system and really had no space to go home to. And a few with a very challenging home life felt they were safer on campus,” Kaczmarek said.

“We worked with them case by case.”

The residence life staff supporting those students, Adams Center staff, ERT members, physical facilities staff, ACU Police and human resources and payroll – about 50 employees in all – were designated as essential personnel.

For the balance of the spring, buildings were locked and eerily quiet, sidewalks and intramural fields deserted. Dr. Tamara (Boyer ’03) Long, vice president for enrollment and student life, suggested one other poignant reminder that would be visible from Interstate 20 and neighborhoods all around the campus. The Tower of Light and Onstead-Packer Biblical Studies Building were illuminated in purple until students returned to campus – after 158 days.

Creating physical distance for 960 classes The last seven weeks of the spring semester were the longest, shortest and strangest of times as faculty worked distantly, constantly, almost invisibly to communicate with students, learn new technologies and adapt labs, in-class exercises and community building activities to an online environment. Spring sports were canceled. The semester ended without honors Chapels or Commencement. April, usually the most event-laden month of the academic year, blew by at a snail’s pace en route to May. On April 28, faculty and staff were informed in an email from Schubert that a plan was taking shape for fall: “While the future of the pandemic and the shelter-in-place orders remain unknown, the senior leaders and I have turned our attention to preparing for the fall semester. Our plan is that we return to campus and face-to-face instruction in August. But we must be wise and create plans for ACU TODAY

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Conquering COVID-19

a potentially disrupted semester so we are prepared to fulfill ACU’s mission regardless of modality in case that becomes necessary.”

Three teams were appointed to develop contingencies and mitigations for a return to campus during a pandemic, two that dealt with the academic and instructional piece and a third for everything else.

Carroll led both academic teams – the Fall Contingency team, which was assigned to propose a variety of academic contingency plans for Fall 2020, and a Mission and Implementation team assigned to identify characteristics that define and differentiate an online course at Abilene Christian, establish quality measures, create ACU-specific course templates and create financial models based on the contingency plans.

The Adams Center staff conducted two virtual mission and implementation workshops in the summer, with 94 faculty participating. Between May and August, 162 participated in some sort of online session. Primarily, training was designed to help faculty imagine offering classes in a variety of ways, knowing that some courses would be fully online, some would be hybrid, meaning part online and part faceto-face, “and all of us knowing there would be a need to accommodate quarantined students and knowing we might need to move online at some point in the semester as happened in the spring,” Carroll said.

A third team led by Kris Sutton (’09), director of institutional compliance and risk management, helped steward resources and assemble the operational expertise required to safely reopen in the fall, including health and safety protocols and any necessary operational adjustments.

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required. Dr. Jessica Smith (’02), assistant provost for curriculum and assessment, led the complex process required to solve a Rubik’s geodesic dome – reassigning classroom spaces and identifying non-academic spaces that could be used for instruction in compliance with COVID-19 protocols.

Working with Sutton, and fellow health and safety committee members Dr. Bill Carroll (’95 M.A.), chair of the Faculty Senate, and senior Lauren Wasson, president of the Student Government Association, Smith visited all of those spaces with a tape measure in hand to determine room capacity, given the desire to keep 10 feet between the faculty member and first row or nearest student, and 6 feet between students in the room. The result was that rooms designed for 50 students might only accommodate 20. Or a computer lab equipped for 15 might be adequate for six or seven. Most of the rooms in the sprawling Don H. Morris Center would accommodate only 13 people, and not one classroom in the Hardin Administration Building would hold more than 18.

“That process started on Memorial Day then proceeded for a couple weeks. Once we had those numbers, that was a template of sorts. Then I was able to take the schedule bulletin, look at enrollment at that point and make the best match possible for that time,” Smith said.

A faculty committee prioritized classes to be taught face-to-face.

Another process allowed faculty to request accommodations to teach remotely because of health issues for themselves or family members.

Once all the blocks aligned, 74.4% of classes were face-to-face. Of those 835 classes, 648 met whole and 110 were met in a cohort model that typically had half the class in person and half remote on alternating days.

The remaining 25.6% of classes included private lessons, internships

or other kinds of face-to-face instruction that don’t necessarily require a classroom. In all, 125 classes met entirely online.

With classes assigned to spaces, then came the reality of equipping gyms, conference rooms and other non-traditional spaces – such as a vacant coffee shop across the street from the campus – with desks and technology allowing synchronous instruction for students in the room and those isolated or quarantined.

Eric Lemmons (’07) and his staff in Instructional Technology took on the task of identifying the best conference cams and installing tech.

“I ordered 170-something folding tables for some of the non-academic spaces we’d be using as classrooms,” Smith said, “and we asked our departments to take charge of rearranging classrooms according to space plans Bill and I had determined, then to put excess furniture in hallways and let us know where it was. We created the work orders with Facilities to get all that moved.”

No sweat.

With that done, Smith’s group began learning about “dwell time,” the time that any disinfectant needs to kill on contact. While a typical wipe requires only about four minutes, they are expensive and back in May were not readily available.

The products the university already used were active against coronavirus but had a longer dwell time of nine minutes, which would take an entire passing period.

Combined with the reality of classes being scattered across campus and 10 minutes not sufficient to cover some of those distances, the group recommended a 20-minute passing period, which they deemed to be long enough for sanitation and the trek across campus, but without creating long periods of time when people would congregate.

“

Connection has been the biggest challenge by far.

There were ties built into the schedule to connect with people all across campus – they are really hungry to be around people they love and know. It’s been a surprise, how much students miss that.”

– Cyrus Eaton

Hungry to be around people they love and know When classes resumed in the fall, students and teachers were greeted by changes in the schedule that has been in place for more than 30 years, providing an 11 a.m. daily Chapel time before the daily pilgrimage to the World Famous Bean cafeteria.

Extending the passing period required assigning new class

Freshmen and families gathered Aug. 20 at Wildcat Stadium for a Goodbye Blessing before Wildcat Week.

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meeting times. Large meetings in Moody Coliseum – or even the larger small-group meetings – were not feasible anyway because of physical distancing requirements, so the traditional daily 11 a.m. Chapel slot was folded into the newly configured class times on Monday, Wednesday and Friday, leaving Tuesdays and Thursdays for some sort of spiritual formation assemblies.

Cyrus Eaton, dean of spiritual formation and campus chaplain, was just in his second year at ACU. He described his primary role in the university’s response to the pandemic as maintaining and prioritizing Abilene Christian’s commitment to spiritual formation during a season where gathering is ever changing.

And while that meant imagining structures that are limited to gatherings of fewer than 50 people instead of the 1,500-2,000 typical for MWF, that wasn’t the biggest challenge.

“Connection has been the biggest challenge by far,” Eaton said. “There were ties built into the schedule to connect with people all across campus – they are really hungry to be around people they love and know. It’s been a surprise, how much students miss that.”

Eaton said isolation also challenges students’ mental, emotional and spiritual resilience.

“They are in a different landscape and so socially distanced they are being challenged to grow in ways they haven’t been challenged to grow before.” He said the small groups and very small community groups have been created to help address that isolation. About 80 leaders gather weekly with six to 10 students for conversation centering on life with Jesus.

In addition, even back in the spring, a series of weekly virtual Chapels featured well-known ministers, including former ACU ACU TODAY

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Moody Coliseum and other large venues did double-duty in Fall 2020 as distanced classrooms, here with Dr. Trey Shirley (’02), assistant chair of art and design, teaching a course in the Cornerstone program he directs.

JEREMY ENLOW

roommates Max Lucado (’77) and Rick Atchley (’79). Those have continued in the fall, and beginning in late October a socially distanced, in-person praise day was led by Dr. Steven Moore, associate professor of English, whose animated praise days each week have drawn large attendance for more than a decade.

Other aspects of daily campus life changed for students as well.

The Chapel change reduced the 11:30 a.m. swarm to The Bean, spreading lunch over a longer period of time.

Wendy (Kay ’94) Jones, chief human resources officer and Title IX coordinator, described other changes.

“We removed a significant amount of furniture from The Bean, drastically increased packaged-to-go food and increased signage,” Jones said.

We removed the salad bar, so you’re not going to walk up and pick up the tongs – you’re served food instead.”

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and picnic tables were added outside where students can take to-go meals.

Other COVID-19 protocols are in place in The Bean and at remote locations. “We’re ready and have the ability to turn everything to pre-packaged-to-go if we need to,” Jones said.

Test, trace, isolate When students with meal plans are quarantined or isolated in university housing, they receive a form that allows them to request a grocery bundle that is delivered to them. Those details and many others are coordinated by Kaczmarek’s residential life staff and the SOAR (Student Opportunities, Advocacy and Resources) team.

And a lot happens before groceries are delivered.

“Test, trace, isolate,” Jones recited. “We heard that over and over from the beginning. How would we do that?”

A testing arrangement with a professor at the Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center in Abilene was serendipitous.

Dr. Emily Bailey, assistant professor in the graduate school of biomedical sciences there, had reached out to Cory Driskill, ACU’s associate director of athletics for sports performance, about her research on COVID-19 and athletes.

ACU approached her to ask if she would consider expanding her research if she had access to the whole ACU population.

“We didn’t know if that was even a possibility, or if we could get supplies, but she immediately said ‘Yes,’ ” Jones said.

The polymerase chain reaction (PCR) test, considered by medical experts as the gold standard test, is free for the entire ACU community.

“Anyone can take a PCR test. We have morphed how we do that and redefined best practices,” Jones said.

Conquering COVID-19

“We continue about once a month to have a one-day block when you just sign up and come do it. But every week we also have an hour slot.”

In the beginning, PCR tests were done at the ACU Medical Clinic, but as the strep and flu seasons began and the clinic traffic increased, PCR testing was shifted to ACU’s School of Nursing, where students also have supported Bailey’s research on athletes.

The process evolved further as antigen tests became available.

“Because it’s a rapid test, if you have symptoms, the ability to know within 15 minutes instead of waiting on a lab read is incredibly valuable,” Jones said.

The antigen tests are available at the clinic for $40, compared to the $150-$300 charged at local clinics and emergency rooms. Long said donors have provided funds to assure that students who cannot afford the $40 can still be tested.

“When we find out a student is positive or needs to quarantine because of exposure, that triggers the need to call that student,” Kaczmarek said. “We talk with them about a housing plan. Some students who have lived off campus but share a room or bathroom have needed on-campus housing during quarantine or isolation.”

After ACU acquired University Park apartments in late May (see page 77), an entire building of two-bedroom, two-bath apartments was set aside for that purpose.

“We made a commitment not to keep students who tested positive inside the residence halls – if they couldn’t go home, we would find a way to house them,” Kaczmarek said.

While the test, trace and isolate strategy has been effective – more than 4,000 tests were performed by Nov. 1 – it hasn’t been easy.

Long describes a front line of response among clinic staff, housing,

advising and other student support functions as in “a constant state of triaging people.” At one point two key clinic personnel were themselves out with COVID-19. But everyone has stepped up to go beyond the job description. One morning when a student had to be moved in a time frame that precluded getting her breakfast, Long just made some extra breakfast burritos as she prepared food for her own family.

She’s quick to say, “It’s not just me. The heart of anyone serving on the front lines with the students just wants to know – how do we make them feel safe?”

Every on-campus student who tests positive is assigned a care coordinator, usually a member of the SOAR or Residence Life staff – though other faculty and staff members have been recruited and trained – who checks in daily to see if the student has any other needs.

With the housing transfer comes a new shower curtain, toilet paper, paper towels, disposable cutlery, snacks, and other things such as making sure they have reliable internet if they are in one of the university-owned off-campus rental properties that have also been utilized. Students who don’t have a vehicle are transported using golf carts from the Office of Admissions.

A spike in cases in early October tested the system. After cases increased from 15 to 120 in six days, the university canceled the Homecoming football game and took the rest of that major annual event virtual. Sororities and fraternities discontinued rushing events, and pledging was postponed until January when it began the day before classes and extended only two weeks.

Intramurals were canceled for two weeks, and residence hall lobbies were closed to visitors.

“We knew from Day One our numbers would spike, just not how

high,” Jones said. “We also know they’ll spike again, we just don’t know when. We know what we did worked, so we know we can do it again – we have other triggers we could pull and if it’s not working we’ll know that.

We never heard or felt panic.”

The painful reality of canceling Homecoming and other events that create community was a blow in a semester that had gone so well those first six weeks. Bonnin believes in the long run it will bring everyone closer.

“Everybody understands the need to take events virtual and appreciates the caution to keep campus safe,” Bonnin said. “When we’re able to gather in person again for Homecoming and Sing Song we’ll have just that much more engagement because of what we’ve been through.”

In two weeks, the number of cases dropped by more than 50 percent and Schubert thanked the community: “We’ve spent the last two weeks tightening up campus events and activities to slow the spread of COVID, and it has worked.

Our numbers have come down dramatically, and we want to thank all of you for doing your part to keep us in community together. By taking swift action to cancel campus events and activities, including in-person Homecoming events, we have shown we can be successful by pivoting quickly to protect the safety and well-being of our campus.”

No matter what it takes The decision to return to campus in the fall for face-to-face instruction was not easy or inexpensive.

But ultimately, Schubert said, it was obvious.

“Students who choose ACU and their families do so because of the unique community we share – that’s a major decision point – in the DNA of ACU TODAY

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ACU. We were concerned that being online and void of that community removed one of the most significant, positive characteristics of ACU from the equation … we decided that if we can figure out how we could do it safely, we have an obligation to try, no matter what it takes, to figure it out.”

It took a lot of work and a lot of money.

The first hit came in the spring when $2.6 million was refunded to students for housing and meal plan charges related to face-to-face instruction being suspended after Spring Break. “They deserved that but it wasn’t something we had budgeted for,” Schubert said.

Like many other universities, ACU received money from the Higher Education Emergency Relief Fund, part of the federal government’s Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security (CARES) Act. Half of the $2.9 million allocation to ACU went directly to students, and the other half to operations related to COVID-19.

Kevin Campbell (’00), senior vice president for operations, explained the breakdown.

“For student assistance, funds go directly to students to provide financial relief in ways they were directly impacted by COVID-19.

The university is simply the conduit to administer federal funds to the students. These funds cannot be used for scholarships or to directly pay for educational expenses. They must be distributed directly to students in the form of cash. More than 20 percent of our student body applied for funds.

Of those who applied, 63 percent said their primary need was to pay for housing related to lost income either their parents or the students incurred due to COVID-19.”

The remaining $1.49 million helped defray the cost of navigating the pandemic landscape, Schubert said, which included the curricular 28

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and training expenses, acquiring personal protective equipment and tests, and adding personnel in critical services such as the clinic. In all, just over $5.9 million was spent on COVID-related operating expenses, and more than $865,000 in ACU-funded student assistance.

The total financial impact above what the CARES Act provided came to $6.8 million.

Add to that a decline in freshman enrollment of about 10 percent, despite achieving a record enrollment for the third year in a row. Online programs at ACU Dallas increased 17 percent over the prior year. Still, fewer freshmen meant an additional $3 to $4 million hit on the budget.

Nevertheless, Schubert believes ACU is well positioned to thrive in a difficult time because of efforts over the past five years to improve financial flexibility.

“We have benefited in running against the grain. We intend to build a second new residence hall and are embarking on a number of other capital improvements. We’ve been able to give raises and honor our commitment to faculty. No one has been laid off or furloughed, and we’ve kept operations moving forward,” Schubert said. “In some ways I think we’ll take significant ground because most of the market is on its heels.

We have built discipline into our financial planning that provided resilience over the past year.”

Generous supporters made a difference as well. An anonymous trustee’s matching gift challenged trustees to give about $300,000 in the fall toward faculty and staff salary support. Jim Orr, J.D. (’86), vice president for advancement, called the effort “an expression of gratitude and support for their work in these times. It also afforded the university the opportunity to reach its goals for faculty salaries compared to similar institutions and in

the middle of a pandemic.”

The annual Day of Giving was recast as a Season of Giving benefiting the Katie Kirby Student Care Fund, which already exists to meet students’ immediate needs.

It raised almost $84,000 from 225 donors. That effort was followed by a Season of Hope designed specifically to help students return in the fall, which generated more than $250,000.

Student recruiting has continued, most of it virtual, but unlike many universities, campus visits have still been offered for prospective students and their parents. Long said more than 2,000 students have come through campus – only six families at a time – one golf cart per family.

For those who can’t visit in person, after a virtual chat with an admissions counselor, students receive a coffee tumbler in the mail to remind them they can still call or Facetime their counselor over coffee any time.

Take that, 2020 Fang says faculty have more than risen to the challenge. Faculty say students have done the same.

“We prepared them so well in summer and spring that people are becoming self-sufficient, ” Fang said.

“I do not find myself firefighting – I have more time than previous semesters because we had done so much. It’s better to over prepare than not prepare sufficiently.”

Not every university class follows a traditional lecture and discussion format.

Music and theatre departments re-envisioned the use of every single room in the Williams Performing Arts Center.

Associate professor Kristin (Behrens ’93) Ward teaches clarinet, saxophone, jazz voice and music theory.

“We teach private lessons in

“

Overall, I give my students and the class an ‘A’. Students are very glad to be able to learn in face-to-face classes, and are ready and willing to follow precautions to get to do so.”

– Dr. Lynette Austin

classrooms instead of our offices.

Classes have moved to our large rehearsal spaces,” Ward said.

“Ensembles such as the Big Purple Marching Band, A Cappella Chorus and University Chorale rehearse outside, rehearse in smaller groups, and rehearsals are limited to 30-minute blocks so the air can be cleared.”

Deonna (Moore ’86) Shake teaches first aid, CPR and cycling as instructor of kinesiology and nutrition.

“Creating unique ways to account for ‘remote participation’ was a challenge. From ‘Flat Stanley’ objects that would accompany a student on a bike ride in my Cycling for

Freshmen wearing face masks participated Aug. 19 in a Sunrise Devo on the front steps of Onstead-Packer Biblical Studies Building during Wildcat Week.

SCOTT DELONY

Fitness class, to requiring students to make a video showing me that their 3-minute step test followed protocol for Lifetime Wellness, my Canvas gradebook was hijacked by COVID-19,” Shake said. “However, the virus didn’t win, thanks to willing students and a lot of bike rides to figure out the best teaching plans to use. Take that, 2020!”

Dr. Lynette (Blackburn ’86) Austin, professor and chair of communication disorders, completely redesigned her graduate class so that half the students could attend while others did online learning activities to stay within spacing protocols. “Sometimes, class requires us to get close to one another, because in speech therapy at times you have to see the mouth. When that is necessary, we employ extra precautions. We use Plexiglas sneeze guards placed between students, and we use ‘clear masks’ so the mouth can be seen.”

Dr. Jim Drachenberg (’04), associate professor of engineering, completely overhauled his sophomore Engineering Physics course so that it could pivot online if necessary.

“I believe this has been a blessing in disguise,” Drachenberg said.

“To prepare for the inevitable ‘flip,’ I did a complete overhaul of my EPII Canvas course (relying heavily on the Adams Center and Berlin Fang, in particular).” After importing all his pre-class videos into Canvas and creating low-stakes video quizzes for students, he saw dramatically improved student engagement with the material.

Austin and others described students as anxious to make it work.

“Overall, I give my students and the class an ‘A’. Students are very glad to be able to learn in face-to-face classes, and are ready and willing to follow precautions to get to do so.”

Take that, 2020. 

– DR. CHERYL MANN BACON

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IN A TIME OF

COVID

BY DR . COL E BEN N ET T

Dr. Cole Bennett is professor of language and literature, and director of the Writing Center.

He was onsite co-director for ACU Study Abroad in Oxford in Spring 2020.

I

n a four-story Victorian house on Canterbury Road in Oxford, England, our group of

Americans gathers in the room that has served as our worship and devotional space each week. I can see that some students have been crying, but the room is quiet.

Dr. Stephanie Talley (’93), the other faculty member here, and I sit among the students and listen to Jacque, the on-site director, outline our final days in Oxford as we come to terms with unexpected circumstances. We’ll need to sort, pack, and clean our rooms and kitchens, plus communicate with our families to make sure they received the news: We’re coming home.

It’s only March.

I watch these students steel themselves against this moment, and I wonder what I can say to help them bear it.

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The arrival I always fly in a week before the students. That gives me time to overcome the six-hour jet lag, get my faculty flat in order, and help with final preparations for our semester together. January 2020 is no different, except that the whole south of England is in the 50-degree range, far warmer than any previous January I had flown over.

After training to Oxford and settling in for a day, I go to Blackwell’s and buy all the books I need for my courses, plus some I don’t need.

I make the rounds to pick up coffee beans and chocolate from the Covered Market to stock my tiny faculty kitchen. I even go down to the Summertown Bike Shop and buy a new bicycle in preparation for my six months in and around Oxford.

In early June, I have a professional conference in Norway to attend, and possibly a trip to see colleagues in Germany, so I plan to stay well into the summer, though my students will fly home in early May. Mid-morning of my ninth day

SCOTT DELONY

abroad, the bus from Heathrow hisses to a stop just outside my flat’s window. I’m nervous this semester because I know only three of the students, Courtney, Conner and Emma, all English majors who have taken my classes and work for me at the ACU Writing Center. I’ve only said hello to the rest of the group (a full complement at 35) at our pre-departure meetings, and their names are escaping me as I smile and wave. I watch them groggily retrieve their luggage and clunk up the steps to two old houses that will be their home for – ostensibly – the next four months. We invite them down for tea and sandwiches an hour later and warn them to not go to sleep until nighttime, so as to more quickly adjust their circadian rhythms.

This group is full of promise and personality. As we walk south on Woodstock Road that afternoon toward the Cornmarket pedestrian mall at Oxford city center, I hear rich, if travel-weary, conversation about the semester ahead: weekend trips, literary sites, London excursions, and other percolating plans, tempered by the nervousness of the unknown.

Conquering COVID-19

At the end of our short tour, I show them where to get money from ATMs, and they disperse to explore their shopping options. These students are green, but not naive; excited, but not boisterous; ready, but not prepared.

The pivot

and have started asking them. Each trip, due to the changing nature of economic life in a city even as old as Oxford, yields new things that have emerged since my last visit – this time, a few new cafés, bakeries, restaurants and a museum. I hear my students saying names I’ve not heard before, raving over the banana nut bread at Barefoot Bakery and the pizza at Little Venice on North Parade. But this pivot concerns not just eateries; my students introduce

BRETT GARCIA

There’s a moment in every study abroad student’s semester when their temporary location moves from “foreign” to “familiar.” No longer must they consult laminated paper maps or electronic devices to navigate their way to their favorite cafés, the city center, churches, meadows or the train stations. They begin to recognize people they’ve seen in town before, not just shop clerks, but residents who ride local buses, study at universities, and walk to work each day, going about their lives.

(FROM LEFT) Maddy Crockett, Annie Gilb, Emma Perkins, A certain confidence Abby Claire Brown and Kortland Judd pose while backpacking emerges – a temporary at Helm Crag in the Lake District of U.K. ownership, in a manner of speaking, of momentary, ephemeral citizenship me to parks, footpaths, churches, granted to them by those sharing neighborhoods and other new their town. finds, and the co-embrace of life This shift happens at a different abroad reciprocates as I become point for each person, but in Oxford, their student. it usually takes about six weeks for The virus ACU students to explore all corners of the town, find their favorite pubs, In early February, I develop a horrible sinus infection and visit plug in to volunteer scenes, and make a local doctor in Summertown for friends with strangers. They can some care and a prescription. As finally hold the town in their hands, he examines me and asks about my not as a trapped animal, but as a symptoms, he says, “I’m sorry, I know pliable, bulging knapsack with this is strange, but have you visited every pocket full.

China recently?” I begin laughing, Even though this is my sixth and he does, too. “I have to ask that,” group to lead in Oxford, I have my he says; “I know it’s a stretch, but own pivot moment as well. It comes you’ve seen the news.” I have. I have late in February, when I find that I seen and read about a far-away virus have stopped answering questions

making a lot of Chinese citizens sick, plus some others to whom it had spread around the world.

But I have not been to China.

Nobody I know has. Nobody I know has been remotely close to this expanding but relatively contained medical concern. I take the pills prescribed by the doctor, feel much better in a few days, and move on.

A scant few weeks later, Stephanie, Jacque and I conduct a conference call with Stephen Shewmaker, director of international education, back in Abilene. Our tone is cautious but cheerful enough as we review what seem to be distant facts: There is a virus spreading globally; it’s hard to contain geographically; its effects are largely unknown, but many infected people get only mild symptoms; England has few but pocketed cases.

Stephen ends the call by saying, “Just be aware that there is a possibility that we might close the program if things get out of hand.

I doubt that will happen.”

In a world connected via worldwide news and boundless social media, the Oxford students soon begin to experience a general rise in anxiety. They begin asking us and each other, at first, “Do you think we might go home?” As the semester progresses, however, the questions quickly change to ask for quantifications: “What do you think the odds are that we’ll stay all semester?” Advice from Abilene quickly morphs into “Hold your travel plans loosely,” a statement that guides us to purchase refundable ACU TODAY

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tickets and travel insurance for future trips.

As Valentine’s Day passes, everyone clings tightly to the upcoming group trip to Spain, scheduled indelibly for the first week of March. A full eight days in the Basque region, where Hemingway wrote The Sun Also Rises, the novel my American Literature class is reading, and where the cold salty beaches of San Sebastian and Bilbao await. As the departure date draws nearer, we watch COVID numbers spike in Italy. Students ask daily for updates, and who can blame them?

Our plans for Spain captivate us all, but doubt about our continued semester in England begins to take root.

The trip Each ACU semester abroad includes an all-student group excursion. This allows faculty to tie course curricula to focused places, culture and histories relevant to the location. We fly from London to southern France, where we pile into a private coach and head for Pamplona, just across the border.

The students’ excitement synergizes with my own; I love Spain, and I’ve been to the Basque region many times. I have tried to explain the concept of pinxtos to my students (the Basque equivalent of tapas), as well as the warm, welcoming nature of most Spanish people they’ll meet, but I know they’ll have to experience these things for themselves.

We settle into our hostel rooms downtown, and the students start exploring Pamplona. Our plans to meet that night and saunter to the old town for dinner are terrifically hampered by a sudden evening rainstorm, complete with umbrella-bending winds. I realize, most distressingly, that the only way to get 37 people to our restaurant in these conditions is to take the public bus, and my Spanish 32

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language facility is … lacking. Over the vociferous, pelting gusts, I yell to our students to meet me at the bus shelter on the other side of the boulevard, where I silently pray I can figure out which bus to catch.

Upon reaching the stop, as I frantically examine the diagram of buses, colored routes and numbers, one of my students calmly walks over to an older Spanish man hunched in the dry corner and asks him which bus we should take. They chat back and forth for a few minutes in Spanish, laughing at the weather.

“Bus 2,” she tells me.

The night improves significantly as we make it at last to Bar Iruna, our dinner destination, famous for its reputation as Hemingway’s writing space. The staff is warm and welcoming, and they have a giant table laid out for all of us, 50 feet long. After I explain with some difficulty that we want only water instead of table wine, we feast on fish, roast beef, vegetables and multiple desserts until everyone is full. When we venture out at 10:30 p.m., the rain has stopped, and the fresh air is cool as we walk the few miles back to our hostel.

This evening of adventure, good food and walks through a Spanish town sets the stage for our whole week. The next several days are filled with unbelievable meals, historical walking tours, beautiful Spanish beaches, ornate churches and a thousand tiny connections made among a group of Americans finding their way through a country they’ve never seen. I am reminded each evening, as I listen to delightfully exhausted accounts of their adventures, how much I am learning from them.

Our last day takes us to the Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao before a late supper and return to our hotel. The students are abuzz about news just coming out of the U.S. that

COVID-19 infections are growing exponentially in Europe and the UK. That night, just before midnight, Stephanie and I answer a reluctant phone call from Stephen back in Abilene.

The next morning is an early rush to the Bilbao airport, and the flight back to London includes a lot of napping students. After boarding the coach to take us back to Oxford and getting underway, I get the text from Abilene that confirms all plans; it’s time to tell the students what will surely be the worst news they can imagine, though they have been trying to anticipate it as best they can.

I glance at Stephanie, pick up the PA microphone on the bus, and ask for their attention.

The return And now, a few hours later, we’re assembled in the common room, trying to grasp our situation as Jacque details the plan for our suddenly final two days abroad. I prepare for responses of fierce bitterness, anger and injustice toward fortune’s wheel; I anticipate a wave of disappointment that will negatively orient the whole semester. My mind races to compose comforting replies.

Instead, I hear the words offered

by Brantley, a student whose hoarse, emotional voice speaks for everyone, arms around shoulders, clinging to one another in this cramped room. This moment forms a third, unexpected pivot – one we all make together. Once again, the lesson is mine to learn, not teach. His prayer is organic, spontaneous: “God, thank you. Thank you for two incredible months together in this place. Thank you for eight days in Spain that we will never forget. Thank you for the people in this room. Thank you.”

I listen with my eyes shut, for the moment overwhelms me. 

Megan and Michael Maxwell are parents to (from left) Miller, Marlo and Madelyn.

LEIGH HASSAN

New mother, physician helped guide UT Southwestern through pandemic

I

n the early days of the pandemic, Megan (Gentry ’06) Maxwell, M.D., had one N95 mask.

As an anesthesiologist at The University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, she needed one at all times on the job.

But that type of personal protective equipment (PPE) was in short supply.

So she wore it every day for six weeks.

“I would dry it out at night, and I even figured out a way to sterilize it in the oven,” Maxwell recalled.

“That was all we had. There just was

not enough equipment, and we were trying to protect everyone the best we knew how.”

Lack of PPE was one of the first, but hardly one of the biggest hurdles Maxwell faced as she helped guide one of Dallas/Fort Worth’s top hospitals through a pandemic, gave birth to her third child, faced the health challenges of a newborn who arrived a month early, and experienced COVID-19 in her immediate family – all at once.

Her husband, Michael Maxwell

(’07), considers his wife a rock star among rock stars for everything she was juggling. “She was pregnant and didn’t miss a single shift until the day she delivered our baby boy, Miller.

It’s been a wild start,” he said.

A wild start in more ways than one.

As medical director for Pre-Operative Services, Megan oversees the Presurgical Testing Clinic, so she’s fully invested in patient care, often one of the first interactions for those entering ACU TODAY

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the hospital. All patients having surgery or procedures done at UT Southwestern funnel through her clinic. As assistant professor in the Department of Anesthesiology and Pain Management, she’s also responsible for teaching and supervising residents.

When the nation began to shut down as the novel coronavirus spread quickly across the country, most surgeries were canceled or postponed, drastically changing Megan’s role.

“All of a sudden I didn’t have as much to do in day-to-day anesthesiology, but as medical director, I had to urgently develop protocols for how to handle COVID-positive patients and how to screen all our patients,” she said.

Megan took charge of the pre-procedure universal screening, writing new procedures and working on multidisciplinary teams to determine things like how to account for patients who couldn’t travel to Dallas, how to handle referrals from surrounding counties, how to avoid contagious situations and how to handle hospital visitors.

“It was not always smooth, especially in the beginning,” she said. “We were fearful. When it first started, we didn’t understand as much as we’ve grown to understand now. We didn’t know what risks we were facing and exactly how transmission would occur.”

Adding to that fear was Maxwell’s own pregnancy and the question of risks that might entail.

She delivered her first son, Miller, in late August, about a month ahead of her due date, and he stayed in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit with breathing problems for the first week. Megan visited him in the NICU until the day before Miller was scheduled for discharge, when the Maxwells’ nanny alerted them she was COVID positive.

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“I was distraught,” Megan recalled. “I was really on the edge of a cliff – terrified that I had exposed the baby, the NICU, the hospital staff, other babies who might be even sicker. It was awful.”

Megan immediately left the NICU and took the whole family for testing. Fortunately for her concerns about exposure in the hospital, she and Michael were negative, but their 5-year-old daughter, Marlo, was positive.

With baby Miller about to be discharged yet still requiring oxygen, and a COVID-positive child at home, Megan made the difficult decision for her and Miller to temporarily move in with a friend while Michael and their daughters quarantined at home.

“It was certainly stressful,” Megan said. “My husband really didn’t get to see his new son for nearly three weeks. That was so hard.

But thankfully everyone stayed well.

Our daughter, although positive, was fine.”

Still, the separation took its toll, as the Maxwells faced a situation many have encountered over the last year: isolation from loved ones.

“I think a theme, not just in my life but throughout the pandemic, is loneliness,” she said. “I was lonely being the only one staying with the baby in NICU since only one parent could visit. My husband was lonely having to quarantine with the girls without me or the baby. And of course, we had it easy compared to some. People are dying alone, having babies alone, in the NICU alone, struggling with cancer alone.”

Instead of being discouraged by her own experience, Megan channeled it toward compassion and understanding for her patients.

“Although this was incredibly stressful and heartbreaking to go through, it’s given me so much more empathy for those who have sick children,” she said. “I haven’t been in

the position of being a patient in a long time, and it’s hard to be a patient and feel like you can’t control what’s going on. Health care can be slow, costly and time consuming.

Of course, you do it at any cost to make sure your child is well, but it was eye-opening to be on the other side. Now when I get a call from a frustrated family member, I really get it. I know how hard and frustrating this is. I hope that makes me a better physician.”

Her colleagues confirmed her excellence as a physician when she received the Rising Star Award for 2020, one of UT Southwestern’s clinical excellence honors that “recognizes exceptional early-career clinical faculty whose actions and activities consistently exemplify enthusiasm, commitment, professionalism and leadership.”

Her rise to the occasion continues as the pandemic still grips the world, but vaccines offer a glimpse of light ahead – a light Megan has seen firsthand in her own profession.

“I certainly, along with everyone, am really hopeful for when the pandemic is over. No one can deny the negatives we’ve faced, but if I have to look at the silver lining, I’ve marveled at not just the speed of the vaccine but people working together,” she said. “This desperate time has demanded we all come together to triage, to solve problems.

I’m amazed at the multidisciplinary communication, cooperation and progress. I see staff members at the end of a case come out of the room covered in sweat, with deep mask lines impressed on their face. I see different people who I work with rise up in leadership roles. I’ve been able to develop relationships with people I would not normally work with.

I think it’s all really stretched me as a leader.” 

– WENDY KILMER

TARA SEIDMAN

Conquering COVID-19

Max Lucado

Chris Seidman (’92) prays over his brother-in-law, Mitch Wilburn

Mitch Wilburn

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n Jan. 7, 2021, the friendly face on YouTube looked tired. He asked from a room in his home, “Is the chaos just too much?”

Max Lucado (’77), one of the best-selling Christian authors in the world, is a preacher by trade whose titles have become standards in the libraries of presidents and plumbers alike. But on this Thursday, he was especially candid.

“If you could use just a word of peace, that’s what I’d like to bring you. I can’t believe what we’re going through; I know you can’t either. As if the pandemic wasn’t enough, as if the chaotic election wasn’t enough, as if the economic turmoil and the challenges of racial conflict weren’t enough, we launched 2021 with yet another episode of unprecedented chaos and struggle. My heart today is for those of you who are just saying, ‘I’ve had enough. I’ve just had enough. I don’t think I can take any more,’ and you’re just frazzled.

You’re just exhausted. You’re just looking around for hope. And God bless you, some of you are just wondering if you’re going to be able – I mean, you’re already depleted, right? You’re already exhausted.

You’ve already weathered one of the most difficult years of your life and now this, the chaos in D.C. My word to you today is a word of encouragement.”

Few of the people doomscrolling late at night – endlessly surfing social media feeds for the latest news, only to find more anger, angst and anxiety – can avoid encountering one of Lucado’s short video messages. Several times each week, he uses YouTube to share hope and spread the Gospel via maxlucado.com. More than 50 million people have watched and listened.

“We need to be reminded how fragile life is. We need to be reminded that a microscopic virus can bring us to our knees,” Lucado said in a Nov. 2, 2020, interview with the CBS network affiliate in San Antonio.

The author of more than 120 million books and other products was working on another when the pandemic hit. He pivoted and published You Are Never Alone, a book intended to resonate with those of us cooped up at home, a hospital room, or anywhere physical distancing for one’s health feels like servitude to an unseen oppressor.

In a culture of division, friction and uncertainty, Lucado’s words bring light, hope and a down-to-earth prescription for much of what ails us. “Be kind. Be thankful,” he implores. “Gratitude and anxiety refuse to share the same heart.” 

– RON HADFIELD

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he ICU is a quiet place during a pandemic, absent the presence of family members, the silence broken chiefly by the steady hum of a ventilator, too often the bridge between life and death.

One such room at St. Francis Hospital in Tulsa, Oklahoma, however, may have been where ACU trustee Mitch Wilburn (’90) preached the best sermon of his life, perhaps without saying a word.

Wilburn is a grateful man, having survived a 48-day stay in St. Francis and not one but two periods on a ventilator to do his breathing when COVID-19 threatened his life.

The popular evangelist has helped lead the same flock since he was hired shortly after graduation. His 30-year-long career with the The Park Church of Christ (formerly Park Plaza) includes roles as youth minister (1990-2002), community outreach minister (2002-05) and preaching minister since 2005. He was ACU’s 2007 Young Alumnus of the Year.

Wilburn has a history of cancer and autoimmune disease, both the kind of “underlying conditions” COVID-19 exploits.

Brent Dennis, M.D. (’91), was summoned to the Wilburn home Oct. 15, 2020. Wearing full PPE gear, Dennis examined him and directed his wife, Shannon (McKnight ’92) to head to the hospital.

“He saved my life,” Mitch said of his primary care physician, a trusted friend and a member of his congregation.

Shannon, who was a kidney donor in 2017, tested positive a few days later and has recovered, but Mitch lost more than 50 pounds during his hospital stay, and has required physical therapy to recover since returning home Dec. 1. She kept family and other concerned friends informed by her regular reports and photos on Facebook and Caring Bridge. People from more than 40 states and other countries offered continual heartfelt support and encouragement.

“About Day 29 or 30,” Mitch recalled texting a few close friends from isolation: “Hey, it’s me. I’m still here … Please pray for me.”

And they did, by the thousands, inspired by his never-wavering faith and steady spirit of hopeful patience.

He returned to the pulpit in late February, but twice offered communion thoughts to his congregation while working on his recovery. “I would not be here this morning … if it were not for our Lord saving me and his doing that through your prayers,” he said in the first, Jan. 10. “I appreciate so very much the opportunity to be on this side of heaven for a few more days.”

“From most perspectives,” Shannon reflected Jan. 21 on social media, “Mitch is a walking miracle.” 

– RON HADFIELD

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SCOTT DELONY

MACKENSIE NELLIS

Conquering COVID-19

Anthony Williams

Cindi Patterson Nellis

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nthony Williams admits he’s spent more time this past year on his unpaid side job than his role as advancement and executive community relations officer at ACU. That’s understandable since his side job is serving in his second term as mayor of Abilene, so he’s been busy leading the community through a pandemic. He says he’s worked more hours than ever in his life and dealt with situations he never anticipated.

“Especially early on, the data we were presented with changed by the week,” he said. “I can’t think of any other scenario where you’re making these life-affecting decisions using information with this level of fluidity.”

Memorial Day of 2020 marked the first time he took a day off after nine weeks of consistently working seven full days per week to meet the needs of the city during a public health crisis. But the exhaustion at that point was topped by a new level of physical challenge in late summer when he found himself battling COVID-19.

After testing positive, he sequestered himself in a hotel for 10 days to help protect his wife, Lynette, from contracting the illness as well.

Although he avoided any life-threatening complications, the severity of the illness left its mark.

“For a few of those days I was so ill that I didn’t look at my iPad, the TV, my phone, anything. It was just me and the Lord,” he said.

“I realized the fragility of who I am as a human being. It was very, very humbling. When you talk about something, it’s different than when you experience it. When I came back to work 30 pounds lighter and still not feeling fully well, I had more intensity to execute plans and an elevated respect for what we were facing. It definitely changed my approach to things.”

His approach has been to encourage the people of Abilene to move forward with common sense and unity, and he said that’s his hope for this current phase of the pandemic as vaccine implementation continues. And although juggling both his work at the university and with the city has its challenges, the leadership skills he draws on as mayor are shaped by his experiences at ACU. “I have been employed at ACU for three quarters of my adult life,” Williams said. “What I’ve taken away from leadership as mayor, in the local church, in my family, is that God not only can but God will.

Faith leads everything I do. Those who have mentored me at Abilene Christian have shaped who I am. And who I am determines what I do.

I’m grateful to the many mentors God has afforded me at ACU who made me more effective as a mayor, husband, father and servant of Jesus.” 

– WENDY KILMER

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C

indi Patterson Nellis (’86) had a full-circle moment when she received her COVID-19 vaccine in December.

The inoculation represented her work since April as senior director of marketing and recruitment at Clinical Trials of Texas (CTT), one of the many groups conducting patient trials for the much-anticipated COVID-19 vaccine.

“It was really a moving moment,” Nellis said. “There was a feeling of pride, to actually get vaccinated with something you helped to develop.”

Nellis, the 2009 recipient of ACU’s journalism and mass communication Gutenberg award, excelled in the media industry as fashion editor at About.com for 15 years. In 2015, however, she took on a new role as marketing and recruitment director for CTT. “I was re-evaluating my career, and I wanted to work somewhere making a real difference,” Nellis said. “It sounds cliché but it was true.

The opportunity at CTT, a woman-owned company in San Antonio, really appealed to me.”

At that time, she had no way to know the intensity and publicity that would spotlight clinical trials when CTT became part of the vaccine development process for Pfizer and Moderna, among others, in the midst of a worldwide pandemic. Her journalistic experience came in handy as she used media and public relations strategies to recruit participants for clinical trials and to communicate to the general public about vaccine science and safety.

The speed of development meant Nellis and her colleagues took responsibility for whatever needed to be done at any given time.

“I worked at the front desk, worked as a runner in the hall to be sure patients and doctors were getting vials, sterilized rooms,” she said. “Marketing team members trained patients on electronic diaries.

Even our chief data officer, who is a nurse, was seeing patients.

We all pitched in. It was really great.”

Nellis said her work with clinical trials provided a unique perspective during a challenging year.

“I was hopeful we’d find a solution,” she said. “I saw a lot of the early activity and a lot of optimistic things about the process, so things never felt hopeless to me. It was a cool moment when we got the vaccine as health care workers; it really closed the circle. But this is by no means the end.”

CTT is still involved in ongoing COVID-19 vaccine trial work with Pfizer, Moderna and Johnson & Johnson. 

– WENDY KILMER

Conquering COVID-19

CITY OF AMARILLO

SCOTT DELONY

Chelsea Van Meter, RN

Jared Miller

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he used to have downtime during nursing shifts to chat with patients and their family members. She used to not feel so much anxiety at work, or at home. She used to not have to worry about her profession putting her family at risk.

A year into working in a COVID unit at Abilene’s Hendrick Medical Center, those comforts are gone. But Chelsea Van Meter, RN, CMSRN, is taking life one shift at a time.

“I’ve faced some of the greatest challenges of my career,” said Van Meter, who is in her second year as an instructor in ACU’s School of Nursing. “Nurses nationwide are battling burnout and fatigue.

I am constantly reminding myself not to forget basic needs, and I’ve had to establish effective coping mechanisms and build and cultivate resilience.”

Van Meter balances her courses and part-time nursing with being a wife and mother of two children, ages 3 and 5. She has worked at Hendrick since graduating from Hardin-Simmons University and the Patty Hanks School of Nursing in 2010.

