CONGRATULATIONS GRADUATES! WE APPLAUD YOU FOR YOUR ACHIEVEMENTS!
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NOW Magazine | Spring 2018
NOW Magazine | Spring 2018
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Photo by graduating senior Marcus Miller
FEATURES 8
Remembering the Rev. Billy Graham
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Alumni Proud to be #LeTourneauBuilt
22
New Engineering Academy Induction
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New Program: Cybersecurity
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New Program: RN to BSN Online
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Help After Hurricane Harvey
46
Enjoying Grad School Abroad
12 14 16 18
Stan Settles Dale Hill Nate Saint Jenelle and Jeffrey Piepmeier
DEPARTMENTS
6 From the President 26 News and Notes 32 Class Notes 44 Faith & Work
“BEHOLD, NOW IS THE ACCEPTABLE TIME; BEHOLD NOW IS THE DAY OF OUR SALVATION.” – II COR. 6:2
NOW Magazine | Spring 2018
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LETTER FROM THE PRESIDENT
T
he world mourned the passing of the Rev.
Billy Graham this spring, and LeTourneau
University remembered the meaningful
relationship between Graham and the univer-
sity. LeTourneau University founders R.G. and
Evelyn LeTourneau enjoyed decades of per-
sonal friendship with Graham. Throughout the
1960s, Graham served on the university Board of Trustees and his son Franklin attended the
university. Many LETU graduates went on to work in the Billy Graham Evangelistic
Association. We rejoice in the knowledge of the thousands who came to know
Christ through Graham’s crusades and of how our university was involved in his ministry from the start.
Relationships matter at LETU. Several engineering alumni were inducted into the inaugural class of LETU’s new Academy of Engineering and Engineering Tech-
nology. We feature several of these influential engineering leaders in this magazine.
They are each professionals who integrate their Christian faith and their work.
Jesus is the Lord of every workplace. LETU sees the need for Christ ambassadors in two important professions—cybersecurity and nursing. These two new online
programs launch this fall. The online delivery method will allow working adults to
gain an education that will advance them in their careers.
Our students are so grateful to many of you. Over the past several months, LETU
alumni and friends have opened their hearts and wallets to help our Houston-area students following Hurricane Harvey. To date, our Hurricane Harvey scholarship fund has awarded more than $31,000 to students.
The storms of this world give our students great opportunity to reflect God-hon-
DALE A. LUNSFORD, PH.D. PUBLISHER
JANET RAGLAND EDITOR IN CHIEF
KATE GRONEWALD JENNA PACE MARK ROEDEL COPY EDITORS
ENCORE MULTIMEDIA GRAPHIC DESIGN
GAIL RITCHEY CLASS NOTES
NIEMAN PRINTING PRINTING
JAMIE DEYOUNG DR. GLYN GOWING MATT KINNEY DR. BILL PEEL DR. KIMBERLY QUIETT JANET RAGLAND CONTRIBUTING WRITERS
CONTACT INFORMATION: WEB: www.letu.edu Email: NOW@letu.edu
oring excellence. A 5-year-old little girl with only one hand is playing the violin
ADMISSIONS OFFICE PHONE: 800-759-8811
SafeHome senior design team won 1st place for a rapidly deployable emergency
ALUMNI OFFICE PHONE: 800-259-5388
Purse International. Their design survived storm winds of 130 miles per hour.
DEVELOPMENT OFFICE PHONE: 800-259-LETU
because of an engineering student who designed an assistive device. Our
disaster shelter they entered in a national competition, sponsored by Samaritan’s And our National Intercollegiate Flying Association team ranked in the top 5 in
national competition, outranking teams from the Air Force Academy and The Ohio
State University. The team’s motto is to glorify God, who is their “Audience of
One.”
I’m so proud of the university. Proud not just of our achievements (which are
worthy of praise). But also proud that LETU remains true to our unique calling
to be The Christian Polytechnic University where our students grow both in their
Christian faith and in their technical know-how.
LeTourneau University is a Christ-centered, interdenominational university offering more than 140 undergraduate and graduate degree programs across a range of academic disciplines and delivery models. Students are enrolled in programs on ground at LETU’s residential campus in Longview, Texas, as well as in hybrid and fully online options at educational centers in the Dallas and Houston areas. Academic majors include aviation, business, communication, computer science, criminal justice, education, engineering, health care administration, human services, kinesiology, the liberal arts, nursing, psychology the sciences and theology. NOW is published by LeTourneau University, 2100 South Mobberly, Longview, Texas 75607 • Sent free upon request to Editor, P.O. Box 8001, Longview, Texas 75607 • Postmaster: Send address changes to: NOW, P.O. Box 8001, Longview, Texas 75607 • Email us at NOW@letu.edu
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NOW Magazine | Spring 2018
LETU’s 2018 STING Flight Team, pictured with LETU President Dr. Dale A. Lunsford, standing at far left, and LETU Aviation Dean Fred Ritchey, standing far right. Back Row: LETU President Dr. Dale A. Lunsford, Jonathan Deak, Noah Bronner, Thomas Alley, Ben White, James Hulsey, Trevor Taylor, Aviation Dean Fred Ritchey. Front Row: Team Faculty Coach Jered Lease, Jon Mammen, Addision Duncan, Jeff Rosinbaum, Jonathan Rurup. Not Pictured: Josh Kelly.