When ACU’s campus was closed in Spring 2020 and classes were taught online, her children often made cameo appearances during lessons. She can laugh about that now, but most of her experiences during the pandemic have been a struggle.

“The deaths have been hard,” she continued. At one point, “they were back to back. Every shift you had, you lost a patient.

That can be very detrimental to one’s mental health. People are really quick to spout off statistics [about the death rate], but those numbers are still people. I have family members, peers and students who have all lost someone significant within the past year. It’s upsetting – mostly because these individuals most likely didn’t get the opportunity to say goodbye or have any closure.”

Her firsthand COVID experiences have made their way into her lesson plans so her students are prepared for what they will encounter in the field. Her team at Hendrick has helped her through the worst of times, as have her School of Nursing colleagues, whom she said pray for her and hospital staff daily.

Above all, her faith keeps her going.

“This year has reminded me of the importance of my relationship with God,” she said. “I don’t know how I would have been able to cope.

He’s brought me through some really dark and tough times, and I’m grateful.” 

– SARAH CARLSON

A

certain Wild West independent spirit characterizes communities and citizens of West Texas and the Texas Panhandle. Amarillo, Lubbock, El Paso and even Abilene are entities to themselves rather than part of a larger metro area, and sometimes it shows.

Amarillo city manager Jared Miller (’92) acknowledged that it can present challenges in a global health crisis. Fortunately, the stubborn streak can be channeled toward the greater good.

When coronavirus cases spiked in late 2020, the Amarillo City Council passed an emergency order to help enforce the state mask mandate, prohibiting local businesses from having situations that would create the possibility, or the likelihood, of spreading COVID-19.

Within a few weeks of the order, hospitalizations began to drop – from a high of 40% in the Trauma Service Area to 11% in January 2021.

“I think the primary reason we were able to get out of that as quickly and effectively is because we had the courage to do it,” Miller said. “It was a challenging thing; it wasn’t unanimous. But ultimately, the community stepped up and embraced doing what we needed to do.”

Bold and early budget action helped the city weather a challenging economic year as well. Miller conducted an analysis in mid-February 2020 to predict how a pandemic could impact Amarillo, and as a result, the city implemented a hiring freeze, paused capital projects and reduced expenses wherever possible without compromising essential services. The early action helped save several million dollars, allowing it to reinstate full operations this fiscal year.

“It was a good move on the council’s part to take immediate steps to ensure we could address what was perceived as the worst case scenario,” Miller said. “We didn't really think we’d get there but we wanted to prepare.”

Miller experienced the effects of COVID-19 when he and his son and wife came down with the virus in early August. It was right before budget workshops for the city, for which his presence was essential.

He arranged to join remotely, but he had to take breaks to sleep from fatigue and ultimately was close to hospitalization from the illness before he recovered.

Still, Miller said he knows he is lucky compared to many others, and he looks forward to better days for everyone.

“We’ve lost elected officials, my family has lost relatives, everyone knows someone who has died of COVID in Amarillo – incredible, key, larger-than-life people. Our city team has lost recent employees, spouses, family members,” Miller said. “Everyone’s been touched by it, and we’re ready to be out of it.”  – WENDY KILMER

ACU TODAY

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Conquering COVID-19

Q&A with Kent Brantly, M.D.

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he COVID-19 pandemic might feel like déjà vu for Kent Brantly, M.D. (’03), who contracted the deadly Ebola virus in 2014 while serving as a medical missionary in Liberia. He became the first Ebola patient to receive the experimental drug ZMapp and the first to be flown back to the U.S. for treatment. Six years later, he and his wife, Amber (Carroll ’06), and their children, Ruby and Stephen, have returned to Africa, where Kent works in Zambia at Mukinge Mission Hospital, a 200-bed facility serving as a regional hospital to a remote area of the south-central African nation.

Kent, who appeared on the cover of Time as the magazine named “The Ebola Fighters” its 2014 Person of the Year, talks in this Q&A about his return to Africa, the similarities between the Ebola outbreak in Liberia and the current pandemic, and some of the lessons he has learned.

After nearly losing your life to Ebola in 2014, why did you decide to return to Africa this year?

As a doctor and a nurse, Amber and I feel called to use our professional skills in service to people in need.

We believe God has placed a calling on our lives, and we’ve expressed that call as a three-fold vision: to care for the poor, to have compassion on people in need, and to participate in the coming of God’s kingdom on this earth – to participate in His work of restoration, fixing the broken things in this world. We’ve been eager to return to this type of work and life ever since I recovered from Ebola, and we are thankful for the opportunity to be back in Africa again.

How does Mukinge Mission Hospital compare to the hospital in which you worked in Liberia?

There are some similarities between Mukinge and ELWA – both are Christian mission hospitals in sub-Saharan Africa; both have need for more staff; many of the medical problems we encounter are similar.

But there are many differences between our setting in Zambia compared to the environment in Liberia. ELWA Hospital is on the outskirts of Monrovia, the capital city of Liberia, with a population of over 1 million people, with the amenities of a major city – restaurants, shopping and even some entertainment. ELWA is situated on a beautiful beach on the western-most coast of the continent.

Mukinge, on the other hand, is located in rural Zambia, on the outskirts of Kasempa, a town of 44,000 people, in the middle of a landlocked nation. While there is a market and several stores in Kasempa, the nearest city is Solwezi, the provincial capital, about 100 miles away. Besides the differences in setting, Mukinge Hospital has roughly four times the bed capacity compared to ELWA’s in 2014.

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What is a typical day for you in Mukinge?

Since I started working in the hospital in late March, I have been primarily responsible for the maternity ward.

This includes the labor ward, where babies are born; postpartum, for mothers who have recently delivered; antepartum, for pregnant women requiring hospitalization for any number of reasons; and the Special Care Unit for Babies (imagine a low-tech NICU). Every day, I make rounds on all of the patients in the various parts of the maternity ward. Right now, we have four doctors who cover the whole hospital (a fifth doctor is joining us this month). Each doctor takes overnight calls for the entire hospital roughly every fourth night. Despite the heavy workload, most days I get to make the 5-minute walk home to eat lunch with my family in the middle of the day.

How has that changed since COVID-19 made its way into Zambia?

While the first cases of COVID-19 in Zambia were diagnosed in March, it was over June and July that cases began to increase rapidly. This has changed our routines at the hospital – no visitors, staff wearing masks at all times, temperature checks at the hospital entrance and limiting elective procedures. But we are thankful our immediate area has, up to this time, not had many known cases of COVID-19.

How is the prospect of dealing with COVID-19 in Mukinge similar or different from what you experienced with Ebola in Liberia?

Of course there are some things that feel similar between our experience with Ebola and the current situation with COVID-19 – the heightened vigilance, the anxiety of the unknown, the stress of trying to carry out the necessary routines of daily work and life under the weight of the looming disaster. [But] there really are so many differences between the two experiences.

For starters, the two diseases are so different and have different modes of transmission. Ebola is only transmitted by direct contact with a sick individual. Another difference is that the entire world has been affected by COVID-19.

We’ve been heartbroken as we follow the news of the impact of this pandemic on our friends and loved ones in America and around the globe. And the global reach of this disaster has also impacted our ability to receive aid from the outside world. Many countries and aid organizations stepped up to combat Ebola in West Africa.

But with COVID-19, everyone is having to tend to the needs in their own communities, decreasing their ability to offer assistance to places where perhaps the resources

Conquering COVID-19

many of our neighbors in the community surrounding the hospital, and there is much of the countryside and nearby villages that we have yet to see and experience.

AMBER BRANTLY

You and Amber both have family in the U.S. What is it like to watch news of the COVID-19 spread from afar?

It has been hard for us to watch the news of COVID-19 spreading across the U.S. We have family members, friends and partners in the Gospel who have been infected with the coronavirus, and others who have been out of work or facing economic hardships because of the pandemic.

We have had to trust the Lord with our anxieties and worries about our loved ones, and we pray for them daily.

are lacking for the robust response that is necessary for this pandemic. Add to that the logistical complications of transporting goods and people across international borders, and you begin to see that the impact of COVID-19 is far greater than the illness caused by the virus.

What are the challenges there of physical distancing and other preventative steps to avoid the virus?

It’s hard for us to imagine the experience of our friends and family in the U.S., with all of the lockdowns and physical distancing measures over these past months. But as hard as these times have been for so many in America, trying to implement physical distancing in the context of a communal society like Zambia has unique challenges of its own. Most Zambians live with large extended families in very simple homes without electricity or indoor plumbing, where there is no space for self-isolating or keeping social distance. This is a major complicating factor in the implementation of preventative measures in this pandemic.

What is daily life like for Amber and the children?

How are they adjusting?

Amber and the children are adjusting very well to life in Zambia. But the middle of a pandemic is a challenging time to move into a new community. We still have not met

Do you have any advice for people, especially Christians, in your homeland wrestling with their own pandemic?

My advice for people wrestling with this pandemic in America is the same as the message I preached in 2014: We must choose compassion over fear – fear of the virus, fear of loss, fear of missing out. We must choose to love our neighbors, and that may look quite different in a pandemic than it was in other times. But we must remain committed to following the way of Jesus and thinking critically about what that looks like in our ever-changing world. We may not like the “new normal,” but we have to come to terms with the fact that things will never be exactly as they were before.

We also must cultivate an enduring sense of gratitude.

These are times of great anxiety for many of us, with the fears and unknowns of the future. We must heed the words of Paul in his letter to the Philippians: “Don’t you worry about anything. Instead pray about everything.

Tell God what you need and thank him for all he has done.”

When we truly live that out, we will experience the truth of the promise that follows: “And the peace of God, far beyond what we can understand, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”

What did you learn in Liberia that is helping you be a better physician today in Zambia?

My experience as a patient in 2014 has impacted the way I see my patients now. I hope I am gentler and more empathetic because of my experience.

How has your experience with Ebola and other suffering you've seen on the mission field shaped your theology?

This would require a very long conversation.

I can’t fully describe the ways our experiences in 2014 and since have shaped our theology. All I can say is that I have more questions and fewer answers than I did before.

And I hope I extend more grace and mercy now than I did before as a result of those experiences. 

– ROBIN SAYLOR

ACU TODAY

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eannette Lipford

Dale and Rita Brown Outlive Your Life Award

PAUL WHITE

Lipford’s curtain call as Bird Woman in the final performance of Mary Poppins in 2015.

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ACU’s Dale and Rita Brown Outlive Your Life Award takes its name from Outlive Your Life: You Were Made to Make a Difference, the 2011 book by minister and best-selling Christian author Max Lucado (’77).

The award is designed to recognize all types of servant leadership, including civic and community contributions, meeting spiritual or physical needs, producing changes with generational impact, helping redirect the course of people’s lives, and inspiring others to make an eternal difference.

Recipients may be alumni or friends of the university.

ED RODE

BY RON HADFIELD

he last days of Nellie Jeannette Scruggs Lipford (’49) might best be framed in the words of her favorite author. A Dutch Christian who helped Jews escape the Holocaust, Corrie ten Boom (1892-1983) was a heroine in the eyes of Lipford, ACU’s 2020 recipient of the Dale and Rita Brown Outlive Your Life Award.

“Love is larger than the walls which shut it in,” ten Boom once wrote in The Hiding Place, the 1971 best-seller Jeannette knew well.

Lipford died Sept. 22 at age 91, a few weeks after being recognized in absentia at Commencement.

She fought advanced colon cancer for four years, and COVID-19 near the end, but a rare fire burned strong inside this woman whose seven decades of teaching gave true meaning to her life. “Don’t count me out yet,” Lipford told longtime friend Suzanne Allmon (’79) in her final hours.

“She thought a lot about her purpose,” said Allmon, who is senior advisor to the president at ACU. “She felt so strongly that God called her to teach.”

If there were ACU faculty more engaged in students than she, the list is short. Lipford was the matriarch of Homecoming musicals and beloved voice professor for three generations.

She was a deeply spiritual, quintessential mentor who wanted her students to graduate with an active faith and personal relationship with Jesus.

She retired in 1992 as assistant professor emerita of voice, and while her health declined privately following cancer diagnosis in 2016, she maintained a strong public persona. She stayed active, insisting on teaching voice lessons at her studio in the Williams Performing Arts Center through early 2019, and co-teaching a class with theatre professor and former chair Adam Hester (’77) in Spring 2020. Until just

a few days before her passing, she maintained a near-constant dialogue with students and other admirers via text, email and phone calls.

At age 86, Jeannette gave brief but penultimate stage performances in Abilene. As the Bird Woman in Mary Poppins, her alma mater’s 2015 Homecoming Musical at the Abilene Convention Center, she sang “Feed the Birds” and brought down the house. She reprised it at her 90th birthday celebration in 2019.

Her final stage appearance was a month later when she performed with Ben Jeffrey (’06), who portrays Pumbaa in Broadway’s The Lion King.

Lipford rose from a seat in the front row of Fulks Theatre to sing and dance briefly with Jeffrey on Irving Berlin’s “You’re Just in Love” during her former student’s one-man cabaret show fundraiser for ACU Theatre.

“To return and share that moment with her is something I will treasure forever,” said Jeffrey, who studied voice with Lipford for four years. “She doesn’t just teach students but invests in them, and not just as artists, but as people. Her office was always a place to sing and make music, but it was also a place to be loved and celebrated for being exactly who you were.”

Her grandparents were among the earliest settlers who accompanied Stephen F. Austin to Texas. She was born Feb. 25, 1929, in San Angelo, the daughter of ranchers who lived nearby and moved to Abilene when Lipford was 3 years old.

She graduated from Abilene Christian High School in 1945 and from ACU in 1949 with a B.A., majoring in voice and piano. She studied voice at Baylor University and Lipscomb University before earning an M.A. from ACU in 1987, and she did graduate work at Southern Methodist University and The Juilliard School.

Jeannette met classmate Harold Thomas Lipford (’50) in ACU’s A Cappella Chorus and they wed

Sept. 3, 1948. She developed extensive teaching experience in Texas and Tennessee while Harold was a minister and working on graduate degrees in Waco and Nashville.

The couple returned to Abilene in 1966, and she taught voice to approximately 2,000 ACU students in the music and theatre departments from 1968 to 1992, and continued to instruct and coach scores more for the next 25-plus years. Her students went on to become Broadway stars, studio musicians, recording artists, music teachers and vocal coaches.

Among them was Grammy Award winner Amy Grant.

Lipford was vocal coach for ACU Homecoming musicals for 47 years – from Fiddler on the Roof in 1972 to Beauty and the Beast in 2019 – and for Sing Song hosts and hostesses for 22 years. She also coached performers through Freshman Follies, Summerstage, the ACU Opera, singing groups Daybreak and Reflections, and countless senior recitals.

Harold and Jeannette were longtime members of Abilene’s University Church of Christ, and were instrumental in establishing Mission Church in the 1990s. They were beloved by thousands of students who found in the Lipford home an open door, a welcoming spirit, a love for God, and deep appreciation for the musical and theatrical arts.

They were active in ACU’s Alumni Choral Reunion and performed with the Over the Hilltoppers group at Abilene Christian’s USO Show at Homecoming 1990.

The Jeannette and Harold Lipford Music/Theatre Scholarship Endowment was established at ACU in 1994. In 2000, Sing Song established the Lipford Award in her name, annually recognizing a person for exhibiting exceptional character, teamwork, dedication, and for raising the event’s standards to uncompromising levels.

Outlive Your Life, indeed. 

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BY RON HADFIELD

ACU joins four other universities in historic makeover of storied Western Athletic Conference

JEREMY ENLOW

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Learn more at acu.edu/wac

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bilene Christian University knows well the derring-do spirit required in intercollegiate athletics.

Having fielded 17 NCAA Division I teams, some

will compose a new Southwest Division. A West Division of the WAC will feature California Baptist, Dixie State, Grand Canyon, New Mexico State, Seattle, Southern Utah and Utah Valley universities.

For weeks, the announcement was one of the worst-kept secrets in NCAA sports, but once made fully public, shook up the Southland and signaled a new chapter for one of the most resilient Division I leagues in history.

“I cannot overstate my level of excitement in making this expansion announcement,” said WAC commissioner Jeff Hurd.

“The opportunity to bring five quality institutions into the conference, to bring football back under the WAC umbrella and at the same time

A little history, and a homecoming for football

GLENN LOSOYA

The WAC was founded in 1962 as a six-team league, one year before ACU co-founded the Southland. Its original members were major-college mainstays of the West and Rocky Mountain regions of the U.S. – Arizona, Arizona State, with more than 100 years on their Brigham Young, New Mexico, Utah résumés, will do that for you. and Wyoming – and most maintained ACU also has pioneering WAC membership for 15 to more experience in its conference than 30 years. affiliations. In 1932 it was an early The WAC made a major leader in the old Texas Conference impression in its early days, thanks and a co-founder in 1963 of the to three College World Series titles by Southland – with a Bible professor, Arizona State’s baseball juggernaut Dr. J W Roberts, as its first president in the late 1960s, and UTEP’s – so having a hand in the recent dominance in cross country and reimagining of and joining track and field in the mid-1960s and the Western Athletic Conference 1970s. WAC teams feels a little like Old have won 32 men’s Home Week. and 18 women’s Adventuresome Division I national innovation was again a championships, prerequisite for leading including two more this announced move CWS titles since 2003. of five universities to Over time, the the venerable WAC WAC has also hosted as one of the biggest Air Force, Boise State, changes in years Fresno State, Colorado to the landscape of State, Rice University, mid-major collegiate San Diego State, San athletics.

Tarleton State and ACU will renew their West Texas football rivalry Jose State, SMU, TCU, The Wildcats were in the WAC. Attending the press conference in Houston were (from left), Texas-El Paso, Tulsa one of the “Texas TSU president Dr. James Hurley and director of athletics Lonn Reisman, and and Utah State, ACU director of athletics Allen Ward and president Dr. Phil Schubert.

Four,” as they were among others. called by sports From the Rainbow pundits and fans in significantly strengthen basketball Warriors of Hawai’i-Manoa to the national speculation leading up to and other conference sports, is one Vandals of Idaho, the WAC has been the Jan. 14, 2020, announcement at that is easy to embrace.” nothing if not adaptable in carving NRG Center in Houston.

“This is truly a historic day, one out its own legacy in the West, with Joining Abilene Christian in the that is opening the doors to a journey or without football, a sport in which move are Stephen F. Austin State, we will all take together, with no the conference has not crowned Sam Houston State and Lamar doubt, to unprecedented levels of a champion since 2012. The WAC universities from the Southland, achievement and success in both sponsored football at the Football while Southern Utah University of academics and athletics,” said ACU Bowl Subdivision (FBS) level the Big Sky Conference will join in president Dr. Phil Schubert (’91) at for 50 years.

2022 to give the WAC 13 member the WAC press conference, speaking Brigham Young made the WAC’s institutions. on behalf of the five new members. biggest FBS headlines in 1984 when ACU, Lamar, SHSU, SFA, Tarleton the Cougars upset Michigan in State and Texas-Rio Grande Valley ACU TODAY

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Learn more at acu.edu/wac

the Holiday Bowl, and earned the Associated Press national title as the country’s only undefeated, untied Division I-A football team.

A new national football champion based in the WAC was controversial, as its win from a “mid-major” conference created the impetus by major conferences to form a Bowl Alliance, then the Bowl Championship Series (BCS), which led to the current College Football Playoff format that consolidates prime opportunities for postseason games.

The WAC re-enters the college football picture this fall, albeit at the Football Championship Series (FCS) level where the Texas Four have been competing in the Southland. Sam Houston has played deep into the FCS playoffs seven of the last 10 seasons, Lamar appeared in 2018, SFA in 2014, and Southern Utah has qualified three times since 2011. SFA or SHSU

being left behind,” said Allen Ward, ACU director of athletics. “To have that group [the WAC] include us, the strongest members of the Southland, shows a lot about the respect they have for our program and where they think it’s going. The possibilities are endless.”

student-athletes have won FCS national player of the year honors three times since 2010.

ACU, which plays its 100th season in football this fall, has sent 42 Wildcats to the NFL – including College Football Hall of Fame inductee Wilbert Montgomery (’77) – and has produced two national championships, record-setting quarterbacks and the longest field goal in history.

Although there has been public speculation, at this point, the WAC has no plans to transition to FBS play. Grand Canyon president Brian Mueller said there will be a “winnowing out in the next few years” of the growing split between Power 5 and mid-major conferences, a development that should surprise no one who follows collegiate sports.

“When conferences are realigning, you want to be part of that instead of

Among many reasons, basketball looms large Schubert cited several compelling reasons for the change, including continued emphasis on academic and athletics excellence; an expanded geographical reach into the West, especially in major U.S. markets; increased TV and tournament exposure; and automatic bids to national championships and postseason play.

On one hand, WAC games will feature ACU games in or near some of the nation’s most diverse markets and

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8

12

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Abilene Christian

7 California Baptist

2

Lamar

8 Dixie State

3

Sam Houston

9 Grand Canyon

4

Stephen F. Austin

10 New Mexico State

5

Tarleton State

11 Seattle

6

Texas-Rio Grande Valley

12 Southern Utah

7

9 10

1

5 3

13 Utah Valley 6

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Lamar University Location: Beaumont, Texas Elevation: 16 feet Founded: 1923 Enrollment: 14,035 Carnegie classification: Doctoral/Professional Universities Nickname: Cardinals and Lady Cardinals Colors: Red, White Mascot: Big Red Quick facts: Located 90 miles east of Houston, Lamar is part of The Texas State University System and is named for Mirabeau B. Lamar, former president of the Republic of Texas and the “father of education” in the Lone Star State.

Originally South Park Junior College, the campus moved to its current location in 1942. Lamar’s baseball program has made 13 NCAA Division I regional tournament appearances. ACU and Lamar co-founded the Southland Conference in 1963, along with Trinity University, Arkansas State and The University of Texas at Arlington.

Distance from Abilene: 453 miles

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Tarleton State University Location: Stephenville, Texas Elevation: 1,273 feet Founded: 1899 Enrollment: 14,096 Carnegie classification: Master’s Colleges and Universities Nickname: Texans Colors: Purple, White Mascot: Texan Rider Quick facts: Tarleton became a member of the Texas A&M University System in 1917.

Its research centers include the renowned Texas Institute for Applied Environmental Research and the Southwest Regional Dairy Center. The Texans began their first season of NCAA Division I as a member of the WAC in 2020-21, and were regional rivals of ACU for nearly 20 years while both were members of Division II and the Lone Star Conference. Its men’s basketball program was a perennial power at the Division II level, winning 20 or more games 15 times.

Distance from Abilene: 96 miles

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Sam Houston State University

Stephen F. Austin State University

Location: Huntsville, Texas Elevation: 371 feet Founded: 1879 Enrollment: 18,416 Carnegie classification: Doctoral/Professional Universities Nickname: Bearkats Colors: Orange, White Mascot: Sammy Bearkat Quick facts: SHSU is the third oldest university in Texas, named after Texas’ greatest hero. Its College of Criminal Justice is the home of the Southeast Texas Applied Forensic Science Facility, one of only four such facilities in the nation. SHSU is the first in the nation to offer a Ph.D. in forensic science. The football team has qualified for the FCS playoffs nine times, advancing to four semifinals and playing for the national championship in 2011 and 2012. Sam Houston and ACU were members of the Lone Star Conference from 1973-84.

Distance from Abilene: 315 miles

Location: Nacogdoches, Texas Elevation: 302 feet Founded: 1921 Enrollment: 10,665 Carnegie classification: Doctoral/Professional Universities Nickname: Lumberjacks and Ladyjacks Colors: Purple, White Quick facts: SFA was named after one of Texas’ founding fathers and is one of four independent public universities in the state. The Arthur Temple College of Forestry and Agriculture is nationally recognized, and houses one of only two schools of forestry in Texas. Chief Caddo, a 7-foot, 6-inch, 330-pound statue carved from a black gum log, is the tallest trophy in college football, and goes to the winner each year of the game between SFA and Northwestern State University. It is named to honor the Native American tribe that settled each school’s community.

Distance from Abilene: 363 miles

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The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley Location: Edinburg, Texas Elevation: 95 feet Founded: 2013 Enrollment: 32,618 Carnegie classification: Doctoral Universities: High Research Activity Nickname: Vaqueros Colors: Orange, Gray Mascot: The Vaquero Quick facts: UTRGV is the second largest Hispanic-serving institution in the nation.

The Vaqueros maintain the history of athletics from its prior institutions: The University of Texas-Pan American, Pan American University and Pan American College, including 16 national and 179 conference championships and 69 All-America student-athletes.

Its most recent NCAA Tournament appearances have been in volleyball and women’s tennis.

Distance from Abilene: 475 miles

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California Baptist University Location: Riverside, California Elevation: 827 feet Founded: 1950 Enrollment: 11,045 Carnegie classification: Master’s Colleges and Universities Nickname: Lancers Colors: Navy Blue, Gold Mascot: Lance the Lancer Quick facts: CBU was founded by the California Southern Baptist Convention and like ACU, is a member of the Council for Christian Colleges and Universities.

Located just 54 miles from Los Angeles, its campus is known for its Mission Revival style architecture. California Baptist became a full NCAA Division II member in 2013-14 and began its transition to Division I in 2018-19. The Lancers won the Learfield Directors’ Cup in 2018 after finishing in the top four the previous two years. In its first six years as an NCAA member, CBU qualified 70 percent of its eligible teams (68 of 96) for postseason play.

Distance from Abilene: 1,201 miles

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other institutions are affliate members of the WAC for competition in specific sports such as swimming and diving, and others. Those include Air Force, Houston Baptist, Idaho, Incarnate Word, Nevada-Las Vegas, Northern Arizona, Northern Colorado, Sacramento State, San Jose State, and Wyoming.

WEST DIVISION

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Grand Canyon University

Dixie State University

New Mexico State University

Location: Phoenix, Arizona Elevation: 1,086 feet Founded: 1949 Enrollment: 83,284 (22,000 on campus) Carnegie classification: Doctoral/Professional Universities Nickname: Lopes Colors: Purple, Black, White Mascot: Thunder the Antelope Quick facts: A private Christian university, GCU has seen dramatic growth in recent years, with 47% of its enrollment in graduate programs, including more than 61,000 online. It became a for-profit institution from 2008-18, when $1 billion from investors changed the face of the university in West Phoenix. In athletics, GCU won the NCAA Division II Learfield Sports Directors Cup in back-to-back years (2011-12 and 2012-13), and has won the WAC Commissioner’s Cup in each of its first two years of postseason eligibility. The Lopes do not have a football program but its basketball teams play in 7,000-seat GCU Arena.

Distance from Abilene: 882 miles

Location: Saint George, Utah Elevation: 2,700 feet Founded: 1911 Enrollment: 11,193 Carnegie classification: Baccalaureate/Associate’s Colleges Nickname: Trailblazers Colors: Red, Navy Blue, White Mascot: Brooks the Bison Quick facts: Founded by Mormon pioneers and located in southwestern Utah on the Arizona border, Dixie became a state college in 2000 and a university in 2011. In December 2020, its Board of Trustees voted to remove “Dixie” from its name; plans for a full name change are forthcoming. DSU began its transition from NCAA Division II to Division I status in 2020-21, and is in its first season as a member of the WAC. It was for several decades a national junior college power before competing for more than a decade in Division II, where the Trailblazers qualified for regional play 63 times, winning five titles.

Distance from Abilene: 1,012 miles

Location: Las Cruces, New Mexico Elevation: 3,900 feet Founded: 1888 Enrollment: 14,289 Carnegie classification: Doctoral Universities Nickname: Aggies Colors: Crimson, White Mascot: Pistol Pete Quick facts: NMSU is the oldest university in the state, a NASA Space Grant College, a Hispanic-serving institution and the home of the first Honors College in New Mexico. It has a 900-acre main campus plus five others. The Aggies won four WAC regular-season titles in 2019-20 and sent one team to NCAA postseason play. Its football program plays a FBS independent schedule. Its men’s basketball team has won three straight WAC regular-season titles, and recently had a 31-game regular-season winning streak snapped.

Distance from Abilene: 498 miles

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Seattle University

Southern Utah University

Utah Valley University

Location: Seattle, Washington Elevation: 175 feet Founded: 1891 Enrollment: 7,291 Carnegie classification: Doctoral/Professional Universities Nickname: Redhawks Colors: Red, Black Mascot: Rudy the Redhawk Quick facts: SU is a Jesuit Catholic university located on 50 acres in the Capitol Hill neighborhood, east of downtown Seattle. Its law school has the top-ranked legal writing program in the nation. It is named for Chief Seattle and in 2000 changed its mascot from Chieftains to Redhawks.

SU has competed in the WAC for eight years, winning 17 regular-season and tournament championships. In the 1960s, SU produced more NBA players than any other university in the nation.

Distance from Abilene: 1,907 miles

Location: Cedar City, Utah Elevation: 5,846 feet Founded: 1897 Enrollment: 9,271 Carnegie classification: Master’s Colleges and Universities Nickname: Thunderbirds Colors: Red, Black, White Mascot: Thor the Thunderbird Quick facts: SUU has grown from a teacher training institution to Utah’s designated master’s university, offering more than 140 undergraduate programs and 21 graduate and certificate programs.

It annually hosts the Utah Shakespeare Festival and Utah Summer Games.

There are 13 national and state parks near campus and the university has an educational partnership with the National Parks Service. The Thunderbirds will join the WAC in 2022, leaving the Big Sky Conference, where its football team won championships in 2015 and 2017.

Distance from Abilene: 1,030 miles

Location: Orem, Utah Elevation: 4,774 feet Founded: 1941 Enrollment: 41,728 Carnegie classification: Master’s Colleges and Universities Nickname: Wolverines Colors: Green, White Mascot: Willie the Wolverine Quick facts: The Wasatch Mountain Range overlooks Utah Valley, the state’s largest public university. Previously located in nearby Provo, it began moving its main campus in 1970 to Orem, which is 45 miles south of Salt Lake City and has one of the state’s largest concentrations of members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (more than 90 percent).

The Wolverines are in their eighth season as WAC members, and have won 16 regular-season or tournament championships, the most recent in men’s cross country.

Distance from Abilene: 1,044 miles

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Learn more at acu.edu/wac

JEREMY ENLOW

Men’s head basketball coach Joe Golding

March. This year, the Wildcat men are headed toward a third-straight 20-win season, are one of the best mid-major teams in the nation and among statistical leaders in several defensive categories among the entire NCAA. The women’s program has 20-win seasons four of the past five years.

Brand equity translates into national recognition

JEREMY ENLOW

largest metropolitan cities, including Los Angeles (#2 in the U.S.), Dallas/ Fort Worth (#5), Phoenix (#11), Seattle (#13) and Salt Lake City (#30). That expanded geographical footprint in the West will enhance student and student-athlete recruiting; California in particular has been a strong source of students for decades.

On the other hand, the Wildcats preserve scheduling in all sports with some of their most established Texas rivals. Since moving to the Southland, many fans feel like ACU has especially missed having a regional rival in West Texas. A move to the WAC solves that through a reunion with Tarleton State, just 90 miles away in Stephenville.

Football will have full conference play in the all-Texas Southwest Division, while men’s and women’s basketball will feature both divisional and crossover play.

The new WAC promises to be a formidable basketball conference, having sent at least two men’s teams to the NCAA Tournament in 28 of the past 45 seasons. In women’s basketball, the conference has had at least two teams qualify for the NCAA Tournament 10 times in 28 seasons, with a record five teams in 1998. “This basketball conference can be Top 12 in the country,” said GCU’s Mueller.

“Ardent men’s college basketball fans know well the distinctive success stories being written at Gonzaga, Butler, Loyola Chicago and many others,” Ward said.

“If our commitment equals our expectations, I see no reason why ACU can’t join this exclusive group.”

Although a mid-major, Gonzaga is the top-ranked men’s Division I team thus far in 2021.

“This is a tremendous opportunity for ACU to continue to grow its programs and establish itself on the national stage,” Ward said. “In addition to the positive impact on

Women’s head basketball coach Julie Goodenough

recruiting, we will realize benefits from the continued association with Texas institutions, new partnerships that pursue common Division I goals, and the strategic efficiencies of divisional play.”

“If you know anything about men’s and women’s athletics today, and how to support conferences and grow money from conferences into institutions, it’s mainly about basketball. It’s about that tournament,” said Mueller, referencing the March Madness, viewership and dollars created by the NCAA Tournament.

ACU sent its men’s and women’s basketball teams to the national tourney two years ago. COVID-19 robbed both of a reasonable opportunity to qualify again last

The WAC’s resiliency and its enduring national brand were major considerations fueling ACU’s interest in changing conferences. Schubert believes the move repositions Abilene Christian in a place of strength across a rapidly changing landscape.

“If you are in leadership in higher education, one of the things you are constantly evaluating is athletics,” Schubert said at the WAC press conference. “When you consider the visibility that our institutions receive from athletics as well as the level of financial investment that we make in them, it is imperative that we have an athletics program that is propelling our institutions forward in ways that are consistent with the values and goals and aspirations that we have.”

Only four colleges and universities – Stanford (126), UCLA (118), USC (107) and Kenyon (60) – have won more NCAA national team championships than ACU. The Wildcats captured 57 of their 59 at the Division II level, but their stature as a small-college powerhouse, and their success since 2013 as a Division I mid-major, are known far and wide.

“In addition to our strong, successful athletics program, Abilene Christian brings an exceptional academic reputation that has seen increased national recognition these last few years,” Schubert said.

“Special things are happening here, and being a part of this conference realignment just adds to the momentum for our university.” 

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Architectural rendering of north entry to Moody Coliseum

Architectural rendering of the arena inside Moody. During construction, basketball games and volleyball matches are taking place next door in the Teague Center (see page 83).

HOK

Architectural rendering of south entry to Moody Coliseum.

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Renovation of venerable Moody Coliseum reflects longtime aspiration to improve fan, player experience for venue at center of ACU campus life ports fans, athletes, coaches, students and visitors will be sitting prettier soon, as will ACU’s beloved domed home of basketball games, volleyball matches, Chapel services, Sing Song performances and Commencement ceremonies. Moody Coliseum is undergoing a significant upgrade that will create a new exterior face and footprint as well as provide improved seating and significant additions and improvements inside.

Fundraising for the project is underway, and the Moody transformation will be a major component of the university’s next

upgrade with the potential to impact our programs like the Moody renovation project,” said Allen Ward, director of athletics. “I firmly believe that having a state-of-the-art arena will take us to a new level.”

Several additions to the facility are designed to support the success

comprehensive campaign.

Construction began in December and is expected to be complete in August 2022.

“Moody is at the heart of many of our campus traditions and is a critical part of our athletics program,” said Dr. Phil Schubert (’91), ACU president. “After 52 years, it’s time to invest in improvements that will bring it up to par with our NCAA Division I programs and the many other events for which we need a large gathering space.”

Upon completion of the renovations, the main seating in the coliseum will offer additional leg room, larger seats in some sections, improved accessibility all around and a new 2,000-square-foot hospitality room. Seating capacity in the arena bowl will be reduced from approximately 4,100 to about 3,600.

“I can think of no other facility

of student-athletes, such as a strength and conditioning area, and a new academic center.

ACU’s men’s and women’s basketball teams will be perhaps the most significant beneficiaries of the upgrades and additions.

“Obviously, this will help in recruiting, Gameday atmosphere, and so on, but more importantly in player development,” said Joe Golding (’99), men’s head basketball coach. “That is how you attract great players and continue to sustain a championship program. Development of the student-athlete is everything in today’s Division I landscape.”

After renovations are complete, Moody will continue to house offices for volleyball and basketball staff, and athletics administration staff will move there from the Teague Center. Locker rooms, the training

Moody Coliseum opened in 1968.

room, restrooms and concessions area will also see upgrades.

“We have always felt there was a little ‘Moody Magic’ in our home-court advantage, and moving forward, we will definitely have an advantage but not just on the actual play court,” said Angela Mooney, head volleyball coach.

“The renovation of Moody is going to allow us to compete on a whole new level when it comes to recruiting. We are so thankful for the vision and support of our administration on campus and in the athletics program, as well as the generous donors who are making all of this possible.”

The exterior will have a new face and footprint with the addition of north and south towers, each three stories tall. In the north tower, the first floor will be a lobby and main entrance, the second floor will be administrative offices, and the third floor will house basketball offices.

The south tower will feature a grand two-story entrance and lobby, and the hospitality area will be on the third floor.

Chapel and other campus activities will continue to take place in Moody after renovations. Plans include a section of removable seating to allow for a stage area that will be useful in Sing Song and at Commencement, and the design allows for better camera positioning and access for ACUTV’s recording and broadcasting of events.

“Especially in 2020, for our ACU board, administration and generous donors to move forward on this financial endeavor is another exclamation point on their commitment to Wildcat athletics,” said women’s head basketball coach Julie Goodenough. “After seeing the renderings of Moody, I believe our facility will rival or surpass every college basketball venue in the Southwest.” 

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– WENDY KILMER

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O U T S TA N D I N G A L U M N U S O F T H E Y E A R

or as long as Wes Kittley (’81) can remember, his hometown of Rule, Texas, has had just one traffic light, and a blinking one at that. Its steadiness mirrors the small town’s most famous former resident: Kittley and his consistent, dependable success as one of the nation’s top coaches in any sport.

He’s the third ACU track and field head coach to be named Outstanding Alumnus of the Year, with Kittley as 2020 honoree, joining Arthur “Tonto” Coleman (’28) and Oliver Jackson (’42).

You’ll run into Rule at the intersection of Texas State Highway 6 and U.S. Route 380, some 60 miles northwest of ACU’s Elmer Gray Stadium, where Kittley helped rewrite NCAA championship history.

Over 17 years (1983-99), his men’s and women’s Wildcat teams won an NCAA-record 29 national titles, and were the first to win all four in a single year: men’s and women’s indoor and outdoor in 1996 (and again in 1999).

These days, Rule is home to about 600 Texans, some 200 fewer than the names of its heroes etched into three large slabs of granite on a Veterans Memorial Monument in town.

Time and economic pressures on the farming, ranching and oil businesses have not been kind to Kittley’s friendly community, but you would make a mistake to underestimate the resolve in a Rule Bobcat.

Don Garrett (’77) remembers well the sight of a slender young man from

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Rule in the finals of the mile relay at the 1974 Texas high school state meet, one of four blue-and-white-clad runners the crowd expected to be dusted at Austin’s Memorial Stadium.

The Class B favorite that year was a fast quartet from the Piney Woods town of Big Sandy, the kings of high school football in East Texas.

Three of Rule’s four runners – like many people in their hometown – were related to a Kittley: Wes, his brother, Rob, and a cousin, plus Tommy Cornelius. Each was a senior except for Wes, a freshman who was lucky to weigh 100 pounds soaking wet.

Wes got the baton on the relay’s third leg and matched the bigger, more muscular Big Sandy runner step for step, handing off to the Rule anchor, who raced to victory and a Class B record that stood for 30 years.

That pivotal third lap around the track saw Wes build that lead on Big Sandy’s Lovie Smith, who went on to be an NFL and Big 10 Conference head coach, and an inductee to the Texas Sports Hall of Fame.

This was no coincidence.

A farm boy from Rule with the last name of Kittley qualified to run in the state meet every year from 1971-82, recalled Garrett, who has 35 years experience as a track and field meet announcer.

“I was working part time in the Admissions Office my senior year and then full time after graduation, and I started calling Wes over and over, encouraging him to enroll at ACU,” said Garrett, now senior advancement officer and director

of endowment strategies at Abilene Christian. “I was too naïve to realize what I was asking of him and of his parents, to send someone to ACU without a scholarship.”

Garrett convinced the Wildcats’ then-head coach Don W. Hood (’55) to offer a walk-on spot to Kittley.

The Rule runner didn’t grow that much the next four years, but earned All-America honors three times, and accepted Hood’s invitation to stay on as an assistant.

And a coaching legend was born.

Kittley has coached at just two universities the past 38 years, a rarity in a profession where hires and fires are commonplace. Perhaps only preachers change jobs more often.

Only 22 universities have won NCAA Division I men’s track and field titles the past 100 years. Texas Tech, with its first-ever national championship in men’s sports in 2019, with Kittley at the helm, is now one of them.

Kittley believes his leadership role requires selling athletes on the idea that they can do more than they imagine and “that they are closer to great than they or even I thought.”

That starts with instilling a superior work ethic to carry them to higher ground.

“It is amazing how many people have a work ethic of an average person, and then think they deserve playing time, a promotion or something special to happen to them in their life. There’s not much demand for an experienced average guy. If you want to be great, be great every day,” Kittley said. “God did

2020

ALUMNI AWARDS Outstanding Alumnus of the Year

Provides timely recognition of the lifetime achievement of an individual who has brought honor to ACU through personal and professional excellence and service to the university, the church or the community.

Young Alumnus of the Year

Recognizes professional achievement and/or distinguished service to ACU. To be eligible, a recipient must not be over 40 years of age at the time of selection.

Distinguished Alumni Citation

Recognizes distinctive personal or professional achievement that has merited the honor and praise of peers and colleagues.

PHOTO ILLUSTRATION BY JEREMY ENLOW

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“There’s not much demand for an experienced average guy.

If you want to be great, be great every day. God did not put us here on this earth to be average.”

– WES KITTLEY

Kittley’s teams at ACU won an NCAA-record 29 national championships in track and field.

not put us here on this earth to be average. We have a hashtag on our team: HDMUA. We wear a bracelet with that on it, which reminds that he didn’t make us average. It is so important to me to make all my student-athletes realize the potential God gives each one of them with their unique gifts.”

His talented Red Raiders were poised to repeat their 2019 feat in Albuquerque during the indoor nationals in March 2020, but were called home while warming up the day before. COVID-19 proved a more formidable opponent than any rival.

Like ACU, Tech’s coaches have been limited during the pandemic to Zoom, phone or FaceTime for their recruiting. And it’s been hard.

“We are in a room in Lubbock, masked, trying to meet mom and dad over Zoom and creating a relationship to where they would trust their son or daughter to come here,” Kittley said. “It’s very unusual and not at all what I like to do in creating a relationship with a family.

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my family, and spend 48 hours getting to know each other.”

It’s been especially hard on his penchant for recruiting world-class performers from other countries.

“My years in Abilene gaining the experience of recruiting international athletes – and seeing the passion ACU has for international students – gave me a lot of empathy and respect for what all they go through to even get to America. The kids on my team have had a hard time. Some could not get here for the fall semester and arrived this spring,” he said.

Kittley believes Texas Tech has a tremendous advantage each year with its Texas Tech Sports Performance Center, which Garrett calls “the Taj Mahal of indoor tracks in America,” where his teams train and compete year-round. Since 2014, one of their outdoor meets is at the annual Wes Kittley Invitational at his alma mater.

“I am so humbled and honored to have a meet named after me,” Kittley said. “As an ACU Wildcat, being able to come back to your school and to be honored each year with a meet is pretty special.”

Kittley counts Hood, his former head coach, as an influential mentor.

“There was not a harder working man in the coaching profession than him,” he said. “I am a hard worker, being raised on a farm and having great examples with my parents, but I saw him go the extra mile so many times.”

One of them was a sweltering summer day after work. “It had to be at least 100 degrees and no one else was around, but I glanced to the right as I’m driving by Elmer Gray Stadium and I see a man down on all fours, showing what appeared to be a 10-year-old how to come out of the [starting] blocks. That image has stayed with me my whole coaching career. That day I saw what passion and a love for this sport really requires.”

Garrett describes Kittley as being “fiercely loyal” to Abilene Christian.

His 2021 Texas Tech team and its six to eight potential Olympians could compete anywhere in the nation the third weekend in March, but they will be on a purple track on the Hill where their coach began a record-setting life journey he describes constantly.