NOW Magazine | Spring 2018
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Remembering the Rev. Billy Graham
By Janet Ragland
D
escribed as the most significant religious figure of the 20th
century and fondly referred to
as “America’s Pastor,” the late Rev. Billy
Graham died on Feb. 21 at the age of 99. Graham preached the gospel to
more persons than any other preacher
in history, an estimated 215 million in his lifetime. Decades of his faithful service
to preaching the gospel have led untold
numbers to Christ.
The first religious leader in history to lie
in honor at the Capitol Rotunda in Washington, D.C., Graham was described by
President Trump as “an ambassador for
Christ who reminded the world of the power of prayer and the gift of
God’s grace.”
Graham didn’t just belong to the
Evelyn LeTourneau founded a Christian
camp—Camp Bethany—in Winona Lake, Indiana, and a young Billy Graham as a
Wheaton College student worked as a
camp counselor and later a speaker. A friendship formed.
In 1946 when Billy Graham was drawing huge crowds to Youth For Christ rallies
problem, and you know what he did? He
sent me a check for $7,000.”
Billy Graham gave the address at the
used to send machinery and supplies
returning World War II veterans.
Africa and in Peru. The ship is named
LeTourneau Technical School to educate
In 1947, the young evangelist came up
short on finances and reached out to
R.G. LeTourneau for help to finish his
European tour. Not only did LeTourneau
provide a cashier’s check a few weeks
later, but he also flew overseas to attend
supporter of God’s work through
England. LeTourneau became a faithful
Graham’s evangelism rallies for years thereafter.
Years later on a visit back to Longview to visit the LeTourneaus, Graham was
quoted in the Longview News-Journal, saying: “When I was just starting out
NOW Magazine | Spring 2018
wrote Mr. LeTourneau and told him my
plant in Longview, Texas, and founded
Tourneaus launched their manufacturing
close bond with LETU founders R.G. and
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where I could get it...I just sat down and
dedication service of a converted
one of the meetings in Birmingham,
Evelyn LeTourneau.
nobody knew me. I was in Ireland and
I needed some money and didn’t know
as YFC’s first paid evangelist, the Le-
nation; he also belonged to LeTourneau
University, where he had a unique and
to preach, I didn’t know anyone, and
military surplus ship that LeTourneau
to his missionary settlements in Liberia, the R.G. LeTourneau and it was docked
at the LeTourneau factory in Vicksburg, Mississippi.
R.G. LeTourneau designed and built a
speaker at the LeTourneau College
end the funeral service by singing two
to use for revival meetings during a
a community-wide Crusade meeting in
solo, with the congregation joining in on
referring to it as the “Billy Graham
to share the good fortune of the college
Graham team taking part in the cere-
May of 1953. While it never was used
eldest son, Franklin Graham, attended a
and Ted Smith, piano accompanist.
with the London city council, the domed
where he learned to fly an airplane.
and ministry of the late Billy Graham and
domed structure in 1953 for Graham speaking campaign in Great Britain,
Crusade tabernacle” in a letter dated
for its original purpose due to problems
25th Anniversary celebration, holding
Longview High School’s Lobo Stadium
and bear witness for Christ. Graham’s
few semesters at LeTourneau University
structure went on to be used for several
Years later, on May 6, 2000, Franklin
LeTourneau Technical School students.
at a LeTourneau University commence-
years for graduation ceremonies for
It stands in south Longview to this day,
Graham was a featured keynote speaker
doctorate.
LeTourneau Tech became a college in
1969, Graham was unable to attend the
College Board of Trustees from 1961 to
Grady Wilson to represent him and give
1961. Graham served on the LeTourneau 1975. In 1971, Graham was a featured
the chorus. Other members of the Billy
mony were Cliff Barrows, music director, LeTourneau University celebrates the life
extends its condolences to the Graham family. ■
ment and was awarded an honorary
at the Longview plant now owned by Komatsu.
verses of “How Great Thou Art” as a
When R.G. “Pop” LeTourneau died in
funeral, but he sent associate evangelist
a tribute, and George Beverly Shea to
NOW Magazine | Spring 2018
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By Janet Ragland Photos by Jeremiah Shepherd
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NOW Magazine | Spring 2018
By Janet Ragland
LeTourneau University is
proud of the many
exceptional career achievements of its
engineering alumni who have clearly used
their God-given gifts in an exemplary fashion since graduating from LeTourneau.