“Commit to the journey, don’t just be in it to score, or to make a kill, or to hit a home run, to win the 100 meters.

The journey is where you learn, grow, form new habits and strive toward something bigger than yourself,” Kittley said. “When we stop worrying about the future outcome and pay attention to the present, we can celebrate the progress and enjoy the journey. I think that’s what I have learned to do as the years have passed.”

Kittley excels at finding and recruiting student-athletes from out-of-the-way places who have big talent and bigger potential.

A blinking stop light is not required, but should he encounter one, he will always feel and look right at home. 

– RON HADFIELD

YO U N G A LU M N U S O F T H E Y E A R

e could have been a household name. Kids could have had his baseball card to trade, and other fans might have chatted about his stats while watching him swing a bat at lightning speed.

Dr. Paul Morris (’66), professor emeritus of physics, certainly knows the name and the man who carries it: Joel Wells, M.D. (’06). He recalls not only Wells’ intellectual prowess as a biology student, but his talent on the Wildcat baseball diamond, where his prodigious hitting set a season record in home runs (18 in 2006) and placed him on the top 10 career list in seven categories.

But what truly impressed Morris was when Wells was selected by the New York Mets in the MLB amateur draft his senior year, he instead chose Tulane Medical School in New Orleans, Louisiana, as part of its first class to return to the reopened campus after Hurricane Katrina.

In 2006 he became the first ACU baseball player to win a prestigious NCAA Postgraduate Scholarship.

Choosing the medical field over sports at that pivotal time in his life “showed his character,” Morris said.

Wells may not be famous, but he is certainly known and beloved by the patients he cares for and the students he mentors as one of the top surgeons in North Texas to treat hip dysplasia, hip impingement and complex hip deformities. A faculty member at The University of Texas Southwestern Medical School in Dallas, Texas, he is considered an expert at performing periacetabular osteotomy.

“When a patient gives you the privilege and the trust to help take care of them and have you operate on them, it’s not something that’s a shift job,” Wells said. “I take calls 24/7.

If one of my patients is in the hospital, I’m going into the hospital every day to see them. That’s how

I like to treat this profession of being a surgeon – it’s such a privilege.

That’s what I love about it and what fulfills me. I still say I have the best job in the world.”

Wells credits his mother, Charlotte Wells, for his work ethic and says his grandfather, Ed Petroski, was his biggest baseball fan – he would go to every game Wells played, first at Cooper High School in Abilene and then at ACU where he drove in 70 runs while leading the Wildcats to a 47-13 record his senior year.

After Tulane, Wells interned in surgery at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston, Massachusetts, served his residency in orthopaedic surgery at Harvard Combined Orthopaedic and Surgery Residency Program at Massachusetts General Hospital, and served a fellowship at Washington University School

of Medicine in St. Louis, Missouri.

Wells met his wife, Katerina (also a surgeon), at Tulane, and they have a 2-year-old son, Gabe.

While his educational training is certainly elite, Wells is quick to note that his pre-health courses at ACU are what helped him succeed in medical school.

“I have to say that I was better prepared than the majority of students in my class because the curriculum at ACU for pre-med is top notch,” he said. “The requirements to fulfill and the expectations to meet are tough. It required work.

And playing baseball at ACU taught me so much more than just playing on the field. The team, the service, the love for our Lord – all of it is so important.” 

– SARAH CARLSON

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D I S T I N G U I S H E D A L U M N I C I TAT I O N S

races who provided valuable support during his career.

While in the Navy, Wesley earned a D.Min. degree, then decided to make another attempt at a Ph.D. program. He enrolled in an analytic philosophy class to brush up, and after struggling initially, decided to find the confidence he needed to succeed – even if he had to fake it at first.

“For the rest of that semester, on my 50-minute drive to class, I told myself, ‘I am brilliant’ over and over, even though I didn’t believe it,” Wesley said. “But the rest is history.”

He went on to earn a master’s degree from Yale University, a Ph.D. from Claremont Graduate University and an M.A. in national security and strategic studies from the Navy War College.

This year, Wesley has conducted much of his ministry work virtually, due to the COVID-19 pandemic. It’s a definite switch from shipboard life in the Navy, but he praises his colleagues in both places for their intelligence, drive and support. “We miss in-person worship, Bible classes and meetings,” Wesley admits. But he and his colleagues continue to pursue the church’s “NFL” vision: growing in numbers, faith and love.

JAMES FITZGERALD III

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– KATIE NOAH GIBSON GREG ANDERSEN

The academic résumé of Dr. Darrell Wesley (’88) is impressive.

The retired U.S. Navy chaplain and full-time minister holds four master’s degrees and two doctorates, in addition to his undergraduate degrees from Southwestern Christian College and ACU. But Wesley, now the senior pastor at Amos Temple in Riverside, California, said his academic journey began with “profound intellectual insecurities.”

Always interested in philosophy and theology, Wesley struggled academically and personally once he transferred from SwCC to ACU. Though he had great respect for his professors (and gained some valuable early preaching experience), Wesley found it difficult to be one of the few Black students among white students and faculty on the Hill.

He persevered, earning master’s degrees from ACU and the University of Tennessee, but he knew he lacked the philosophical chops – and the confidence – to enter a Ph.D. program. Wesley instead joined the Navy as a chaplain, enrolling in a Doctor of Ministry program during his active service. He served 23 years, retiring with the rank of captain. Although there are few Black officers in the Navy, Wesley had several mentors of different

Wesley

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Hatfield

When Tobie Hatfield (’87) wrapped up an ACU track and field career that included multiple NCAA Division II team championships, he planned to do exactly what you might expect from an athlete with a degree in physical education, anatomy and physiology: coach.

“But there were just other plans that God had,” the former pole vaulter said. “I had no idea what they were going to be. I just allowed him to work through me, and I’m glad I did.”

Hatfield may not be coaching now, but that hasn’t stopped him from helping an ever-growing list of athletes as Nike’s senior director for athlete innovation.

Since joining Nike in 1990, Hatfield and his team innovate

D I S T I N G U I S H E D A L U M N I C I TAT I O N S

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– JONATHAN SMITH

KIM LEESON

the latest in shoe technology and collaborate with an impressive group of athletes that includes some of the world’s top performers in golf, tennis, beach volleyball, and track and field, among other sports. Perhaps most famously, Hatfield designed the iconic golden spikes sprinter Michael Johnson used to win gold medals at the 1996 and 2000 Olympics.

But Hatfield’s work isn’t all about gold medals and famous athletes. He likes to remember the words of Nike co-founder Bill Bowerman: “If you have a body, you are an athlete.”

That tenet led him to projects like FlyEase, which he developed after a teenager with cerebral palsy wrote to Nike about struggling to tie shoelaces. Hatfield developed a supportive shoe with an entry-and-closure system that opened in the back and featured a wraparound zipper, a design that was named a 2015 Time Invention of the Year.

Hatfield is motivated by all the things he doesn’t yet know but looks forward to discovering.

That motivation is fed by a healthy dose of curiosity.

“As innovators we have to learn to be curious, and then we have to learn to ask ‘what if’ questions,” Hatfield said. “You start with the curiosity, and then you do one what-if. And then if that’s successful you go to the next what-if. … And you keep going.”

Hatfield has kept going with each new innovation, but not without looking back fondly at the family atmosphere he enjoyed at ACU that helped prepare him for a job he never could have imagined.

“The idea of sending students out to spread the Word, spread the Gospel into all other industries, even my industry, is fantastic,” Hatfield said. “And maybe I didn’t know that at the time as much, but I definitely feel that now.”

The Caires

Though they were both always interested in missions and international travel, Dr. Will (’93) and Allison (Smith ’95) Caire never expected to raise a family on three different continents.

But through their work with Christian Health Service Corps, the Caires and their four children have found themselves first in Curahuasi, Peru, then in Kijabe, Kenya, working in medicine (Will) and education (Allison). Though their family flew back to the U.S. in Fall 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, they have returned to Kenya.

“We train East African doctors for Christian medical service,” Will said of his work at Kijabe Mission Hospital. “These men and women are already on a mission to glorify God with their lives and their profession, and to be a part of preparing them further for this service is a great privilege.”

In Peru, Will worked at a mission hospital mostly focused on patient care for the poor, but in Kijabe, he’s proud to be a part of educating the next generation of Kenyan doctors.

Although Kenya has seen very few deaths from COVID-19, the country’s schools operated remotely for the duration of 2020. Allison, who teaches upper-level and Advanced Placement Spanish at Rift Valley

Academy, a boarding school for the children of missionaries, has been teaching online since April. She and her colleagues are making the best of it, but remote learning “is not the optimal experience,” she admitted.

Both she and Will miss the community they found in Kijabe.

“I find Kenyans inspiring in their ingenuity, faith and friendliness,” Allison said. “My students are topnotch people who think deeply, and they have much life experience at a young age.”

They have loved their experiences in Peru and in Kenya, and they each credit ACU for helping prepare them for the mission field. “ACU introduced me to inspirational people,” Allison said. “My professors were engaged in what God was doing throughout the world.” In addition to her classes and Bible studies, she said, ACU provided “the space to dream about changing the world, which is essential for 18- to 22-year-olds.”

Will agreed. “I was exposed to people from all over the world, and I was surrounded by friends who wanted to be a part of God’s mission on earth,” he said. “I was also challenged by the idea of being a good steward of his gifts, taking care of the poor, and serving those in need in a sacrificial manner.” 

– KATIE NOAH GIBSON

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#ACU

We love our followers on social media. Here are just a few of the posts by and about Wildcats.

Dana Embree March 23

When your son’s future @ACUedu president sends a reassuring message to future Wildcats and it makes you tear up just a bit … you know he’s made the right choice. Thanks Dr. Phil Schubert and @ACUadmissions for already caring for our @gabeembree!

Garrett Fowler May 6

Mafer Hernandez August 9

Fours years ago my parents dropped me off at the airport for me to begin my own adventure.

When I realized I didn’t know anybody and that I was far away from my family, I questioned if I had made the right decision. As I graduated without my parents by my side, I couldn’t be more grateful because I wasn’t alone.

After fours years, I realized I now have a family of my own, made out of friends who support me, traveled with me, have celebrated and cried with me. But most importantly have given a home when I needed it the most.

Here’s to the best years of my life!

Tyishia Evely June 10

OK, one more post … So I looked up the number 37 and it symbolizes things like exploration, introspection, creativity, independence, and self-determination! I am so excited to say that I am now exploring new things and I am determined to advance my 15 years of corporate work experience by pursuing my bachelor’s degree. I was accepted into the Bachelor of Science in Management - Operations program at Abilene Christian University here in TX @acuedu June 30th, the journey begins #HappyBirthdayToMe #SheBelievedSheCould #SoSheDid #ACUwildcats

Candiss Caudle Territo

Jessica Renee Davis

November 27

Not all friendships need daily conversation, but can still hold a special place in your heart and always pick up where you left off.

We missed Jolee Kate and our third roomie, Heather Mays. #acuwildcats #collegeroomies – with Kim Watson

August 16

Sabrina Molina April 23

117 days until I’ll be in my favorite place but who’s counting? #ACUbound

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ACU TODAY

Freshman year was a success. Pictured here are some of my favorite memories with some of my favorite people. My first day of classes, my first college football game, coaching a dope flag football team, meeting a legit princess, rocking the stache, roller skating on my birthday, late study nights and party city shenanigans, the Christmas tree lighting, the crazy snow day, and the amazing faith talks with close friends. All of these things feed into one thing I have experienced so much more this year than any others. Joy. These people have taught me to enjoy life and chase God with a purpose. My life is forever changed and I am eternally grateful to both my family and my friends for joining me in this journey this past year. Here’s to sophomore year!

Yesterday I cried some of the ugliest tears I’ve cried in my adult life. I fear that today and tomorrow will not be much better.

We are headed to drop the baby girl off in this great big world to be on her own for the very first time. #myheart #mywholeworld #ACUWildCats #freshman2021 – with Reilly Davis and Kevin Davis

We’ll Leave the Light on for You

When the Spring 2020 semester was abruptly interrupted by COVID-19, the purple lights flooding these iconic campus structures became a symbol of our longing for students to return.

Lisa Carroll May 9

SCOTT DELONY

Our baby. The last of her siblings to graduate from ACU. Hers was not your typical college experiences: classes, courtship, deployment, marriage, moves, distance, more deployment, Pandemic, etc. … completed in 3 years.

We’ve had a child at ACU for 20 consecutive years. (One of those years, 5 of us were there.) We owe a lot to ACU … in many ways … and will be forever grateful. Thanks to Scott and Michelle Senter, our family gathered in Sept for an early celebration at their place.

SO glad we did this! Congratulations, Anne with an E. We love you!

– with Anne Carroll-Amerine and others

k9_fritter

ACU Police Department

Abilene Christian University March 20

December 21

Thank you, Dr. Schubert and staff for creating flexible and innovative learning. We watched as colleges across the world sent kids home, back again, and home, due to COVID. Our son benefited from online courses without missing a beat.

Kaitlin Houk This seriously brought tears to my eyes. Such a simple yet significant gesture by ACU! How blessed are those students to know that they are loved that deeply. I’m a very proud @ACUedu alumni right now. #WildcatFamily Elyssa Molina *cries in purple & white* Annette Green With two ACU senior nursing students in my home, today has been a hard day ... this was truly a picture of why we are so thankful for ACU and what it has been to our daughter. Thank you, for caring for all of the ACU students and giving them a forever home!

Continued prayers for the leadership team as you make decisions during these next weeks.

Michelle Phillips Thank you for caring so deeply for our young adults. We continue to pray for leadership, staff and students. May God keep you healthy during these difficult times. Much love, The Phillips family Lindsay Stivers Beautiful. I completely understand and am grateful for the decision to prioritize health and safety. But boy, does this hurt. I never thought my 6 years in Abilene could end this way. Thankful for every second I got to spend on this beautiful campus with so many beautiful people.

Gary Ford II June 21

Look what I found while running some errands the other day. You really can find anything at a mall in Bangkok, Thailand!

AUGUST 1

We have illuminated the Tower of Light and Onstead-Packer Biblical Studies Building in purple and are leaving the lights on until our students return to campus! Especially in the midst of difficult times, we are reminded that God’s provision is always sufficient. May God continue to bless you and your family. #ACU Madison Chapman My heart misses this place and these steps.

Tammy Kling

Good thing I wasn’t arrested when I stole chief’s heart

Shawna Spencer Webb We are so proud and honored that both our children are students at ACU. Thank you for caring for them academically, spiritually and physically!

GO WILDCATS!

Michelle Ballard Even though I am a doctoral student that is online, seeing this makes me happy! God bless!

Dianna Scroggins Clayton Proud 1979 graduate. I met my husband at ACU. Warms my heart to see this image.

Carlene Harrison Beautiful! This is the k9_fritter building that has News been my work home for the KTAB past 23 years. Love this place and its people.

If this police thing doesn’t work out, I can Erica Graves Love athis!

This is#bossbabe one of the many always become reporter. reasons our daughter wants to come here AUGUST 26 Jasmine Jones My girls can’t wait to get back there. Love you ACU. Pat Owens ACU was such a faith-building source in my life. I love this school.

Janet Russell Mull 1971 grad … ACU holds a huge place in my heart and in my soul.

Megan Cline I can’t even begin to describe how thankful I am for this school and truly how it has changed my life for the best. I’m sad to have the semester cut so short (actually sad doesn’t even begin to cover it), but I am excited for when I get to see all of the amazing people who made this school a home when we come back in the fall. Y’all have no idea how thankful I am for each one of you.

Tré McLeod The latest example of how I am constantly reminded that God guided me to k9_fritter the place I needed be. at Wildcat Stadium AnthonytoField Every dog needs a sidekick … mine just happens to be called Chief #pawandorder SEPTEMBER 30

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TheBOOKCASE Apostle of Persuasion

At Love’s Command

THEOLOGY AND RHETORIC IN THE PAULINE LETTERS

By Karen (Gaskin ’93) Witemeyer ISBN 978-0764232077 • 384 pages bethanyhouse.com

By Dr. James W. Thompson (’64) ISBN 978-0801099724 • 320 pages bakerpublishinggroup.com This book culminates a career of researching and teaching Paul’s letters for Thompson, ACU professor emeritus of New Testament, by recognizing Paul as a pastor who brought together theology and rhetoric to encourage spiritual formation in his communities.

First and Second Timothy and Titus

By Christopher R. Hutson ISBN 978-1540962416 • 336 pages bakerpublishinggroup.com Hutson, associate professor of Bible, missions and ministry, and associate dean for academics in ACU’s College of Biblical Studies, authors another in the series of Paideia commentaries.

Live Beyond A RADICAL CALL TO SURRENDER AND SERVE

By David M. Vanderpool, M.D. (’81) ISBN 978-1948677424 • 224 pages forefrontbooks.com The story behind a successful Tennessee surgeon and the decision he and his wife, Laurie (Stallings ’81) made to sell their belongings and move to Haiti to build Live Beyond, a medical mission, school and other services to empower the impoverished.

After the Last Border TWO FAMILIES AND THE STORY OF REFUGE IN AMERICA

Cultural Studies of Lego MORE THAN JUST BRICKS

Chapter by Dr. Jennifer (Wade ’92) Shewmaker ISBN 978-3030326630 • 357 pages palgrave.com Shewmaker, professor of psychology and dean of ACU’s College of Education and Human Services, authors a chapter titled, “I Just Don’t Really, Like, Connect to It: How Girls Negotiate LEGO’s Gender-Marketed Toys.”

Bridging Theory and Practice in Children’s Spirituality NEW DIRECTIONS FOR EDUCATION, MINISTRY, AND DISCIPLESHIP

Chapter by Dr. Dana Kennamer (’81) ISBN 978-0310104919 • 272 pages zondervan.com Kennamer, ACU professor and chair of teacher education, contributes a chapter titled “Little Theologians: Learning With and From Children as We Live in the Story Together.”

By Jessica (Reese ’00) Goodeau ISBN 978-0525559139 • 368 pages penguinrandomhouse.com

The Sticky Years

This award-winning book is an intimate look at the lives of two women – a Christian from Myanmar and a Muslim from Syria – as they struggle for the 21st-century American dream, having won the “golden ticket” to settle as refugees in Austin, Texas.

By Kevin Thompson (’99) ISBN 978-8645548179 • 145 pages thestickyyears.com

You Are Never Alone TRUST IN THE MIRACLE OF GOD’S PRESENCE AND POWER

By Max Lucado (’77) ISBN 978-1643880778 • 240 pages thomasnelson.com When life feels depleted, does God care?

In an onslaught of challenges, will God help?

When life grows dark and stormy, does God notice?

I’m facing the fear of death; will God help me?

Lucado says the answer in the life-giving miracles in the Gospel of John is a resounding “Yes!”

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Haunted by the horrors of war, ex-cavalry officer Matthew Hanger leads a band of mercenaries known as Hanger’s Horsemen who have become legends in 1890s Texas. They defend the innocent and obtain justice for the oppressed. But when a rustler’s bullet leaves one of them at death’s door, they're the ones in need of saving.

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STORIES FROM THE FRONT OF THE VAN

Life with kids is sticky and fast, writes Thompson, a longtime columnist. One day you buckle them into baby carriers. The next day you drive them to kinder.

Turn around once and the van wreaks of body odor.

Soon it’s time for driver’s ed. Before long, they drive off, and you’re left holding a bag of baby teeth.

Peru is Calling EXPERIENCING THE INCREDIBLE PERUVIAN CULTURE AND ITS BEAUTIFUL PEOPLE

By Robbie Freeman Shugart (’82) ISBN 978-1952247361 • 218 pages amazon.com Shugart invites readers to experience her international ministry trips to Peru, discovering things to do and see while carrying the Gospel.

Selections of books published by Abilene Christian University or those written, edited, compiled or contributed by ACU alumni, faculty, staff and students.

How Shall We Then Care?

Men on Fire

A CHRISTIAN EDUCATOR’S GUIDE TO CARING FOR SELF, LEARNINGS, COLLEAGUES, AND COMMUNITY

RESTORING THE FORCES THAT FORGE NOBLE MANHOOD

Chapter by Dr. Stephanie Talley (’93) ISBN 978-1532682407 • 212 pages wipfandstock.com

By Stephen Mansfield (’88 M.L.A.) ISBN 978-0801007163 • 192 pages bakerpublishinggroup.com

Talley, ACU assistant professor of teacher education, contributes a chapter titled, “Self and Soul Care: Spiritual Practices to Sustain Teaching.”

Through inspiring stories and hard-hitting biblical truths, best-selling author Mansfield uncovers the seven fires that ought to burn in a man’s soul: destiny, heritage, friendship, love, battle, legacy and God.

His Love for Me FAMILY STORIES OF GOD’S GRACE, MERCY & LOVE

Strangers on the Earth

By Ronnie Dell Freeman (’88) and Robbie Freeman Shugart (’82) ISBN 978-1952247095 • 123 pages RobbieFreemanShugart.com

By Dr. James W. Thompson (’64) ISBN 978-1532684012 • 200 pages wipfandstock.com

PHILOSOPHY AND RHETORIC IN HEBREWS

A father and son share stories designed to encourage and inspire you to build and strengthen your family’s spiritual foundation.

Thompson, ACU professor emeritus of New Testament, demonstrates how the author of Hebrews utilized Middle Platonic and Greco-Roman rhetorical elements to articulate his early Christian “word of exhortation.”

Implementing Project Based Learning in Early Childhood

The Kissing Tree FOUR NOVELLAS ROOTED IN TIMELESS LOVE

OVERCOMING MISCONCEPTIONS AND REACHING SUCCESS

By Karen (Gaskin ’93) Witemeyer ISBN 978-0764232190 • 368 pages bakerpublishinggroup.com

By Sara Lev, Amanda Clark and Erin (Gray ’08) Starkey ISBN 978-0367198015 • 250 pages routledge.com

When Phoebe’s father sends a property manager to ensure her romantic retreat succeeds, she finds her whimsical vision thwarted at every turn by stodgy practicality. Romance and reality must blend, but when those elements bleed into her personal life, her spinster heart may be in for a surprise.

Witemeyer’s novella, “Inn for a Surprise,” is featured in this book.

A book designed to offer teachers and leaders at various stages of PBL implementation the tools, resources, instructional strategies, and suggestions needed to dispel myths and find success.

Hindsight is 20/10

Team First Wins

REFLECTIONS ON LIFE WITH UNVEILED EYES

By Randy Nicholson (’59) with Randa (Nicholson ’88) Upp ISBN 978-1684263301 • 220 pages acupressbooks.com

By Julie Goodenough ISBN 978-0578641843 • 154 pages amazon.com

veteran women’s basketball head coach at Hardin-Simmons, Oklahoma State, Charleston Southern and Abilene Christian, Julie Goodenough entered the 2019-20 season with a 423-284 record across 25 years. She is in her eighth season at ACU, having guided the Wildcats to four consecutive postseason appearances and with conference championships at the NCAA Division I, II and III, and NAIA levels to her credit.

Goodenough completed a season for the ages in 2018-19, culminating in ACU’s first-ever Southland Conference Tournament title and a trip to the NCAA Tournament. Her 2015-16 and 2016-17 ACU teams each qualified for the WNIT. A 1991 graduate of Texas-Arlington, she and her husband, Rob, have two daughters, Bailey and Macy.

With the help of his daughter, this memoir by the late Randy Nicholson – a successful entrepreneur and former ACU trustee (see page 107) – reflects on the life of a business leader who never forgot his roots or faith.

Center for Building Community Abilene Christian University ACU Box 29136 Abilene, Texas 79699 325-674-2156

Befriending Your Monsters FACING THE DARKNESS OF YOUR FEARS TO EXPERIENCE THE LIGHT

The story of the Abilene Christian University women’s basketball team winning its first trip to the NCAA Tournament, as told through hand-written daily reflections in the journal of its head coach

J U L I E

G O O D E N O U G H

The story of the Abilene Christian women’s basketball team earning its first trip to the NCAA Tournament, as told through hand-written daily reflections in the journal of its head coach. Another in a series of books published by ACU’s Center for Building Community.

Serving Up Love A FOUR-IN-ONE HARVEY HOUSE BRIDES COLLECTION

By Luke Norsworthy (’02) ISBN 978-0801093333 • 240 pages bakerpublishinggroup.com

Novella by Karen (Gaskin ’93) Witemeyer ISBN 978-0764232695 • 384 pages bethanyhouse.com

Norsworthy explores learning how to face the monsters of comparison (“I am what others say about me”), more (“I am what I have”), and success (“I am what I do”), and become a truer version of yourself while deepening your connection to God.

To escape the mistakes of her past, Rosalind Kemp works as a Harvey Girl with the hope of being transferred to California. But just as a new love tempts her to stay, her past catches up to her.

Witemeyer’s novella, “More Than a Pretty Face,” is included in this compilation.

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Selections of books published by Abilene Christian University or those written, edited, compiled or contributed by ACU alumni, faculty, staff and students.

Sutherland Springs GOD, GUNS, AND HOPE IN A TEXAS TOWN

By Joe Holley (’68) ISBN 978-0316451154 • 304 pages hatchettebookgroup.org Pulitzer Prize finalist Holley, a columnist for the Houston Chronicle, examines the 2017 mass shooting at a church in a small Texas town, revealing the struggles and triumphs of fellow Texans long after the satellite news trucks have gone.

Honor, Shame, and the Gospel REFRAMING OUR MESSAGE AND MINISTRY

Edited by Dr. Chris Flanders (’89) and Werner Mischke ISBN 978-1645082804 • 252 pages missionbooks.org Through eight case studies, more than a dozen practitioners and scholars from diverse contexts and fields consider the theological and missiological implications of an honorific gospel, and explore ways to make disciples in a diversity of social contexts.

Flanders is associate professor of missions at ACU.

The First One Hundred Years of Christianity AN INTRODUCTION TO ITS HISTORY, LITERATURE, AND DEVELOPMENT

Translated by Dr. James W. Thompson (’64) ISBN 978-1540960153 • 688 pages bakerpublishinggroup.com Thompson, ACU professor emeritus of New Testament, translates into English a work authored in German by renowned scholar Udo Schnelle that traces the historical, cultural and theological influences and developments of Christianity’s early years.

The Faithful Librarian ESSAYS ON CHRISTIANITY IN THE PROFESSION

Chapter by Mac Ice ISBN 978-1476671161 • 245 pages mcfarlandbooks.com

A FESTSCHRIFT OF ESSAYS IN HONOR OF IAN A. FAIR

Edited by Dr. Andrei Orlov (’95 M.A.) ISBN 978-1506433769 • 366 pages gorgiaspress.com

Wind Ensemble spring tour includes showcase performance at TMEA convention in San Antonio Many essayists in this volume have names familiar to ACU audiences. The festschrift honors Fair (’68), adjunct professor of New Testament and former founding dean of the university’s College of Biblical Studies.

Visceral Sin A GRACE-CENTERED APPROACH TO ADDRESSING DEEPLY EMBEDDED SIN

By Zach Sewell (’07) ISBN 979-8656666343 • 167 pages amazon.com Some sins are heavily rooted, hidden under layers of complexity, and difficult to cut from our lives.

Like other visceral problems we face, we often don’t know how to deal with them. This book serves as a guide for defining and better understanding them, and learning how to conquer them.

Will Humanity Survive Religion?

BEYOND DIVISIVE ABSOLUTES

By Dr. W. Royce Clark (’60) ISBN 978-1978708556 • 552 pages rowman.com The author argues that humanity’s survival may depend on the development of a universal or inclusive ethic in which religions move beyond their absolutes.

Clark, professor emeritus at Pepperdine University, poses the sharp challenge: Are religious communities ready to abandon the foundations that until now they have insisted were the only adequate foundation for ethics?

The Acceptance

Ice, director of special collections in ACU’s Brown Library, contributed a chapter about the pioneering archival work of Claude Spencer, librarian and archivist at the Disciples of Christ Historical Society.

WHAT BRINGS AND BUILDS LIFELONG LOVE

Hear My Voice

Drawing from the latest research, top experts and 25 years of experience helping couples, Anderson reveals what motivates us to desire a mate and how those dynamics continue to play out for the duration of the relationship.

TALES OF TRAUMA AND EQUITY FROM TODAY'S YOUTH

Chapter by Dr. Dana Mayhall ISBN 978-1475853346 • 112 pages rowman.com Mayhall, ACU assistant professor of teacher education, contributes a chapter entitled “The Bully, The Bullied and the Bystander.”

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Revelation and Leadership in the Kingdom of God

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ACU TODAY

By Jon R. Anderson (’86) ISBN 978-1400328185 • 216 pages elmhillbooks.com

New & Upcoming Books by ACU Press Weak Is the New Strong God’s Perfect Power in You Todd LoLLar ISBN 9781684260515 | 192 pages | $17.99

With cerebral palsy binding him to a wheelchair and slowing his speech, Todd’s physical weaknesses have always been apparent. As a child, his confinement even led to years of abuse and neglect. He’s never had the option of hiding his weaknesses. Escape—Impossible.

But through God’s movement in the trials, Todd became deeply thankful for what many would consider devastating. Weak Is the New Strong is an invitation to journey with Todd and discover how your greatest weakness—whatever it is— can be transformed by God’s strength.

Discipleship in Community

A Theological Vision for the Future Mark E. PowELL, John Mark hicks, & GrEG MckinziE

After Amen

What to Do When You’re Waiting on God

rusTy GEorGE

ISBN 9781684260812 | 176 pages | $15.99

Longing to Belong

Discovering the Joy of Acceptance

shawna MariE BryanT

ISBN 9781684264803 | 208 pages | $14.99

ISBN 9781684264100 | 176 pages | $16.99

Jesus said, “Go and make disciples.” So, what exactly are we doing? Western churches face a difficult future marked by numerical decline and evident signs of shrinking cultural influence. But Discipleship in Community wisely asks the church to go back to basics. What does it mean to follow Jesus? What does a life of discipleship look like? Trusted scholars Mark Powell, John Mark Hicks, and Greg McKinzie invite you to consider how good theology can lead to better, more intentional discipleship.

877-816-4455 toll free

Scripture First

Biblical Interpretation That Fosters Christian Unity

EdiTEd By daniEL B. odEn & david sTark ISBN 9781684260911 | 192 pages | $17.99

acupressbooks.com | leafwoodpublishers.com ACU TODAY

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HilltopVIEW

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Commencement, athletics, Homecoming shuffled As the coronavirus spread through the U.S. in March 2020 and ACU’s instruction moved online, that also meant postponing major events, one of the first and most significant being May Commencement. Students scheduled to walk the stage in May would instead wait and participate in graduation in August (see pages 4-5).

As concerns about the spread of COVID-19 continued throughout the summer, the location had to be adjusted as well, and for the first time in more than 40 years, Commencement took place outdoors.

Graduates received their degrees and honors in three ceremonies Aug. 7 and 8 in Wildcat Stadium while family and friends watched from the stands spaced 6 feet apart.

In early fall, the university also made the difficult decision not to host major events on campus, other than on-campus sports competitions. That meant Homecoming wouldn’t involve a physical coming home to the Hill.

The Alumni Association made sure there were still Homecoming opportunities to connect with classmates and friends, including virtual campus tours for those who wanted a glimpse of their alma mater.

Other Homecoming 2020 events included a live virtual Chapel featuring Dr. Richard Beck (’89), a special video retrospective of Homecoming parades in years past, a choral performance from current students, and ACU Theatre’s newest project, Cinderella: A Fairy Tale Film.

The Maker Lab offered a “Make and Stay” event that weekend with kits for alumni and friends to create an ACU lightbox or pennant at home, and the Department of Journalism and Mass Communication’s 28th Gutenberg Celebration took place virtually with discussion in various Zoom rooms.

Social club rushing activities began in the fall – with new restrictions and safety protocols in place – but were temporarily suspended after a mid-semester surge in COVID-19 cases and then resumed late in the fall semester. Pledging – also with strict COVID-19 safety protocols in place – began in January with a “bid day” instead of “bid night” on Jan. 9.

The obstacle faced almost a year ago of how to safely gather students, faculty and family members to honor graduates remains a challenge, and December 2020 graduates will wait until May 2021 to walk the Commencement stage.

University forms Diversity Council

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5,293

Number of undergraduate students majoring in nursing at ACU for the 2020-21 school year, the most of any academic program.

Rounding out the top five most popular majors are psychology (301), kinesiology (211), management (201) and biology (159).

Record number – for the third consecutive year – of students enrolled at ACU for the fall semester. The total included 3,496 undergraduate and 1,797 graduate students.

ACU Dallas enrolled a record 1,618 online students this fall, including 234 undergraduates and 1,384 graduate students, an increase of 17% over Fall 2019.

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ACU’s Diversity Council was formed in June 2020 and meets throughout the school year to generate ideas, evaluate initiatives and plan events to foster a more racially and culturally supportive, inclusive and diverse environment.

The 2020-21 council includes five students – Princess Payan, president, Hispanos Unidos; Jael Morel, president, International Students’ Association; Alyah Edwards, president, Black Student Union; Elizabeth Asaolu, president, African Students’ Association; and Anthony Egbo, student-athlete representative.

Three faculty members – Daniel Garcia (’07), Dr. Steven Moore and Dr. Ramonica Scott – are joined by Roz Evans, a parent and alumna; Ryan Bowman, director of the Office of Multicultural Affairs; Dr. Robert Rhodes, provost; Dr. Stephanie (Toombs ’90) Hamm, ACU’s chief diversity officer; and Dr. Phil Schubert (’91), president.

“The council has had several frank discussions,” Hamm said.

“Creating the environment we desire will take all of us working together in ways we never have before.” 

JEREMY ENLOW

BY T HE NUMBE RS

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Virtual events rule: COVID-19 effects spur campus creativity

SCOTT DELONY

capacity every year, especially for the benefit of international students and those who live far away,” said Rachel (Jinkerson ’11) Goodman, director of enrollment marketing.

“We had a really positive response.”

With Chapel as a mainstay of the ACU experience, finding a way to offer it virtually was a no-brainer. Thanks to ACUTV, Chapel streamed live each Wednesday of the Spring semester, allowing current students to participate virtually in worship and hear a message from a speaker, and giving ACU alumni and friends around the world an opportunity to join as well.

This academic year, renovation of the coliseum keeps Chapel in Moody from being an option, so ACU offers virtual spiritual formation events via livestream, as well as Community Groups – small gatherings of six to 10 students meeting for 30-45 minutes to focus on this semester’s theme: “Life With Jesus: Reimagining Discipleship in an Age of Uncertainty.”

Each April has typically featured an academic conference with more than 100 research presentations from students.

The Undergraduate Research Festival included individual and group research, with a combination of lectures and poster presentations involving between 150-200 students.

By Spring Break 2020, when much of normal daily life was at a standstill, the festival had already processed acceptances and planning was well underway. By the end of Spring Break, that planning shifted to a virtual event. The festival morphed into a week of online presentations April 13-17.

Presenters had the option to participate, and more than half of them chose to go ahead, including some from universities

AT&T LEARNING STUDIO

W

ith students staying home and nearly all schools, cities and states shut down during April and May 2020, the planners of several favorite ACU events dug deep to find ways for the show to go on. Go online, that is.

Wildcat Preview Day and Admitted Students Day – the typical introduction to ACU for many high school students – were a no-go with the campus closed and travel discouraged. The offices of Enrollment Marketing, Admissions, and Marketing and Strategic Communications collaborated with ACUTV to instead provide a virtual glimpse of the ACU experience. Within just a few weeks of the shutdown, 1,050 high school students participated in the first Virtual Visit Day, more than the traditional in-person Visit Day event in 2019. A few presentations were pre-recorded, but much of the event took place in real time via livestream on YouTube.

Faculty and students conducted a live Q&A allowing prospective students to text questions and have them answered during the event. The event also offered information on applying for admission and financial aid, discussion of experiential learning, and a chance to learn more about ACU’s campus.

After that success, the virtual events kept coming with 17 virtual academic showcases where prospective students heard from faculty and learned more about specific areas of study.

Thanks to these virtual events, this fall’s freshman class included 152 students who had never stepped foot on campus. And, the success and lessons learned through the virtual events won’t end when the pandemic restrictions let up.

“We will probably continue this in some

Randy Harris provided devotional thoughts March 25, 2020, on the set of ACU’s first virtual Chapel program.

such as Texas Tech, Hardin-Simmons, McMurry and Midwestern State.

Similarly representing months of work

by ACU students, the annual FilmFest gala was destined for the Paramount Theatre in early April. But as classes moved online, so did FilmFest’s six films and the 50 students who produced them. On April 23, the gala, which typically draws a full house at the historic downtown Abilene theatre, instead screened online in the first event of its kind in FilmFest’s 16-year history.

As families experienced considerably more time at home than usual, ACU’s Maker Lab found a receptive audience when it took the annual MakerFest out of the lab and into people’s homes. During April 16-30, the Maker Lab mailed 250 kits with the materials needed to build hand-stitched leather journals. Participants included students, faculty, staff, prospective students and alumni. Their unique creations were shared frequently across social media during and after the event. 

Honor Roll

11

2020

Number of times in the past 12 years ACU has been recognized as one of the Great Colleges to Work For by The Chronicle of Higher Education. And for the second time in a decade, Abilene Christian is also among 30 four-year institutions named to the “Great Colleges” Honor Roll.

The university was noted for achievements in five categories: Facilities, Workspace and Security; Job Satisfaction; Professional/Career Development Programs; Supervisor/Department Chair Relationship; and Work/Life Balance. The Honor Roll highlights the 10 institutions in each size category cited most often across all of the recognition attributes. ACU is in the top 10 of institutions with 3,000-9,999 students.

478,000 Views on social media of a compilation performance of ACU’s Virtual Choir since its release on Good Friday, April 10, 2020.

More than 500 students, faculty, staff, alumni and parents submitted videos of themselves singing “The Lord Bless You and Keep You.” (See story on page 53.)

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CAMPUS VOICES Chapel speakers in Spring 2020 included Shane Hughes, preaching minister for Abilene’s Highland Church of Christ, Feb. 3; Bob Fu, director of ChinaAid and “pastor of China’s underground railroad,” Feb. 12; and bestselling author Mo Isom, Feb. 25.

Mo Isom

Guest speakers for the online virtual Chapels that began March 25 featured Randy Harris, Rick Atchley (’78), Dr. Amanda Pittman (’09), Chris Seidman (’92), Max Lucado (’77), Jennifer (Cooke ’03) McMillian and Dr. Richard Beck (’89). Among worship leaders was recording artist Chris Renzema.

Due to the pandemic, small-group and virtual Chapels in Fall 2020 replaced the traditional large gathering weekdays in Moody Colisem.

Col. Charles “Chuck” Freeman (’92), president of the Physical Evaluation Board for the U.S. Physical Disability Agency (USAPDA), spoke Feb. 24-25, 2020, to veterans Freeman and to students in the Department of Political Science and Criminal Justice. Freeman, a former Jack Pope Fellow at ACU, oversees the Army’s Physical Disability Evaluation System, which is used to determine the fitness and applicable disability benefits of soldiers with duty-related impairments.

On Jan. 28, 2020, Christian Guerra (’06), vice president and general manager of Avanzar Interior Technologies, and members of his staff hosted a joint Chapel Lunch and Learn with engineering and business students. Avanzar returned in March to interview and hire four students for internships.

Presenters during the College of Business Administration’s 2020 Leadership Summit at Frontier Ranch in Buena Vista, Colorado, included: Mo Isom, New York Times best-selling author; ACU board chair April (Bullock ’89)

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Aaron Brown, assistant professor of English and director of the Writing Center at LeTourneau University, was featured in a poetry reading event March 24, 2020, in the Barry and Diane Packer Forum. Brown authored the prize-winning book of poems, Acacia Road.

Anthony and her husband, Mark Anthony (’86), founders of Encompass Home Health and Homecare Homebase; Wendy Davidson, president of Away From Home, Kellogg Company; ACU trustee Elise (Smith ’83) Mitchell, founder and chair of Mitchell Communications Group; Carlos Sepulveda, chair of Triumph Bancorp, Inc.; former ACU trustee Rick Atchley (’78), senior minister of The Hills Church; Tim Goeglein, vice president for external and government relations at Focus on the Family; David Eaton, founder of Axis; Stephen Quinn, chief marketing officer of CEO Forum; Janeen Uzzell, global technology executive at Wikimedia; and Mike Willoughby (’86), CEO at PFSweb Inc. Emily Chang, former senior vice president of marketing for Starbucks, spoke at a virtual Chapel on April 16, 2020, for the College of Business Administration.

Chang headlined Chang COBA’s Distinguished Business Speaker Series luncheon in Fall 2019.

The ACU School of Social Work held its sixth annual William “Bill” Culp Lecture on Feb. 24, 2020. Dr. Luis Zayas, dean of the Steve Hicks School of Social Work at The University of Texas at Austin, spoke on “The Effects of Migration and Immigration Detention on Children and Families.”

Dr. Vincent L. Wimbush, past president of the Society of Biblical Literature, was the featured speaker Nov. 12, 2020, for “Scriptures and Race,” the theme of the Wimbush 34th annual Carmichael-Walling Lectures. Wimbush is author/editor of more than 12 books, including White Men’s Magic: Scripturalization as Slavery; MisReading America: Scriptures and Difference; Theorizing Scriptures; and African Americans and the Bible, along with scores of articles and essays.

Wimbush is founding director of the Institute for Signifying Scriptures (ISS), an international scholarly organization, and is conceptualizer and director of several collaborative transdisciplinary research projects, including the documentary film Finding God in the City of Angels on the ethnography of scriptures.

The virtual Young Alumni Forum Series in Fall 2020 – sponsored by ACU’s Student Alumni Association and Alumni Association – provided Zoom conference opportunities for students to meet and ask questions of graduates in various careers. Speakers included Sommerly Simser (’10), administrative assistant at Netflix; Mathew Molina, RN (’15), University Medical Center in Lubbock; MK Rotenberry (’17), golf/ football researcher at CBS Sports; Trey Jackson (’17), director of athletics creative services at Rice University; and Megan Haverkorn (’18), recruiting coordinator at Google.

GARY RHODES

Two virtual Chapels were livestreamed during the summer: ACU trustee Mitch Wilburn (’90), preaching minister for The Park Church of Christ in Tulsa, Oklahoma, on June 26, and Sam Gonzalez (’93), lead minister of Oak Hills Church / Alamo Ranch in San Antonio, Texas, on July 29.

Bestselling author Jemar Tisby, president of the faith-based media company The Witness: A Black Christian Collective, will be guest speaker Feb. 10-11, 2021, Tisby at the inaugural Don Williams and Royce Money Distinguished Lecture Series, hosted by ACU’s Carl Spain Center on Race Studies and Spiritual Action. Tisby writes about race, religion and culture and is best known for his 2019 book, The Color of Compromise: The Truth About the American Church’s Complicity in Racism. Tisby also co-hosts the podcast “Pass The Mic.” J. McDonald Williams (’63) is founder and chair of the Foundation for Community Empowerment, and a former ACU trustee.

Dr. Royce Money (’64) is chancellor of Abilene Christian.

PAUL WHITE

Google and Zoom online meeting technology made it possible for many professors to invite guest speakers to classes meeting in person or virtually in Spring and Fall 2020. Among them: • In Robert Green’s (’79) Life and Career in Art course, Teena Roberson (’94) served as a mock-interviewer and external reviewer for senior fine art majors. Roberson is art director for Deneen Pottery in St. Paul, Minnesota. Polly Compton Jones (’82) spoke April 30 about building and sustaining an online art career. Jones started a successful independent business as an artist during the early days of Etsy and her work is represented by three galleries.