Over 30 LeTourneau University engineering alumni were inducted as inaugural members of LeTourneau University’s new Academy of Engineering and Engineering Technology on April 5 for their noteworthy
professional accomplishments. Here are the stories of only a few of them.
To learn more and to see the complete list of AEET inductees, see page 23 in this NOW magazine.
NOW Magazine | Spring 2018
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Stan Settles 1962, INDUSTRIAL ENGINEERING
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NOW Magazine | Spring 2018
W
hen Stan Settles first came
to LeTourneau University in
1960 to study engineering, it
Life is a people game.
was not love at first sight.
“When I arrived here, it was still LeTour-
We talk about the
pickup truck, but I had a trailer behind
technology and math
neau Tech,” he said. “I was driving a
me that had a dragster on it. Oh, they
and science and all,
weren’t too sure about all this!”
Settles said the army barracks on the
but it’s more of a
had imagined after reading about the
people game.
campus didn’t quite live up to what he school in the NOW magazine that his mother had subscribed to.
“I had done my first two years in chemical engineering at Colorado School of
Mines, but then I got around race cars
and interested in making parts,” he
said. While he felt Colorado School of
Mines compared to MIT and CalTech in
prestige, Settles said LeTourneau was the right school for him.
“I had a math teacher here that was way better, a far better teacher,” he said.
“Very few faculty members focus on the
learning rather than the teaching.” That
was something Settles would remember when he later became an engineering professor and department chair at
University of Southern California.
Settles worked at the LeTourneau
factory and took classes in the alter-
day program.
“Back in those days, I would work in the
that time, getting into graduate school
was not a trivial deal. Settles took the
graduate acceptance exam and got
in. Since his parents had moved from
Colorado to Phoenix, and his wife was
expecting their first child, it was a slam dunk that they would go to Phoenix.
His plan was to stay in Arizona while
he got his master’s and Ph.D., then go
teach. To make money to support his
family while he was in graduate school, he started working with a company
called AiResearch making gas turbines
and jet engines. He went to his boss to
quit in 1969 to take a teaching job that
paid more, but instead, his boss offered him a 43% raise to stay.
factory on Monday, Wednesday and
A 30-year career in design and project
Saturday, I would have classes,” he said.
management with Allied Signal Aero-
Friday and on Tuesday Thursday and
The next week, the schedule would alter.
“The hands-on experience fit me.”
In the spring of his senior year in 1962, his industrial engineering professor
asked him if he had ever thought about
going to graduate school.
“He told me to consider it,” he said.
Settles said that professor had ties to
both Purdue and Arizona State Univer-
sity, and since LeTourneau Tech was not
an accredited engineering program at
engineering, manufacturing and general space, now Honeywell, ensued. Settles
also taught engineering as an adjunct faculty member at ASU from 1966 through 1991.
Settles was elected in 1991 into the
National Academy of Engineers, one
of the highest professional honors
accorded an engineer. Selected for his
“outstanding contributions to industrial
engineering and manufacturing practice, and for leadership in advancing collaboration between industry and academia,”
Settles may be the only LeTourneau
alumnus in the NAE, an organization
dating back to Abraham Lincoln’s presidency.
“I got elected when I was still in industry,” Settles said. “Out of about 3 million
engineers in the country, there are only about 2,200 members.”
His career path included working a few
years on NSF and White House Office of Science and Technology Policy, then he
went to USC where he taught engi-
neering courses for nearly two decades
as department chair of the Daniel J. Epstein Industrial & Systems Engi-
neering Department and as IBM Chair in
Engineering Management. Settles retired
as professor emeritus in 2015.
Settles’s advice for college students
today is to find mentors, which he says
was an important key to his career success.
“Life is a people game,” he said. “We
talk about the technology and math and
science and all, but it’s more of a people
game. LeTourneau gave me that kind of background. There are a bunch of
brilliant people out there, but the people
part doesn’t work for them. I didn’t realize that until I looked back.” ■
I started out knowing there wasn’t anything I couldn’t do. As a result, God has made me a steward of many opportunities throughout life.
D
ale Hill remembers the first time
he saw the LeTourneau campus.
It was 1965, and the campus
was covered with old, whitewashed
army barracks with connecting walk-
ways and ramps from its days as the old
Harmon General Hospital. The only brick buildings on campus were Tyler Hall, the
old Science Building and the Library.
Hill had driven from West Virginia up to New Jersey to pick up a friend that he
met working that summer in upstate New York working at a Word of Life
Christian camp, and then the two of
them made the long trek to Longview,
Texas.
“We pulled up on campus...looked at
each other and dug in our pockets,” Hill said. “We didn’t have enough money to
go home, and so we stayed.”
Those two young men that day, Dale Hill and Joe Nowiczewski, along with Stan Settles, Jeffrey and Jenelle Piepmeier
and several others, were inducted into
LETU’s new Academy of Engineering
charging system. Proterra won the 2018
past April 5.
and Top 100 in the world.
and Engineering Technology (AEET) this Hill remembers LeTourneau University
founder R.G. LeTourneau, whom many
of the students referred to as “Pop.”
“I was fortunate enough to be here when Pop LeTourneau was alive,” Hill said.
“He died two weeks before I graduated. I
attended his two-and-a-half-hour funeral.
“I left here with the statement fresh on my mind that Pop made that anything the
Clean Tech award for the United States
“It all started here, seeing the big equipment with electric motors,” Hill said. During his career, Hill has learned to
make sure he was following God and not
asking God to bless a decision he had made after the fact.
“I’ve had companies that we started,
that when God was involved, it seemed like there was nothing we could do that
mind can conceive, man can achieve
didn’t turn out,” Hill said. “On the other
said. “I started out knowing there wasn’t
take what I had accumulated in knowl-
with God’s guidance and help,” Hill
anything I couldn’t do. As a result, God
has made me steward of many opportu-
nities throughout life.”
Hill earned his bachelor’s degree in
welding engineering from LeTourneau
hand, if I got into something trying to
edge, no matter how much I did right, nothing ever worked.
“My advice to young, aspiring engineers
is never be afraid to tackle anything that
God shares with you, but you better
College in 1969. A career entrepreneur,
dog-gone listen to God and spend time
founding Proterra in 2004 to build the
how to get you through that day,”
Hill is a pioneer in clean transit solutions,
world’s best battery electric bus and
on your knees every morning asking him he said. ■
Dale Hill 1969, WELDING ENGINEERING
NOW Magazine | Spring 2018
15
Nate Saint 1979, MECHANICAL TECHNOLOGY
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NOW Magazine | Spring 2018
N
ate Saint found out about
LeTourneau College at his
church in Pennsylvania, where
his strong Christian family had friends
I realized here are all these
whose son attended. When Saint began looking as a high school senior for a
Christian engineering college that had
students who loved the Lord like I do, and they are from
a soccer team, he found LeTourneau fit those requirements.
“LeTourneau was a really a good experi-
ence for me,” he said. “It was where my faith became mine.
different backgrounds. That was one of three things that helped my faith.
“When I got to LeTourneau, the first thing that struck me was that you have all
these students from all these different
states, different countries, and a lot of
different church traditions and denomi-
nations,” he said. “I realized here are all
these students who loved the Lord like I
do, and they are from different back-
grounds. That was one of three things that helped my faith.
The second was the faculty. “The teachers that I had, they really
brought Christianity into the classroom
and into life experience,” he said. “Most
of them have actual experience in their field before they came to LeTourneau.
They were telling stories about what
happened in business or on the mission
field, or wherever, and they were relating
that to their devotions and to class itself.
That was kind of the second leg of a three-legged stool.
“The third was the other students— friends—that I made here.
“Hebrews talks about spurring each
other on to love and good works, and
that’s really what happened,” he said.
“Friends I made here pulled me along and challenged me to think about my faith
and what Christ did for us on the cross.
“I have to say that those four years at
LeTourneau were some of the most for-
mative and most growing I did spiritually in a relatively short period of time.”
When Saint graduated with his me-
chanical technology degree in 1978, he
began his career as a design engineer
one of Graco’s most popular products
years, inflation skyrocketed, interest
Seat—developed for them by Iron
at Cessna Aircraft Company. After three rates went through the roof, and people
stopped buying airplanes.
Saint returned to his home state of
Pennsylvania and approached the baby
products company Graco, where his
father had worked for many years—in-
venting the Swyngomatic baby swing—
and where Nate had worked as a janitor when he was a kid and built prototypes
during summer breaks in college. They hired Nate to work in their product
development department.
“I knew that industry from the standpoint
of a laborer, but I didn’t think I would end up long-term in that field,” he said.
But God had other plans. By 2001,
Nate Saint—inventor of the ‘Pack ‘n
Play’—was vice president of product
development.
When the company changed ownership, he started a new company as president
and CEO of Iron Mountain LLC, specializing in design, engineering and market
analysis of children’s products. He said
is the 4Ever™ 4-in-1 Convertible Car
Mountain.
Saint appreciates LeTourneau’s heritage
of building and hands-on education.
“I like that aspect of LeTourneau,” he said. “In our industry, we only hire engineers with good hands-on tool skills and
experience...We want engineers who can come up with an idea and go into a shop and put enough of a model together to
show marketing that this idea will work.
That’s important to us.”
Saint also said his professors taught him
good work habits.