• Preston Pierce, an embedded systems engineer, discussed software for a ventilator with students in the Management Science course taught by Dr. Brent Reeves (’80).

• Sonia Sotomayor, associate justice of the U.S. Supreme Court, joined 300 ACU students in Moody Coliseum via Zoom to talk about the importance of serving their communities and having civil conversations with those with whom they disagree. Sotomayor is the first Hispanic and Latina to serve on the court.

• David Degge (’10) presented a master class over his newly composed rudimental snare drum etudes, PAS 40 Hands. The session, facilitated by Dr. Allen Teel, gave each of ACU’s percussion majors an opportunity to perform for and receive feedback from Degge, who teaches in the Bard College Conservatory of Music in New York.

• Wendy Weeks (’95) spoke in Kristin Ward’s (’93) Instrumental Concepts class about working with instruments with middle school and high school choirs. Weeks is director of choirs at Abilene High School.

• Trace Gallagher, chief breaking news correspondent for the Fox News Channel, spoke to Janelle Benham’s Advanced Reporting 2 class about covering news during the COVID-19 pandemic.

• Chris Riley, J.D. (’00) had several guests in his Public Sector Research and Writing course, including Katie Thompson, program director for the Hatfield Prize and editor of shared justice at the Center for Public Justice; Shannon Que (’19), social work graduate and Hatfield Prize winner; Alicia Pierce (’02), vice president for marketing at the Texas Public Policy Foundation; and Michelle Parrish, grants director for the Community Foundation of Abilene.

• Ashley Parizek (’12) presented a workshop on casting agents in Auditioning, taught by Adam Hester (’77). Parizek is an assistant at the Boals, Winnett & Associates agency in New York City. Diego González (’18) also presented a workshop discussing national tours and what actors might expect.

• Students in an Explorations in the Christian East course taught by Dr. Jeff Childers (’89) enjoyed a Zoom conversation Oct. 19, 2020, with Fr. Archimandrite Justin, a monastic Greek Orthodox priest and librarian of St. Catharine’s Monastery in Mt. Sinai, Egypt, about the riches Justin and complexity of St. John Climacus’ classic text, The Ladder of Divine Ascent.

• Dr. Laura (Cleek ’88) Phillips’ Social Entrepreneurship course included guest speakers discussing a social enterprise: John Siburt (’96), president and chief operating officer of CitySquare; Michelle Riddell, co-founder and CEO of Something Good Consulting Group; Kyle Lukianuk, president of Good Returns Network; Robin Minick, attorney at Wright Connatser PLLC; Denny Slaton, stewardship advisor of Seed Effect; Mike Baughman, executive director and founding pastor of Union Coffee; Chad Houser, executive director and chef of Café Momentum; Amy King, co-founder and CEO of Good Work Dallas; and Mark Smesrud, executive director and programs director of Purple Door Coffee.

• Filo Maldonado, Dr. Felix Morales, Dr. Judianne Kellaway, Leah Scouten and Patrick Middleton spoke April 23 about the processes of application to and matriculation into medical schools in a course for ACU medical school applicants taught by Dr. Cynthia (Barton ’81) Powell. Maldonado is an associate dean of admissions at Texas A&M University College of Medicine, Morales is associate dean of admissions and an assistant professor of family medicine at Texas Tech Health Sciences Center School of Medicine, Kellaway is associate dean for admissions and outreach and a professor of ophthalmology at The Long School of Medicine, Scouten is director of admissions and recruitment at The University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, and Middleton is admissions assistant

director for the Texas College of Osteopathic Medicine at the University of North Texas Health Science Center.

• Alex Maryianowski, an Abilene native who has performed with the Paris Opera Ballet and Boston Ballet, conducted a master class for ACU theatre and dance students.

• Dr. Bonnie Sullivan (’11) spoke about medical fragility and pediatric genetics in a Biomedical Ethics course taught by Powell and Dr. Vic McCracken (’99 M.Div.). Sullivan is a physician and medical geneticist specializing in pediatric genetics at Children’s Mercy Hospital in Kansas City, Missouri.

• Jim Litton’s (’01) Entrepreneurial Journey course hosted three speakers – Jordan Swim (’07), founder of Vestals Catering; Shannon (McKnight ’92) Wilburn, co-founder and CEO of Just Between Friends; and Chris Clark (’01), co-founder and chief strategy officer of TimelyMD – during “Navigating COVID-19 / Lessons Learned from Starting a Business.”

• Jessica Pramanik, project manager at Social Factor, talked about social care and moderation to a Social Media class taught

by Sara (Martin ’01) Hejl. Stephanie Scott, former senior digital strategist at Social Factor and current digital content manager at Duke University, and Neha Sharma, digital strategist and account manager at Social Factor, spoke to the same class about digital campaigns.

• Peter Hargrave (’12) presented a theatre workshop on Victorian history, manners and styles in Period Styles, taught by Dawne Swearingen Meeks (’95). Hargrave is an AEA actor who served as the ACU New York City Showcase co-director for 2020.

He guest-starred on the Nov. 12, 2020, season premiere of Law & Order: SVU. • Asa Kusuma (’12), software development lead at LinkedIn, presented “Things I Wished I’d Listened to That People Told Me Before I Left College,” in a Reflections on Faith and Work course taught by James Prather (’14 M.Div.).

• Dr. Jennifer (Baker ’00) Golden and Lindsay Palmer (’15) hosted four alumni as they joined with the student chapter of AMA (American Marketing Association) in an inaugural virtual event to discuss with ACU College of Business Administration students their marketing experiences and personal branding. The panel included Jay Swinney (’10) of Indeed, Katherine (Garner ’13) Hall of Schaefer Advertising, Rachel (Taylor ’13) Gilliam of Lev, and Reagan Morgan (’08) of PFSweb.

• ACU’s Center for the Study of Ancient Religious Texts hosted a distanced presentation for undergraduate and graduate Bible students on “The New Testament and Greco-Roman Inscriptions” with Dr. D. Clint Burnett, lecturer of New Testament at Johnson University, and “Being a Slave in the New Testament,” with Dr. Caryn A. Reeder, professor of New Testament at Westmont College.

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“The objective at all times is to protect our student-athletes.

At the end of the day, we want to be sure they are safe at all times.

I think our [team] culture is better than it has ever been. We have an identity in our program now, and I just thanked them for that.”

– Men’s head basketball coach Joe Golding (’99), on what he told his 20-11 team upon learning the 2020 Southland Conference Tournament had been canceled because of coronavirus concerns, and its dream was ended of returning to March Madness.

This fall the Wildcats opened the 2020-21 season 10-2 and ranked 13th in the national mid-majors poll.

Q UO TA BL E S “

GUNNAR RATHBUN

I was reminded of how close so many people are to the financial edge – a paycheck or two away. It’s one thing to know that, but we saw it firsthand.

The hospitality business is about caring for others and our communities, and it was a gift from God to be able to serve people Swim in need.”

– Jordan Swim (’07), founder of Vestals Catering in Dallas, Texas, who helped create the popup Furlough Kitchen, which served more than 50,000 meals to out-of-work hospitality employees during a five-month period in 2020. (See pages 20-39 for stories about other Wildcats helping during the pandemic.)

“

Study abroad was one of the best experiences of my life … I would do it a thousand times over again even if it meant getting sent home early.”

– Sydney Carr, a sophomore ministry and vocation major and Leipzig program participant whose Spring 2020 semester in Germany was cut short by the worldwide pandemic.

(See pages 30-32.)

LEXI McCOWN

“

Hospitals need nurses. There’s a shortage. There’s not enough of us, and I want to get out there and help these people. They need us, and that’s why I went into nursing – because this profession is more of a vocation than a career. A vocation is something God has called us to do. I’m ready to get out there, and God’s got my back, so I’ll be fine.”

SCOTT DELONY

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– Irene Akwitti (’20), nursing major, four-year letterwinner and hurdler on the women’s track and field team who was named Academic All-Conference. She graduated as ACU’s third-ranked performer in the 60-meter indoor hurdles (8.73 seconds), No. 5 in the pentathlon (3,295 points) and No. 9 in the outdoor 100-meter hurdles (14.09).

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ACU TODAY

And the show goes on: Sing Song moves to April and Paramount Theatre

Learn more and purchase tickets at acustupro.com

Award-winning producer develops TV spots for ACU Online

H

elping tell stories is what longtime producer Randy Brewer (’93) does best, so when he was asked to help highlight ACU Online’s graduate programs, his answer came quickly.

Brewer, founder of Nashville-based Revolution Pictures and producer of award-winning music videos for Carrie Underwood and Taylor Swift, put his talent to work creating a series of TV commercials that began airing in July.

“It’s always a pleasure to work on something you believe in, something you’re passionate about, and ACU fits that perfectly,” Brewer said.

Currently, about 1,600 students are pursuing degrees through ACU Online in programs geared toward working adults. The 30-second spots highlight one current student and two grads: • Zaviar Gooden is an MBA student who played five seasons in the NFL. He recently started a personal training business with his wife and is looking for the knowledge to help his business succeed.

• Clay Hunt earned his MBA in 2017 and started an oil and gas business, Oso Perforating, that focuses on integrating faith into the business culture.

He credits the lessons he learned at ACU with helping him keep that focus.

KIM LEESON

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KIM LEESON

Despite the dueling challenges of the pandemic and the renovation of its longtime home, Moody Coliseum, plans are underway for ACU’s 65th annual Sing Song, although with a different look and feel and a distinct nod to its historical roots.

Sing Song 2021 is scheduled for April 22-25 at Paramount Theatre in downtown Abilene. Four shows performed across four days will culminate in an awards event at Wildcat Stadium. To fit the capacity of the Paramount and appropriate physical distancing, upstage performances will harken back to Sing Song’s early days of small groups singing simple a cappella songs with a focus on vocals, rather than clever jokes, large groups and big movements.

Fraternity/sorority and class acts will consist of eight to 16 people on stage at one time singing three songs with unchanged lyrics. Hosts and hostesses will perform in between upstage acts.

Accounting for distancing protocols, the Paramount will accommodate 250-300 people per show, so a limited number of in-person tickets will be available, but virtual tickets will also be sold.

Ticket sales begin in mid-March.

“The students are excited for a new phase, a new chapter in Sing Song’s history,” said Caddie Coupe, director of student activities. “Many institutions are canceling shows altogether. We’re going to maintain safety as our No. 1 priority for participants and guests, and students are excited to have the opportunity to do this.”

(FROM LEFT) Zaviar Gooden, Joshua Wann, Nate Corona and Randy Brewer film a TV spot at Craig Ranch Fitness & Spa in McKinney, Texas.

Gooden is a former NFL player from the University of Missouri who is enrolled in an online graduate program at ACU.

• Deandra Porter graduated with a master’s degree in organizational development in 2020 with a determination to make a difference in her community. Her job working for a state senator in Austin, Texas, has become the perfect venue for that.

“Our goal was to let the real passion and purpose of the people we featured be the script for the spots, and I’m really happy with the authentic stories we captured,” Brewer said.

“We all have a story to tell, to live and dream, and my hope is prospective students will be inspired by the true stories we present of those who choose to get their degree online with ACU.” A 1993 graduate with a bachelor’s degree through the Department of Journalism and Mass Communication, Brewer credits ACU with setting Brewer the stage for his own career. His clients have included Underwood, Swift, Verizon, Brad Paisley, Sony Pictures, Alan Jackson, Reba McEntire, Martina McBride and many others.

His video for Underwood’s “Jesus Take the Wheel” was nominated for Music Video of the Year at the 2006 Country Music Association Awards, and Swift’s “You Belong With Me” won Best Female Video of the Year at the 2009 MTV Video Music Awards.  – ROBIN SAYLOR Watch the TV spots at acu.edu/youtube ACU TODAY

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AcademicNEWS

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BY WENDY KILMER

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NEXT Lab benefits from $30.5 million sponsored research agreement

ACU’s Onstead-Packer Biblical Studies Building

JEREMY ENLOW

HSU’s Logsdon students accepted to ACU’s GST

A

CU has launched a new Center for Baptist Studies as part of its Graduate School of Theology.

The center was created in response to the closure of nearby Logsdon Seminary at Hardin-Simmons University and provides a pathway for the displaced students.

The center’s creation was part of being a good neighbor, said ACU chancellor Dr. Royce Money (’64), who wrote a column for The Christian Chronicle explaining why the center came to be.

“When ACU leaders were approached about accepting Logsdon Seminary students, the thought was, ‘Why would we not seize this opportunity?’ We should be flattered our Baptist friends in West Texas think highly enough of ACU to give us this opportunity to educate their young ministers, who primarily reside in small, West Texas towns,” Money wrote.

With the closure of Logsdon, ACU’s GST is the only school accredited by the American Theological Society west of Interstate 35 in Texas.

Money emphasized that the new center does not signal a departure from ACU’s historic role in higher education among Churches of Christ. “On the contrary, if students from other Christian traditions can benefit from our offerings, all the better,” he wrote.

Dr. Myles Werntz, former T.B. Maston Chair of Christian Ethics and Practical Theology at Hardin-Simmons,

is the center’s founding director.

He has nearly 10 years of experience teaching in Baptist seminaries, and is the author and editor of five books in theology and ethics. The Center for Baptist Studies will offer a concentration in Baptist Studies that includes two courses – Baptist History, and Baptist Theology and Polity – to be taught by Werntz.

Both courses are required for ministers in the Baptist church.

Additionally, the center Werntz will provide vocational discernment and mentoring to Baptist students. Working closely with ministry partners, the center will facilitate field education placements.

“This new program will mean the legacy of faithful theological education for the many Baptists in this part of the world will continue in a new ecumenical context,” said Werntz. “It’s increasingly important for Christians across traditions to learn to partner together for the Kingdom of God, and this new work gives an opportunity to learn just that.”

Werntz will serve as an associate professor in ACU’s GST. “I’m looking forward to being a part of such an excellent faculty, and to help grow the work of the GST into the future by increasing its ecumenical footprint,” he said. “Students come to the GST from a variety of backgrounds, making for a vibrant place to prepare for ministry of all kinds.” 

Study Abroad finds new residential hub home in Oxford

SCOTT DELONY

– ROBIN SAYLOR

Abilene Christian’s NEXT Lab is leading a $30.5 million research collaboration with three other major universities to design, license and commission the first university-based molten salt research reactor, which ACU will host and own.

The funding comes in a partnership with Abilene-based Natura Resources LLC. Natura will provide $21.5 million to ACU’s Nuclear Energy eXperimental Testing (NEXT) Laboratory over the next three years, the largest sponsored research agreement in the university’s history.

The other $9 million will go to Georgia Institute of Technology, Texas A&M University and The University of Texas at Austin, members of a consortium known as NEXTRA, the Nuclear Energy eXperimental Testing Research Alliance. (See pages 6-15.)

“This alliance gives our students in physics, engineering and chemistry an unprecedented opportunity to continue contributing to world-changing technology,” said Dr. Rusty Towell (’90), professor of engineering and physics at ACU and director of the lab.

“We are incredibly pleased and honored to sponsor this remarkable multidisciplinary collaboration of talented researchers – physicists, engineers, chemists and their students – to support our vision to develop advanced energy systems that are inherently safe, sustainable and environmentally friendly,” said Tony Hill, Natura Resources’ director of product development.

“This will establish NEXT Lab as the world leader in molten salt reactor research,” Towell said. 

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E X PE RIE N T I A L L E A RNING

COBA class empowers students, profs, entrepreneurs

SCOTT DELONY

KRISTI JONES

Berry

Badillo

T

wo professors in the College of Business Administration (COBA) have found a way to take experiential learning to a new level. Not only are students given hands-on experience with business owners in Costa Rica, but they help entrepreneurs learn the basics and nuances of managing and marketing their products to the world.

Dr. Laura (Cleek ’88) Phillips and Dr. Sarah Easter (’06), associate and assistant professors of management sciences, respectively, had talked for years about creating a class together.

Both are passionate about sustainability, social enterprise – a cause-driven

Two more students selected as Fulbright Scholars

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MARIA FERNANDA HERNANDEZ VASQUEZ

The university’s newest Fulbright Scholars may have the most unusual experience of any ACU honorees, thanks to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Isaiah Berry (’19), biology graduate from Nashville, Tennessee, and Anastacia Badillo (’20), communication sciences and disorders graduate from Coppell, Texas, were selected to serve as English Teaching Assistants for the Fulbright U.S. Scholar Program.

Berry was just beginning his Fulbright experience in Nepal when the pandemic forced students to return home. Isaiah flew to Nepal Feb. 20 and left for home March 17.

Badillo, who graduated in May, was scheduled to leave for Spain in September. The start of her trip was pushed to January 2021.

Although their experiences have been anything but typical, they join a long line of ACU Fulbright honorees, dating back to the 1950s with fields of study representing education, English, journalism, management, music, physics, political science, recreation and the sciences.

Dr. Jason Morris (’96), dean of the Honors College and director of the Office of Major Scholarships, is serving a three-year term on the Fulbright National Screening Committee.

Under Morris’ leadership, ACU was named a top-producing Fulbright institution by the U.S. Department of State for 2018-19.

local environment. Experiential tourism is focused on getting out and participating in activities, meeting locals and immersing yourself in the culture.”

For example, the women in RETUS have businesses as varied as a butterfly farm, a dairy farm and a pottery studio.

Easter focuses on teaching students the consulting side and how to approach the owners about how to supplement their business and contribute to their own sustainable livelihood by marketing their unique offerings to the U.S. Phillips explores the difference in entrepreneurship in Costa Rica and the States.

“We make sure the students work

Professors and students visit with an entrepreneur who owns a butterfly farm in a village near Mollejones, Costa Rica.

business – and providing students with practical experience.

In Summer 2018, Phillips led a group of students to Turrialba, Costa Rica, where they were introduced to the work of Centro Agronómico Tropical de Investigación y Enseñanza (CATIE), an international institute for agricultural development and biological conservation. Thanks to that connection – and ACU’s alumni connections at Southwest Airlines, which had recently started flying to Costa Rica – Phillips and Easter knew they had a Social Enterprise Consulting class in the making.

The course launched in Spring 2019, with students working with a network of female entrepreneurs, Red de Emprendedoras del Turismo Sostenible de Turrialba (RETUS), to assist them in understanding the U.S. market for rural experiential tourism in Costa Rica.

“When you travel, one option is staying at a high-end resort that’s all-inclusive,” Easter said. “That’s nice, but you won’t interact with people in the

alongside the business owners and not from a top-down perspective,” Easter said, “focusing on what they wanted to do for their tourism.”

Thanks to help from Southwest and scholarships from COBA, students in the class were able to fly to and stay in Costa Rica for only $250. Phillips and Easter led a second course in Spring 2020, continuing the work started in 2019 and expanding to include more marketing for the businesses, just making the travel cutoff for Spring Break before the pandemic began closing borders.

The pandemic is keeping the class from continuing in 2021, but both faculty members say their long-term goal is to keep working with this organization and potentially others.

“We feel like we can actually make a difference,” Phillips said, “working with each other and with a small group of students who are really invested.” – SARAH CARLSON

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ACADEMIC DIGEST

JEREMY ENLOW

For the fifth straight year, ACU has earned a top ranking on The Princeton Review’s list of the top 50 undergraduate schools to study game design. “We highly recommend Abilene Burton Christian University and every one of the schools that made our lists for 2020,” said Robert Franek, The Princeton Review’s editorin-chief. “Their faculties are outstanding and their facilities are awesome. Just as impressive: ACU’s alumni include many of the video game industry’s most prominent artists, designers, developers and entrepreneurs.” Also, SITC professor and DET program leader Dr. Brian Burton was recognized by Thinkers360 on its list of the Top 50 Global Thought Leaders and Influencers in Emerging Technology.

Two ACU groups received continuing funding from the U.S. Department of Energy. The NEXT Lab at Abilene Christian has received a $120,000 budget renewal of the teams’ sponsored research award through Idaho National Laboratory, and the nuclear physics group received a three-year renewal in funding for $793,000.

SCOTT DELONY

STEVE BUTMAN

Three academic departments have new chairs: Dr. Jennifer Huddleston in the Department of Biology, Dr. Kelly Elliott in the Department of Lee History and Global Studies, and Dr. Tim Head in the Department of Engineering and Physics. Huddleston’s predecessor, Dr. Tom Lee, has been appointed the inaugural Clark Stevens Professor in Biology.

The professorship is named for the late Dr. Clark Stevens, 1969 Trustees Award winner as Teacher of the Year.

degrees or other science programs relevant to nuclear energy. The DOE awards include 42 scholarships and 34 fellowships for students at 32 colleges and universities across the U.S. Each undergraduate receives a $7,500 scholarship to help cover education costs for the upcoming year.

D’Angelo Sands (’07), director of ACU’s Upward Bound program, was elected president of Texas TRIO, which provides federally funded educational opportunities for Sands disadvantaged students. TRIO programs at ACU include McNair Scholars, Talent Search and Upward Bound.

Dr. John Casada (’84), associate professor of psychology and psychiatrist at ACU’s Weber Medical and Counseling Care Clinic, was

named the Spencer Bayles Outstanding Member of 2019 by the Texas Society of Psychiatric Physicians. Casada has Ed.D. and M.D. degrees in biomedical sciences.

James Wiser began work Aug. 1, 2020, as dean of library services and educational technology. Since 2015, he has served as the library consortium director for the Wiser Community College League of California, representing 115 community college libraries, 2.1 million students and more than 15,000 faculty members. A former member of the Brown Library’s Visiting Committee, Wiser also has served on the Library Advisory Board for Brill Publishing and is a member of the editorial board of Serials Review. He succeeds Dr. John Weaver, who was named academic dean at Florida College.

ACU’s chapter of the Society of Physics Students won the SPS’ 2019 Blake Lilly Prize. The award recognizes “chapters and individuals who make a genuine effort to positively influence the attitudes of school children and the general public about physics.”

Learn more at digitalcommons.acu.edu

Dr. Stephanie (Toombs ’90) Hamm, associate professor of social work and chief diversity officer, received the inaugural Richard K. Caputo Outstanding Reviewer Award from the Families in Society journal.

SCOTT DELONY

ACU’s Bachelor of Science in Nursing program has been re-accredited by the Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education (CCNE) for the maximum period of 10 years. ACU’s Straughn baccalaureate B.S.N. program was first accredited in 2014, and is directed by School of Nursing dean Dr. Marcia (Rives ’93) Straughn, RN. Two ACU undergraduate students – Keaton Brewster from Malibu, California, and Reuben Howe from Dale, Texas – have been awarded prestigious scholarships by the U.S. Department of Energy. The DOE annually presents more than $5 million in awards through the Office of Nuclear Energy’s Integrated University Program to students pursuing nuclear engineering

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Keeble Three rare reel-to-reel recordings of sermons preached in July 1966 by the late Marshall Keeble were made available in January 2020 by Bob Hughes to the Special Collections of ACU’s Brown Library. Hughes is a retired elder of Kings Crossing Church of Christ in Corpus Christi, Texas. Keeble, a dynamic speaker who presented in 1950 at ACU’s Bible Lectureship (Summit) and again in February 1967 at a youth forum at nearby University Church of Christ, was reported to have baptized more than 30,000 people in a preaching career spanning 71 years before his death in 1968 at age 89. Hughes traveled with Keeble in the 1950s to many of his gospel meetings and speaking appointments.

and Sara Broughton (’20) – partnered with Dr. Andrew Huddleston (’00) on a longitudinal study on how novice teachers make decisions regarding their literacy assessment and instruction. Their work produced three papers to be published in the journals Reading Horizons: A Journal of Literacy and Language Arts; the Kappa Delta Pi Record; and Literacy Practice and Research. Huddleston is associate professor of teacher education.

GEORGETOWN UNIVERSITY

Dr. Jennifer Butcher, professor of organizational leadership for ACU Online, was selected as 2020 Educator of the Year by the Texas Council of Professors of Educational Administration. The organization noted Butcher’s dedication to teaching and the investment she has made in working with online dissertation students.

Dr. Fred Aquino (right) was a featured speaker Feb. 25, 2020, at “The Impact of John Henry Newman: Celebrating the Canonization of an Anglican and Catholic Saint,” a conference hosted by Georgetown University’s Berkley Center for Religion, Peace and World Affairs.

Other presenters included Dr. John W. O’Malley (left), a Jesuit priest and university professor at Georgetown, and Dr. Mark D. Chapman (center), Canon Professor at the University of Oxford. The late Cardinal Newman (1801-1890) was an Anglican churchman known for his sermons and provocative writing, who became revered for his influence on university education, ecumenical relations and literature. Aquino (’89) is a professor of theology in ACU’s Graduate School of Theology and director of the undergraduate philosophy minor.

He writes widely and speaks around the world on Newman’s life and scholarship.

The Carter G. Woodson Black History Month Student Lecture was held Feb. 27, 2020, hosted

by ACU’s Carl Spain Center on Race Studies and Spiritual Action in celebration of Black History Month. Two students – junior history major Jeremiah Taylor and sophomore journalism major Jalen Garrett – spoke about Woodson’s two most famous works, The Education of the Negro Prior to 1861 and The Mis-Education of the Negro. The event included an interview with former students who attended Woodson, Abilene’s first public school for Blacks.

Six faculty members have been awarded grants as Adobe Faculty Fellows: Dr. Dena (Davis ’90) Counts, Dr. Kendra (Gregory ’10) Jernigan, Dr. Theresa Naldoza, Dr. Kenneth Pybus (’89), Dr. Brent Reeves (’80) and Dr. Marcia (Rives ’93) Straughn. Counts is assistant professor and program director of applied communication and organizational leadership, Jernigan is associate professor of agricultural

and environmental sciences, Naldoza is assistant professor and chair of the School of Nursing, Pybus is associate professor and chair of journalism and mass communication, Reeves is associate professor of computer science and management sciences, and Straughn is dean of ACU’s School of Nursing.

Under Dr. Curt Niccum (’92 M.Div.), ACU’s Center for the Study of Ancient Religious Texts has assumed leadership of part of the international “Greek Paul” project, working with students to collect manuscript data on the text of Colossians for the prestigious Editio critica maior, a forthcoming critical edition of the Greek New Testament.

ACU professor of communication Dr. J.D. Wallace (’89 M.A.) co-edited the COVID-19 Rapid Response Guest Journal for the Journal of Literacy and Technology. Wallace and Dr. Brian Burton (’92) from the College of Business Administration co-edited the piece, which discusses the transition from face-to-face learning to virtual education during the Spring 2020 semester.

Dr. Cleddy Varner (’58), professor emeritus and former chair of the Department of Exercise Science and Health (now the Department of Kinesiology and Nutrition), received the 2020 Distinguished Service Award by the Texas Association for Health, Physical Education, Recreation and Dance for excellence and leadership in the profession. Varner taught at ACU from 1966-2000.

Four recent ACU teacher education graduates – Hannah Lowry (’17), Denae Shake Guadarrama (’18), Jordyn Arendse (’20)

SCOTT DELONY

ACU’s School of Social Work created the Odis Dolton Award for Lifetime Social Work Leadership, and made its namesake the first recipient, posthumously, at a dinner Feb. 24, 2020.

Dolton Odis Debolancy Dolton III (’80), who died in October 2019 at age 63, was a former basketball star for the Wildcats who earned two bachelor’s degrees from ACU and forged a respected 39-year career in social work in Abilene. The award was accepted by his wife, Arlene Dolton (’06 M.S.).

The forensics and debate team had a standout Fall 2020 semester after finishing the 2019-20 school year ranked 17th in the nation among 128 colleges and universities in the International Public Debate Association (IPDA). Through 10 tournaments in Fall 2020, ACU ranked fourth among 78 undergraduate-only programs in the U.S., fourth in Novice debate and second among Junior Varsity squads. Competition this academic year – including the second annual Joseph J. Cardot Forensics Invitational hosted in December by ACU – is being held virtually during the pandemic. Abilene Christian will host the 25th annual IPDA National Championship Tournament and Convention in late Spring 2022.

Sheila (Prickett ’87) Ritchie, ACU director of forensics and debate, has been elected to serve a three-year term on the IPDA Governing Board.

The Commission on Accreditation of Athletic Training Education granted five years of initial accreditation to the Professional Athletic Training Program (Master of Athletic Long Training). Dr. Melissa Long, assistant professor of kinesiology and nutrition, directs ACU’s M.A.T. program.

Brown Library has received a TexTreasures grant of $25,000 for digital preservation of the 77-year history of The Christian Chronicle. The project is one of 44 made possible this year by a grant from the U.S. Institute of Museum and Library Services to the Texas State Library and Archives Commission under the provisions of the Library Services and Technology Act. “The Brown Library houses one of the preeminent archives of the Stone-Campbell Movement, a faith heritage that has contributed much to the religious tapestry of Texas history,” said James Wiser, ACU dean of library services and educational technology. “Digitizing our tradition’s most influential newspaper allows us to preserve and disseminate this history for generations to come.”

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General and advanced diagnostics team leader for the Air Force Epidemic Outbreak Surveillance Program.

“I am honored and excited to further build Abilene Christian’s research program that will prepare students to face new challenges, create new knowledge and participate in ACU’s tremendous future,” Kruzelock said.

Glenn appointed CGPS dean for Dallas campus

D

r. Nannette W. Glenn has been named dean of the College of Graduate and Professional Studies at the Dallas campus of ACU. Glenn earned her Ph.D. in general special education and her Master of Education in multicultural special education from The University of Texas at Austin and also earned a Master of Science in education entrepreneurship from the University of Pennsylvania Graduate School of Education/Wharton School.

Her career began as a classroom teacher in the Austin ISD, and Glenn worked as an educational specialist with the Austin-Travis County MHMR Center and later as program compliance monitor for the Texas Education Agency. She was the director of student teaching and placement at The University of Texas at Austin before serving as dean of general studies at Huston-Tillotson University.

Glenn has additional experience as the director of testing and federal grant administrator at Paul Quinn College. Her

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NEH awards $300,000 to Niccum, team for Ge’ez versions of O.T. books

THE BRITISH LIBRARY, OR. 481, F.34V-35R

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Dr. Russell “Rusty” Kruzelock joined ACU in Fall 2020 as its first-ever vice president for research.

The new role is designed to promote and facilitate scholarship and research, strengthen Kruzelock external funding and partnerships, and enhance the university’s research infrastructure.

Kruzelock’s track record in research and technology business development includes leading sustainable research and technology commercialization programs, university research organizations, and significant experience with a national laboratory.

“Our past decade of remarkable growth in research has revealed the need for an experienced leader in this area,” said Dr. Phil Schubert (’91), president. “We are thrilled to be able to welcome someone of his caliber.

His vision and depth of experience make him ideally suited to step into this new role.”

Kruzelock most recently served as CEO of NeutraEnergy, a technology-based social enterprise that commercializes social, environmental and biotechnology solutions through market-driven innovation. He previously worked with the West Virginia Regional Technology Park as executive director and CEO. He has helped form three government think tanks evaluating technologies and recommending investment strategies for the U.S. Department of Defense and has served as director of the Advanced Diagnostics Research Laboratories for the Air Force Office of the Surgeon

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STEVE BUTMAN

Kruzelock named first vice president for research

most recent work in higher education was with Argosy University Dallas where she served in various administrative roles, including Glenn eight years as vice president of academic affairs and chief academic officer, and for a short time, as interim campus president. She began her work in January 2021.

“I appreciate the depth of her personal sense of God’s presence and calling in her life and work,” said Dr. Stephen Johnson (’90), vice president and chief administrative officer for ACU Dallas.

Glenn replaces Dr. Joe L. Cope, who will be concentrating on his role as associate vice president for academics for ACU Dallas. 

The National Endowment of the Humanities has awarded a $300,000 grant to an international team – including ACU faculty and students – working to produce print Niccum and digital editions of Old Testament books in an ancient Ethiopian language.

Dr. Curt Niccum (’92 M.Div.), associate director of ACU’s Center for the Study of Ancient Religious Texts, is directing the project along with Dr. Steve Delamarter, a retired professor at Portland (Oregon) Seminary. ACU faculty Dr. Brent Reeves (’80), associate professor of

Aaron and Leviticus

ACU online certificate and degree programs SCOTT DELONY

CERTIFICATE PROGRAMS

New LEAN Lab kitchen opens in Money Center

N

utrition majors in the Department of Kinesiology and Nutrition have new space and equipment to help them learn to prepare, cook and teach about food.

The Laboratory for Experiential Activities in Nutrition (LEAN Lab) opened in Fall 2020 in the Royce and Pam Money Student Recreation and Wellness Center, and includes industrial equipment similar to what’s used in a food service setting. Grants from the Shelton Foundation and H-E-B provided funding for equipment including an industrial hood, two convection ovens, a microwave with a steamer, and induction hot plates.

“Some of our students will be food service managers in large operations, so they need to be familiar with this type of industrial equipment,” said Dr. Sheila

management science and computer science, and Dr. James Prather (’14), associate professor of computer science, are involved as well, and the project includes students in the College of Biblical Studies and the College of Business Administration.

The NEH project, titled “The Emerging Text: The Textual History of the Ethiopic Old Testament,” will take place over the next three years.

An international team of scholars will publish textual histories of eight books of the Ge’ez Old Testament.

Prather and Reeves will lead a team to develop online tools for accessing, analyzing and manipulating the data produced by the project.

The work involves examining at least 30 manuscripts to identify eras during which Ethiopian Christians

Jones, associate professor and chair of the department.

The space opens to the lobby of the Money Center, allowing students to demonstrate food preparation and tell about its benefits to onlookers. In Fall 2020, students in the Biochemistry of Nutrition course offered a cooking-show-like demonstration of the bread-making process for a small crowd.

“The experience was a bit daunting, but overall, the ease of the presentation and accessibility to new equipment made it fun,” said Meda Bow, a junior nutrition major. “Having access to the lab and all of the new equipment will provide great hands-on experience for nutrition students and better prepare us for what we will be using in our careers.”

modified their biblical text. These alterations will be analyzed and the manuscript best representing each new emerging state of the text will be transcribed in full, producing four to eight parallel versions that visually highlight the chronological development of the text.

“The project is significant for several reasons: its attention to a little-known, non-Western translation of the Bible, the production of a text based on a larger number of manuscripts than has been used in previous editions, a survey of the entirety of Ethiopia’s textual history, and the creation of a digital repository with tools and processes for future research open to scholars and students alike,” Niccum said.

• Business Analytics • Conflict Management • Conflict Management for Church Leaders * • Conflict Management and Resolution for Educators * • Cybersecurity • Healthcare Collaboration and Conflict Management * • Medical Family Therapy

BACHELOR OF SCIENCE DEGREES • Applied Communication • Child and Family Services • Christian Service and Formation • Communication Disorders • Criminal Justice • Digital Media • Healthcare Administration • Health and Human Performance • Information Technology Administration • Integrated Studies • Management • Marketing • Organizational Leadership • Psychology • Pre-Nursing Track

GRADUATE DEGREES • Master of Arts in Christian Ministry * • Master of Arts in Conflict Management and Reconciliation * • Master of Arts in Global Service • Master of Arts in Theological Studies • Master of Business Administration • Master of Divinity * • Master of Education in Higher Education * • Master of Education in Instructional Leadership (Cohort only) • Master of Marriage and Family Therapy • Master of Science in Management • Master of Science in Nutrition • Master of Science in Organizational Development • Doctor of Education in Organizational Leadership • Doctor of Nursing Practice • Education Specialist in Organizational Leadership • B.S.N. to D.N.P. * Online with residency

Learn more about ACU’s online programs at acu.edu/grad

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CampusNEWS

For the latest visit acu.edu/news facebook.com/abilenechristian Social icon

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MACKEY MITCHELL ARCHITECTS

New hall replaces McDonald in residential makeover, start of Freshman Village During the quiet months last summer at ACU, one of the current campus’ original buildings was razed and ground broken for a new facility in its place. McDonald Hall, opened in 1929, will be replaced by a new yet-to-be-named residence hall scheduled to open in Fall 2021.

One of eight original structures on the hilltop campus ACU moved to in 1929, McDonald Hall was named for Albert “A.F.” McDonald and his wife, Cornelia Elizabeth “Neelie” (Gray) McDonald, two of Abilene Christian’s original MACKEY MITCHELL ARCHITECTS benefactors. A.F. was one of the five founding trustees in 1906, serving until his death in 1924.

“We are so grateful for the legacy they built here and their firm belief in the need for Christian higher education,” said Jim Orr, J.D. (’86), vice president for advancement.

“Generations of McDonalds have been a part of our community, and we will continue to honor them in multiple ways.”

The new 72,000-square-foot

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facility will feature 128 double rooms on four floors, with eight single rooms for residence advisors and two apartments for a residence hall director and faculty-in-residence.

Each floor will have lobby spaces, and nine study spaces will be spread throughout the building.

Construction of the hall marks Phase 1 of ACU’s new Freshman

Village, which will include the new residence hall and the renovation of Sewell Theatre into a Residence Hall Hub, a place for students to gather and student organizations to meet.

In later phases, the Freshman Village project will include renovation and construction for other residence halls, and all freshman halls will be grouped along East North 16th Street.

“A comprehensive renovation and construction campaign for residence halls will enhance the intentional,

life-changing community students experience at ACU,” said president Dr. Phil Schubert (’91).

“By modernizing our residence halls with intentionally designed and welcoming spaces, we can better meet students’ living and learning needs and improve the equity of experience in residence life,” Schubert added.

The $32 million project is made possible by lead donors Rick (’81) and Debbie (Rains ’80) Wessel, Mark (’86) and April (Bullock ’89) Anthony, as well as others including Tod (’87) and Lee Ann (Bailey ’87) Brown; Dale and Rita Brown; Royce (’61) and Pat (Taylor ’63) Caldwell; Donny (’90) and Marcy (Beard ’92) Edwards; Luke (’04) and Lindsay (Hines ’04) James; Guy “Mojo” (’80) and Holly (Hollingsworth ’80) Lewis; Doug (’83) and Jayne (Montgomery ’83) Orr; Barbara (Bell ’50) Packer; Dr. Barry (’78) and Diane (Stephens ’77) Packer; and Jack (’77) and Karen (Leith ’78) Rich. 

INNOVAT I V E A C U

Bonnin leading Division of Marketing and Strategic Communications

SCOTT DELONY

Award-winning higher education professional Linda Bonnin became ACU’s first senior vice president for marketing and strategic communications in February 2020.

She had served since 2015 as vice president for strategic communications at The University of Alabama, where she created its Where Legends Are Made branding campaign that has won 32 regional, national and international awards since its debut in 2016.

Her 23-year career in higher Bonnin education includes similar roles at Louisiana State University, where she managed marketing and communications for all eight LSU campuses, and at the University of Memphis.

“After a national search, we’re incredibly excited to have Linda joining our team,” said president Dr. Phil Schubert (’91). “She brings a wealth of experience and expertise in key areas that will benefit ACU.” Bonnin also has experience in the private and nonprofit sectors, government and print media.

A native of Memphis, Tennessee, she is a graduate of Harding University.

“Abilene Christian is a recognized leader,” said Bonnin. “I’m excited about telling its story, elevating its national brand, and attracting even more talented students.”

Her team manages the university’s work in media and public relations, digital marketing, communications, branding, publications, web, social media, advertising, signage, videography and photography. 

Virtual Choir melds 550 voices on beloved hymn

T

he discussion started where many things do these days: on Facebook.

“Would anyone be interested in doing a virtual choir of The Lord Bless You and Keep You?” Dr. Jonathan Camp (’07 D.Min.), associate dean of the College of Arts and Sciences, asked his followers on March 16, 2020.

ACU’s Spring Break had just been extended a week beyond March 9-13

“Our goal was to connect to each other and to the mission of ACU,” Camp said. “We were all in the very early days of isolation, and the virtual choir was a great way to bring people together and provide some encouragement.

“We thought we might get maybe 100 submissions,” he said. “We had about 550 from around the world.”

The video features almost 80 current students, about 60 faculty and staff, and

Some of the 550 students, faculty, alumni, parents and other friends in the final product.

because of the pandemic. Already, people in the community were looking at ways to stay connected as a shutdown – for campus and the rest of the nation – was imminent.

Ninety people quickly responded to Camp’s post with a collective “Yes!” Within 24 hours, Camp said, he had three key players on board to produce the project: Dr. Nick Tatum (’13), then-director of student productions; Dr. Jeff Goolsby, director of choral activities and assistant professor of music; and Samuel Cook, associate professor of music.

Virtual choirs are individual videos of a person singing combined into one to make a choir of sorts. The Lord Bless You and Keep You is a beloved ACU tradition dating back to the 1930s and is sung at the end of major events, from Sing Song to Commencement. Separate tracks for sopranos, altos, tenors and basses were created, and the community was told to submit their best take on the classic.

alumni from every decade reaching back to the 1950s, as well 22 American Sign Language signers.

Courtney McGaha (’13), multimedia graphic designer for Student Productions, took the lead in video editing and graphic design, and Omar Ortiz (’07) of 83 Entertainment handled sound engineering.

Members of ACU’s Marketing and Strategic Communications team put the finishing touches on the piece in time for it to launch Good Friday, April 10.

Ortiz estimates he spent about 80 hours in audio mixing and editing. Each submission had to be synched with the overall session.

“There is a huge difference in recording a massive room with everyone singing with a couple of mics and having everyone on an individual microphone,” he said. “We had to edit just to make sure everything lined up. Courtney did a great job with the video. It was really a team effort.”

The video can be viewed at acu.edu/virtualchoir. 

– SARAH CARLSON

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Website relaunches with new design, features When Linda Bonnin began considering a career move to ACU from the University of Alabama in late 2019, she visited the university’s website seeking some basic information. She couldn’t find it.

So when she joined ACU in Spring 2020 as senior vice president for marketing and strategic communications, the website was her top initiative. “My first thought was, ‘Here’s something I can fix immediately that will make a huge difference for people,’ ” she said.

The website is the university’s largest and most important online marketing tool, so the need for a new, user-friendly site was critical.

Bonnin hired Riley Wills, a senior programmer in ACU’s Information Technology office, to lead the effort as director of web strategy. She also hired Natalie Ledford, a former colleague at UA, to serve as chief digital officer, handling the analytics side.

The implementation team began work in June, and the new site went live Jan. 25, an ambitious timeline for a website that aggregates about 2,200 pages and 15,000 blogs.

“The beauty of the new website

C A MP U S DIGE S T ACU wins four regional CASE awards for fundraising, magazine and design Entries on behalf of ACU received four awards from the Council for Advancement and Support of Education (CASE) in its annual Accolades competition among professionals in marketing, alumni relations, advancement and communications at colleges and universities in the Southwest.

ACU’s CASE awards were for 2020 Season of Giving and Season of Hope (grand gold, Fundraising Pivot), ACU Today (gold, Magazines), Cinderella Poster

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is that it showcases ACU in a more vibrant way through rich storytelling, engaging visuals and logical navigation that takes you where you need to go,” Bonnin said. “It’s a richer experience for all users, especially prospective students, parents, faculty and staff considering ACU for their home. We put a tremendous amount of thought into thinking like a user who is stepping through the site to find information, while also building in storytelling that shows why ACU is such a unique and special place.”

A major component of the new site is its functionality. “A website

(gold, Single-Sheet Publications) and “An Emerging National University,” (silver, Editorial Design).