“One of the professors really drove home that when you go into a lab, or into a
workplace, or into a shop, that you leave it in better condition than you found it,”
he said. “You pick up after yourself. You
sweep up after yourself. You clean up.
That seems like a little, small thing, but that’s actually really important. I think
that mindset then spills out into other
areas of your life.” ■
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NOW Magazine | Spring 2018
Jenelle and Jeffrey Piepmeier JENELLE PIEPMEIER, 1993, MECHANICAL ENGINEERING JEFFREY PIEPMEIER, 1993, ELECTRICAL ENGINEERING
NOW Magazine | Spring 2018
19
An important part of my faith is knowing that God made me with these skills and abilities, and I should use them to glorify Him.
J
enelle Piepmeier earned her
on campus,” she said. “It was really a
from LeTourneau in 1993 and went
dorm. It was everything I expected. I re-
mechanical engineering degree
on to grad school to earn her M.S and
M.E in 1995 and her Ph. D. in 1999 from
Georgia Tech. Today she teaches at
the U.S. Naval Academy in the depart-
ment of robotics and control systems
engineering.
“Currently I’m teaching intro courses
to students who are learning how to
program computers to interface with hardware, motors and sensors,” she
said. “I’m trying to prepare future leaders for the Navy and Marine Corp.
“What brought me to LeTourneau was my dad getting a job here in 1978 to come teach computer science,” she said. “I
first came here as a third grader.”
Her dad, Steve Armstrong, taught
fun time hanging out with the girls in the
member that everyone was very excited my freshman year that there were 25
new freshmen girls that year. That was a big number back then.”
Jenelle said she was always interested in math and science and got excited
reading the course descriptions. “I knew
I wanted to study engineering,” she said. “A lot of what I teach are things that I learned here at LETU,” she said. “I
sometimes teach an intro to program-
ming class that was a class I took from
my father. Sometimes I use some of the techniques he used in class.
“Roboticists study how systems in nature work and figure out how we can use
could solve hard problems if she put her mind to it.
“If I persevere and study, try and rewire and reprogram...I can solve hard
problems. I don’t know that 20-year-old me knew that,” she said.
Women are an underrepresented group in the engineering career field, and
Jenelle had to overcome misperceptions
that some people had that she might not
do well because she was a woman.
“An important part of my faith is knowing that God made me with these skills and these abilities, and I should use them
to glorify Him,” she said. “Whether it’s
working with a student who needs my
ability to explain something to them in a
different way or working with a colleague who needs someone to be kind and
what they are doing to get robots to do
compassionate at that moment, the
for 35 years at LETU from 1978 until
of worship and how God has created
given me and the unique set of skills he
emeritus status.
looks down and laughs at us.”
every day and not listen to those little
math and computer science courses 2013, when he was awarded professor
“Even though we lived in Longview, my mom said a lot of what you learn in
college isn’t in the classroom, so I lived
that,” she said. “I almost see it as a form the universe and, sometimes, I think he
Jenelle said one of the best lessons she learned at LeTourneau was that she
breadth of experiences that God has
has placed in me, I need to use those
voices that say ‘You don’t belong here.’ I do belong here because God put me here.”
W
hen Jeffrey Piepmeier moved
onto the LETU campus
for his freshman year, he
knew exactly what to expect. He had
visited during a preview event, traveling from his home in Carrollton, Texas. He
vividly remembers saying goodbye to
his parents on move-in day: his mom in
tears, his dad with a big smile.
He remembers living in Dorm 41 with
swamp coolers for air conditioning and
having the ingenuity to wire up his own
ceiling fan in his dorm room. He enjoyed the camaraderie with others on his floor,
describing how they would all eat lunch at a long table in the cafeteria together. His junior and senior year, he was the Resident Assistant.
measure things that haven’t been mea-
sured before from space.” Piepmeier said the project enables scientists to
Georgia Tech, someone told him that
being able to make more accurate
LeTourneau, he wouldn’t get in, but he
are going as a human race.
and are following his lead, he will pave
better understand the earth systems,
predictions in climate to know where we Piepmeier said the hands-on emphasis to learning at LeTourneau University
served him well.
“I use what I learned at LETU just about
role on a $750 million project launched in January 2015 called Soil Moisture
Active Passive, or SMAP, that uses a microwave radiometer to measure
soil moisture.
because he went to a smaller school like learned that when you know the Lord
the way.
Besides getting a great education, Piepmeier also found his wife at LeTourneau.
every day,” he said. “The hands-on
Jeff met his wife, Jenelle Armstrong, in
really prepared me for graduate school
she was studying for a calculus II exam.
experience in the labs at LeTourneau
and work. I was able to go right into a
lab at graduate school and start working.