Upcoming events sponsored

by Siburt Institute The Siburt Institute continues ACU’s long tradition of equipping and serving churches and Christian leaders, including programs that create networking spaces for ministry transitions, consulting and learning: • Ministers’ Support Network Sabbatical Retreat, March 25-28 • 115th Annual Summit, starting Sept. 19

shouldn’t just look pretty,” Bonnin said. “It should drive behaviors.

For instance, prospective students should be motivated to engage with us further and take important next steps.”

Though the website is now live, it’s just the beginning, Bonnin said.

“From day one, we have continued to enhance and improve it. It’s a living, breathing site that will have continual touches to make sure it’s performing the way it should.” 

– ROBIN SAYLOR

Visit acu.edu to learn more about the new website

Ministers’ Salary Survey results are in The Siburt Institute recently published the results of its 2020 Ministers’ Salary Survey.

In addition to reporting salary, allowances and benefits, the survey also examines minister demographics such as education and experience, along with church size and geographic region.

This year it noted an increase in participation from campus, worship, involvement and outreach ministers, with more than 450 total respondents.

BELOW: Osharye Hagood and Dr. Jerry Taylor were among presenters at the June 7, 2020, community rally in the university’s Beauchamp Amphitheatre.

Carl Spain Center sponsors Abilene community rally

Twice each month, the Siburt Institute has begun hosting Intersection: Where Theology and Practice Meet, a series of one-hour conversations drawing wisdom from special guests and inspiration from timely topics. In each, Randy Harris and Dr. Carson Reed (’95 D.Min.) create space for collegial learning, reflection and ministerial action, and a period of Q&A with participants.

The conversations are hosted on Zoom.

Registration, resources and more info online at siburtinstitute.org

Hagood

SCOTT DELONY

One-hour ‘Intersection’ conversations held twice each month on Zoom

SCOTT DELONY

Among several early June 2020 marches and other peaceful protests in Abilene was a community rally June 7 sponsored by ACU’s Carl Spain Center for Race Studies and Spiritual Action.

Several hundred Abilenians gathered in Beauchamp Amphitheatre on a steamy summer evening to hear speakers, poets and musicians addressing racial unrest and solutions. Dr. Jerry Taylor, associate professor of Bible, missions and ministry, and director of the Carl Spain Center, was the featured speaker.

Others included Tryce Prince (’18), Dawne Swearingen Meeks (’95), Osharye Hagood, Nathan Burrow (’02), Darren Hagood (’15), junior Bryce Gregory, Arlene Kasselman (’96), junior Jeremiah Taylor, Dan McVey, Dr. Kelvin Kelley (’06 D.Min.), Robert Lopez de Castilla (’18), Alisha Taylor (’17), and Dr. Douglas Foster. 

Taylor

ACU purchases University Park ACU has purchased University Park Apartments, a complex on the northeast side of campus owned by a third party for nearly 30 years.

“The acquisition of UP gives us the ability to create an intentional residential community for both undergraduate and graduate students, as well as faculty and staff,” said president Dr. Phil Schubert (’91) in making the announcement.

Residence Life is accepting applications for the new housing option, which offers efficiency, two-bedroom and four-bedroom apartments.

SCOTT DELONY

Edwards

Nasmyth

Edwards, Nasmyth and Robison named trustees Three new members joined ACU’s Board of Trustees in February 2020: Donny Edwards (’90) of Decatur, Texas; Fernando Nasmyth, J.D., of Atlanta, Georgia; and Doug Robison, J.D., of Abilene.

Edwards joined the Sagora Senior Living family of companies in 1992 and has been one of its managing partners since 2006.

He holds a degree in accounting and finance from ACU and is active in several national senior housing and real estate organizations.

He and his wife, Robison Marcy (Beard ’92), have four sons and are members of the Decatur Church of Christ.

Nasmyth is a graduate of Cornell University, where he earned a B.A in government and a juris doctor degree from Cornell Law School. He also completed ACU’s Certificate Program for Alternative Dispute and Conflict Resolution. He retired in 2017 after a 36-year career in legal operations, portfolio and asset management, and capital markets. He chairs the Greater Atlanta Christian School board and is vice chair of the GAC Foundation board. He and his wife, Donna, have two children and attend North Atlanta Church of Christ, where he has served as an elder for more than 25 years.

Robison earned a business administration degree in 1979 from the Texas Tech University School of Business and a juris doctor degree in 1982 from Texas Tech’s School of Law. He previously worked for Henry Petroleum and Exxon Company, USA in Midland, Texas.

In 2010, he established the Robison Excelsior Foundation. He serves as board chair of ChinaAid Association and is chair of ACU’s NEXT Lab Oversight Committee. He and his wife, Angie, have two children and are members of Highland Church of Christ. 

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DEANNA TUTTLE

Summit 2020 marked the first year for Dr. David Wray (’67) and Leah (Carrington ’90) Andrews to serve as co-directors. It also marked a year of other less-anticipated firsts.

For the first time in its 114-year history, the event went completely virtual. And for the first time, instead of spanning several days, sessions extended throughout the fall semester. Live sessions were recorded and placed online along with downloadable study guides containing speaker and session information and related resources for deeper learning.

Though disappointing, the online format became something of a “gift” as speakers explored the theme

Wray

AT&T LEARNING STUDIO

First virtual Summit required imagination, organization

Andrews

“Blessed Are the Peacemakers: Bridging the Divides,” said Andrews.

“While we were busy planning an in-person gathering on campus, we had imagined an online presence where we could reach tens of thousands across the globe,” she said.

“We felt like we were standing on the edge, peeking in on what ‘could be’ in the world of a virtual Summit. The virus and resulting restrictions sort of shoved us over that threshold.”

The online format allowed the webinars to feature speakers from around the world, “many of whom

could never have been brought to campus,” Andrews said. Similarly, it allowed attendees from far-flung locations to join the conversations.

Theme speakers were Dr. Richard Beck (’89), professor and chair of psychology at ACU; Jessica (Reese ’00) Goudeau, author of After the Last Border: Two Families and the Story of Refuge in America; Dr. Allen Hilton, author of A House United: How the Church Can Save the World; and Ian Nickerson (’16), ministering evangelist at Minda Street Church of Christ in Abilene.

Pathways featuring more than 50 speakers covered the topics “Models and Makers of Peace,” “Seeking Peace Through Restorative Justice,” “Creation Care” and “Communidad Hispana.” 

– ROBIN SAYLOR

View the sessions and download the study guides at acu.edu/summit

Restaurants anchor new Allen Ridge development on northeast edge of campus

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Restaurants such as Fuzzy’s Taco Shop and other businesses overlook a boardwalk and outdoor dining spaces on the banks of a lake at Allen Ridge. Wildcat Stadium can be seen in the distance.

SCOTT DELONY

onstruction on the first phase of ACU’s Allen Ridge lifestyle village is almost complete, and three tenants have already taken over their spaces, said Kelly Young (’85), vice president for Abilene Christian Investment Management Company, which has partnered with Tony Chron (’76) of Dallas to create the 95-acre master-planned development.

The first phase includes five buildings nestled around a lake at the corner of Ambler Avenue and Judge Ely Boulevard.

Phase II, north of Wildcat Stadium, includes construction of Hendrick Urgent Care clinic, and Coleman County State Bank is completing construction plans for a one-acre site next door.

Abilene Christian also has signed a pre-development agreement for an apartment complex north of the lake retail.

“It should be the best in class in Abilene and will be within walking distance of all the Allen Ridge restaurants and retail, as well as ACU’s campus,” Young said.

Fuzzy’s Tacos, Phoenix Pho and Abilene Nail Bar are open. Hotworx Yoga, Blue Jean Café and The Biscuit Bar are hoping to open in Spring 2021. A fifth building, housing

Bahama Buck’s and one other tenant, should start construction this fall.

Allen Ridge is constructed, in part, on land previously used for Allen Farm

by ACU’s Department of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences. 

– ROBIN SAYLOR

SCOTT DELONY

In a scene from Cinderella: A Fairy Tale Film, Harry (Caleb Evans) and Cindy (Nicole Sutphen), dance in a prom staged in downtown Abilene’s Adamson-Spalding Storybook Garden.

Innovation creates magic from mayhem when pandemic upstages musical A bit of fairy tale magic and some fancy footwork were required to spin from a 60-year history of elaborate Homecoming musicals in front of a packed crowd to a non-speaking, non-singing, original music video reminiscent of the Cinderella story.

Fortunately, ACU’s Department of Theatre found its happy ending, despite a few plot twists.

After futile attempts to get the necessary rights for the livestreaming of their planned performance of Rodgers’ and Hammerstein’s Cinderella, and with less than two months until Homecoming, Dawne (Swearingen ’95) Meeks, associate professor and department chair of theatre, realized they had to go in a different direction.

“I had to admit we couldn’t do it.

I asked, ‘OK, what if we build and create an original story and do it as a film?’ ” she said. “We literally did that in six weeks.”

In the midst of the pandemic, Meeks, who served as executive producer, recruited a team of professionals who hailed from Dallas, Los Angeles and New York City.

Film writer/editor Jason Baumgardner, whose recent projects

include Samson and Run the Race, is married to Catherine (Gutting ’00) Baumgardner, assistant professor and costume designer.

“I called Jason and asked, ‘Will you help?’ I hired him as our bootson-the-ground producer, and he started calling and texting his friends to put together a team,” Meeks said.

Guest director Jeff Smith, an Abilene native living and performing in New York, had signed on to direct this year’s production when it was expected to be a traditional performance, and he joined the rest of the team in switching to a new format, including writing the script.

But even experienced writers, directors and producers hadn’t done anything quite like this – creating, rehearsing and performing on an impossibly tight schedule, with face masks and distancing, a host of new safety precautions, and filming almost entirely outdoors.

“We are always telling students to physicalize, to connect, use touch, and now we’re saying, ‘Don’t touch, don’t breathe on anyone, stay 6 feet away,’” Meeks said.

Although it wasn’t performed on stage in the Abilene Convention Center auditorium, the production gave a wink and a nod to its traditional home by setting many scenes in the nearby Adamson-Spalding Storybook Garden. Much of the filming

took place in downtown Abilene, including the roof of The Grace Museum, Minter Park and The Local restaurant patio. Scenes were also shot on campus.

The music-video-style story of Cinderella: A Fairy Tale Film follows Cindy, played by Nicole Sutphen (’20), and Harry, played by sophomore Caleb Evans, and their friends in a 1980s high school setting culminating in a prom.

Filmwork was done by a team of professionals from New York City, Denver and Dallas, assisted by several ACU students from the Department of Journalism and Mass Communication.

Catherine Baumgardner designed costumes, including custom masks.

Choreography was designed and taught by Lily Balogh, artist-inresidence for the Department of Theatre and a former member of the New York City Ballet. Scenic designer was David Utley (’99), who joined ACU’s faculty this year after serving as art director on recent TV shows including Castle Rock and It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia.

“It was incredible for students to get to work with these amazing artists in the middle of this craziness when the world is shut down,” Meeks said. “Our alumni and faculty and what our students did – I’m just so proud of everyone.” 

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Wildcat SPORTS

BY CHRIS MACALUSO

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the summer, and then we run, run, run during the season. So I had to learn how to maintain weight and hold my position.”

His redshirt year, he also overcame a staph infection in his knee, which caused his weight to plummet to 170. Kohl’s medical issues kept him off the court for about eight months, then he rebounded in a big way during Summer 2017. He has added close to 100 pounds since, and considerable strength.

Kohl’s physical growth and maturity has resulted in a steady increase in playing time. He appeared in 25 games as a redshirt freshman, then blocked 13 shots through 30 games during the team’s run to the 2019 NCAA Tournament. This past season (2019-20) was his first as a Division I starter, averaging 9.6 points and 4.3 rebounds per game while shooting 53.5 percent from the field.

“Kolton had a great year because he understands the demands of the game,” said Golding. “He’s put on more weight so he’s more confident and comfortable. He’s also improved tremendously on the defensive end, which I think is where he’s had his biggest jump from last season to this season. He’s made us a much better defensive team, and it isn’t easy for a 7-footer to guard ball screens all over the

floor the way we want it to be done.

I’m proud of him fighting through adversity and seeing it all through to where he’s at.”

The Wildcats are off to another great start in 2020-21 with Kohl starting every game, and it’s these victories which matter the most to Kohl who is at the start of graduate school, working toward an MBA. “I just want to win. I don’t care about points or social media. I just want to fight for those dudes – Payten Ricks (’20), Trey Lenox, Hayden Howell (’19) – who didn’t get to play in the (2020) conference tournament because of COVID-19,” he said.

Kohl’s readiness to fight for his teammates was on display during a December game against 17th-ranked Texas Tech, which ACU nearly won. Three minutes into the game he walked off the court with blood gushing out of his nose, only to greet Golding at the bench with a smile.

“When you look back at everything he’s been through, he’s easily able to put the stoppers up his nose, wipe off the excess, turn around and check back in,” said Golding.

“That’s the growth we’ve seen out of Kolton Kohl.

That’s an incredible testament to his toughness and maturity.” 

JEREMY ENLOW

Kolton Kohl suffered a career’s worth of injuries within his first three weeks on campus.

The colossal center from San Angelo, Texas, sat on the bench following a pickup game during Summer 2016. When it came time to play again, his knee locked as he stood up. He tried to take a step, but his knee popped backward.

He had torn his ACL and fractured his kneecap.

“That’s not the way I wanted to start college,” said Kohl, who is believed to be the tallest studentathlete ever to wear an ACU uniform.

He currently measures 7-0 feet and weighs 265 pounds, besting 6-foot-11 Kent Martens (’72), 6-10 Randy Scott (’80), 6-9 Stephen Musa (’09) and 6-9 Dr. David Wray (’67).

Kohl is the first 7-footer men’s head basketball coach Joe Golding (’99) has mentored in his 20-year coaching career.

“Kolton came to us with great hands and feet and was very skilled, basketball-wise,” said Golding, who is in the midst of his 10th season at ACU. “But he needed to put on weight.

That’s not his fault though. He just grew so fast into his body, and luckily we had time to develop him.”

He grew from 5-foot-10 to 6-foot-3 between eighth and ninth grade, and was 6-11 as a high school senior.

The team’s strength and conditioning coach, Brandon Decker, had yet to work with someone of Kohl’s stature, and for the last four seasons he’s designed specially tailored weight room workouts and meal plans.

“My redshirt year I was lifting two to three times more per week than the rest of the team,” Kohl said.

“We all build strength and muscle in

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7-footer Kohl grows in stature, impact for Wildcats

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Bill Rogers, former PGA Player of the Year

PAUL WHITE

JEREMY ENLOW

The Byron Nelson Clubhouse’s Great Room includes display cases with Nelson, golf and ACU history.

Byron Nelson Clubhouse honors PGA legend, celebrates history, prepares future champions

B

yron Nelson would be pleased with the Wildcats’ new golf home, a place for “his boys” on ACU’s team to hone their talents.

Selfless to a fault, the late PGA icon also would be humbled by the limelight in which the university pays tribute to its former trustee and namesake of its newest facility.

The 5,700-square-foot clubhouse on North Judge Ely Boulevard features a Great Room, coaches’ offices, a team study and conference room, locker rooms, state-of-the-art swing technology equipment, indoor hitting bays and an outdoor patio overlooking a short-game practice facility designed by former PGA star D.A. Weibring.

The Great Room includes display cases depicting the history of golf, Nelson’s life and career, his relationship with ACU, and Wildcat golf history. A colorful painting by artist Jack Maxwell (’78) of the famous 12th green and Byron Nelson Bridge at Augusta National Golf Club is the backdrop for one wall, and a bronze bust of Nelson sculpted by Maxwell and cast by Geoff Broderick, assistant professor of art and

design, overlooks the room from one corner. The room leads to a porch overlooking “The Jim,” the short-game practice facility to the south, alongside Judge Ely Boulevard.

“Everything I’ve heard and observed here is happening because the people financially supporting this program are doing it with passion,” said Bill Rogers, former PGA Player of the Year who spoke at a dinner for guests Feb. 21, 2020, the night before the venue’s dedication.

“The golf coaches, president and athletics director are all walking in the same direction. This is what it’s supposed to look like,” Rogers said.

Major benefactors Mark Anthony (’86), Eric Oliver (’81), Jon Bradley (’72) and Peggy Nelson Jaros, Nelson’s widow, were recognized at the dinner and ribbon-cutting the next day for their support and leadership of the Byron Nelson Golf Endowment, and in raising funds for the clubhouse. 

Cook, Nunez named Wildcat head coaches SCOTT DELONY

Venerable assistant coaches Jerrod Cook and Juan Nunez (’09), who arrived on campus within a year of each other roughly 15 years ago, have been named head coaches of ACU’s decorated track and field and tennis programs, respectively. Both assumed their new roles June 1, 2020, after years of success as Wildcat assistants.

August marked the start of Cook’s 15th year at ACU. He was hired in 2006 by then-head coach Don D. Hood (’87) to be the Wildcats’ throwing coach following a stellar career as a student-athlete and assistant coach at McMurry University. He later served in a similar capacity under coaches Roosevelt Lofton (2009-13), Keith Barnier (2013-16) and Lance Bingham (2016-20). He was elevated to associate head coach in May 2015.

Nunez’ association with Wildcat tennis dates back to 2005. He was the Lone Star Conference 2006 Freshman of the Year and later won league championships in singles and in doubles with Ryan Hudson (’09).

He transitioned into coaching after his senior year of 2009 while working toward a

Cook

Nunez

master’s degree in speech communication and rhetoric.

Cook’s coaching resume with the Wildcats is impressive. He coached Kelli Clemens (’09) to NCAA Division II All-America honors in his first year at ACU, and by the end of year two, both Nick Jones (’12) and Linda Brivule (’11) were national champions in the discus and javelin, respectively.

His extensive list of protégés also includes Division I All-America performers Kayla Melgar (’19) in the shot put and junior Annina Brandenburg in the discus, plus Division II national champions Paige Newby (’12) in the discus, Camille Vandendriessche (’09) in the decathlon and Jessica Withrow (’10) in the heptathlon.

ACU’s return to Division I brought with it one of Cook’s best all-around recruiting classes, as from 2015-19 the crew of Melgar, McKennon Cecil (’19), Joshua Hunter (’18),

Morgan Knight (’18), Reagan Mabery (’19), Taylor Posey (’19), Ryan Simmons (’18), Kai Schmidt (’18) and Lonnie Smith (’19) combined for nine conference victories, 34 medals and 423 points (47 points per athlete).

Nunez helped the Wildcats make a successful transition to Division I during his first tennis coaching assignment from 2009-15. The men won three of their last four LSC tournaments and made three consecutive Division II quarterfinal appearances, led

by All-America players Hans Hach (’13), Jake Hendrie (’13) and Nick Plum (’13).

The men’s team went on to win five of six Southland Conference matches its first year in the league (2014) with six student-athletes named All-Southland.

ACU women’s tennis also dominated its final years in Division II. Led by All-America Julia Mongin (’14), the Wildcats advanced to the national semifinals three times in its last five years. They also won 16 of their first 22 Southland duals, led by Brittney Reed (’15) and sisters Micah (’14) and Kaysie Hermsdorf (’16).

Nunez returned to the coaching sidelines in 2019 to serve as the program’s assistant director following several years working as a university transfer admissions counselor. 

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Wright, Ricks win Paul Goad Award as top Wildcats

JEREMY ENLOW

The prized Paul Goad Awards, presented annually to the Wildcats’ most valuable male and female student-athletes, were captured by members of the ACU men’s and women’s basketball teams for the second consecutive year in May 2020.

Southland Conference Player of the Year Breanna Wright received 17 of 26 votes from a pool of head coaches and staff members, while first-team NABC All-District honoree Payten Ricks won a tight decision over classmates Jeremiah Chambers (football) and Jonathan Sheehy (men’s tennis).

Wright joins an elite group of two-time Goad winners.

The Jarrell, Texas, native is only the sixth student-athlete in the award’s 42-year history to be a consecutive-year recipient and is its 10th multi-year winner.

“I am beyond proud of Brea receiving this prestigious award again,” said women’s basketball head coach Julie Goodenough. “What a thrill and a privilege it has been to coach her these past four seasons.

This program has experienced unprecedented success with Brea leading the charge as our point guard,

Wright

Ricks

and this past year was no exception.

She was calm, cool and collected under major defensive pressure the entire season … a tough assignment considering the ball was in her hands so much of the time.”

Goodenough said nothing seemed to rattle Wright. “Her ability to make reads and decisions, and finish plays, was amazing. Our opponents knew she was a go-to player for us, but her high basketball IQ and elite skill set allowed her to break down defensive schemes game after game.”

Wright is ACU’s second Southland Player of the Year in four years, earned while leading the league in nine categories. She was the league’s No. 1 (and 50th in the NCAA) player with 18.1 points per game, and topped the conference lists with 5.1 assists per game (32nd), 85.9 free-throw

percentage (26th) and 85 3-pointers made (18th).

Ricks is a first-time honoree and the third men’s basketball player in five years to receive a Paul Goad Award. Eight men’s basketball players have received the honor, starting with point guard Randall Moore (’80), who led ACU to the NAIA Division I national tournament as a senior.

A native of Wichita, Kansas, Ricks made first-team All-Southland and the league’s All-Defense team following a senior year in which he ranked 13th nationally with 70 steals (2.26 per game) while averaging a team-best 14.3 points per game.

Ricks also ranked among the league’s top 3-point shooters, connecting on 83 (35.9 percent) to average 2.68 per game, and shooting 84.6 percent from the free-throw line to rank fourth in the Southland.

“He came to Abilene four years ago as a shy kid from Kansas, and four years later he is one of the best to ever wear the purple and white,” said ACU men’s head basketball coach Joe Golding (’99). “In my opinion he was the best two-way player in the Southland last year, but his senioryear leadership with a young team might be his biggest accomplishment of all. He refused to let this program go backward and continued to push the needle forward every day to compete for championships.” 

SP OR T S DIGE S T Wildcats excel in professional leagues

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Lewis

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In 2020, Jaren Lewis (’19) headlined former ACU men’s basketball standouts playing professionally in Europe. A forward with Wiha Panthers Schwenningen of the Germany Pro A League, Lewis averaged 13 points and 4.9 rebounds per game while scoring in double figures in 21 games. After the season, he was selected to the Eurobasket.com All-German team and named his league’s Newcomer of the Year, among other honors.

Among other alumni, Jaylen Franklin (’19) averaged 12.8 ppg as the second leading scorer and a team-best 5.4 assists per game for

Tskhum-Abkhazeti in Georgia’s Superleague; Tevin Foster (’19) averaged 10.7 ppg and a team-leading 3.9 apg for KK Sloboda Uzice in Serbia’s KLS League; Dejan Sencanski (’10) averaged 10.7 ppg as a starter for the Chartres Basket Masculins in France’s NM1 League; and Jovan Crnic (’17) averaged 5.2 ppg and 2.7 apg for Andrezieux in France’s NM1 League.

Although the 2020 minor league baseball season was canceled, catcher Luis Trevino (’19) of the Tampa Bay Rays was the fourth-leading hitter (.272) in 2019 with the Hudson Valley Renegades in the New York-Penn League (Class A short-season).

SP OR T S ROUNDUP

Teams earn high marks for GPA, APR

Moody renovation adds court to Teague

Student-athletes finished the Fall 2020 term with a 3.35 GPA, the highest on record at ACU since we began tracking this metric in 2011.

“I’m incredibly proud of our student-athletes, coaches and academic counselors,” said director of athletics Allen Ward. “I especially want to thank Sarah Shipp (assistant AD for academics and senior woman administrator) and her staff for their hard work.”

All 16 ACU intercollegiate sports completed the COVID-complicated semester with GPAs above 3.00.

Casey Wilson’s women’s soccer team led all programs with 3.64 and Tom Shaw’s golf team led the men with 3.53.

Earlier in the year, the NCAA released its list of teams with a perfect 1,000 Academic Progress Rate (APR) score for the 2018-19 academic year. ACU women’s basketball, men’s cross country, golf, soccer, men’s and women’s tennis, men’s track and field, and volleyball were among the honored programs.

“This APR report is very encouraging and a positive reflection of everyone’s hard work and due diligence,” said Chris Ballard (’08), senior associate athletic director for administration. “Maintaining a high APR is a university-wide effort and it’s pleasing to see the majority of our team scores above national averages.”

Tennis, golf and men’s cross country received additional NCAA recognition for maintaining a four-year APR of 1,000.

Twelve Wildcat teams have received the NCAA’s APR Public Recognition Award since 2014-15, with golf leading the way with three consecutive citations.

“This demonstrates the overall strength of the university,” said Shaw. “Our student-athletes are strongly encouraged and supported daily with their workloads by our incredible faculty and staff.”

Abilene Christian’s men’s and women’s basketball teams had a combined 10-0 record to begin the new year on their new wood court at the Teague Center.

Both, in addition to the volleyball team, are calling the 22-year-old venue home for the 2020-21 season as Moody Coliseum undergoes a major renovation.

A small army of campus volunteers directed by Drew Long, deputy director of athletics for internal operations, began installing the court (provided by Praters Flooring) and portable bleachers (1,000 seats) in Fall 2020. Long also supervised the installation of LED lights above the court and additional power and network lines to support the scoring and media tables.

“We couldn’t have done this without all the help from our partners across campus,” said Long. “The court was installed in two days, and we got the bleachers put together in less than four.”

The Teague Center – named for ACU’s ninth president, the late Dr. William J. Teague (’52) and his late wife, Margaret Louise (Newlen ’56) “Peggy” Teague – played host to its first game Nov. 25, 2020, with the women’s basketball team defeating Howard Payne, 99-45. Senior Anna McLeod scored the first basket off the opening tip, five seconds into the contest. 

JEREMY ENLOW

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Football players Fink, Anthony, Parmelly, Gibbens earn top academic honors

Senior wide receiver Josh Fink became ACU’s 33rd recipient of a prestigious NCAA Postgraduate Scholarship following the 2019 season. He was joined on the FCS Athletic Directors Association’s 2019 Academic All-Star Team by quarterback Luke Anthony.

Fink, who graduated in 2020 with a 3.81 GPA in financial management, was among 10 finalists for the NCAA award, along with student-athletes from North Dakota State, Harvard and Bucknell universities.

Anthony, who graduated in May 2020 and

transferred to Louisiana Tech University for his last year of eligibility, was a finance major with a 3.97 GPA who passed for 2,525 yards and 17 TDs. Fink had 822 receiving yards, five scores and averaged 5.7 receptions per game.

Offensive lineman Kade Parmelly won the Southland Conference’s F.M. McDonald Postgraduate Scholarship, which carries a $5,000 award. A team captain in 2019, Parmelly maintained a 3.96 GPA while earning a degree in kinesiology in just three years.

Jack Gibbens was one of 12 finalists for the 2020 William V. Campbell Trophy.

This prestigious football award, which was presented in January 2021 to Memphis

quarterback Brady White, annually recognizes an individual as the best in the nation for academic success, football performance and exemplary leadership.

Gibbens and the finalists – selected from a record 199 semifinalists nationwide – each received an $18,000 postgraduate scholarship as a member of the 2020 National Football Foundation National Scholar-Athlete Class.

He is the first Wildcat to receive the honor and only the 11th in Southland history.

A linebacker, he led ACU with 49 total tackles while also recording 4.5 tackles for loss, two sacks and one interception in six games during an abbreviated Fall 2020 season.

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COVID-19 alters landscape of ACU athletics

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BEN SOLOMON

The sports landscape vanished from view in March 2020 as professional and collegiate ranks shuttered their facilities and canceled games to prevent further spread of COVID-19.

The Wildcats’ last contest of the 2019-20 academic year was a March 11 baseball game in Austin at The University of Texas, during which the NBA announced the suspension of its season. The Southland Conference followed with a similar announcement less than 24 hours later, before cancelling all remaining spring sports and championships on March 14.

Although the games were halted, academic and wellness services to student-athletes were accelerated as administrators reacted to new and ever-changing news surrounding the coronavirus.

Cory Driskill, ACU’s associate director of athletics for sports performance, was on a Spring Break vacation when he received news of the sweeping cancellations. Since then he’s been conferring regularly with ACU medical director Chad Ezzell, M.D., and keeping up on literature released by the NCAA’s Sport Science Institute and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to determine how best to protect the 350 Wildcat student-athletes.

“One of our biggest challenges remains not knowing what the virus is doing,” said Driskill, “but we’ve been fortunate the cases we’ve experienced have not been severe. We’re making sure that if any of our student-athletes have pre-existing conditions, we’re quickly able to identify them and put in the proper precautions and parameters to keep them safe.”

When ACU’s teams began returning to campus in June, student-athletes were given daily symptom and temperature checks. This screening is now completed through an app; in addition, Driskill’s team of athletic trainers have consistently been administering COVID PCR tests. Additional testing was scheduled after Christmas Break, per NCAA guidelines.

“The NCAA asked us to do mass testing after the holidays, so we isolate and quarantine student-athletes as needed,” Driskill said. “Hopefully the new vaccines released this spring will help alleviate some of the problem. Testing, quarantining, isolating and contact tracing are the best ways to keep our student-athletes healthy and safe.”

While Driskill was charged with maintaining the health of the Wildcats, his colleague in academics, senior woman administrator Sarah Shipp, helped supervise a complex transition to online education.

“Last March was a fearful time because we were all

Head football coach Adam Dorrel saw all but one his team’s 2020 home games cancelled by COVID-19 concerns.

jumping into the unknown,” said Shipp. “Our studentathletes are used to having structured lives, and now they were without that consistency of either being in the classroom or with their teammates practicing.”

With all students being sent home for the second half of the Spring 2020 semester, Shipp and her team quickly had to identify who was most at risk for falling behind in online classes. It was imperative for them not only to keep everyone academically eligible but also to help locate resources (from loaner laptops to public WiFi spots) that would ensure success.

“We had to develop creative plans of action with individual student-athletes,” said Shipp. “I would ask those who didn’t have internet or a home computer, ‘Is there a car you can use and park at a restaurant’ or ‘Who else in your personal circle can help you?’ ” Ultimately, ACU’s student-athletes displayed great resiliency during this time, posting a 3.21 GPA for the 2019-20 academic year. They also adapted well to the challenges of Fall 2020, during which there was a blend of face-to-face and online instruction.

Each of the 350 Wildcat student-athletes will be in action in Spring 2021 as adjustments to the fall schedule means that cross country, soccer and volleyball will be overlapping with the traditional seasons of track and field, baseball and softball.

Overall, there’s expected to be more than 100 home events on campus between January and May; the volleyball team began a full slate of matches in late January and the soccer team resumed its split season the first week of February. The cross country teams, which ran races three times last fall, had their conference championship meet in mid-February, followed by the NCAA championships on March 15.

The football program kept itself on schedule for next autumn by playing six games in Fall 2020 and was expected to host its Spring Game April 16. 

SP OR T S ROUNDUP recognition of his stellar 2019-20 season, which saw him rank second on the team with 11 points and 4.2 rebounds per game.

• ACU received three first-place votes and 254 points in the Southland Conference preseason poll, ranking second to Stephen F. Austin’s 278 points.

Baseball

Women’s Basketball Anna McLeod

JEREMY ENLOW

• The Wildcats began their 2021 campaign Feb. 19 with a three-game series at Tarleton State, leading off an eight-game road trip.

Standout games on the schedule include the Crutcher Scott Field home opener March 5 with Arkansas State, then TCU (March 16), Texas Tech (April 27) and Baylor (May 12).

• The 14-man All-Decade Team (2010-20) was announced last summer, with fans voting for eight position players, designated hitter, utility player, and two starting and relief pitchers. Selected to the team were starters Aaron Lambrix (’13) and Aaron Mason (’16), relievers Brady Rodriguez (’14) and Kevin Sheets (’15), catcher Luis Trevino (’19), first baseman Tyler Eager (’15), second baseman Seth Spivey (’14), third baseman Kyle Giusti (’14), shortstop Chuck Duarte (’13), outfielders Will Calhoun (’11), Aaron Oliver (’11) and Derek Scott (’19), utility player Aaron Draper (’17) and designated hitter Cameron Bankston (’11).

• The Wildcats received President’s Special Recognition from the Golf Coaches Association of America, which is presented to any NCAA Division I team with a GPA of 3.5 or higher. Head coach Tom Shaw’s team was one of only 95 nationwide (one of three in the Southland) to earn this distinction as the Wildcats finished Spring 2020 with a program-record 3.63 GPA. • ACU competed at three Fall 2020 tournaments hosted by Louisiana Tech, Arkansas State and Little Rock, and posted respective team finishes of eighth, third and sixth. Senior Alex Clouse tied for second at the Little Rock Invitational, shooting under par all three rounds on his way to a 7-under 209.

• The Wildcats completed Fall 2020 with a No. 42 national ranking from Golfstat.com.

ACU’s eight-tournament spring season began Feb. 22 with the 68th annual Border Olympics in Laredo, Texas. The Wildcats will also compete at TPC San Antonio for the Cabo Collegiate (March 1-3) and spend a portion of Spring Break at Pinehurst No. 8 (March 12-14).

Joe Pleasant

JEREMY ENLOW

Golf

Cross Country • ACU competed at three home meets during an abbreviated Fall 2020 season and finished the postseason portion of its schedule in early 2021 with a Feb. 15 running of the Southland Conference Championships (Hammond, Louisiana) and March 15 date for the NCAA Championships in Stillwater, Oklahoma.

There will be no NCAA regional meets.

• The Wildcats completed their fall schedule with team and individual wins at the Naimadu Classic over teams from Texas State and Texas-San Antonio. The ACU men edged Texas State, as the Wildcats’ first four runners finished among the top 10 led by junior Kevin Kipkosgei (25:25.90). The women’s 6K race proved to be a landslide win for the Wildcats: they swept the top three places en route to 21 points. Sophomore Irene Rono won her season debut in 21:38.54.

Men’s Basketball

Football Kevin Kipkosgei

SCOTT DELONY

• The Wildcats completed the non-conference portion of their 2020-21 schedule with an 8-2 record and No. 13 mid-major ranking from CollegeInsider.com. The only two losses for head coach Joe Golding’s (’99) team were to Texas Tech and Arkansas.

• ACU started its season with three straight victories in Estero, Florida, over East Tennessee State (70-47), Austin Peay (80-72) and Omaha (70-58) to claim the Gulf Coast Showcase championship.

• Junior forward Joe Pleasant was named first-team Preseason All-Southland in

• The Wildcats finished 2020-21 non-conference play at 7-2 and were receiving votes in the CollegeInsider.com mid-major poll during the first week of January.

• ACU garnered three consecutive Southland Player of the Week awards from Dec. 7-21.

Senior Anna McLeod was recognized in back-to-back weeks following solid performances against Northern Colorado, Mary Hardin-Baylor and Texas Tech. Senior Alyssa Adams earned her honor after averaging 17.3 points and 9 rebounds per game against Texas-Tyler, UAB and Stetson.

• McLeod and classmate Makayla Mabry each were named to a Preseason All-Southland team. McLeod received first-team honors and Mabry was a second-team selection.

• ACU ranked third in the Southland’s preseason poll with four first-place votes and 250 points, trailing Stephen F. Austin (275) and Sam Houston State (250).

• The program’s All-Decade Team (2010-20) recognized Lizzy (’17) and Suzzy Dimba (’17), Lexie Ducat (’20), Dominique Golightly (’20), Reanata Marquez (’14), Alexis Mason (’17), Sydney Shelstead (’17), Sara Williamson (’19), Whitney (West ’16) Swinford, and Breanna Wright (’20).

• ACU was one of only 16 FCS programs to play a Fall 2020 season, finishing its abbreviated campaign with a 1-5 record. Its lone victory was a 20-17 decision Halloween night at

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Mercer, thanks to sophomore Blair Zepeda’s 38-yard field goal as time expired. His field goal was ACU’s first walk-off winner since Nov. 4, 2006, when Matt Adams (’09) connected on a 25-yard field goal to beat Texas A&M-Kingsville, 41-38.

• Freshman Jermiah Dobbins led the Wildcats in rushing (227 yards) and scored five touchdowns, and junior quarterback Peyton Mansell finished with five TD passes and 1,237 passing yards. Junior wide receiver Kobe Clark caught four touchdown passes.

• The Wildcats played road games against FBS opponents UTEP, Army West Point and Virginia. COVID-19 caused the cancellation of two of three scheduled on-campus games on Anthony Field, including Homecoming.

• On Oct. 24, ACU and Stephen F. Austin played the first college football game in the history of Arlington’s Globe Life Park, the former home of the MLB Texas Rangers.

The Lumberjacks won in overtime, 39-32, the same afternoon when Game 4 of the neutral-site World Series was played by the Tampa Bay Rays and Los Angeles Dodgers next door on Globe Life Field.

Taylor Tolen

SOUTHLAND CONFERENCE

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• The soccer team is playing a split schedule in 2020-21. The Wildcats completed Fall 2020 with a 2-2-1 record, including a 3-2 overtime win against Texas State. ACU’s 17-match spring season started with a Feb. 5 contest at West Texas A&M and concludes with an April 9 home match vs. Incarnate Word. In between are big matches on the road with Texas Tech (March 7) and Texas A&M (March 14).

Softball

Peyton Mansell

BEN SOLOMON

Soccer

• ACU opened its regular season the weekend of Feb. 12 with a home tournament featuring future Western Athletics Conference rivals Utah Valley and Tarleton State, and UTEP. Additional non-conference home dates include North Texas (March 30) and Baylor (April 6).

• Assistant coach Caty Reeves represented the Wildcats and the Southland as a featured speaker for the National Fastpitch Coaches Association (NFCA) Virtual Convention last December. Her session about catching will be a part of the Grassroots Summit presented

by Wilson.

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Track and Field • The indoor season began with Jan. 16 and Feb. 19 meets at Texas Tech, followed by the Southland’s annual trip to the Birmingham (Alabama) CrossPlex for the league indoor championships.

• The outdoor season started March 18-20 with ACU’s annual Wes Kittley Invitational.

The Wildcats will also host home meets April 22 and May 9. Kittley (’81) is director of track and field and cross country at Texas Tech University who was named ACU’s Outstanding Alumnus of the Year for 2020. (See pages 50-52.)

• The balance of the 2021 schedule includes the Texas Relays (March 24-27 in Austin), Baylor Invitational (April 3 in Waco), Michael Johnson Invitational (April 16-17 in Waco), Oliver Jackson Twilght Invitational (April 21 at ACU), Corky/Crofoot Shootout (April 20 May 1 in Lubbock), Southland Outdoor Championship (May 15-16) and NCAA West Preliminaries (May 27-29 in College Station).

• Last summer, Wildcat track and field performers Annina Brandenburg, Megan Kirby, Zoe Spinn and Taylor Tolen were named NCAA Division I All-Academic Athletes for 2020 by the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association. ACU men’s (3.13) and women’s (3.43) squads were also recognized for their GPAs. • The Wildcats added ACU letterwinners Brielle Collett (’19) and Mackenzie West to their 2020-21 coaching roster. Collett, an ACU letter winner from 2015-18, will serve head coach Jerrod Cook’s program as its jumps coach, while West will mentor the pole vaulters as a student-coach. West has one outdoor season of eligibility remaining.

Volleyball

Mackenzie Harris

TIM NELSON

Tennis • Nine members of the Abilene Christian tennis program were named Intercollegiate Tennis Assocation Scholar-Athletes as both men’s and women’s teams received All-Academic recognition.

• The women’s team completed its 2019-20 academic year with an ACU-best 3.63 GPA and had five student-athletes named ITA Scholar-Athletes: Andrea Guerrero, Nini Memishishi, Ileana Mocciola, Allison Stewart and Sylvia Viljoen.

• The men’s team had a 3.23 GPA and was represented on the Scholar-Athlete list by Dimitrios Azoids, Joquin Delgado, Sebastian Langdon and Riley Tran.

• First-year director of tennis Juan Nunez (’09) rounded out his coaching staff with the hirings of Bryan Rainwater and Taylor Rodgers (’14).

Rainwater, who came to ACU from McMurry University, will serve as the assistant director of tennis while Abilene native Rodgers will be the program’s director of operations.

• Volleyball season was shifted from Fall 2020 to Spring 2021. The Wildcats began their 14-match slate Jan. 29 at home against Texas-Arlington and concluded March 27 at Sam Houston State.

• The American Volleyball Coaches Association awarded the program with a USMC Team Academic Award for the 2019-20 season.

ACU has been honored for its academics for five consecutive years after the Wildcats finished Fall 2020 with a 3.54 team GPA.

YOUR GIFTS AT WORK

Students (approximate) in Lynay each academic year.

JEREMY ENLOW

300 12,000 $2,500 Average amount in scholarship funding each Lynay student receives each academic year.

Recent scholarship endowments created • College of Biblical Studies Endowed Scholarship • College of Business Administration Endowed Scholarship • A.R. Holton and Charles H. Roberson Endowed Scholarship • Art Franklin Pendergrass Endowed Scholarship • TurnAgain Church of Christ Legacy Endowed Scholarship • L.E. and Ruth Gray Endowed Scholarship for Engineering

• Endowed Scholarship for Education • Charlotte Doss Bingham Endowed Scholarship

for Education • Hubert and Deborah Pickett Endowed Scholarship • Amarillo Area Endowed Scholarship • Frank and Daisy Bass Endowed Scholarship for Bible • Charlotte and Michael Galyean Endowed Scholarship • Mark Skelton Endowed Scholarship • Pretiger Teaching and Learning Operational Endowment • Richard and Catherine LeBlanc Endowed Scholarship • Don and Carla Garrett Track and Field Endowed Scholarship • William “Bill” E. Clovis II and Evie Mae Clovis Endowed Scholarship • James and Faye Vandiver Endowed Scholarship • Dan and Donna Garrett Endowed Scholarship • Greyson McGlothlin Endowed Scholarship for Physics and Engineering Majors

To create your own endowed scholarship or contribute to an existing one, see acu.edu/give or call 800-674-2600.

STEVE BUTMAN

Students who have been members of Lynay since its inception in 1998.

Learn more about scholarships at acu.edu/endowment

McCaleb scholarship benefits Lynay students

Service hours logged by Lynay students in 2018-19.

1,500

Dr. Gary McCaleb

What began in 1998 as a dream for Dr. Gary McCaleb (’64), vice president of the university, has become everything from a lifeline to a training ground to a place to make friends for more than 1,500 students. And now, supporters of Lynay, the student service and leadership program in ACU’s Center for Building Community, are working to ensure each student has access to much-needed scholarships offered as part of their membership.

Lynay takes its name from the biblical principle “Love Your Neighbor as Yourself.” Each week, approximately 300 students on the Abilene campus meet The McCalebs to develop relationships and interact with guest speakers from ACU, the Abilene community and beyond. Students hail from diverse backgrounds and come together to learn how to work and communicate with each other – a dedicated microcosm of society to help prepare them for success during and after their studies.

“Lynay is important because over the course of four years, students realize that every member of our community has a unique and important story,” said Brad Benham (’05), director of Lynay and president of The ACU Foundation. “They learn to be patient, to listen and to appreciate others for the value they bring to the larger community.

“Students are taught that their neighbor is whomever they come across next,” he said. “It doesn’t matter what that person looks like, where they are from, or even where they are going. God put that person in their path, and it is their job to love and serve them, no matter what.”

Each student receives a scholarship, at a minimum of $1,000, every academic year they are in Lynay. The need is higher for some, Benham said, and he and Lea (Thompson ’78) Watkins, assistant to the vice president, do their best to accommodate those students.

Benham is helping spearhead the drive to increase the amount of funds in the McCaleb Family Endowed Lynay Scholarship to provide increased stability for the program and guarantee students have the financial resources they need to succeed.