“I remember being shocked that some of
Today he works at NASA, in a leadership
my advisor got me.” He said when he
was applying to graduate school at
the kids from other schools didn’t know
how to solder,” he said. “Being electrical
engineering students, how can you not know how to solder?”
the lobby of the women’s dorm while
Today, the Piepmeiers have three
children that they hope will come to
LeTourneau, even if they don’t want to be engineers. “We do a lot of LeTour-
neau activities with them, like potato
cannons and trebuchets. They think that is all normal.” ■
Jeff said LETU taught him more than just engineering,
“I work on developing instruments for
weather satellites,” he said. “In particular, I’m interested in developing new ways to
“I have learned to take big risks and
put myself out there,” he said. “I was
relatively shy. My first engineering job
I use what I learned at LETU just about every day...The hands-on experience in the labs at LeTourneau really prepared me for graduate school and work. I was able to go right into a lab at graduate school and start working.
Academy of Engineering and Engineering Technology Induction Story by Janet Ragland Photos by Janet Ragland and Jeremiah Shepherd
O
ver 30 LeTourneau University engineering alumni were inducted into the inaugural class of the Academy of
Engineering and Engineering Technology on April
5 in Longview. All of the alumni inductees have been out of
college for at least 20 years and have become leaders in their respective disciplines and industries. LETU has more than
2,700 engineering alumni with 20 years of experience in their professions.
The purpose of the Academy of Engineering and Engineering
Technology is to recognize outstanding alumni who bring honor to the School of Engineering and Engineering Technology as
engineering practitioners, researchers, missionaries, educators and leaders.
“We give God glory for their tremendous talents and abilities,
and we hope their lives and accomplishments will inspire future
generations of LETU engineers,” said LETU Dean of Engi-
neering Dr. Steve Starrett, who served as master of ceremonies.
“We also believe this new engineering academy will promote involvement in current LETU engineering activities by these
outstanding inductees.”
Approximately 500 students currently study engineering at
LETU in mechanical, electrical, computer, civil, biomedical,
welding/materials joining engineering and engineering tech-
nology. Founded by R.G. and Evelyn LeTourneau in 1946 as
LeTourneau Technical Institute, the school became LeTourneau
College in 1961 and LeTourneau University in 1989. ■
22
NOW Magazine | Spring 2018
LETU Congratulates the 2018 LETU Engineering Academy Inductees DONALD BELL of Wichita Falls, Texas DOUGLAS BRITTON of Roswell, Georgia PHIL BURKS of Tyler, Texas DR. RICHARD CAMPBELL of Monument, Colorado TITUS CRABB of Phoenix, Arizona WILLIAM GARFIELD of Emmaus, Pennsylvania STANLEY GINGRICH of Larkspur, Colorado DR. R. WILLIAM “BILL” GRAFF of Longview, Texas DALE HILL of New Braunfels, Texas JOEL HUEGEL of Guadalajara, Mexico FEMI IBITAYO of Longview, Texas DR. MICHAEL KESSLER of Pullman, Washington DAVID LANDON of Pella, Iowa THOMAS LANDON of Plainfield, Illinois (in absentia) DR. PAUL LEIFFER of Longview, Texas L.V. “BUD” MCGUIRE of Montgomery, Texas WAYNE MEECE of Monroe, Louisiana DUANE MILLER of Chesterland, Ohio JOE NOWICZEWSKI of Montgomery, Texas DEAN PHILLIPS of Troy, Ohio DR. JEFFREY PIEPMEIER of Millersville, Maryland DR. JENELLE PIEPMEIER of Millersville, Maryland DAVID RUSSELL of Elkhart, Indiana NATHANAEL SAINT of Morgantown, Pennsylvania DR. F. STAN SETTLES of Tempe, Arizona KERRY SPEICHER of Longview, Texas WAYNE STEEGE of Corcoran, New Hampshire DR. KENNETH STEPHENS of Sun City Center, Florida PHILLIP TEMPLE of Canton, Michigan BIRNE WILEY of Longview, Texas STANLEY YOUNG of Highlands Ranch, Colorado
NOW Magazine | Spring 2018
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Athletics UPDATES LETU Athletics has moved forward in 2018 with new faces, new facilities and new conference and NCAA championship opportunities. Fear the Sting! By Matt Kinney
Men’s Basketball Wins First NCAA Tournament Game Building off of a record-setting
2016-17 season that saw the LeTourneau University men’s
basketball team win a program-
record 22 games, the 2017-18
YellowJackets took the next step
and earned the first NCAA Division III Men’s Basketball Championship
Track and Field Takes Flight Competing for the first time in
appearance.
school history on January 12,
LETU won its second-consecutive
a grand entrance into the world of
East Division title and earned
The team first competed at the
American Southwest Conference one of 21 at-large bids into the field of 64. The YellowJackets
LeTourneau YellowJackets made
NCAA Division III Track and Field.