“Growing the McCaleb family scholarship will both properly honor Gary and Sylvia’s (Ravanelli ’67) visionary leadership and service to ACU and this program and help ensure that future students get the opportunity to be poured into, mentored and inspired to build better communities throughout the world,” Benham said.

To learn more about supporting the McCaleb Family Endowed Lynay Scholarship, contact Benham at 325-674-2508. 

– SARAH CARLSON

ACU TODAY

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EXPERIENCES

1982

Submit your news online at blogs.acu.edu/acutoday/experiences or use the EXperiences card in each issue of the magazine.

Deadlines: ACU Today is published two times a year. Because of printing deadlines, your news could be delayed by one issue.

In Memoriam: It’s best for a member of the deceased’s immediate family to submit notification, preferably with a copy of the official published obituary.

Contact information: To help ensure the privacy of our alumni, ACU Today no longer shares email and postal addresses of those whose self-reported news appears in EXperiences. If you would like contact information for someone listed here, call 800-373-4220 or email alumni@acu.edu for assistance.

1954

Don and Patsy (Agnew ’63) Kincaid celebrated their 65th wedding anniversary in 2018 with an Alaskan cruise topping their celebration with family and friends in Texas.

They live in Gilbert, Arizona.

Sally Jo (Pannill) Curby moved from North Richland Hills to Amarillo, Texas.

1957

Charles G. and Margie Lou (Newhouse ’56) Anderson celebrated their 65th wedding anniversary Feb. 5, 2020. The Andersons have two sons, eight grandchildren and two great-great grandsons, and live in Abilene, Texas.

1963

Patt (Russo) Wills is retired after an accomplished career in teaching. She leads ladies church group projects for the elderly, veterans and those in assisted-living homes.

She lives in Birmingham, Alabama.

Russell O. Vail won the shot put Feb. 11, 2020, in the 75-79 age group at the Michigan Senior Olympics Indoor State Championships.

He also finished second in the 1500-meter race walk and 1500-meter power walk. He lives in White Lake, Michigan.

1964

Dr. Ronald E. Sosebee is professor emeritus in the Department of Natural Resources Management at Texas Tech University. His wife, Gail (Goodman), is retired from the Lubbock ISD. They live in Lubbock, Texas.

1966

Dr. Gary T. Burke has published a new book, God’s Woman Revisited: Women and the Church. He is retired and lives in Windsor Locks, Connecticut.

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1969

LaDonna Ray Kelley retired after 37 years as an elementary school teacher.

Her husband, Terry, works in insurance.

They live in Branson, Missouri.

Gary Cummings retired in May 2020 as clinical director of NurseSpring of Charlottesville, Virginia. He and his wife, Faith, live in Waynesboro, Virginia.

1973

Ron Compton retired Jan. 1, 2020, from McHenry County College as a speech instructor.

He and his wife, Bonnie, live in Hanover Park, Illinois.

1979

Jenny Wooten Clark lives in Dimmitt, Texas.

1980

Tom Brite was a panelist at the 2019 Texas Marijuana Policy Conference in Austin. As a guest columnist for the Pleasanton (Texas) Express (pleasantonexpress.com), he has written about the benefits of neurologistprescribed, marijuana-based cream based on the experience of a family member who experienced a severe head injury. Brite and his wife, DeAndra, live in San Antonio, Texas.

1981

Patrick and Melissa (Scott) Boyle have moved to Cumming, Georgia, where he is the chief technology officer for DXC and she is children’s lead bookseller at Barnes & Noble.

Their children are Scott Boyle and Danielle Boyle (’16).

MARRIED

David Ramsey and Teresa Wright Dovel, June 1, 2020, in Castle Rock, Colorado. They live in Colorado Springs and anticipate beginning teaching assignments in August 2021 at Wanbang School in Harbin, China.

Michael May lives in Mount Vernon, Texas.

1986

Dayle Collum has retired after 31 years in education, the last 29 at Springtown (Texas) ISD, including 11 years in high school special education and 18 as librarian at Springtown Intermediate School. He lives in Weatherford, Texas.

Keith and Susan (Bennett) Mitchell moved to Hawthorn, California, after he retired from 29 years at Lockheed Martin and Susan retired from a career in technical writing. He began a new role as an electro-optic engineer at Raytheon and she founded Estuary Courts Consulting, where she is a life chaplain.

1988

Dinky (Head) Erny has a new address in Monessen, Pennsylvania.

1991

Joy (Webb) Hodgson is chief operating officer for CRI TPA Services, a subsidiary of Carr, Riggs & Ingram, CPAs and Advisors.

Her husband, Patrick (’92), is a cost engineer for Parkhill, Smith & Cooper. They live in Lubbock, Texas.

1995

Travis Whisenant was named director of instructional services at Region 11 Service Center in Fort Worth, Texas. He was previously a middle school principal in the Bridgeport (Texas) ISD. He and his wife, April, live in Paradise, Texas.

1999

Emily McClure is owner and lead photographer for Emily Megan Photography.

Her husband, Kevin McClure, is owner of MacGyver for Hire. They live in McKinney, Texas.

Jason McCurison has joined the Plunk Smith PLLC, law firm. He lives in Frisco, Texas.

BORN

To Cinderella Wong, a boy, Matthew White, June 13, 2019. She lives in Austin, Texas.

To Dustin and Eileen (Pannell) Pratt, a girl, Emarie Mae, June 4, 2019. They live in Childress, Texas.

2002

ADOPTED

By Ben and Kristina (Watkins) Stephens, twin boys, Lucas Barrett and Carter Ellis, born Dec. 25, 2017, and adopted Nov. 26, 2019.

They also have a daughter and live in Rowlett, Texas.

ALUMNI CONNECTIONS 2004

BORN

BORN

2009

Joey and Callie (Brown) Peacher moved to New Jersey in June 2019. Joey is the preaching minister at Pitman Road Church of Christ. They live in Sewell, New Jersey.

To Reese and Jill Campbell, a boy, Renner Campbell, Sept, 8, 2019. Reese is an attorney with the Daly & Campbell Law Firm PLLC, and Jill is an attorney with BakerRipley.

They live in Houston, Texas.

To William and Misti (Senterfitt) Ivie, a girl, Marlee Kaylen, Aug. 13, 2018. They live in St. Mary’s, Georgia.

To Paul and Sarah (Reid ’05) Gibson, a boy, Zachary Mills, April 20, 2020. They live in Nashville, Tennessee.

2005 BORN

To Adam and Jevanna (Kasinger) Cherrington, a boy, Ezra Chase, Nov. 3, 2019.

The couple learned of the pregnancy 11 days after adopting a girl, Rhema Hope, Feb. 19, 2019. They live in Wylie, Texas.

To Nick and Jenny (Ethington) Manca, a boy, Liam Nathan, July 25, 2019. They live in Allen, Texas.

2006 BORN

To Josh and Audrey (Maxwell) Lively, a girl, Claire Hope, June 21, 2019. They live in Spring, Texas.

To Kevin and Deanna (Meredith) Amores, a girl, Chloe Rachel, Dec. 19, 2019.

They live in Magnolia, Texas.

To Robert and Leigh Ann (LeBus) Echols, a girl, Georgia Blair, Oct. 27, 2019. They live in Granbury, Texas.

To Adam and April (Ward) Farris, a boy, Owen Calloway Nov, 11, 2019. They live in Houston, Texas.

2007 BORN

To Darien and Brooke (Johnson) Clark, a girl, Sutton Elyse, July 19, 2019. Brooke is a speech language pathologist. They live in Plano, Texas.

To Wayne and Katie (Rich ’10) Gudgel, twin boys, Henry Clay and Mason Lee, Jan. 14, 2020. They live in Carrollton, Texas.

To Alex and Maria (Rojas) Fernandez, a boy, Mateo James, Oct. 22, 2019. They live in Irving, Texas.

2008

Amanda (Helland) Quivey is a theatre costume and scenic designer who is keeping busy during the pandemic-caused hiatus in her schedule by making cloth face masks for healthcare workers, friends and family (amandaquivey.com). She is married to Everett Quivey and they live in Oceanside, California.

To Jason and Courtney (Cagle) Drysdale, a girl, Lucy Rebecca Drysdale, March 18, 2019. She has an older brother, Clark. They live in Lakewood, Colorado.

BORN

To John and Kiera (Edwards) Daugherty, a girl, Brooklyn Faye, Dec. 28, 2018. John works for United Health Care and Kiera works for the McKinney ISD. They live in McKinney, Texas.

To Kyle and Oriana (Gonzalez ’11) Wilson, a boy, Parker Elliott, Jan. 22, 2020.

Kyle teaches in the Leander ISD and Oriana is a freelance marketer. They live in Leander, Texas.

To Adam and Whitney (Brand ’10) Baran, a girl, Trudy Elizabeth, March 21, 2019.

They live in Richardson, Texas.

2010

BORN

To Heath and Dawn (Ledzius) Wright, a girl, Blakely Hope, Nov. 17, 2019. They live in Sweetwater, Texas, where Heath is a principal in the Sweetwater ISD. To Colby and Chessi (Brehm ’09) Day, a boy, Lincoln Hawk, Aug. 1, 2019. They live in Broken Arrow, Oklahoma.

To Jordan and Sarah (Reno ’12) Gibbons, a boy, Cooper, Feb. 19, 2019. Sarah is a HR generalist for Shawcor Ltd. They live in Cypress, Texas.

To Patrick and Taren (Bullock ’09) Lowe, a boy, Wesley Patrick, June 3, 2019. They live in Frisco, Texas.

To Bryce and Christina (Perkins) Robinson, a boy, Owen Robert, Aug. 29, 2019. Bryce is a guidance counselor for Scott County (Kentucky) Schools, and Christina is director of student engagement and leadership for Bluegrass Community and Technical College. They live in Lexington, Kentucky.

To Caleb and Vanessa Kay (Whitt) Callari, a boy, Ronen, Nov. 9, 2018. The family moved in January 2018 to serve as missionaries to Cebu City in the Philippines.

2011 BORN

To Christopher and Kortney (Reeves) Smoot, a girl, Evrynn Blaire, Oct. 30, 2019.

Christopher is a supervisor for Bandag Bridgestone, and Kortney is an RN at Hendrick Medical Center. They have another daughter and live in Abilene, Texas.

To Brandon and Alaina (Williamson) Gideon, a girl, Gracelyn Elaine, May 12, 2019.

Brandon is a manager trainer for Enterprise, and Alaina is a graphic designer for Publishing Concepts. They live in Rowlett, Texas.

To Caleb and Lauren (Stevens) Quary, a girl, Hannah Joy, May 13, 2019. They live in Celina, Texas.

A

sk a Wildcat what they love most about ACU, and there’s a good chance the first word you’ll hear is relationships.

Community is what we’re good at; gathering to learn, play, visit and worship is a major part of who we are.

But because we care for each other and for those around us, we’ve had to make some difficult decisions this year about Fisher what it means to be a relational university.

Last spring and summer, we missed out on several events, from ACU nights at MLB games to young alumni gatherings. The university also did not host major events on the Hill as we work toward protecting our students and campus, with Family Weekend and Homecoming moving online for most participants.

We’re as disappointed as you to have missed out on some of the traditions that make ACU such a special place.

But we know that sacrifices now are for the greater good of tomorrow.

We’ve been extra creative – thank you to everyone who joined us for our virtual events – and are working to find more ways for alumni, parents and friends to interact.

We’ll continue to update you on the great things happening at ACU and with our remarkable alumni. Reading in this issue about some of those who are on the front lines of this pandemic, I’m overwhelmed by the bravery, generosity and servant leadership displayed by Wildcats.

ACU alumni make such a real difference in the world and having to be apart from one another for some time won’t change that. In fact, I know we’ll return stronger and more united than ever, firm in our commitment to cherish our relationships and be lights in our communities.

Stay safe and be well. We can’t wait to see you back on campus. 

– CRAIG FISHER (’92)

Associate Vice President for Advancement and Alumni

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BORN TO BE A WILDCAT

Jack Hunter Kreck, son of Jake (’08) and Lanna (Armstrong ’10) Kreck of Garland, Texas.

The Alumni Association will send a FREE Wildcat BabyWear T-shirt (12-month size) to the alumni parents of each newborn or adopted infant in your family!

Complete the EXperiences news card and mail it to us, or complete the info online at blogs.acu.edu/acutoday/experiences.

In-focus, high-resolution digital images (minimum file size of 500kb; use your camera’s highest quality setting) of alumni children wearing their Wildcat BabyWear should be emailed to babywear@acu.edu. Call 800-373-4220 for more information.

90

Agnes Jeanette Hampton, daughter of Kyle and Samantha (Sutherland ’12) Hampton of Brownwood, Texas.

Jack Mason Luedke, son of Luke and Tiffany (Polnisch ’08) Luedke of Tomball, Texas.

Henry Zane Martin, son of Blaine (’09) and Laura (Busch ’09) Martin of Austin, Texas.

Gracelyn Elaine Gideon, daughter of Brandon and Alaina (Williamson ’15) Gideon of Rowlett, Texas.

Blakely Hope Wright, daughter of Heath and Kimberly (Ledzius ’10) Wright of Sweetwater, Texas.

Hannah Joy Quary, daughter of Caleb and Lauren (Stevens ’11) Quary of Celina, Texas.

Cole Isaack Farr, son of Chris (’07) and Katie (DeAtley ’07) Farr of Lubbock, Texas.

Hadley Kate Gilchrist, daughter of Brian and Meredith (Knight’11) Gilchrist of Richardson, Texas, and Macy Taylor Williams, daughter of Jordan (’08) and Mallory (Knight ’09) Williams of Allen, Texas.

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Emma Rose Harshman, daughter of Jonathan (’02) and Lisa Harshman of Bakersfield, California.

Molly Pearl Navarro, daughter of Jonathan (’08) and Valerie (Goode '07) Navarro of Colorado Springs, Colorado.

Lincoln Alexander Ledford, son of Brad and Natalie Ledford of Tuscaloosa, Alabama. Natalie is ACU’s chief digital officer.

Ford Rotenberry, son of Charles (’12) and Hailey (Clinton ’12) Rotenberry of Temple, Texas.

Luca Rodriguez, son of Bryan (’13) and Kara (Buckel ’06) Rodriguez of Fort Worth, Texas.

Lucy Adams, daughter of Matt (’09) and Emily (Saller ’10) Adams of North Richland Hills, Texas.

Lucy Rebecca Drysdale, daughter of Jason (’08) and Courtney (Cagle ’08) Drysdale of Lakewood, Colorado.

Sibly Rose Goodwin, daughter of TJ and Caitlyn (McCoy ’11) Goodwin of Celina, Texas.

Trudy Elizabeth Baran, daughter of Adam (’09) and Whitney (Brand ’10) Baran of Richardson, Texas.

William “Beau” Blessing, son of Cliff (’03) and Allison (Sevier ’05) Blessing of Dallas, Texas.

Owen Callaway Farris, son of Adam (’06) and April (Ward ’06) Farris of Houston, Texas.

Claire Marie Collum, daughter of Braden and Mandy (Becker ’13) Collum of Abilene, Texas.

Zane Booker, son of Brandon (’04) and Amy (Verett ’04) Booker of Richardson, Texas.

Sterling Duncum, son of Cody (’11) and Christina (Peterson ’12) Duncum of Decatur, Texas.

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ACU NEWSMAKERS (285-124-4) qualified for the playoffs 24 straight years (1994-2017), played in state finals three times and won the 2004 Class 3A title with future NFL quarterback Case Keenum. Sandifer earned a Distinguished Alumni Citation from ACU in 2005 and is a former president of the Texas High School Coaches Association. He is president of the THSCA Foundation and was inducted to the THSCA Hall of Honor in 2012.

Wylie ISD has renamed its Bulldog Stadium after Sandifer.

KRIS HUNDT

Jay Stokes (’92), longtime city manager of Deer Park, Texas, was elected vice president of the Texas City Management Association. He earned a bachelor’s degree in political science from ACU and was previously the city manager of two Texas cities: Jefferson and Gladewater.

Houston-area insurance agent Lee McCloud (’94), donated a kidney to a high school classmate. McCloud was featured in the Spring-Summer 2018 issue of ACU Today for his work rescuing Hurricane Katrina victims.

Former ACU trustee Jennifer Haltom (’86) Doan is chair of the Litigation Section council of the State Bar of Texas. Her Texas-based firm, Haltom & Doan, has offices in Texarkana, Doan Tyler, Plano and Marshall. She was a member of the university’s Board of Trustees from 1993-2011 and the first woman elected president of ACU’s Student Government Association when she was a senior in 1985-86.

Dr. Patricia (Maynard ’93) Badillo, principal of Blanton Elementary in Carrollton-Farmers Branch (Texas) ISD, was named ACU’s Morlan Medal award winner for 2020, by the Department of Teacher Badillo Education. She has a Master of Education degree in education leadership and policy studies from The University of Texas at Arlington and a Doctor of Education degree in organizational leadership from ACU.

Hugh Sandifer (’77) retired after 34 years as director of athletics and head football coach at Abilene Wylie High School. His football teams

Brittany Kay Taylor (’12) reprised her high school role of Mrs. Potts in Beauty & the Beast in the Disney+ series Encore! Taylor, who earned an M.F.A. in theatre, is owner and founder of Saturday Morning TV.

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STEVE BUTMAN

Ove (’77) and April (Bankes ’77) Johansson were featured in a cover story for Amarillo Living magazine’s December 2019 issue. Forty-four years after kicking a still-standing world record 69-yard field goal at ACU’s Homecoming game, Ove’s celebrity status remains strong in a Texas city where the couple is active and beloved.

They are pictured in front of the GATA Fountain and Brown Library in 1977.

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott has named several alumni to state boards and councils: • Charles Gaines (’10) was appointed to the nine-member Texas Commission on the Arts. Gaines, who was recently named director of government relations for Raise Your Hand Texas, is a board member of the Round Rock (Texas) Chamber of Commerce. He has a bachelor’s degree in sociology and an MBA in healthcare administration Gaines from ACU. • Floyd County judge Marty Lucke (’85) was appointed to the 17-member Governor’s Broadband Development Council. Lucke is president of the South Plains Rural Transit

SERGE GASORE

U.S. AIR FORCE

Lt. Gen. (ret.)

Ronnie Hawkins Jr. (’85 M.S.M.H.R.) was named the 11th president at Angelo State University. He serves on the board of directors of ITC Holdings Corp., the Hawkins largest independent electricity transmission company in the U.S. Hawkins also is president and CEO of the Hawkins Group, a consultancy focusing on digital, information technology and cybersecurity client challenges.

President Kagame (left) and Gasore

Serge Gasore (’09) received the prestigious Unity Award on Oct. 25, 2019, from Rwanda’s National Unity and Reconciliation Commission, and Unity Club, in ceremonies attended

by President Paul Kagame and First Lady Jeannette Kagame. The award recognizes Rwandans who have fought for peace, unity and reconciliation.

Gasore is the first under age 40 to receive the honor; he escaped his homeland years ago during the 1994 genocide by ethnic Hutu extremists that killed some 800,000 people. He starred in track and field and cross country for ACU, and received his alma mater’s Young Alumnus of the Year award for 2018. He and his wife, Esperance Gasore, founded the faith-based nonprofit Rwanda Children as well as a children’s home, Maman Karen. The ministry now includes six homes, youth clubs, a health clinic, and vocational training program.

Board and vice chair of the South Plains Rural Planning Organization. He earned a bachelor’s degree in geology from ACU. His term on the council ends in August 2024.

• Fred Hernandez Jr. (’90) of San Angelo, Texas, was appointed to the Upper Colorado River Authority Board of Directors. He is the manager for distribution systems at AEP Texas, vice chair of the San Angelo Area Foundation, and executive board member of West Texas Rehabilitation Center. Hernandez earned a bachelor’s degree in management from ACU. • Craig Bessent (’98) of Abilene was appointed to the Texas School Safety Center Board. Bessent is assistant superintendent of the Wylie ISD and oversees its school operations, safety and security. He is a Texas School Marshal and a member of the Texas Association of School Administrators, Texas Association of Pupil Transportation, and Combined Law Enforcement of Texas.

Bessent has a school superintendent certification from ACU. • Lindsay (Epley ’05) Kinzie, J.D., was appointed to the Texas Crime Victims’ Institute Advisory Council. Kinzie is legal program director with The Gatehouse – Grapevine. She earned a B.B.A. from ACU and a juris doctor degree from Texas Tech University School of Law. • Amy (Halley ’90) Offutt, M.D., was appointed to the Pediatric Acute-Onset Neuropsychiatric Syndrome Advisory Council. Offutt is medical

Dr. Gary McCaleb (’64) was honored Jan. 25, 2020, at the Storybook Ball of the National Center for Children’s Illustrated Literature, which has a museum in the historic Rhodes Building in downtown Abilene. McCaleb, who founded the center in 1997 while mayor of Abilene,

was joined on the program by award-winning artist William Joyce, whose Santa Calls and other books are celebrated among children’s literature enthusiasts. McCaleb is vice president of the university. Abilene is considered the official Storybook Capital of America.

GEORGE W. BUSH

and lives in Fort Worth.

A design by Karley Adrion (’16), a graduate student pursuing a M.F.A. in visual communication design at The University of Texas at Arlington, was one of six featured on billboards by the Modern Museum of Fort Worth. Adrion’s art, “The Cost of Plastic, 2020,” addressed the dangers of plastic entanglement for marine animals and appeared in April 2020 on Jacksboro Highway in Fort Worth. The annual exhibit is titled Modern Billings and promotes the work of emerging artists. Adrion earned a bachelor’s in advertising and PR at ACU.

OKLAHOMA SCHOOL PICTURES

Brookins

Daphne (Harvey ’90) Brookins won a special election in November 2019 to replace retiring Dr. T.A. Simms as a board member of the Fort Worth (Texas) ISD. She is a youth administrator for Workforce Solutions for Tarrant County,

KAROL ADRION

director and owner of Heart and Soul Integrative Health and Yoga in Marble Falls, Texas. She earned a B.S. in biology from ACU, a Doctor of Medicine at The University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio, and a M.A. in integrative medicine at George Washington University.

• Lauren (Hart ’07) Day was reappointed to the Texas Crime Stoppers Council. Day is founder and president of GoodBuzz Solutions, a marketing consulting firm in Austin, and a member of Women Communicators of Austin and Steiner Ranch Master Association.

She earned a B.S. in integrated marketing communications from ACU, and a M.A. in international relations and a M.S. in public relations, both from Syracuse University.

• Dr. Mary Evans Sias (’83 MBA) of Dallas, Texas, was appointed to the Texas Southern University Board of Regents. Sias is director of the Millennium Leadership Initiative and assistant to the president of the American Association of State Colleges and Universities.

Previously, she served as president of Kentucky State Sias University and as the senior vice president of student affairs and external relations for The University of Texas at Dallas. Sias is a former board director of the State Bar of Texas. She earned a B.S. in sociology from Tougaloo College, M.S. and Ph.D. degrees in sociology from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, and a MBA from ACU. • Chip VanSteenberg (’87) of Conroe, Texas, was appointed to the Commission on State Emergency Communications. The commission is charged with administering the state 9-1-1 service program and the statewide poison control program. VanSteenberg is executive director of the Montgomery County Emergency Communication District. He earned a B.S. in government from ACU and a Master of Public Administration degree from the University of North Texas.

Dr. Kim (Wiechmann ’05) Hastings was named 2019 Oklahoma School Psychologist of the Year by the Oklahoma School Psychological Association. She is a responseHastings to-intervention instructional specialist for the Edmond (Oklahoma) Public Schools, and has master’s and doctoral degrees in educational psychology from Oklahoma State University.

Dr. Beau Rees (’98 M.Ed.) has been named superintendent of the Weatherford (Texas) ISD. Rees has more than 25 years of experience in Texas K-12 education, including superintendent roles the last eight years for Montgomery ISD and nine years before that for Graham ISD. Teacher of the Year awardees in Texas public schools included Brooke (Merkord ’17) Beatty at Voigt Elementary in Round Rock (Texas) ISD, Andrea (Carpenter ’14) Petty at Lakeview Elementary School in Canyon (Texas) ISD, and Amber (Massie ’01) Groves at Wylie West Elementary School in Abilene’s Wylie ISD. Rookie of the Year teacher awards in Texas public schools included Shelby Simms (’18)

Gilbert Tuhabonye (’01) is one of 43 people featured in Out of Many, One: Portraits of America’s Immigrants, a new book by President George W. Bush. Tuhabonye starred in cross country and track and field for the Wildcats after escaping genocidal civil war in Burundi. He tells his life story in This Voice in My Heart, a 2006 autobiography. Tuhabonye was ACU’s 2016 Young Alumnus of the Year.

Continued on page 96 ACU TODAY

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ACU NEWSMAKERS Continued at Woodland Acres Elementary School in Galena Park (Texas) ISD, Rachel (Hamilton ’19) Drennan by Jack Elementary in Tyler (Texas) ISD, and Sterling Bristow (’17) by Cross Timbers Middle School in Colleyville (Texas) ISD. Ben Hinkie (’18), choir director at Clack Middle School in the Abilene (Texas) ISD, was recognized in Fall 2019 in one of Arrow Ford’s Teacher Tributes, in which a student nominates a teacher who has “inspired and motivated them to do their best.”

Alisa (Cooper ’99) de Uribe, a veteran of New Mexico International School in Albuquerque, New Mexico, was named the state’s 2021 Teacher of the Year.

The first-grade de Uribe teacher holds a B.A. degree in English from ACU and a master’s degree in Spanish from Middlebury College.

Lance Barrow (’77) has stepped down after 44 years at CBS Sports. The former ACU trustee began an advisory role with the network following the 2020 PGA golf season.

A 13-time Emmy Award winning producer of CBS coverage of the Olympics, Final Four, The Masters and nearly every major professional sport, Barrow received the first Gene Sarazen Spirit Award presented by the Professional Caddie Association in 2007, and was ACU’s Outstanding Alumnus of the Year for 2008.

RICH FREEDA / WWE

John Layfield (’89) was inducted into the 2020 class of the World Wrestling Entertainment Hall of Fame. A former NCAA Division II All-America lineman, he wrestled for 20 Layfield years as Bradshaw, LBL and half a dozen other names. He is a financial commentator for Fox News and Fox Business.

Melanie (Booker ’06) Fry, a member of the Dykema law firm’s Commercial Litigation Practice Group, was selected as one of two 2019 recipients of the Belva Lockwood Outstanding Young Lawyer Award from the Bexar County (Texas) Women’s Bar Foundation. Fry was chosen based on her contributions to the legal profession, and to the community through charitable and volunteer work. She attended law school at Baylor University and served as a clerk for Judge Don Willett on the Supreme Court of Texas.

Col. Brian Golden (’08 M.A.) recently assumed command of the 595th Command and Control Group and the National Airborne Operations Center at Offutt Air Force Base.

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Essie (Charles ’75) Childers received the CASP (College of Academic Support Programs) 2020 Lifetime Achievement Award, sponsored by the Texas Chapter of the Childers College Reading and Learning Association (TxCRLA) and the Texas Association for Developmental Education (TADE). Childers has taught for 32 years of mentoring and encouraging students to visualize success to reach their academic and personal goals.

A humanities professor at Blinn College in Bryan, Texas, she is past president of the Texas Community College Teachers Association and now serves on its Foundation Board.

Best-selling writer Karen (Gaskins ’93) Witemeyer was voted the No. 1 Readers’ Favorite Christian Romance Author of 2019

by Family Fiction Magazine. She is a two-time winner of the Carol Award from the American Christian Fiction Writers, and a recipient of the Holt Medallion and the Inspirational Reader’s Choice Award. See her newest books on pages 58 and 59.

Buchholz

Hemness

Winners of 2020 JMC Gutenberg awards for distinguished professional achievement were recognized at a virtual ceremony in October: Chelsea Thornton Buchholz (’01), executive director, Texas Real Estate Commission, Austin; Taylor Hemness ('04), anchor, KSHBTV, Kansas City, Missouri; and Daniel Johnson-Kim ('09), head of media liaison, 72Point US, New York, New York.

Two alumni were named to the 40 Under 40 list by Fort Worth (Texas) Business Press: Marcus Morris (’06), president and CEO of First National Kim Bank-Fort Worth, and Logan Speights (’03), co-founder and CTO of Proxxy, a company providing remote chief of staff services to small and medium-sized business executives by managing administrative tasks.

To Clayton and Elyse (McAnally) Lewis, a boy, Willliam Patrick Arthur, May 1, 2019.

They live in Abilene, Texas.

To Michael and Taylor (Shelton) McCully, a boy, Eli James, Nov. 15, 2019. They live in North Richland Hills, Texas.

To Steven Booker, a boy, Landon Holston, Oct. 19, 2019. He lives in Houston, Texas.

2012 BORN

To TJ and Caitlyn (McCoy) Goodwin, J.D., a girl, Sibyl Rose. They live in Prosper, Texas.

To Bobby and Lauren Saenz, a girl, Sophia Ren, July 19, 2019. She joins Isabella Grace, born July 16, 2017. Bobby is an optometrist for Parkhurst NuVision, and Lauren is an RN. They live in San Antonio, Texas.

To David and Lauren Pillen, a girl, Lincoln Louise, Jan. 27, 2020. David is assistant athletics director for marketing at Rice University. They live in Houston, Texas.

To Carter and Abby (Anderson) Jennings, a boy, Anderson Duke, April 3, 2019. They live in North Richland Hills, Texas.

2013

Joe Rush is head piano technician for Louisiana State University. He lives in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.

BORN

To Timothy and Taryn (Canady ’14) Nobles, a girl, Avery Rae, Dec. 26, 2019. Both are petro analysts for Pioneer Natural Resources, and live in Grapevine, Texas.

To Socheat and Kati (Saylor) Men, a girl, Elliot Mae Maly, April 8, 2020. Kati is an occupational therapist at Hendrick Medical Center South. They live in Abilene, Texas.

2014 BORN

To Lucas and Greta (Porisch) MacDonald, a boy, Hunter Wayne, Nov. 1, 2019. Lucas is a business developer for PAX Financial, and Greta is an RN at Methodist Children’s Hospital.

They live in Boerne, Texas.

2015

Dr. Mark Crumbliss graduated in December 2019 with his Ed.D. degree from Southern Baptist Theological Seminary.

He earned his M.A. in Old Testament from ACU in 2015. He lives in Abilene, Texas.

MARRIED

Spencer Hittle and Alicia Kirven, March 2020. They met during June Passport in 2011 and were friends for seven years before beginning dating, then marrying 18 months later. They live in Round Rock, Texas.

BORN

To Corey and Sarena (Underwood) Holt, a girl, Hazel Jo, Oct. 17, 2019. Corey is a teacher and coach in the Irving (Texas) ISD. They live in North Richland Hills, Texas.

To Nick and Sarah (Beckendorff) Amy, a boy, Everett Beck, April 16, 2020. They live in Plano, Texas.

Clara Grace Brown, daughter of Kyle (’01) and Jessica (Clardy ’03) Brown of Fort Worth, Texas.

Evelyn Rose Gooch, daughter of Andrew and Roberta (Isenhower ’10) Gooch of Houston, Texas.

Katelyn Elizabeth Freeman, daughter of Michael (’09) and Debra Freeman of Paradise, Texas.

Luke Christopher Woodrow, son of Chris (’07) and Brooke (’07) Woodrow of Temple, Texas.

Sutton Elyse Clark, daughter of Darien and Brooke (Johnson ’07) Clark of Plano, Texas.

Reagan Roger Wessel, son of Jared and Erin (Knight ’08) Wessel of Trophy Club, Texas.

Claire Hope Lively, daughter of Josh (’06) and Audrey (Maxwell ’09) Lively of Spring, Texas.

Crawford Dean Danesi, son of Mitchell and Emily (Phillips ’13) Danesi of Abilene, Texas.

Charlotte “Charli” Mack, daughter of Ryan (’08) and Sylvia (Tucker ’10) Mack of Georgetown, Texas.

Cooper Gibbons, son of Jordan (’10) and Sarah (Reno ’12) Gibbons of Tomball, Texas.

Cambri Sage Williams, daughter of Abe (’11) and Eden (Norris ’12) Williams of Fort Worth, Texas.

Karsyn Richardson, daughter of Daryl (’14) and Morgan (Myrick ’09) Richardson of Wylie, Texas.

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SERVING YOU ADVANCING ACU Do you want to recommend a future student, volunteer, host an event or just learn more about how you can be involved with ACU where you live? To help foster relationships with alumni and future students, ACU has assigned personnel from its Admissions and Advancement offices to major markets in Texas as well as Nashville, Tennessee. An admissions counselor (AC) reaches out to future students and their parents, and an advancement officer (AO) assists prospective donors seeking an opportunity to contribute funds to ACU. Through this territory team approach, these dedicated professionals can provide exceptional service to those who contribute so graciously to ACU’s mission.

ABILENE AND THE BIG COUNTRY Abigail McClellan • AC • 325-674-2504, abigailm@acu.edu Anthony Williams • AO • 325-829-4328, williamsa@acu.edu

WEST TEXAS AREA John Mark Moudy • Senior AC (Amarillo, Midland, Odessa) 325-674-2869, johnmarkm@acu.edu Anthony Williams • AO • 325-829-4328, williamsa@acu.edu

AUSTIN AREA

Tunisia Singleton • Senior AC (Austin, Waco, Central Texas) 325-674-6157, tunisias@acu.edu Amy Jackson • AO • 817-307-4881, amy.jackson@acu.edu

FORT WORTH AREA Jordan Dale • AC (Erath, Hood, Johnson, Palo Pinto, Parker, Somervell, Tarrant counties) • 325-674-2687, jordand@acu.edu Peter Zeller • AC (Erath, Hood, Johnson, Palo Pinto, Parker, Somervell, Tarrant counties) • 325-674-2588, peterz@acu.edu Hannah Davis • AC (Collin, Denton, Wise counties) 325-674-2877, hannahd@acu.edu Nino Elliott • AO • 817-845-2260, nino.elliott@acu.edu

DALLAS AREA Hannah Davis • AC (Collin County) 325-674-2877, hannahd@acu.edu Macy McAlister • AC (Dallas, Rockwall, Ellis, Kaufman counties and Oklahoma) • 325-674-4875, macym@acu.edu Don Garrett • AO • 325-674-2213, don.garrett@acu.edu

HOUSTON AREA Garrison Powell • AC • 325-674-2545, garrisonp@acu.edu Megan Mulder • AC • 325-674-2654, meganf@acu.edu Eric Fridge • AO • 713-483-4004, eric.fridge@acu.edu

SAN ANTONIO / SOUTH TEXAS AREA Jaquelyn Loya • AC • 325-674-6147, jaquelynl@acu.edu Sean Anderson • AC • 325-674-6916, seana@acu.edu Amy Jackson • AO • 817-307-4881, amy.jackson@acu.edu Abel Alvarez • AO and diverse initiatives • 325-674-2810, aba98p@acu.edu

NASHVILLE AREA / EASTERN U.S. Jason White • AC (Eastern U.S.) • 325-674-2663, jasonw@acu.edu Mark Meador • AO (Nashville) • 615-815-4360, meadorm@acu.edu

WESTERN U.S. John Mark Moudy • Senior AC (Western U.S.) • 325-674-2869, johnmarkm@acu.edu Jaquelyn Loya • AC (West Coast) • 325-674-6147, jaquelynl@acu.edu

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Alumni, students, parents, staff and faculty rally around Day of Prayer When the coronavirus pandemic forced the Alumni and University Relations team to cancel or postpone most of its spring events, staff knew they had to get creative to find ways to help the university community stay connected. And as each day brought with it more difficult news, the need for a positive action felt increasingly necessary.

One way team members found to bring Wildcats together was ACU’s first-ever Day of Prayer, on April 21, 2020.

“Our Day of Prayer was an opportunity for our community to come together, in a virtual joining of hands, and intentionally ask God for the wisdom we need for this unprecedented moment,” said Dr. Phil Schubert (’91), president.

Participants were asked to set aside time to pray that day, and they had the option to share their own prayers or words of encouragement, which are chronicled at acu.edu/prayer. Members of the Board of Trustees took shifts throughout the 24 hours.

“The ACU community always supports one another well, and the Day of Prayer was one of the best examples of that,” said Craig Fisher (’92), associate vice president for advancement and alumni. “Members of our community from all around the world joined together to pray for each other, and those impacted by this pandemic and on the front lines. I was reminded that day of how thankful I am to be a part of ACU.” Seeing submitted prayers roll in online that day was a moving experience, said April Young (’16), alumni and university relations officer, as was knowing many more were lifting up prayers on their own.

“Praying alongside other Wildcats for our students, our school, our nation and countless other requests was incredibly powerful,” Young said. “I appreciated most being able to read what others were praying for and join with them to bring those concerns to our Heavenly Father.”

Among the prayers and words of encouragement: “Lord, in a time of uncertainty, you are certain. In a time of sadness, you are joy. In a time of anger, you are peace.

In a time of fear, you are hope.”

– Cailin (Vague ’12) Soliz “I ask for your protection and strength for all families and individuals living with complex medical needs and disabilities.”

– Lucia Najera-Gartman, current parent

“Help us use this time to connect with others in our community. Help us know how to serve, love and support others.”

– REG COX (’84) City connector, Lakewood Connects Littleton, Colorado

JACK DEMPSEY

SDFASDSDSDF

“May you uphold the faint of heart, open the eyes of those who are unaware of your presence, and be reconciled to others during this time. We await the day when our faith in Christ will become sight.”

– Demetrius Collins (’04) “We ask peace and rest for our weary souls. We ask protection for us and for healing for those who are suffering. We ask for your beautiful comfort for those who are mourning.”

– Leah (Carrington ’90) Andrews, Summit co-director “We pray you will guide us, sustain us and keep us close during this difficult time. Increase our faith and open our eyes to the desperate.”

– Mark Aldriedge (’76) “Lord, I ask a special prayer for the essential workers who are still having to go out and do their job, [and] for those having to do their job at home while taking care of their children.”

– Holly (Butler ’99) Mowat “I pray for the healthcare providers on the frontlines – and those behind them – for their families and support groups: for God’s protection and his inspiration to make it through each day. And that he will bring an end to this viral pandemic – by his miraculous work or the collective efforts of our best minds.”

– Sky Forrister, M.D. (’82) “It’s OK to be afraid or angry or confused; God’s heart is breaking over the loss that is occurring, too. My prayer is that you are comforted by our Creator and Savior, who genuinely cares and is not going to leave you.”

– Ariel Bloomer, graduate student

“Praying for our students, faculty and staff to be patient and seek God’s unfailing love and wisdom during this time of uncertainty.”

– Mark Anthony (’86) “May God’s spirit shine into hurting hearts and those seeking healing from pain and loss.”

– Judy (Lincoln ’66) McLeod “Lord, may we take this time to slow down and reposition our hearts, our time, our priorities back to you. And while we do this, we praise you and thank you for the work you are doing.”

– Mariah Harris, junior “Please bless our leaders with wisdom, physical and mental strength, and discernment as they deal with this unprecedented illness upon your world.”

– Debbie (Minick ’73) Hoffman “Lord Jesus, we want to be like you: present in suffering, peaceful in chaos, and loving in the face of misunderstanding and hatred.”

– Cyrus Eaton, dean of spiritual formation “May we see the opportunities to bring others closer to you in the midst of the chaos we find ourselves in.

May we be carriers of your love to a world that desperately needs it.”

– Fernando Nasmyth, ACU trustee 

– SARAH CARLSON

ACU IN YOUR AREA

Interested in hosting or volunteering at an ACU event in your area, or in getting involved in other ways? Reach out to the Alumni and University Relations Office at alumni@acu.edu.

You also can find events and updates at acu.edu/alumni.

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PURPLE PEOPLE Whether flashing the WC, handing out hugs or simply enjoying time together, Wildcats gather on campus and around the world to share their stories and celebrate their common love for each other and for ACU. Here are just a few images we’ve saved since our last issue. Share others with us at acutoday@acu.edu.

SCOTT DELONY

Among attendees Feb. 22 at the 2020 President’s Circle Dinner were (left) Olive Tuyishmire, senior engineering major from Kigali, Rwanda, and ACU trustee Elise (Smith ’83) Mitchell.

Tuyishmire was secretary of the Student Alumni Association in 2019-20.

1) Among former players on hand Feb. 10, 2020, to celebrate ACU’s retirement of the jersey number worn by former MLB player and Wildcat head coach Bill Gilbreth (’69) were (back, from left) Mike Morgan (’95), Manning Guffey (’94), Steve Montfort (’92), Kyle Heller (’93) and (front) Jason West (’93) and Mark McAdams (’95). The ceremony took place during the baseball program’s annual First Pitch Dinner.

Gilbreth (center) died July 12 at age 72. (See obituary on page 79.)

2) FROM LEFT: Rodney Fedell (’80), Darren Edwards (’82), Randy Scott (’80), Paul Smith (’81) and Dave Merrill (’78) were among members of the 1978-79 men’s basketball team honored Jan. 18, 2020, in Moody Coliseum. The Wildcats, coached by the late Willard Tate, played in the NAIA Division I national tournament.

JEREMY ENLOW

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2016

Ethan and Raquel (Dottle ’18) Rutherford have a new home in Bellingham, Washington.

Ethan is a software developer for Faithlife Corp.

Danielle Boyle moved in August 2020 to Munich, Germany, where she teaches at Joki Kinderbetreuung, a bilingual daycare for children.

BORN

To Aaron and Lorena (Ponce ’15) Salcido, a girl, Ava Jolie, Oct. 17, 2019. Aaron is a financial consultant for Fidelity. They live in Colorado Springs, Colorado.

2018

Nathan Vela recently joined the Client Success team at indeed.com in Austin, Texas.

His wife, Erica (Seifert), is studying for her M.S.N.-FNP while working as a nurse.

They live in Round Rock, Texas.

2019

Caleb Cobb is assistant to the director of Sen. John Cornyn’s West Texas Office. He lives in Lubbock, Texas.

MARRIED

Brent Wallingford and Karly Jo Mitchell, March 16, 2019. Brent is an information security analyst, and Karly is an account manager for Chervolet at Agency 720. They live in Aubrey, Texas.

IN MEMORIAM 1942

Ruth Kathryn (Slater) Scott died April 25, 2020, at age 99. She was born Jan. 23, 1921, in Fort Smith, Arkansas, and earned a degree in education from ACU. She taught elementary school for more than 30 years in Arkansas; Fort Worth, Texas; and on Long Island, New York.

She joined the U.S. Navy during World War II, serving as a Morse code communications operator. When the war ended, she returned to teaching. On Feb. 21, 1953, she married Pierce Scott (’37), a math teacher and coach. The family moved to Long Island in 1963 to help establish a congregation in West Islip. Prior to their retirement from teaching, the couple opened Scott’s Antiques and Elderly Things in Fort Worth. In retirement, they traveled the nation in an RV as antique show dealers. She formed a singing group, the Slater Sisters, with her siblings Thelma (Slater ’35) Banowsky and Loraine (Slater ’39) Scott. She was preceded in death by her parents, Will and Nettie Slater; Pierce, her husband of 40 years; sisters Thelma and Loraine; a brother, Nelson Slater (’41); and daughters Kathleen and Sandra. Among survivors are sons Tom Scott (’81) and Dwain Scott; and two grandchildren.

1949

Dan Moody Whitaker died Nov. 6, 2019, at age 92. He was born May 22, 1927, and earned a bachelor’s degree in music from ACU. He was a high school band director for 15 years, and served in the U.S. Air Force for four years, playing the French horn in Air Force bands.