Leonard Hilton Invitational hosted by the University of Houston, and
won their first-ever game in the
over the next two months were
win over Hanover College before
meets during the indoor season,
NCAA Tournament with an 85-77 falling to #6 Emory University by a
final of 83-82. LeTourneau finished the year with a school-record 24-5
overall record.
represented in a total of nine
continuously improving their
marks. Freshman pole vaulter Alex Hindman became the first NCAA Division III National Qualifier in
school history, finishing 10th at the NCAA Division III Indoor National
Championships in Birmingham,
Alabama.
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NOW Magazine | Spring 2018
LETU ATHLETICS
LETU Athletics Brick Campaign Providing an exceptional academic and
athletic opportunity for student athletes is so important to their overall college
experience. You can help provide
needed funds for equipment, uniforms, travel expenses and so much more by
donating to support our student-athletes. Please join us to provide the most
Men’s Soccer Names Collin Cone as New Head Coach
Solheim Arena Gets a Facelift
LETU Director of Athletics Terri
Arena got a facelift in December
as the university’s new men’s
bleacher benches and metal
rewarding experience possible for our stu-
dent-athletes as they pursue their chosen career and play the sports they love.
LeTourneau University’s Solheim
Your $125 gift will be permanently
as its original 1996 wooden
engraved with a message and/or image
soccer coach, following a national
underpinnings were removed
Village walkaway that extends from
YellowJacket family, Cone spent
Some of the wood was donated
Game Day Patio.
Theological Seminary in Winona
in Longview that builds beds for
Deike announced Collin Cone
search. Prior to joining the LETU
to make way for new bleachers.
three years at Grace College and
to Beds of Hope, an organization
Lake, Indiana, where he was cen-
foster children.
tral to the recruiting efforts for the
Lancers while also specializing in
work with goalkeepers. In addition to coaching at Grace University,
Cone spent four years as a
student-athlete for the Lancers
and was a three-year starter. As a senior, Cone posted seven
shutouts in the regular season to
propel the Lancers to a third-place
finish in the Crossroads League
and was named to the All-League team for his efforts.
acknowledged with a personalized brick and installed in the Joyce Family Athletic the north entrance of the Village to the
Each brick measures 4”x8” and can
include an image using available clipart
choices with a brief message, or just
New Hussey seating was installed
a message. A 4”x4” replica tile brick
seats plus 12 wheelchair-acces-
to display in your home or office.
by Specialty Seating. A total of 980
keepsake also can be purchased for $50
sible units were installed. Seating
behind the team benches provides
421 chair-back seats with armrests, and the student side provides
room for 551 fans on bench seats.
The result is a more branded and
comfortable collegiate environment. Generous donors contributed to
the project and helped move the
arena into a new era. Visit www. letuathletics.com.
Brick: $125 Keepsake Replica: $50 Visit www.LETUAthletics.com/brickcampaign to order. For questions, contact
Suzanne Merritt at (903) 233-3760 or send
an email to SuzanneMerritt@letu.edu. ■
LETU BME Sophomore Invents Assistive Device for 5-Year-Old Sophomore biomedical engineering major Drew Miles of Dripping Springs, Texas,
designed and produced an assistive device for a spunky 5-year-old girl who has no left hand so she can learn to play the violin. Miles accepted the assignment from
Dr. Ko Sasaki last summer and has worked on the project this academic year. The story gained media attention in Longview and in Tallahassee, Florida, where the little girl lives.
Aviation Students Win Scholarships Three LETU aviation students have won scholarships from Women In Aviation. Cecilia Kim was awarded the American Airlines $5,000
scholarship and an all-expenses-paid trip to the WIA conference in March. Abigail Kutz received two Women In Aviation scholarships totaling $1,500 including a $1,000 A&P Scholarship from the
Louisville Association for Women in Aviation Maintenance (AWAM) Chapter and a $500 “Tools Beneath Your Wings” Scholarship.
Emily Heath received a $1,000 A&P Scholarship from the Louisville Association for Women in Aviation Maintenance (AWAM) Chapter.
Engineering Students to Build, Launch Cube Satellite Under the direction of LETU engineering professor and former Space Shuttle astronaut Dr. Byron Lichtenberg, LETU engineering students are working to advance the future of spacecraft by creating the next generation of smart
satellites by 2020. The project explores the feasibility of deploying artificial intelligence hardware in low-earth orbit and seeks to raise technology readiness of commercial AI hardware. The project will use AI image
recognition to determine satellite orbit position based on stored data of the earth’s topography. Corporate partners include Exos Aerospace in Texas,
Abaco Systems in Alabama, and Radeus Labs and Portwell Technologies, both in California, and several private donors.