He later served for 40 years as minister of education for nine churches and finally, as a deacon at Burleson (Texas) Church of Christ.

Late in life, he was for 14 years a beloved greeter at Walmart in Cleburne, Texas. Among survivors are his wife, Lois “Butch” Wixler Whitaker (’50), and a daughter, Debbie.

1951

Howard O. Hulett died Nov. 23, 2019, in Lubbock, Texas, at age 92. He was born Dec. 30, 1927. He lived in Lubbock for 50 years.

He was preceded in death by a son, Greg.

Survivors include his wife, Ruby; and two sons, Howard Jr. and Lance.

1953

Sheila Ann Hunter Austin died Dec. 13, 2019, at age 88. She was born Sept. 18, 1931, in Cimarron, Kansas, and graduated in 1949 from Dodge City (Kansas) High School. She met Dr. Clyde Austin (’53) at Abilene Christian and they married July 20, 1951. She earned a bachelor’s degree in music education. She was active in Faculty Wives and co-chaired with Clyde the Golden Anniversary Reunion for ACU’s Class of 1953. She and Clyde were married 62 years.

They traveled widely in support of missionary families and were vocational missionaries in 1970-71 in Buenos Aires, Argentina. They raised funds for the Robert and Mary Ann Hall Endowed Chair of Psychology and Intercultural Studies, for which Clyde served as founding chair at ACU, where he taught for 41 years. The Austins were longtime members of Abilene’s University Church of Christ. She was preceded in death by her husband, and her parents, Russell Cleveland Hunter and Gwyndoline Helen (Scott) Hunter. Among survivors are daughters Jan Austin-Scott (’76), Marcia (Austin ’78) Moore and Joanna (Austin ’82) Rose; a son, Dr. Steve Austin (’84); eight grandchildren; and one great-grandchild; and brothers Lanny Hunter, M.D. (’58) and Dr. Vic Hunter (’64).

1954

Robert “Bob” Wade Penick died Dec. 10, 2019, in Perkins, Oklahoma, at age 88. He was born June 27, 1931, in Wichita Falls, Texas, where he graduated high school in 1950. He ran track and played on the undefeated 1950 Wildcat football team at ACU, and married Barbara Jean Lyon (’54).

He was a sergeant in the U.S. Army, serving as a medic and a communications man. He worked for several years as a barber while he finished his B.S.Ed. degree from The University of Texas at Austin. He taught junior high and high school history and coached junior high football and track. He taught Bible classes and served as a deacon and as chair of the missions committee at Austin’s Brentwood Church of Christ. His evangelism efforts included traveling to Guatemala, working in prison ministry, and volunteering for more than 40 years with World Bible School. He started a Christian singing group called the Sweet Expressions and sang with it for 20 years. He authored the Love Line

column for the Perkins Journal for almost 14 years. He was preceded in death by his parents, William Wade and Mary Jane (Kelsey) Penick; and a daughter, Penny Rene. Survivors include his wife; a daughter, Penny Wall (’85); 10 grandchildren; and a great-grandson.

1955

Grady Carson died May 20, 2018, in Tulsa, Oklahoma, at age 89. He was born March 27, 1929, in Waco, Texas, and majored in business at ACU. He served in the Korean Conflict as a staff sergeant and flight engineer. He retired from the transportation department of CITGO Petroleum, and was a member of Park Plaza Church of Christ. He was preceded in death by his parents, Henry Grady Carson and Bennie Addie (Homesley) Carson, and a son, Henry Grady Carson III. Survivors include his wife, Phyllis; sons Jeffry D. Carson and Benjamin Loyd Carson; four grandchildren; two greatgrandchildren; and a sister, Martha Cumi Pierce.

Dr. Norman Earl “Buddy” Garner died June 13, 2020, at the age of 88. He was born March 14, 1932, in Cyril, Oklahoma; lived most of his childhood in Hobbs, New Mexico; and graduated in 1950 from Will Rogers High School in Tulsa, Oklahoma. He lettered in track and field at ACU before transferring to the University of Tulsa, where he earned his bachelor’s degree in petroleum engineering in 1955. He married Shirley Baker in 1957. Garner began a long and successful career in the oil and gas industry with Gulf Oil and earned master’s and doctoral degrees in petroleum engineering from The University of Texas at Austin in 1963. Most of his career was spent with Exxon Corporation in Houston, including jobs in Australia and England before retiring in 1986 to consult with various energy companies until 1992. He was an elder for Houston’s Bering Drive Church of Christ, and board chair of Bering Drive Christian School from 1994-2000. He also served Spaulding for Children as a trustee, Advisory Board member and board chair from 1992-98. The Garners established the Shirley and Norman “Buddy” Garner Endowed Scholarship at ACU. He was preceded in death by his parents, James William Garner and Era Erma Bailey Garner Scogin.

Among survivors are his brother, James Garner; Shirley, his wife of 63 years; a son, Bradley Baker Garner; daughters Lou Ann Garner Chae

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and Allison Garner Elkin; seven grandchildren; and a great-grandson.

Doris May Liscum of McPherson, Kansas, died March 24, 2020, at age 87. She was born Jan. 3, 1933, in Hutchinson, Kansas and graduated from Geneseo (Kansas) High School in 1951. She earned a bachelor’s degree in psychology before teaching special education at schools in Austin, Texas, and California, and was an elementary and junior high teacher in Pico Rivera, California. She was a member of McPherson Church of Christ and did mission work in Albania. She was preceded in death by her parents, Frank Porter and Sarah Velma (Bressler) Liscum. Among survivors are her sisters Eleanor Porter (’61) and Kay Liscum.

1956

Betty Boles Freeman died May 27, 2019, in Mission Viejo, California, at age 83.

Survivors include three daughters, Carrie Wulf, Molly Perry and Vicky Halpern; and a son, Scott Freeman.

1957

Kayla M. (Felts) Skelton died Sept. 14, 2019, in Caldwell, Idaho, at age 84. She was born April 28, 1935, in Dalhart, Texas. She attended school in nearby Farwell, graduating from high school in 1953 and enrolling at Abilene Christian, where she was active in academic and service organizations, as well as the Big Purple Band. There, she met Warren Skelton (’54) and they married March 29, 1956. Shortly afterward, Warren was drafted into the military, and Kayla returned to Lariat, Texas, where her family owned a business, and worked as the secretary at Farwell High School. Upon Warren’s return from military service, the family lived in Burns, Oregon, until 1972, when they moved near Middleton, Idaho. She was secretary to several managers at First Security Bank in Caldwell, Idaho, and retired in the mid-1990s. She was preceded in death by her parents, Charlie and Benna Felts; and a brother, Richard Felts (’59). Survivors include her husband of 63 years; a son, Koby Skelton; two daughters, Benna Underwood and Kelly (Skelton ’82) Deatherage; two granddaughters; and three great-grandchildren.

1958

James Allen York died Sept. 25, 2019, in Bonita Springs, Florida, at age 83. He was preceded in death by his parents, Mr. and Mrs. J.H. York, and a brother, John York.

He is survived by his wife, Marjorie, and three children. He remained a loyal supporter of Abilene Christian, often speaking fondly of his days and many friends there.

1959

Jerry Don Holley died Dec. 3, 2019, in Waco, Texas, at age 83. He was born Dec. 2, 1936, in Hillsboro, Texas, and spent part of his childhood in Bryan, Texas, before moving to Waco, where he starred in athletics and graduated from Waco High School. He lettered in track and football at ACU. He married

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classmate Ruth Chenault (’57) on Dec. 22, 1956. He opened Waco’s first fitness club for women and in 1960, started Mid-State Home Improvement, now Amerigo Inc., a residential renovation company. He bought National Lloyds and years later, he expanded into commercial construction, building retail centers, apartment complexes, health facilities and more. His death came slightly more than a year after he lost his beloved wife. He also was preceded in death by his parents, Gaynell Holley and Morris Holley.

Survivors include sons Don Holley (’80) and Jim Holley; a daughter, Elizabeth (Holley ’87) Anderson; five grandchildren; and a brother, Charles Holley (’62).

Benjamin Floyd See, 83, died Nov. 1, 2020.

He was born Oct. 16, 1937, in Newburg, Iowa, and graduated from Grinnell (Iowa) High School.

He met ACU classmate Marijin Matthews (’59) and they wed July 6, 1956. He attended Abilene Christian one year before enrolling at Texas Barber College in Dallas. He and his cousin, Marion Eversdyk, owned Hillcrest Barber Shop in Abilene, where See specialized in flattops for many college students and was known for shaving the head of men who played the lead role in ACU Theatre’s The King and I in 1960 and 1989. See was a member of the Church of Christ, serving as deacon, Bible School teacher, elder and minister for various congregations. He was preceded in death by his parents, Joseph Benjamin See and Ida May Wright See; brothers Clifford See, Paul See and Harold See; and a sister, Myrtle. Among survivors are Marijin, his wife of 64 years; daughters Sherry See Christian (’80), Kay See (’81), Terry (See ’82) McGaha and Ginger See Kranz (’90); a son, Bill See (’83); seven grandchildren; and one great-grandchild.

George Morgan Phillips died Dec. 5, 2019, in Abilene, Texas, at age 84. He was born Oct. 5, 1936, in Paris, Texas, and graduated from Paris High School in 1954. He attended Paris Junior College for one year before enrolling in ACU, where he earned bachelor’s and master’s degrees. He was a member of the U.S. Naval Reserves (1955-62) and a teacher and counselor in the Abilene (Texas) ISD. After retiring in 1992, he taught classes at Dyess Air Force Base and in the Taylor County Jail. He volunteered at Meals on Wheels and American Red Cross for many years and served in prison ministry at French Robertson and John Middleton prison units.

He was a longtime member of the Minter Lane Church of Christ, where he served as an elder for several years. He was preceded in death by his parents, Charles Conway Phillips and Addie Doss Phillips. Among survivors are Pat (’78), his wife of 55 years; a son, Paul Phillips (’89); five grandchildren; a sister, Joyce Rinehart; and a twin brother, Myer Phillips.

1960

James Ronald “Ron” Miller died June 28, 2019, at age 81. He was born Feb. 27, 1938, in Vernon, Texas. He graduated from Lutcher Stark High School in Orange, Texas, in 1956, and earned a B.S.Ed. degree from ACU while playing baseball for the Wildcats. He coached

middle school and high school football in Victoria, Texas; baseball at Corpus Christi (Texas) King High School and at Beaumont (Texas) French High School, where he became dean of students. He was principal from 1978-82 at Hardin-Jefferson High School in Sour Lake, Texas, and superintendent of H-JISD from 1982-92. After retirement he served as superintendent for Beaumont Christian Schools for several years. He was preceded in death by his parents, Virgil Lee Miller and Mabel Tucker Miller; and a brother, Kenneth Ray Miller.

Among survivors are Judith, his wife of 61 years; a daughter, Marianna Miller (’83); sons John Micahel Miller and James Martin Miller; a brother, Jay Milton “Mickey” Miller (’66); three grandchildren; and two great-grandchildren.

Byron “Brad” Gilbert Bradfute died Oct. 30, 2020. He was born Dec. 12, 1937, on a farm in Banquete, Texas, and graduated in 1956 from A.C. Jones High School in Beeville, Texas. He played football three years for Abilene Christian and one for Southern Mississippi University. He was selected by the San Diego Chargers in the AFL Draft but signed with the NFL’s newly formed Dallas Cowboys, playing in their first two seasons (1960-61) before pursuing a career in business. He moved to New Braunfels in 1970 as a salesman for Featherlite Block and was president when he left 18 years later to work for Capitol Cement as vice president of sales and marketing. He retired in 1997. He was also a business partner with his brothers and son in four Bradzoil quick-lube stores. He was preceded in death by his parents, Ecce and Velma Bradfute; a sister, Vivian; brothers E.H. Bradfute, Warner Bradfute, Eugene Bradfute, Roland Bradfute and Duward Bradfute (’60). Among survivors are Kay, his wife of 56 years; daughters Melody Vertucci and Tonya Carroll; a son, Cameron Bradfute; five grandchildren; and three great-grandchildren.

Fred Auvergn Cowley died April 18, 2020, at age 81. He was born July 29, 1938, in California and grew up in Duncan, Oklahoma.

He earned a B.S. degree in Bible and M.S. degree in Christian education (1968) from ACU. He began his career teaching Bible and leading the student chorus at Abilene Christian High School, then taking on church youth ministry, and fundraising and development for his alma mater. His career grew to include property and casualty insurance, life insurance, retirement housing development and management, retirement planning, and hosting a weekly radio broadcast on WBAP-AM. He was a Certified Insurance Counselor, and for 15 years served on the national faculty of The Society of Certified Insurance Counselors. He was also a former president of Greater Fort Worth Kiwanis International and of the Independent Insurance Agents of Tarrant County, and former board chair of Fort Worth Christian School. He had a lifelong gift for music, and led singing in his home churches in Abilene, Amarillo and the Southside Church of Christ in Fort Worth. He was preceded in death by his parents, A.R. and Marie Cowley, and a son, Blaine Cowley (’87).

Among survivors are Sheila (’60), his wife of 61

years; sons Dr. Clark Cowley (’85) and Ryan Cowley (’95); four grandchildren; a sister, Shirley Kinningham (’61); and a brother, Charles Bledsoe.

1962

Gary D. Taliaferro died Feb. 2, 2020, in Temple, Texas, at age 79. He was born Aug. 8, 1940, in Fort Worth, Texas, graduating from Northside High School in 1958. He majored in business at ACU, meeting classmate Kay Allen (’62) and marrying her June 22, 1962.

After selling life insurance and real estate in the Fort Worth area, he returned to ACU and earned a master’s degree in New Testament in 1974. He later earned a Master of Divinity degree from Southwest Theological Seminary.

He worked in ministry for Texas churches in Leuders, Friendswood and Irving (Central Church of Christ). In 1976, he moved his family to Stephenville, Texas, to pursue a career as a farrier and rancher, and later owned and operated a Ralston Purina Feed dealership in Denton. In 1980, he returned to the church in Friendswood and served on the Friendswood ISD board from 1982-88. During that time, he earned a Doctor of Ministry degree at Drew University and became a licensed pastoral counselor, founding a Christian counseling center. He and Kay retired in 2003 and helped the Belton Church of Christ during a time of transition. He was preceded in death by his wife of 51 years, and his parents, Arthur and Wilma Taliaferro. Survivors include a brother, Ken; sons Anthony Taliaferro (’84), Steven Taliaferro (’90), Justin Taliaferro (’94) and Scott Fletcher (’98); a daughter, Karen Smith (’04); and 10 grandchildren.

Linda Powell Groves Orr died May 4, 2020, at age 79. She was born Dec. 29, 1940, in Paducah, Kentucky, where she also graduated from Tilghman High School in 1958. She earned a B.S.Ed. degree from Abilene Christian in 1962 and a M.F.A. from Southern Methodist University in 1967. She was a consistent presence at Skillman Church of Christ in Dallas, Texas, while raising her family with her first husband, Charles Glen Groves (’63). Later, she was a member at Prestoncrest Church of Christ.

She was preceded in death by her parents, Dr. Lee Fleetwood Powell (’33) and Dorris Scott Powell (’31); and her husband, Robert “Rob” Orr (’52). Survivors include sons Chris Groves, Cavan Groves and Carter Groves; daughters Christina Groves Lawless (’94) and Candace Groves Crofford; stepsons Doug Orr (’83) and Jim Orr (’86); 13 grandchildren; seven step-grandchildren; five step-great grandchildren; and a sister, Nancy P. Powell (’58).

1964

Linda Nell Offutt died Feb. 4, 2020, in Marble Falls, Texas, at age 77. She was born July 3, 1942, in Seymour, Texas, and graduated from Munday (Texas) High School. She earned a bachelor’s degree in elementary education and taught second grade for four years until the birth of her first child. After her sons were

in middle school, she became an executive secretary to various business ventures of her husband, George Q. Offutt (’62), who served as a trustee for ACU from 1990-2007. They lived their entire lives in Texas: Abilene, Clarksville, Lubbock, Horseshoe Bay and Meadowlakes.

She was an accomplished tennis player. Offutt was preceded in death by her parents, Wilkie and Margie Guinn; and a still-born younger sister. Survivors include her husband; her sons, Brad Offutt (’90) and Brian Offutt (’93); six grandchildren; her twin sister, Wanda Walton; and a brother, J.R. Guinn.

Dr. Philip “Denis” Weston died Nov. 12, 2019, in Port Charlotte, Florida, at age 79. He was born in Hamilton, Ontario, on March 5, 1941, attended Great Lakes Christian High School, and earned a bachelor’s degree in physics from ACU. He taught physics and math in Hamilton public schools. He married Carol Renney in 1969 and they raised their family in Freelton, Ontario. He took early retirement after 32 years of teaching, and he and Carol moved to Ajijic, Mexico, where he preached occasionally at Little Chapel by the Lake and El Lago Community Church, and taught Spanish. He returned three years later to ACU and earned a Master of Divinity degree in 2003 while serving as an adjunct professor.

After graduation, he served as minister at Central Church of Christ in Lake City, Florida.

In 2013, he relocated to Port Charlotte, where he joined the staff at Southwest Florida Bible Institute. In 2016, he earned a Doctor of Divinity degree from Masters International University of Divinity. Nine months later, he was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease. He was preceded in death by his parents, Norman Weston and Mary Weston. Survivors include his wife of 50 years; sons Aaron Weston and Galen Weston; sisters Ellen Maybury and Jane Walker; brothers Keith Weston, Malcolm Weston, Paul Weston and Stephen Weston; and four grandchildren.

1965

Quay Frederick Parker, J.D., died Oct. 20, 2018, in Abilene, Texas, at age 77. He was born Nov. 6, 1942, in Arkansas City, Kansas.

After World War II, his family moved to Abilene for his father to attend Abilene Christian. Quay attended the college’s Demonstration School.

At age 12, his family moved to Oklahoma, where he graduated in 1961 from Norman High School, where he excelled in cross country.

Quay attended Oklahoma City University his freshman year on a half-track, half-theatre scholarship, then transferred to Abilene Christian, where he was a member of Sub T-16 social club and worked as a Bible salesman for the Southwestern Company. He earned a bachelor’s degree in government and was a pharmaceutical representative for Upjohn before starting law school. He graduated from Oklahoma City University Law School in 1973.

After returning to Texas, Quay served as a city, county and district attorney, and 259th District judge for 16 years. He served as a deacon and elder for Albany Church of Christ, and was co-narrator of the Albany Fandangle for 20 years. After retiring in 2002, he became

the senior judge – commonly called a visiting judge – and continued to try jury cases until six weeks before his death from leukemia. He was preceded in death by his parents, Fred (’52) and Lyna Jewel Parker. Among survivors are his wife, Vickie, and her children, Jennifer, Elyse and Kevin; his children, Paige (Parker ’86) Prince, Piper Tankersley and Prairie Wilson (’94), and their mother, Connie Jo Wood (’67); a brother, Quanah Parker (’68); 12 grandchildren; and five great-grandchildren.

1966

Terry Elton Priest, 76, died April 29, 2020.

He was born Jan. 14, 1944, in Taylor, Texas.

He grew up in Florence, Texas, and moved to Hutto, where he graduated high school in 1962. He starred in basketball at Henderson County Junior College and ACU, playing for the Wildcats in the 1966 NCAA college division national tournament and on two conference championship teams. He started his Texas high school coaching career in 1966 at Aspermont, where his boys’ team won the Class 1A state title in 1968. After two years in the U.S. Army, he returned to Abilene Christian to earn a M.Ed. degree in 1971, and married Theresa Ann Butler (’73) on May 13, 1972. He was an ACU assistant men’s basketball coach to the late Willard Tate from 1973-76. They moved to Spring, Texas, in 1976 so he could coach at McCullough High School (later renamed The Woodlands). He was assistant athletics director in Fort Bend (Texas) ISD when he retired in 2009, concluding a long career in the education field, including 30 years as a coach. He was preceded in death by his parents, Elton and Gladys Priest, a sister, Deborah; and a brother, Sam Priest (’81). Among survivors are Theresa, his wife of 48 years; a son, Kyle Priest (’99); a daughter, Kedra Priest (’00); and brothers Kirby Priest (’69) and Steve Priest (’81).

John Michael “Mike” Sanders died Sept. 10, 2020, at age 76. He was born Sept. 17, 1943, in Dallas, Texas, and graduated from Seminole (Texas) High School, where he excelled in football and track. He was one of 51 members of the first class to graduate from Texas Tech School of Law. In 1970 he began a 47-year career at Texas Tech University as an assistant professor teaching business, real estate, and accounting law classes. He also established a private law practice and was an original owner of Fat Dawgs, a popular live music venue in Lubbock. He began work on the governmental relations staff at Tech in 1975, was named vice president of governmental relations in 1988 and the university’s first vice chancellor of governmental affairs in 1996. He received the Will Rogers Award from the Texas Tech Student Government Association in recognition of his efforts to include students’ interests in his decision making, and he retired in 2018. He was preceded in death by his parents, Durell “Tony” Eaker Sanders (’41) and Fairys (Walker ’40) Sanders. Among survivors are his wife, Carol; sons Andrew Sanders and Gregory Sanders; one grandson; and sisters Sally Cowan and Susan Vrana.

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1967

Michael Van Myers died April 29, 2020, in Littleton, Colorado, at age 74. He was born in Borger, Texas. He was a pioneer in youth ministry in the Churches of Christ, starting in 1973. He and his wife, Carol (’68), both received associate’s degrees from Lubbock Christian, which was a junior college at the time. They both went on to earn bachelor’s degrees from ACU. He spent all but a few months of his career with the Littleton Church of Christ. In the late 1990s, he transitioned into pulpit ministry.

He was one of the founding members of the National Conference of Youth Ministers, known as NCYM, and served for several years on its board. He was preceded in death by his parents, Cleo Myers and Zonelle Myers; and a sister, Shirley. Among survivors are his wife; daughters Cari Myers, Holly Myers, Amanda Mattson, Lisa Myers (’88) and Robin Myers; and three grandchildren.

1973

Jeana Arlene (Vassar) Shaw died June 1, 2020, in Abilene, Texas, at age 69. She was born Sept. 8, 1950, in Haskell, Texas, and graduated from Knox City (Texas) High School in 1969. She earned an ACU degree in biology, and worked in the lab of Foremost Dairies before returning to school to earn a teaching certificate. She taught at Abilene Christian Schools before beginning a 22-year career teaching biology and physical science at Abilene High School. She married Billy Bob “Bill” Shaw (’74) on Aug. 11, 1973.

She and Bill devoted 31 years as volunteers at Camp Blue Haven, where she was a nurse, and Bill taught and led music. She was preceded in death by her parents, Leslie Gordon “L.G.” and Ruthie Lee (Brown) Vassar. Among survivors are her husband, Bill; daughters Teresa (Druann) Shaw Thomas, Shawna Shaw Bonham and Druann Thomas; five grandchildren; a brother, Roger Vassar (’70); and sisters Brenda (Vassar ’74) Franz and Julie Fisher.

1975

Patricia “Trisha” (Rhodes) Norsworthy died April 18, 2020, in Abilene, Texas, at age 65. She was born June 21, 1954, in Columbia, South Carolina, and graduated from Hayfield Secondary School in Alexandria, Virginia.

She declined a field hockey scholarship at Mary Washington College to attend Abilene Christian, where she met Dr. Larry Norsworthy (’72), whom she married April 3, 1972. They moved in 1973 to Washington, D.C., where she taught pre-K, then moved to King of Prussia, Pennsylvania, where she served five years as administrative assistant to the president of Northeastern Christian Junior College. In 1986, she began working at Coventry Christian School in Pottstown, Pennsylvania, where she was music teacher and school board member.

She earned a business degree from Ohio Valley University. In 1999, she and Larry moved back to Abilene so he could teach in ACU’s Department of Psychology. Larry retired from ACU in 2018.

She was preceded in death by her father, Robert Rhodes, and her younger brother, John

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Mark Rhodes. Among survivors are Larry, her husband of 48 years; sons Joshua Rhodes (’02) and Luke Rhodes (’02); five grandchildren; her mother, Margaret Rhodes-Stover; and brothers Sam Rhodes (’05) and Tom Rhodes.

1986

Marda “Teal” Pemberton, J.D., died Sept. 26, 2019, in Ardmore, Oklahoma, at age 55. She was born Dec. 30, 1963, in Tulsa, Oklahoma, and graduated from Nathan Hale High School in 1982. She was a member of a team that won the 1979 ASA National Tournament Girls Fast Pitch Junior Division Championship. She earned a bachelor’s degree in business administration from ACU, where she met her husband, Ray Pemberton (’86), and married April 8, 1989. Teal worked for Hendrick Medical Center from 1990-97, serving in various positions before being promoted to assistant director of human resources. She was accepted into the University of Oklahoma College of Law, earning her Juris Doctor degree in 2000. In September of that year, she became director of human resources for Noble Research Institute.

She returned to ACU to earn a master’s degree in mediation and conflict resolution in 2016.

She was preceded in death by her parents, Billy Mack (’51) and Marda Lea Gamble.

Among survivors are her husband; a son, Raymond Samuel Pemberton; and two brothers, Britt Gamble (’77) and Reed Gamble (’80).

1990

Julie Ann Tudor, died March 28, 2019, at age 52, following 34 years of progressive effects of multiple sclerosis. She was born Nov. 27, 1967, and graduated from Moore (Oklahoma) High School in 1986. She earned a bachelor’s degree in social work from ACU. She served from 1991-97 as a social worker for the Abilene State School before health issues caused her to move to Edmond, Oklahoma. Among survivors are her parents, Boyd (’63) and Gay (Abston ’63) Tudor; and a sister, Joy Neel.

1992

David Mark Skelton, J.D., died March 11, 2020, in Lubbock, Texas, at age 50. He was born Jan. 26, 1970. In high school, he was an excellent athlete and a National Merit Scholar finalist. He attended Abilene Christian, where he met and married Margaret Bryan (’92).

After graduating from ACU, he attended Baylor Law School. Among survivors are his wife; a son, Lincoln Skelton; his parents, Don (’63) and former ACU trustee Kay (Coleman ’62) Skelton; and a brother, Scott Skelton (’92).

2001

James Jeremiah Shaw died by suicide July 15, 2020. He was born June 3, 1978, in Abilene, Texas, and graduated in 1996 from Wyoming Area High School in West Pittston, Pennsylvania. He purchased and developed several rental properties and was manager of a Walmart Vision Center. Among survivors are his parents, Dr. Robert (’73) and Karen (Trimble ’73) Shaw; and a brother, Matthew Shaw (’01).

2004

Tracy Lee Fleet died Feb. 10, 2020, in Abilene, Texas, at age 56. He was born Oct. 18, 1963, in Milton, Florida. He served in the U.S. Navy from 1982-90. He met his wife, Tina Mullinax (’11), in San Diego, California, in 1985, while he was stationed on the USS Cape Cod, and they married in 1986. After the Navy, Tracy was called to ministry and after two years of schooling became the pulpit minister at Wood Street Church of Christ in Sherman, Texas, for eight years. From there, he continued his education at ACU, earned a master’s degree in marriage and family therapy, and became a licensed counselor. He served Abilene as a counselor for more than 15 years through his private practice, Life Renovations. He was preceded in death by his father, Ralph James “Jim” Fleet. Survivors include Tina, his wife of 33 years; daughters Natalie Fleet (’12) and Mara Fleet (’16); a son, Austin Fleet (’13); his mother, Patricia Fleet; brothers Vance Fleet, Ralph James “RJ” Fleet, Erik Fleet and Brad Fleet; and three grandchildren.

2012

Cameron David Bankston was in his first season as head baseball coach at Axtell (Texas) ISD when he died May 8, 2020, in a single-vehicle accident in Huckabay, Texas, at age 31. He was born Oct. 31, 1988, in Duncanville, Texas, and graduated from Burleson (Texas) High School. He was named to ACU baseball’s All-Decade Team as a DH after hitting .426 in 2010. His high school baseball coaching career included serving from 2015-18 as head coach at Hamilton (Texas) High School.

Survivors include his parents, Bruce and Regina Bankston; and a sister, Taylor Bankston.

2019

Shelby Grace McKillip died Oct. 9, 2020, at age 24. She was born May 20, 1996, in Brownwood, Texas, and earned a bachelor’s degree at ACU while an active member of Ko Jo Kai women’s social club. She worked at Quad Media Solutions, an advertising and public relations agency in Flower Mound, Texas, and enjoyed counseling at Lake Cisco Christian Camp, volunteering at nursing homes, mission trips, and spending time with her beloved family and friends. Among survivors are her parents, Ken (’89) and Cherrie McKillip; sisters Madison McKillip (’16) and Audrey McKillip (’21); and her grandparents, Mike (’69) and Becky Hayes.

2021

Junior kinesiology major Christian James Mattox died Jan. 22, 2020, in a car accident in San Antonio, Texas, at age 22. He was born Aug. 28, 1997, in San Antonio and attended Communication Arts High School. At ACU, he was a member of Gamma Sigma Phi. Survivors include his father, Matt Mattox; his mother, Marlene Mattox; a stepsister, Tara Hikem; and his grandparents, Thomas and Anne Mattox.

ACU Remembers Janice (Harper ’62) Decker died Nov. 22, 2019, at age 79, after a battle with cancer. She was born Jan. 17, 1940, in Shreveport, Louisiana, and graduated from Byrd (Louisiana) High School. She met Roger Decker (’61) at ACU and they married June 11, 1960. She worked in the Taylor Elementary School library while her two daughters were young, and later, as administrative coordinator in ACU’s Department of Social Work and Sociology. She was preceded in death by her parents, Jesse Lee Harper and Elsie Emily Harper; three brothers, including Jesse Lee Harper Jr.; and a grandson. Among survivors are her husband, Roger; daughters Emily Rene Harrison (’87) and Susan (Decker ’85) Hoemke; a twin sister, Jeanette (Harper ’62) Malone; and five grandchildren.

Professor emerita of education Dr. Nancy Jane Johnson Coates died Nov. 27, 2019, at age 85. She was born Nov. 10, 1934, in Paducah, Kentucky, and graduated from Obion (Tennessee) High School in 1952. She earned a bachelor’s degree from Middle Tennessee State University (1963), a M.Ed. in early childhood education from Morehead State University (1972) and a Ph.D. in early childhood education and curriculum from Texas Woman’s University (1985). She met and married Dr. Ed Coates at Lipscomb University. They lived in Balmorhea, Texas; Murfreesboro and Knoxville, Tennessee; and Morehead, Kentucky. While in Tennessee they Coates helped found Knoxville Christian Schools, with Jane as its first teacher. In 1972, they joined the faculty at ACU, where they would teach for 35 and 21 years respectively, while sharing an office suite in the Department of Teacher Education. He retired in 2008 and she retired in 1993. She taught in Greece in 1982, was named a Texas Sesquicentennial Women’s Scholar in 1986 and taught in Honduras in 1988. She was a Certified Family Life Educator, was on the National Council on Family Relations, and served as chair of the Abilene Teachers Center. She began the ACU Education Endowed Scholarship program. She also was a featured speaker at the American Medical Association and authored Crosscuts, the pre-kindergarten curriculum adopted by the Texas Education Agency and the State Board of Education.

Coates was a charter board member of the Big Country Association for the Education of Young Children, and in 1988 was awarded the Abilene City Council PTA Advocate for Children Award. She was preceded in death by Ed, her husband of 54 years; her parents, Nathan Calhoun Johnson and Dimple Lee Jones Johnson; a brother, Nathan Calhoun Johnson Jr.; a sister, Ann Marshall Johnson Reeves; a son, Nathan Coates (’78); and two grandsons. Among survivors are her daughter, Nancy (Coates ’78) Penney; sons Nick Coates (’81), Nelson Coates (’84) and Dr. Neal Coates (’87); 17 grandchildren; three step-grandchildren; and 22 great-grandchildren.

Professor emeritus of Bible Dr. Carl Brecheen (’52) died Dec. 19, 2019, in Abilene, Texas, at age 90. He was born Nov. 26, 1929, in Hollis, Oklahoma, where he graduated high school in 1948. After earning his bachelor’s degree from ACU, he preached full time in New Blaine and Oil Trough, Arkansas, and Rhome and San Angelo, Texas, before moving to Abilene. While at ACU, he met and married Ethelyn “Smitty” Smith (’53) on Oct. 21, 1952.

While he completed three graduate degrees – an M.A. and M.R.E. from Harding University in 1955 and 1956, and a D.R.E. from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in 1965 – they Brecheen added two daughters and a son to the family, all of whom graduated from ACU. Starting in 1961 as an assistant professor of Bible and religious education, he retired from ACU in January 2007. For all of those 46 years he served as a professor of Bible and religious education, well known for his Family Relations course that packed Walling Lecture Hall every semester until he moved to the Teague Lecture Hall in 1990 when the new Onstead-Packer Biblical Studies Building opened. He directed ACU’s Bible Teachers Workshop from 1966 well into the ’90s, succeeding Dr. LeMoine Lewis (’36). In 1970 he took over leadership of Abilene Christian’s annual Bible Lectureship (now known as Summit) from Dr. J.D. Thomas. He directed Lectureship until 1993

during an era when up to 12,000 people annually flocked to Abilene for the four-day February event that included dozens of speakers, hundreds of classes and a long list of special events. A 1989 feature story in the Abilene Reporter-News was headlined, “Mr. Organization.” Brecheen, typical of his genuinely cheerful and humble outlook, downplayed his role, saying he just took what Thomas had created and fine-tuned it a bit here and there with the help of his secretary. He also had a private marriage and family counseling practice, and served as an elder at the University Church of Christ where he was education director from 1961-74. His broadest influence, however, began in 1974 when he partnered with his best friend and college roommate Dr. Paul Faulkner (’52) – now professor emeritus – taking their three-day Marriage Enrichment Seminar to more than 90,000 couples in 33 states and seven countries. Thousands more watched the Marriage Enrichment videos or read their book: What Every Family Needs: Whatever Happened to Mom, Dad & Kids? He was preceded in death by his parents, E.R. and Inus (Yowell) Brecheen; a brother, Pat Brecheen, D.D.S. (’54); and a sister, June Brecheen Cope (’50). Among survivors are his wife of 67 years; two daughters, Patti (Brecheen ’81) Fite and Stacy (Brecheen ’85) Truitt; a son, Marcus Brecheen (’84); and 10 grandchildren. (See story on page 112.)

Dr. Sarah “Sally” (Johnston ’69) Reid, professor emerita of music, died Dec. 21, 2019, in Nashville, Tennessee, at age 71. Reid was born Jan. 30, 1948, in East Liverpool, Ohio, and graduated from Box Elder High School in Brigham City, Utah, in 1965. She earned a Bachelor of Music Education degree from ACU, a master’s degree in music theory/ composition from Hardin-Simmons University (1970) and a doctorate in music theory from The University of Texas at Austin (1980). She married Dr. Brad Reid (’70) on Aug. 18, 1974, and they each taught on the ACU faculty – she in music and he in business – for more than three decades.

Reid Reid was an award-winning music faculty member from 1970-2001 as an instructor (1970), assistant professor (1974), associate chair (1978), chair (1979), associate professor (1980) and professor (1986). Her primary teaching fields were oboe and English horn, and music theory. She also was a pioneer in digital synthesis.

She was Department of Music chair from 2008-16 at Lipscomb University, where she retired as professor in 2017. Under her leadership, Reid grew its music program from a department to a School of Music and to achieve an All-Steinway School status, among other accomplishments. She also was an important voice in helping shape Lipscomb’s George Shinn College of Entertainment and the Arts, and in creating a commercial music degree program. A prolific composer, she won a composition prize from Mu Phi Epsilon, a number of American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (ASCAP) awards, and her “Fiuggi Fanfare” for saxophone quintet won first prize at the Fifth International Festival of Women Composers at Indiana University of Pennsylvania in 1998. Reid served as editor of the International League of Women Composers Journal (1991-95) and as president of the International Alliance for Women in Music (1999-2000).

She appeared in the documentary The Devil and Daniel Johnston in 2005.

Her “Jesus, Redeemer, Messiah” composition, with lyrics by Dr. Cheryl Mann Bacon (’77), was performed in September 2000 in Rome’s Vatican Audience Chamber as part of the Roman Catholic Church’s Jubilee 2000 celebration. Reid was a longtime member of the Abilene Philharmonic Orchestra. Reid also chaired the music advisory panel for the Texas Commission on the Arts, and served on the Board of Officers and Directors of the Texas Association of Music Schools. She was preceded in death by her parents, William Dale Johnson and Mable Ruth Voyles Johnston; and a brother, Daniel Johnston. Among survivors are Brad, her husband of 45 years; daughters Julia (Reid ’07) Edgecombe and Sarah (Reid ’05) Gibson; a son, William Reid (’11); two grandchildren; a brother, Dick Johnston (’76); and sisters Cindy Johnston Brewer (’74) and Marjory Johnston (’74).

Dr. Curtis Allen Dickson (’66), longtime professor of exercise science and health, died Jan. 6, 2020, at age 82 following an extended illness. He was born April 23, 1937, in Ponca City, Oklahoma. Dickson graduated in 1955 from Diamond Hill-Jarvis High School in Fort Worth ACU TODAY

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and that year married Bobbie June McCullough (’88). The family moved in 1963 to Abilene, where Dickson began his first of many roles on campus, serving as men’s dormitory supervisor while completing a bachelor’s degree in physical education and mathematics in 1966 and a master’s degree in guidance services in 1967. Meanwhile, he also served as intramural sports director, an instructor in the Department of Health, Physical Dickson Education and Recreation (HPER) and taught swimming at the Christian Youth Center. In 1969 the family moved to College Station where he completed a Ph.D. in health and physical education at Texas A&M University. They returned to ACU in 1971 and Dickson became aquatics director in the new Gibson Center.

He was instrumental in creating the Human Performance Lab in 1974, which became a center for research in the department, and in organizing the first beginning ski class in 1975, an annual course that became a student favorite and part of the Dickson family culture. While leading the department and pursuing his research agenda, he continued teaching classes including long-distance running, swimming and badminton, in addition to exercise physiology courses for HPER majors. He served as Camp Wildcat director, a social club sponsor and city league softball, baseball and basketball coach. From 1982-90 he served as HPER department chair and in various roles with the Texas Association for Health, Physical Education, Recreation and Dance from 1972-90. His interests in fitness and health inspired ongoing involvement in the Human Performance Lab, where he led testing of world-class athletes and mentored students preparing for futures in teaching, health clubs and emerging fields such as physical therapy. In 1986, he studied the science of strength training at the National Center for Sport in Moscow. ACU’s College of Professional Studies named him 1992-93 faculty member of the year. Until a few years ago, Curt and Bobbie were involved at University Church of Christ where he served as deacon, elder, and on the missions committee, often driving the vans on summer mission trips. The Dicksons spent summers in Angel Fire, New Mexico, where he often taught adult Bible classes at Moreno Valley Church of Christ. His commitment to health research is fulfilled by his donation of his body to The University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas.

He was preceded in death by his parents, Carl Curtis Dickson and Ruby Helen Keller Dickson; his stepfather, Byrd O’Dell; and a brother, Richard O’Dell. Among survivors are Bobbie, his wife of 64 years; two daughters, Sherri (Dickson ’79) Luttrell and Trissa (Dickson ’91) Cox; two sons, Carl Dickson (’92) and Dr. Kyle Dickson (’92); nine grandchildren; nine great-grandchildren; a sister, Lucy Dickson (’69); and a brother, Bowen Dickson (’68).

Retired professor and administrator Dr. C.G. Gray, who was instrumental in bringing educational technology to ACU students and professors, died Feb. 4, 2020, at age 92, in Lubbock, Texas. Gray was born Feb. 10, 1927, in Lunenburg, Arkansas, and graduated from Wellington High School in 1945.

His enrollment at Texas Tech University was interrupted by deployment with the U.S. Army from 1945-47 in Germany following World War II. He then returned to Texas Tech, where he graduated with a B.S.Ed. in 1950, an M.Ed. in 1952, and an Ed.D. in 1965. He also did post-doctoral work at Texas Woman’s University with an emphasis in Gray reading. He met Barbara Jeanne Morlan (’45) while the two were teaching at Lubbock (Texas) High School, and they married June 30, 1951. After classroom teaching, he became a counselor and assistant principal at Lubbock’s Monterey High School, before distributing materials on behalf of SRA, an educational publishing company. He served in the Region X Education Service Center in Dallas, Texas, and later, the Dallas ISD, where his involvement with educational computing began. In 1981, the Grays moved to Abilene where they both joined ACU – C.G. as dean of the College of Professional Studies and Barbara as a part-time instructor and later, assistant professor and coordinator of reading and study skills courses in the General Studies program. She retired in 1993 as associate professor emerita of academic

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advance. C.G. was named vice president for academic affairs in 1982, returned to full-time teaching as professor of education in 1988, was named vice president for information services in 1990, and retired in 1996 as professor emeritus of education. Gray had a lifelong love of literacy and understood its importance for advancing equity in education. As such, he continued this work well into his retirement years by first volunteering alongside Barbara as reading tutors at Abilene’s Jane Long Elementary School before developing and overseeing an afterschool reading program at the University Church of Christ that served Taylor Elementary students.

He also served for decades with Rotary International and United Way. In 1972, the Grays established ACU’s Grover C. Morlan Medal award program.

He was preceded in death by his parents, Hubert and Bertha Gray; an infant son, Charles; and Barbara, his wife of 65 years. Among survivors are sons John Gray (’78), David Gray (’79) and Dr. Cary Gray (’82); six grandchildren; two great-grandchildren; and a brother, Cecil Gray.

Professor emerita Dr. Ina (Lynch ’63) Green, the first female professor in ACU’s Department of Psychology, died Feb. 5, 2020, in Abilene, Texas.

She was 89. Green was born March 13, 1930, in Ennis, Texas. She moved to Baytown at age 12 after her father obtained a wartime job as a pipefitter for the Exxon refinery there. Two years later she met her future husband, Dr. Brent Green, in a high school history class. They married May 29, 1949, after finishing two years at Lee College. They moved to Austin where Brent attended The University of Texas at Austin and Green Ina began studies in costume design and textiles during the semesters they could afford for both of them to be in school. After stints in Oklahoma and El Paso, they settled in Houston, where Brent worked as a draftsman. After visiting Abilene Christian for its Bible Lectureship, they decided to move to Abilene, calling it their mission to serve God. Brent took a job on the ACU faculty, and Ina went back to school to complete a bachelor’s degree in psychology in 1963. After graduating, the family moved to Ohio for graduate school.

She completed her M.A. in psychology in 1965 and Ph.D. in psychology of exceptional children in 1969, both at The Ohio State University. Upon returning to Abilene, she was promoted to assistant professor in 1967, associate professor in 1972 and full professor in 1978. She and her husband were the first of several couples to serve on the faculty with doctorates and as full professors, and she was the first woman elected chair of the Faculty Senate in 1980-81. Locally, she consulted for the West Texas Rehabilitation Center, Abilene State School, Texas Department of Human Resources and was on the board of the Rape Crisis Center, ARK of Abilene and the Taylor County Restitution Center. She taught courses on child psychology, abnormal psychology, the emotionally disturbed child, mental retardation and exceptional children. Her career and retirement were marked by leaps of faith that in turn marked the lives of students for three decades, and for 11 years more in Poland, where she and her husband made annual trips to work with a church in Jastrzebie. They also supported the Zambian Medical Mission for many years, and supported their son and grandson during several trips with the team. In 2007 they went themselves. She was preceded in death by her parents, Bertie Wayne and Barbara Gertrude Lynch; Brent, her husband of 67 years; and a brother, Vance Lynch.

Survivors include a son, Dr. William Brent Green Jr. (’77); a daughter, Dr. Heather Green (’80) Wooten; four grandchildren; and two brothers, Lynden Lynch and Fred Lynch (’70).

Peggy Lou (Hollis) Drennan, former assistant professor of music at ACU and beloved longtime music teacher at Taylor Elementary School in Abilene, died Feb. 7, 2020, at age 83. She was born Aug. 17, 1936, in Duncan, Oklahoma, and graduated from Velma-Alma (Oklahoma) High School in 1954. She transferred from Oklahoma University and graduated from ACU with a bachelor’s degree in music education, and earned a master’s degree in counseling from Abilene Christian in 1963.

On Feb. 23, 1957, she married Dr. Jerry Drennan (’59), who went on to teach industrial technology at ACU for 35 years before retiring in 1998 as professor emeritus. She was preceded in death by her parents, O.W. and Lenora Hollis. Among survivors are Jerry, her husband of

52 years; sons Cohn Drennan (’80) and Hollis Drennan (’90); and four grandchildren.

Dr. Thomas Carter Geer Jr., former professor of Greek and New Testament, died Feb. 27, 2020, in Ash Grove, Missouri, at age 66. He was born May 17, 1953, in Sewannee, Tennessee, to Ruth Summitt and Thomas Carter Geer Sr. He attended school at Crowley’s Ridge Academy in Paragould, Arkansas. Upon graduation, he attended his first two years of college at Crowley’s Ridge College. He received his Bachelor of Arts degree from Lubbock Christian University in 1974 and his Master of Theology degree from Harding Graduate School of Religion in 1979. He and his family then moved to Boston, Massachusetts, where he received his Ph.D. in New Testament and Christian Origins from Boston University in 1985. For the next 10 years, he taught at ACU. In 1996 he was ordained by the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) and became pastor of First Christian Church of Ash Grove in 1997. He was preceded in death by his parents. Survivors include his wife, Mary Ann; three sisters, Sandra Halfacre, Janet Allison and Ruth Deck; three daughters, Sara Cosgrove, Rachel Liubushkin and Libby Ellis; and two sons, Chester Ellis and Andrew Ellis; and six grandchildren.

Jan Vincent “Vince” Swinney, 84, died March 22, 2020. He was born July 9, 1935, in Vernon, Texas. He met and married Beverly Smith in Denver, Colorado, serving in the police force and then in the U.S. Army, before moving to Illinois, where they spent the next 25 years while Vince was a pilot for United Airlines. During his career at United, he served the Cardinal Drive Church of Christ in Rolling Meadows, Illinois, as youth minister, deacon and elder. He retired as a 747 captain. In 1991, the Swinneys moved to Abilene, Texas, where he was hired as a development officer in the College of Business Administration, and later, as an adjunct Swinney professor. Swinney was an elder at Abilene’s Highland Church of Christ and served in various roles for Herald of Truth Ministries, including interim president and board chair. In 2010, the Swinneys moved to Colorado to be closer to family. He was preceded in death by Beverly, his wife of 58 years. Among survivors are his son, Steve Swinney (’94); and three grandchildren.

Debbie Jean Stewart (’12), an ACU staff member for 13 years, died May 24, 2020, in Abilene, Texas, at age 61. Stewart was born Sept. 6, 1958, in Valley Park, Missouri. She served as public information officer and recruiter at Kenai Peninsula Borough School District in Soldotna, Alaska, before joining ACU’s staff. Debbie graduated in 2012 with a Bachelor of Applied Studies degree from Abilene Christian, where her service spanned roles in The ACU Foundation, Student Life and University Access Programs from 2007-19. In recent years she enjoyed traveling with her husband, Dr. Sam Stewart, ACU associate professor of teacher Stewart education, and with students in China, South America and Europe. She was preceded in death by her father, Sam Waller; and a grandson, Taylor Evans. Among survivors are her husband, Sam; daughters Samantha Evans, Candi Hammett and Jennifer Shane; her mother, Faye Williams; brothers Gary Waller, Stan Waller and Sammy Waller; and four grandchildren.

Former longtime trustee Lavelle Layfield (’59) died May 30, 2020, at his home in Athens, Texas, at age 88. Layfield was born Oct. 28, 1931, in Powell, Texas, and lived in Kerens until 1955. He began preaching for East Texas congregations in Malakoff and Cayuga as a teenager, and continued until he enrolled at Abilene Christian in Fall 1955. At ACU, he majored in Greek and minored in Bible, planning to be a missionary. He continued to preach and teach the rest of his life. He was a member of the National Guard for several years, then joined the 490th CA Army reserve as a captain, being called up for active duty during the Berlin crisis. He was stationed at Fort Gordon, Georgia. Layfield was a lifelong supporter of his alma mater, serving on its Board of Trustees from 1977-94 and teaching a finance class for two semesters in the early 1980s. In 2018, he was recognized in ACU’s Purple Line Society for 50 years of continued giving

to the university. He worked at First State Bank in Abilene, Texas, organizing and developing the trust department. He was vice president in 1974 before moving to Sweetwater, Texas, to become president of Texas Bank and Trust Company. He was named Sweetwater’s Outstanding Citizen in 1983, and was a member and president of the city’s Rotary Club. In 1985, He moved to Athens to become CEO and board chair of First Layfield National Bank. He chaired the Athens Economic Development Corporation and the Cain Center, and served on the Henderson County Appraisal District board. He was a member and president of Athens Rotary Club, was named a Paul Harris Fellow, and in 1992 was honored as Athens Chamber of Commerce Citizen of the Year. When he retired from banking in 1995, he returned full time to preaching. He wrote articles for an internet Bible program, taught World Bible School, and was a Bible instructor at the local prison. In 2002, he returned to Malakoff Church of Christ as its pulpit minister and radio sermon minister, retiring in 2017. He was preceded in death by his parents, Tom and Tillie Layfield, and brothers Thomas Earl Layfield and Doyle Layfield. Among survivors are Mary (Sheerer ’58), his wife of 63 years; sons Paul Layfield (’82) and John Layfield (’89); a daughter, Sylvia Sims (’84); three grandchildren; and two great-grandsons.

Dr. Fredda Grey “Gay” Barton (’68), assistant professor emerita and James W. Culp Distinguished Professor of English, died June 2, 2020, in Abilene, Texas, at age 74 after bravely fighting a rare autoimmune disease, neurosarcoidosis, for nearly two decades. She was born March 2, 1946, in Wharton, Texas, graduating from Abilene Christian High School and earning a B.A. in English from ACU, where her father was a speech professor and later, dean of its Graduate School. She married in 1966 and served with her husband at Nohwe Mission in Zimbabwe for a couple of years early in the marriage. When her children were teenagers, she returned to Barton school to pursue a master’s degree at ACU, where she taught in the Department of Language and Learning from 1990-2004. She earned a Ph.D. in English from Baylor University in 1999. She co-authored with Dr. Peter Beidler two editions of A Reader’s Guide to the Novels of Louise Erdrich, and championed studies of Native American authors throughout her academic career. ACU’s Writing Center features an art gallery honoring Barton and bearing her name. She was a longtime member of Abilene’s University Church of Christ, where she taught a popular weekly women’s Bible Class for years. She was preceded in death by her parents, Dr. Fred J. Barton (’37) and Eleanor (Brockman ’42) Barton; and a stepmother, Iva Lea Barton. Among survivors are a son, David Hancock (’93); a daughter, Eleanor Hancock (’95); two grandchildren; and a brother, Dr. James Brockman “Brock” Barton (’66).

Alumni Advisory Board member Don Eugene Hall (’51), died July 6, 2020, at age 89. He was born Dec. 11, 1930, in Big Spring, Texas, and graduated in 1946 from John Tyler (Texas) High School at age 16. His father and grandfather were song leaders in the Church of Christ, and they taught him the skill at an early age and developed a lifelong passion for it. He was active at ACU in the A Cappella Chorus and married classmate Joann Taylor (’51). Upon graduation, Hall and his father started the Visador Company in Dallas, which manufactured doors and windows for the expanding housing industry.

He served from 1953-55 in the Army, then rejoined Hall his father as they relocated the company in 1959 to Jasper, Texas. He served as executive vice president of marketing, helping Visador grow to a national industry leader.

During his and Joann’s 25 years in Jasper, Don led singing at church and served as a Bible teacher, youth minister and elder. He served on the board of Jasper ISD, in Lions Club leadership, as president of the Chamber of Commerce, and was named the city’s Outstanding Citizen in 1981. The Halls helped start the Jasper Civic Chorus, and sang with the ACU Alumni Chorus ACU TODAY

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from 1989-2012 on 18 of its 19 albums. Don received his alma mater’s Distinguished Alumni Citation in 2005. He was preceded in death by his parents, J.D. Hall Jr. and Adriel Hall; Joann, his wife of 65 years; and a sister, Joella Pickup (’48). Among survivors are his daughters, Lee Ann Douglas (’77), Laurie (Hall ’79) Havard and Lana (Hall ’83) Shelton; nine grandchildren; and two of his five siblings, Roger Hall (’63) and Lynda Bell (’57).

ACU baseball icon William Freeman “Bill” Gilbreth (’69) died July 12, 2020, in Abilene, Texas, following complications with emergency heart surgery at age 72. Gilbreth was born Sept. 3, 1947, in Abilene, Texas.

He was an Eagle Scout who graduated from Abilene Christian High School in 1965, and from ACU in 1969 with a bachelor’s degree in business.

The first former ACU Wildcat player on a MLB roster, Gilbreth was one of the rare major leaguers in modern history who never played high school ball. He was, however, a star of Abilene sandlot baseball each spring, including a highly successful amateur team coached by local restaurateur Gilbreth Toby Christian that traveled each summer. Bill played basketball for the Wildcats but was truly a standout for them on the baseball field, earning first-team All-Southland Conference honors. The hard-throwing left-hander led the NCAA in strikeouts in 1968, and compiled a four-year (1966-69) record of 25-9 with 445 strikeouts, a 2.15 ERA and two no-hitters. Four times he struck out 18 batters in a game. Gilbreth was a 1969 third-round draft pick of Detroit who won 32 games in the minors and was named to two all-star teams before making his major league debut in 1971. He played for the Tigers and the California Angels, and was named his alma mater’s baseball coach in 1991.

He coached five seasons, leading the Wildcats to a Lone Star Conference title in 1993, and was inducted into the ACU Sports Hall of Fame in 1999.

He forged an enduring friendship with legendary pitcher Nolan Ryan while the two Texans were teammates on the Angels. Years later at the apex of his Hall of Fame career, Ryan helped ACU raise funds to restart its baseball program, establish scholarship endowments and build Crutcher Scott Field.

Bill was head coach of the first Wildcat team to play at the venue named for the father of his close friend, Al Scott (’61). He retired from MLB in 1974, returning home to care for his aging parents. He was a longtime accountant for Abilene Diagnostic Clinic who enjoyed cattle ranching and volunteering as a pitching tutor in his spare time. Hundreds of Abilene ballplayers received instruction in pitching from Gilbreth, who was credited widely for helping many achieve amateur and professional success in the sport.

With hundreds of Wildcat fans watching in Globe Life Park in June 2014, Gilbreth threw the ceremonial first pitch before a Texas Rangers game with Cleveland. Gilbreth was recognized by the Tigers at a Detroit-Cleveland game in June 2016 on the 45th anniversary of his MLB debut, and at an annual meeting of the Mayo Smith Society, the team’s international fan club. Commemorative bricks at two Detroit baseball stadiums, including Comerica Park, recognize Gilbreth. He was the last current or former Detroit player to stand on the mound at the site of old Tiger Stadium before its demolition was completed to make way for a youth sports complex honoring his former teammate, All-Star outfielder Willie Horton. In February 2020, ACU made Gilbreth the first Wildcat baseball player to have his jersey number (13) retired, and only the seventh former student-athlete in any sport so honored in the university’s 114-year history (see page 98).

He was preceded in death by his parents, Penn and Orbie (Grimsley ’28) Gilbreth, and a grandchild, Chase McMillan. Among survivors are Phyllis (Collier ’69), his wife of 52 years; daughters Melanie (Gilbreth ’92) Offutt and Tiffanie Gilbreth McMillan (’93); and five grandchildren.

Dr. R. Stafford North (’50), a 1971 recipient of ACU’s Distinguished Alumni Citation, died July 25, 2020, at age 90. He was born March 12, 1930, in Abilene, Texas, and married JoAnne Eades Boswell in 1965. He preached for more than seven decades while authoring nine books, including a renowned series on Revelation. He served six decades at Oklahoma Christian University in varied roles including tennis coach, Bible professor, academic dean and executive vice president. He was inducted in 1997 to the Oklahoma Higher Education Hall of Fame and served since 1972 as

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an elder at Memorial Road Church of Christ in Edmond, Oklahoma. He was preceded in death by his parents, Lucas and Lola Cupples North, and his brothers, Charles and Herschel North. Among survivors are his wife, JoAnne; a son, David North; daughters Julie Anderson, Linda Parker and Susan Monan; a brother, John North; 10 grandchildren; and 17 great-grandchildren.

Former mathematics professor Dr. Kenneth A. Retzer died July 28, 2020, in Beijing, China, at age 86. He was born Nov. 6, 1933, in Morgan County, Illinois. He was professor of mathematics at Illinois State University from 1959-89 and at ACU from 1989-96. He used his education and Christian background for church outreach in China for the rest of his life. He was preceded in death by his parents, Samuel S. and Cora Martin Retzer; his first wife, Dorcas Anne Schroeder; three sisters; and two brothers. Among survivors are his wife, Wei; sons Kenneth Samuel, Roger Retzer, Martin Retzer and Kent Retzer; a daughter, Sherrie Retzer; seven grandchildren; 14 great-grandchildren; and a brother, Vernon Retzer.

North

Dr. Thomas “Tom” H. Olbricht, 90, former Bible faculty member and dean of the College of Liberal and Fine Arts, died Aug. 21, 2020, in Exeter, New Hampshire, at age 90. He was born Nov. 3, 1929, in Thayer, Missouri.

He earned numerous degrees including a master’s in 1953 and Ph.D. in 1959 from the University of Iowa and a theology degree from Harvard Divinity School in 1962. He retired as a distinguished professor emeritus of religion at Pepperdine University, where he later received an honorary doctorate in 2011. His teaching career spanned more than 50 years and led him to teaching roles at Harding University, University of Dubuque, Olbricht Penn State University, ACU and Pepperdine.

He was the founder of the Christian Scholars Conference held annually at Lipscomb University which was later renamed in his honor as the Thomas H. Olbricht Christian Scholars Conference. He also wrote, edited or contributed to numerous scholarly articles and books.

He was a frequent contributor to The Christian Chronicle and was the editor of Restoration Quarterly. He was preceded in death by his parents, Benjamin and Agnes (Taylor) Olbricht; a sister, Nedra Olbricht McGill; and a brother, Glenn Olbricht. Among survivors are Dorothy (Kiel) Olbricht, his wife of 69 years; a son, Joel C. Olbricht; daughters Suzanne M. Olbricht, Eloise Olbricht Brown, Adele Olbricht Foster and Erika M. Olbricht; 12 grandchildren, five great-grandchildren; and a brother, Owen D. Olbricht.

Marian Elizabeth McGinnis Hurley, 77, associate professor emerita of English, died Sept. 7, 2020, in Amarillo, Texas, after a lengthy illness.

She was born Feb. 20, 1933, in Superior, Wisconsin. She earned bachelor’s (1954) and master’s (1964) degrees from the University of New Mexico, and taught at ACU from 1968-95. She was the widow of Dr. Clinton F. Hurley Jr. (’48), to whom she was married for 49 years. Among survivors are sons Bruce Hurley (’75), David Hurley (’77) and Michael Hurley (’79); a daughter, Catherine Anderson-Larry (’90); 11 grandchildren; and 10 great-grandchildren.

James Leon “Rip” Ripley died Oct. 18, 2020, in Abilene, Texas.

He was born May 24, 1926, in Greenville, Texas. He married Eva Pippin on Feb. 17, 1945, shortly before enlisting in the Army and being sent in 1946 to Germany, where he was assigned to guard duty during the Nuremberg trials. His career in the sales and service industry culminated in 1957 when he and partner Mose McCook (’38) purchased Athletic Supply. He eventually partnered with his son to serve and sell sporting goods and custom athletics uniforms through the Abilene company to colleges, universities, schools, leagues and the public across the Ripley Big Country. Rip was inducted into the Greenville High School Athletic Hall of Fame in

1984 and with a Lifetime Achievement Award into the ACU Sports Hall of Fame in 2000. He was preceded in death by his parents, Leon and Erma Ripley; and a sister, Flora Wilson. Among survivors are Eva, his wife of 75 years; a daughter, Becky (Ripley ’72) Bearden; sons Steve Ripley (’74) and Harold Nutall (’78); four grandchildren; six great-grandchildren; and a sister, Katie Bagby.

Dr. Forrest Mason McCann, professor emeritus of English, died Nov. 23, 2020, in Abilene, Texas, at age 89. McCann was born Oct. 12, 1931, in Lometa, Texas, and graduated from Florida Christian High School in Tampa in 1948. He married Clara Lugenia Moore (’77) on June 10, 1952, in Gainesville, Florida. He earned an A.A. degree from Florida Christian College (1950), a B.A. degree (1952) and M.A. in Spanish and English (1966) – both from the University of Florida – and a Ph.D. from Texas Tech University (1980). McCann served as a full-time minister in Florida congregations in Plant City, Cedar Key, Gainesville and Lake Butler, and McCann in Mount Pleasant, Tennessee. He taught Spanish and English at Union County (Florida) High School from 1965-68 before joining the ACU English faculty in 1968 as an assistant professor. He became associate professor in 1976, professor in 1986 and retired in 1996 as professor emeritus. He coordinated ACU’s English as a Second Language program and received the Faculty Senate Award in 1996. He also served as a text consultant for the Abilene ISD and Abilene Christian Schools. McCann was known widely as an expert on church hymnology. He served as editor of the last two versions of Elmer Leon Jorgenson’s Great Songs of the Church, the longest-lived hymnal in the Stone-Campbell branch of the American Restoration Movement. In 1986, ACU Press published – with McCann as editor in chief and Dr. Jack Boyd (’55) as music editor – Great Songs of the Church, Revised, the first total remake of Jorgenson’s project since it was created in 1921. In 1997, McCann authored Hymns and History: An Annotated Survey of Sources, a 600-page reference book on Restoration Movement hymnody and facts about every title, tune, composer and author in Great Songs. He was preceded in death by his parents, Dewey Forrest McCann and Jean Olive Salyer; and a brother, George Aubra McCann. Among survivors are Clara, his wife of 68 years: sons David McCann (’79) and John McCann (’80); a daughter, Carol Jeananne McCann (’81); and four grandchildren.

George Randolph “Randy” Nicholson (’59), an entrepreneur, benefactor and influential former trustee of Abilene Christian University, died Dec. 11, 2020, in Abilene, Texas, at age 83. He was born June 10, 1937, in Hobbs, New Mexico, and at 18 months of age came to live with his siblings at Boles Children’s Home in Quinlan, Texas, where he graduated high school in 1955. He moved to Dallas and began to work for Safeway supermarkets, eventually requesting a transfer to Abilene so he could attend ACU. He met classmate Barbara Jean Hart (’59) on a blind date during her sophomore year, and they married Nov. 18, 1957. When he enrolled at ACU, Nicholson turned down the free tuition Nicholson offered to students who grew up in an orphanage, choosing instead to work full time and still graduate in four years with a degree in accounting. He became a CPA in 1961 and was a managing partner of an accounting firm he bought in 1962 and sold in 1963 to work with a family business owned by Hal McGlothlin (’58) and Ray McGlothlin Jr. (’49). He went on to gain significant experience in the self-serve gasoline business as founder, president, chief operating officer and board member of E-Z Serve Inc. from its inception in 1971 to its sale – with 1,200 outlets in 26 states – in December 1986 to Harken Oil & Gas. He partnered with Ray McGlothlin Jr. and the late W.C. “Dub” Orr (’50) in building E-Z Serve; all three served as trustees of Abilene Christian.

A well-known innovator, Nicholson pioneered the use of automated payat-the-pump equipment that revolutionized the retail petroleum industry, becoming chair and CEO of AutoGas Systems Inc. – a former subsidiary of

E-Z Serve – and running AutoFuel Co. (AFCO), a retail gasoline business headquartered in Abilene. In 2007, “pay-at-the-pump” technology was named the ninth-best innovation in USA Today’s look at the top inventions that changed lives in the previous 25 years, along with cell phones, laptop computers, debit cards, digital cameras and online stock trading. He was a member of ACU’s Board of Trustees from 1981-2010, and a leader through the years on the boards of West Texas Rehabilitation Center, Hendrick Medical Center Foundation, Arms of Hope/Boles Home Inc., Abilene Christian Investment Management Company and the Abilene Chamber of Commerce. Randy was named ACU’s Outstanding Alumnus of the Year for 1991, and he and Barbara received the Humanitarian Award from Christian Homes of Abilene in 1995. The couple established the Randy and Barbara Nicholson Endowed Scholarship at ACU, where Randy also delivered the August 1994 Commencement address to graduates. In the mid-1990s, the Nicholsons served as co-chairs with James (’53) and Dr. Betty (Bell ’53) Muns of the “To Lead and To Serve” campaign that raised $114.2 million – more than three times the outcome of any previous fundraising effort in the university’s history. In 1996, Nicholson, Orr and Ray McGlothlin Jr. shared Distinguished Business Leader of the Year recognition by the university’s College of Business Administration. Nicholson was inducted to the ACU Sports Hall of Fame with a Lifetime Achievement Award in 2010. A veteran of the 36th Division of the National Guard (1956-62), Nicholson also was active in several Abilene congregations, including as a deacon and elder at Abilene’s Highland Church of Christ. Later in life, he and Barbara were also members of University and Oldham Lane congregations. Prior to Barbara’s death in 2017, the couple hosted many widows and widowers with quarterly luncheons, and served deployed soldiers with care packages seven times each year. In 2018 he co-authored a memoir, Hindsight is 20/10: Reflections on Life With Unveiled Eyes, with his daughter, Randa.

He was preceded in death by his parents, Walter Vaughn Nicholson and Emma Jewell (Williams) Nicholson; brothers James Vaughn and Charles Lewis Nicholson (’57); a sister, Emma Jean Bitticks (’54); and Barbara, his wife of 59 years. Survivors include a daughter, Randa (Nicholson ’88) Upp, and her husband, Jeff Upp (’86).

Dr. Mark Riggs (’75), professor and past chair of mathematics, died Dec. 14, 2020, in Abilene, Texas, of the effects of COVID-19 at age 67.

He was born March 15, 1953, in Tyler, Texas, and graduated in 1971 from Kimball High School in Dallas, Texas. He earned a bachelor’s degree in mathematics from ACU, and a master’s degree (1976) and Ph.D., both in statistics, from Texas A&M University. While a graduate student, he met Debbie Adams through the A&M Church of Christ’s Aggies for Christ student ministry. They married Aug. 11, 1979.

He served 27 years on the ACU faculty, from 1980-87 and again beginning in 2003. He also Riggs began the department’s actuarial science program, and taught all three of its statistics courses. From 1987-2003 he was director of the Department of Biostatistics at Scott and White Hospital in Temple, Texas. For eight of those years, he was co-director of the Coordinating Center for the Central Vein Occlusion Study, funded by the National Eye Institute and National Institutes of Health. He also led his department during its research on a pediatric, nasal flu vaccine study in partnership with Johns Hopkins University.

Riggs also used his statistical knowledge to support other faculty research and assisted numerous colleagues in dissertation research. He was active in the worship ministry at Highland Church of Christ, continuing a lifelong love of music as a vocalist and playing his viola. In addition to performing in recent years with the ACU Orchestra and choral groups, Riggs played during his years in Temple with the Central Texas Orchestra and Marlandwood Strings quartet, and earlier with the San Angelo Symphony. His family established the Mark Riggs Scholarship Fund at ACU to benefit students in the actuarial science program. Riggs was preceded in death by his father, Roy Berdine Riggs Jr. Among survivors are his wife, Debbie; a son, Will Riggs (’07); a daughter, Katie (Riggs) Maxwell; three grandchildren; his mother, Joyce Riggs; and a brother, Bruce Riggs (’83).

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Morrow’s Olympic heroics put ACU on the map Bobby Joe Morrow (’58), whose exploits in track and field as a student at Abilene Christian University made history and put his alma mater on the world map, died May 30, 2020, at age 84 at his home in San Benito, Texas.

Morrow was born Oct. 10, 1935, in Rangerville, Texas, near San Benito, where his family owned and operated a 600-acre cotton and carrot farm. He graduated in 1954 from San Benito High School, where he was a three-time state champion sprinter. He earned a bachelor’s degree in physical education from Abilene Christian.

A three-time champion at the 1956 Olympic Games, Morrow was often called “the greatest sprinter of all time”

Morrow (right) embraces his former ACU head coach, Oliver Jackson, at a reunion in Moody Coliseum in 2010.

GERALD EWING

and “the world’s fastest human.” At age 21 and early in his junior year at ACU, he became the first person since Jesse Owens in 1936 to win three Olympic gold medals in track and field when he won the 100 meters and 200 meters, and anchored the winning 400-meter relay team for the U.S. in Melbourne, Australia.

“There is no way to measure the unprecedented visibility and goodwill that has come to our university because of what he accomplished as a student-athlete,” said ACU president Dr. Phil Schubert (’91). “We stand on the shoulders of Bobby Morrow and his world-recordsetting teammates and coaches, and on what they did to make Abilene Christian known around the globe.”

Sports Illustrated magazine named Morrow Sportsman of the Year for 1956, from among finalists including New York Yankees standouts Mickey Mantle and Don Larsen, NFL MVP Frank Gifford of the New York Giants, heavyweight boxing champion Floyd Patterson, and University of Notre Dame All-America running

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back Paul Hornung, winner of the Heisman Trophy.

Morrow appeared on the front covers of Life, Sport, Track and Field News and other magazines and won the James E. Sullivan Memorial Trophy from the AAU in 1957 as the outstanding amateur athlete in the U.S. He also was named Athlete of the Year by Sport magazine and by the Knute Rockne Foundation.

He won 14 titles in 100- and 200-meter races while competing for the Wildcats at NCAA Division I, NAIA and U.S. national championships. In individual sprints and as a member of Abilene Christian and U.S. relay teams, Morrow is officially credited by the IAAF with a total of 16 world records. His world records included 10.2 in the 100 meters and 20.6 in the 200 meters, with a career best of wind-aided 9.1 in the 100-yard dash.

“From 1956 to 1958, Bobby Morrow won all the major sprinting titles for which he competed, capped by three gold medals at the 1956 Olympics,” wrote Harrison Smith in an obituary in The Washington Post. “Not since Jesse Owens had a sprinter so dominated the Olympic track.

Not until Carl Lewis [in 1984] and Usain Bolt [in 2012] would a man do so again.”

“He’s the caliber of athlete who comes along only once in a lifetime or once in a century. He set the standard for others,” said Garner Roberts (’70), former longtime ACU sports information director who researched and wrote widely about the Wildcat sprinter. “Obviously, he had God-given ability, but he had tremendous desire to win and was dedicated to training and committed to hard work. He had the best sprint and relay coaching in America from Oliver Jackson (’42). He was humble and shared the glory with his coaches and teammates. It’s been said he put ACC on the map. But he also put Abilene, Texas, on the map. I’m thankful my dad took me as a boy to see him run.

And I’m proud to have known Bobby and coach Jackson.”

Morrow finished his four-year career at Abilene Christian with a record of 80-8 in individual sprint races for legendary coach Jackson.

“When I was a kid growing up in Rule, Texas, everyone who loved track and field knew of the legendary Bobby Morrow,” said Wes Kittley (’81), who was a middle distance runner at Abilene Christian and later coached teams at his alma mater to 29 NCAA Division II national championships from 1985-99. He just began his 22nd season as head track and field and cross country coach at Texas Tech University. The Red Raiders’ men’s team won its first Division I national title in 2019.

“I have always felt my success at ACU, and me attending school there as a student-athlete, was in part because Bobby had been a Wildcat. I wanted to be a part of the program he had built,” Kittley said. “I will always

Wildcat head coach Oliver Jackson developed Morrow and teammates such as Bill Woodhouse (’59), James Segrest (’59), Waymond Griggs (’58), George Peterson (’60) and Don Conder (’56) into the nation’s top sprinter corps and holders of multiple world records.

With ACU president Dr. Don H. Morris (below) looking on in 1956, Morrow spoke at a public celebration at the airport in Abilene before leaving Texas for a 48-hour plane ride to Australia, and Olympic fame that would change his life and that of his alma mater.

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be thankful for what he did for ACU and the world of track and field.”

In 1959, Morrow was named one of nine “Greatest Living Americans” by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.

He is a member of the ACU Sports Hall of Fame, Texas Sports Hall of Fame, U.S. Track and Field Hall of Fame, and U.S. Olympic Hall of Fame.

Morrow donated his gold medals to the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C., the Texas Sports Hall of Fame and ACU. His accomplishments created opportunities for travel and speaking engagements around the nation, a nearly full-time job assigned to Dr. Robert D. “Bob” Hunter (’52), then ACU’s director of alumni. Morrow addressed a joint session of the Texas Senate and House of Representatives, visited The White House, and appeared on national TV broadcasts of “The Ed Sullivan Show” and “What’s My Line?”

He was credited with Wildcat track and field being named “Texas Sports Dynasty of the Century” by Texas Monthly magazine in 1999. In 2005, Morrow was named ACU’s Athlete of the Century. The high school gymnasium and football stadium in San Benito are named after him.

Morrow hits the wire in the finals of the 200-meter dash, winning his second of three gold medals at the 1956 Olympic Games.

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“I found my way to ACU because of Bobby,” said quartermiler Earl Young (’62), who followed Morrow as an Olympic gold medal winner for the U.S. in Rome in 1960.

“I was in 10th grade and my first year of high school track in San Fernando, California, when I saw him in the 1956 Olympics,” Young recalled. “I immediately began to create my interpretation of his relaxed running style.

Little did I know that three years later, he and coach Jackson would pop into my dad’s office while they were in California for the Colosseum Relays and ask to meet me. There I was at age 17, shaking the hand of my hero.

Bobby Morrow brought Abilene Christian to the attention of the world, and I am just one of the Wildcats who benefited from his accomplishments.”

“The amateur’s only reward – and his gift to the world – is simply the knowledge of excellence,” according to a story in Sports Illustrated after the sprinter returned to campus in 1956. “Bobby Morrow is one of the rare ones who achieved – and gave – a little more … a distillation of excellence, in his case, as pure and heady an essence as the Olympic Games have ever known.” 

– RON HADFIELD

GERALD EWING GERALD EWING

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SecondGLANCE

BY DR. CHERYL MANN BACON

Everyone had a Carl Brecheen story, and this is mine I do not remember whether I got an A in Family Relations. And I know I could not recite any of the lists I memorized for Dr. Carl Brecheen’s famous tests.

But I’ll never forget him (see page 103).

Thousands of ACU alums from a decades-long era have a Carl Brecheen story. He was just memorable.

The grin, the laugh, the confident authority when he spoke, the way he prayed. The way this small man had such a big voice when he raised his hand to lead a song.

Those who attended the Marriage Enrichment Seminars with Brecheen and Faulkner have memories, too.

Together with their wives they traveled the world, taking their three-day Marriage Enrichment Seminar to more than 90,000 couples in seven nations. The two – former roommates from the Class of ’52 – made quite the pair when they presented together.

Dr. Paul Faulkner was the tall, lanky, athlete with a deep voice and slow drawl. Brecheen, much shorter, had an almost elfin persona with twinkly eyes and a quick chuckle. Their friendship was palpable and brightened the stage, even when they talked about hard subjects. A magical rhythm emerged as they told a story and made each other laugh, genuinely laugh at tales they’d been telling on one another for years. The wisdom, the kindness, the grace. I think that’s why people loved them.

Perhaps the first time I ever fully grasped the concept of grace was during a conversation in Carl’s office. Just a drop-in-to-say-hi conversation. His door on the first floor of the Hardin Administration Building was always open for conversation. And at some point he said, “You know, as a father when I tell my child what to do and they don’t quite get it right, I don’t come down on them for not being perfect. I don’t think God does either.”

There’s better exegeted theology on the subject, but Carl could make important things clear and memorable.

He knew people needed conversation. So, for years he and his assistant oversaw the Ad Building’s first-floor coffee room, not exactly a typical assignment for a tenured full professor. He just thought someone ought to do that, so he did. I think that’s why people loved him.

Whether it was during graduate school or the years I spent on staff as a single 20-something, I don’t recall, and I don’t remember how it was that Carl and his wife asked me to stay with their kids for a few days when they were out of town. But for a couple of years until Patti (’81), Marcus (’84) and Stacy (’85) outgrew the need for a keeper, that became a common thing. Some of my friends thought that sounded a bit intimidating – after all, this was 1 12

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Dr. Family Relations. Their home, their kids, were bound to be perfect, right? What if I messed it up?

Spending a weekend or more in a family’s home brings a different perspective. The veneer is stripped away.

The laundry and the dishes and the forgotten homework are all laid bare. At the Brecheens’, I was struck with how wonderfully normal they were, how unintimidating.

Things weren’t perfect. And that was fine. The kids didn’t recite the lists. They sometimes rolled their eyes. They forgot things. Sometimes even Carl forgot things – but never Smitty (Smith ’53), his wife. There was always laughter: normal, how-in-the-world-did-that-happen laughter. I think that’s why I loved them.

Carl was a Bible professor, education minister, author, Lectureship director, Bible Teachers Workshop director, song leader, preacher, elder, storyteller, father, husband, grandfather, friend.

Over time he began to retire from a few of those roles, handing off Lectureship and the summer workshop, eventually walking away from the demanding travel schedule of the seminars.

His knack for walking away with grace, with a Brecheen certain ease, was a lesson in itself. In 2007 he walked away from campus officially and retired.

His legendary Family Relations course packed Walling Lecture Hall every semester, then the Teague Lecture Hall, starting in 1990. It remained in the Catalog when he retired, but no one else has ever taught it.

In retirement, Carl and Smitty found new ways to minister to families and others who benefited from their deep experience and innate kindness. They invited a series of newly single moms, each recovering from divorce and learning to navigate solo parenting, to breakfast each Thursday for as long as they needed the prayer and wisdom doled out at the Brecheens’ kitchen table on Cedar Crest, just blocks from the campus.

Some 14 years ago I was one of those. Week by week for a whole semester, my world became a little more manageable over oatmeal, toast and coffee. They helped me find normal again, and made me laugh. In the years since I have often borrowed a phrase from his prayers, “Thank you, Lord, for all the ways you show us that you care for us.”

Carl’s lifelong best friend described him to me a few weeks before Carl died Dec. 19, 2019. “He was good at everything – heart, mind, soul, family, God – he had it all together,” Faulkner said. “And it was still there when I was with him when he couldn’t talk anymore.”

I’m sure that’s why we loved him. 

From the PRESIDENT

ACU Today is published twice a year by the Division of Marketing and Strategic Communications at Abilene Christian University, Abilene, Texas.

STAFF

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with spartan comforts, rooms illuminated at night by kerosene light, and few buildings with running water.

As this issue of ACU Today went to press, we were looking back at a historic and disruptive winter storm in Texas, and a glimpse of what A.B. Barret and Jesse P. Sewell and others endured and overcame early in the 20th century.

Moreover, the pandemic of this past year has all of us feeling like pioneers as we, together, navigate the many ways it has altered life as we knew it.

We are grateful for your prayers and other generosity as we learn to thrive amid all kinds of challenges. I could not be more proud of our stalwart students and the heroic work of our faculty and staff, who continue to live up to ACU’s reputation as one of the nation’s most innovative and forward-thinking universities. Our alumni, too, represent us in amazing ways as they lead and serve others.

This issue delivers content I believe will inform and inspire you:

• Groundbreaking research at ACU (pages 6-15) is raising the visibility

of engineering, physics, chemistry and biochemistry programs while advancing important research in energy, medicine and clean water.

• U.S. News & World Report’s 2021 “America’s Best Colleges” again ranked ACU as the best in Texas and among the nation’s most effective in qualitative ways leading to student success (pages 16-19).

• “The Angels Among Us” reflects on the selfless efforts made by countless Wildcats to help our students and others conquer COVID-19 in our personal and professional lives (pages 20-39).

• Alumni awards (pages 50-55) spotlight difference-making graduates.

• Among new developments, a major renovation is underway of landmark Moody Coliseum, which will return in late 2022 as a gleaming new home for Chapel, athletics, Commencement and other major events at ACU (pages 48-49). A prototype for the residence hall of the future is rising on East North 16th Street, and will anchor a new Freshman Village concept (page 74).

• We will soon realize new opportunties to expand our recruiting and elevate our brand in the western U.S. through membership in a venerable Division I athletics conference (pages 42-47).

• We have a record enrollment for the third straight year (page 62), and in our next issue we will share more exciting news about ACU’s future.

God is good, and faithful. Your faithful support truly makes a difference in our work each day.

May you and yours be safe and well. Thank you for believing in us and in our mission! 

DR. PHIL SCHUBERT (’91), President The mission of ACU is to educate students for Christian service and leadership throughout the world.

JEREMY ENLOW

e have often wondered what it must have been like to be among our founders in 1906, endeavoring to establish a Christian school in West Texas

Editor: Ron Hadfield (’79) Assistant Editors: Wendy (Waller ’01) Kilmer, Robin (Ward ’82) Saylor Sports Editor: Chris Macaluso Production Manager: Amber (Gilbert ’99) Bunton Contributing Writers This Issue: Dr. Cheryl Mann Bacon (’76), Dr. Cole Bennett, Sarah Carlson (’06), Katie Noah Gibson (’06), Jonathan Smith (’06) Contributing Photographers This Issue: Greg Andersen, Amber (Carroll ’06) Brantly, Steve Butman, Scott Delony (’06), Rick Dempsey, Jeremy Enlow, Brett Garcia (’21), Gerald Ewing, James Fitzgerald III, Rick Freeda / WWE, Taylor Leigh Hassan, Kristi Jones, Kim Leeson, Glenn Losoya, Lexi McCown (’22), Mike Mulholland, Mackensie Nellis, Tim Nelson, Clark Potts (’53), Gunnar Rathbun, Gary Rhodes (’07), Ben Solomon, Deanna (Romero ’16) Tuttle, Maria Fernandia Hernandez Vasquez, Paul White (’68) Contributing Graphic Designers/Illustrators This Issue: Greg Golden (’87), Holly Harrell, Todd Mullins, Amy Willis (’19 MBA) Editorial Assistants: Vicki (Warner ’83) Britten, Emerald (Cardenas ’08) Cassidy, Sharon (McDaniel ’79) Fox, Rachel (Jinkerson ’11) Goodman, Rendi (Young ’83) Hahn, Sean Hennigan, Riley Wills

A Legacy OF LOVE AND SERVICE

ADVISORY COMMITTEE Administration: Suzanne Allmon (’79), Kevin Campbell (’00), Dr. Stephanie (Toombs ’90) Hamm, Dr. Robert Rhodes Advancement: Jim Orr, J.D. (’86), Billie Currey, J.D. (’70), Samantha (Bickett ’01) Adkins Alumni Relations: Craig Fisher (’92), Jama (Fry ’97) Cadle, April Young (’16), Mandy (Becker ’13) Collum Marketing and Strategic Communications: Linda Bonnin Student Life: Tamara (Boyer ’03) Long Ex-officio: Dr. Phil Schubert (’91)

CORRESPONDENCE ACU Today: hadfieldr@acu.edu ACU Alumni Association: alumni@acu.edu Record Changes: ACU Box 29132, Abilene, Texas 79699-9132, 325-674-2620

ON THE WEB Abilene Christian University: acu.edu Address changes and EXperiences: acu.edu/alumni ACU Advancement Office (Exceptional Fund, Gift Records): acu.edu/give ACU Alumni Website: acu.edu/alumni Watch Us on YouTube: youtube.com/acu Find Us on Facebook: facebook.com/abilenechristian facebook.com/acusports facebook.com/welcometoACU Follow Us on Twitter: twitter.com/acuedu twitter.com/acusports twitter.com/acuadmissions Follow Us on Instagram: instagram.com/acuedu instagram.com/acualumni instagram.com/acuadmissions

an (’73) and Donna Garrett have been involved in the Abilene Christian University community for half a century, from Donna’s role as faculty and in Women for ACU, and Dan’s work in Advancement, on the Board of Trustees and as the first president of The ACU Foundation. Throughout it all, they welcomed thousands of students into their home for Sunday meals and conversations.

Dan stepped down from his role as president in 2018 and officially retired this past May. Through his new emeritus role, he’ll continue to work with families to help them accomplish their planned giving needs.

This transition is an end of an era, said the Garretts’ youngest son, John (’07).

To honor their parents and mark this family milestone, John and brothers Grant (’99) and Mack (’01) decided to create an endowed scholarship in their parents’ names.

“Legacy is a word we have heard our dad use hundreds of times over the years,” said John Garrett.

“He has also always preached the importance of ACU’s endowment and how it creates an annual lifeblood for the university that makes Christian higher education affordable for future generations. Creating an endowed scholarship in mom and dad’s name is one of the best ways we can honor them and their legacy.

“We are proud of the legacy our parents have written at ACU,” he continued. “We are proud of how it lives on in each of us, in our families and in their grandkids. And we are proud to know it will continue as new students, for generations, will receive their generous scholarship and hear their story. Thank you for everything, mom and dad, and congratulations for your incredible lives of service.”

If you are interested in creating an endowed scholarship at ACU, please contact our team.

Hunter Welcome Center ACU Box 29200 Abilene, Texas 79699-9200

800-979-1906 • 325-674-2508 • theacufoundation.org • bradleybenham@acu.edu

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Abilene Christian University ACU Box 29132 Abilene, Texas 79699-9132

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C OMING UP Wildcat Visits ............................................ See acu.edu/visit for available dates or check out our virtual tour Sing Song at the Paramount Theatre ................................................. April 22-25 Class of 1970 Golden Anniversary Virtual Reunion................................. April 20 Class of 1971 Golden Anniversary Virtual Reunion................................... April 21 Day of Giving ............................................................................................. April 27 May Commencement at Wildcat Stadium ............................................... May 7-8

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Wildcat Week ................................................................................... August 17-20 Season-Opening Football at SMU ................................................... September 4 Family Weekend ........................................................................ September 17-18 115th Annual Summit ....................................................... Starting September 19 Homecoming ................................................................................... October 14-17 JMC Gutenberg Celebration .......................................................... October 14 Sports Hall of Fame Dinner and Lettermen’s Reunion ................. October 15

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acuedu • acusports SCOTT DELONY

MVP (Most Valuable Place) With Moody Coliseum under renovation and many other large spaces being repurposed or seeing multiple new uses during the pandemic in 2020-21, Wildcat Stadium has proven to be much more than home to the football program. When physical distancing is necessary, major gatherings of the campus community look first to the stadium, which became the venue in August for many events, notably ACU’s first outdoor Commencement in 55 years (see pages 2-3), and the traditional Candlelight Devo for freshmen at Wildcat Week.

Research and Resources to Fuel the Future NEXT Lab and STAR detector position ACU on the frontier of groundbreaking science exploration

Alumni Awards

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Conquering COVID-19

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WAC

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Outlive Your Life Award