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NOW Magazine | Spring 2018
Kiplinger’s Names LETU a 2018 “Best College Value”
Theology Professor Receives Fellowship in Science/Religion at Oxford
Kiplinger’s Personal Finance has named LeTourneau
University a Best College Value nationwide for 2018. LETU placed 5th among private Texas schools, including Rice
University, Trinity University, Baylor University and Southern Methodist University.
LETU Engineering Team Wins 1st Place in Disaster Shelter Design
LETU Theology professor Jonathan Lett is one of only
25 career faculty members worldwide to be selected to
spend the next two summers traveling to Oxford, England, developing interdisciplinary skills in science and religion,
sponsored by a grant given by Bridging the Two Cultures of Science and the Humanities II. The project is run by
Scholarship and Christianity in Oxford, the UK subsidiary
of the Council for Christian Colleges and Universities, with
funding by Templeton Religion Trust and The Blankemeyer Foundation.
LETU engineering students in Dr. David Dittenber’s senior design project “SafeHome” designed and built a rapidly
deployable emergency disaster shelter that won 1st place in the 7th Annual Disaster Shelter Design Competition,
sponsored by Samaritan’s Purse International. The shelter withstood 130-mph winds, which was the maximum wind
speed the test equipment could provide. Most of the shelters
were destroyed or blown away at between 70 and 110 mph.
NOW Magazine | Spring 2018
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LETU Adds Two Piper Seminoles to Fleet for Student Training
Engineering Dean Receives Two Prestigious ASCE Awards
LETU added two new Piper Pa-44 Seminole aircraft to its fleet of 15 airplanes, replacing two Diamond Twinstars.
The twin-engine Piper Seminole aircraft are valued at $1.5
million and were celebrated with a water cannon welcome after the first student flight.
LETU Hosts Holocaust Remembrance LETU Dean of Engineering Dr. Steven K. Starrett is receiving the Professional Practice Ethics and Leadership Award from the American Society of Civil Engineers, honoring his accomplishments in superior engineering practice,
ethics and leadership. Starrett has advanced the ability of thousands of engineers to protect the health, safety, and
welfare of the public through engineering ethics graduate
courses and workshops he has presented around the globe. Starrett also is receiving the 2018 Service to the Institute Award from the Environmental and Water Resources Institute Awards Committee of the ASCE, given in
recognition of extensive and outstanding service to the
EWRI, which seeks to achieve a sustainable future through In partnership with Ezra International and Ministry to Israel,
protecting and securing water and the environment for
event April 11 to teach a new generation about some of the
World Environmental & Water Resources Congress June 4,
LETU hosted a free, public “Remembering the Holocaust
future generations. Both awards are to be presented at the
darkest days in human history when groups, particularly
2018 in Minneapolis.
Jews, were stripped of their citizenship and became targets of genocide. The event featured a traveling exhibit titled
“Shoah: How Was It Humanly Possible?” on loan from Yad
Vashem, the World Holocaust Remembrance Center in Israel.
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NOW Magazine | Spring 2018
Aviation Students Win 1st Place in Pama Competition
Dr. Pat Mays Named New Campus Pastor
LETU aviation students won first place overall at the
Dallas-Fort Worth Professional Aviation Maintenance
Association competition Feb 24, with senior aviation maintenance student Jake Ribbe winning 1st place and Bob
Kuipers winning 3rd place, individually. PAMA is the premier aviation maintenance organization for aviation maintenance technicians which fosters continuous improvement in avi-
ation safety. The students competed against other aviation maintenance technology schools in Texas and Oklahoma.
Following a national search, LETU Professor of Christian
LETU Among CCCU Schools Making $60 Billion Annual Impact
Ministry Dr. Pat Mays has been named the university’s
campus pastor, effective July 1. Mays will be responsible for guiding chaplain interns, planning university chapels, working with the LeTourneau Student Ministries, coordi-
nating spring break and other outreach programs, working with life groups and coordinating other activities that
promote spiritual growth among the university’s students.
Mays earned his doctorate from the Jones School of World Mission and Evangelism at Asbury Theological Seminary.
A new study has found that Christian higher education has
a $60 billion annual economic impact on the U.S. economy.
LETU is one of the 142 members of the Council of Christian Colleges and Universities which commissioned the new study by Philadelphia-based consulting firm Econsult Solutions, Inc. The study analyzed data from CCCU
member Christian colleges and universities nationwide.
NOW Magazine | Spring 2018
29
Celebrating LeTourneau Athletics
at HOMECOMING homecoming 2018 AT By Jamie DeYoung, Alumni Director
H
omecoming & Family Weekend 2018 is one we won’t soon forget! In true East Texas fashion, we were dodging rainstorms – hail just prior to Hootenanny and the rope pull being called for lightning nearby – but that didn’t stop all
the fun. Speaking of Hootenanny, did you hear there was a chance to win a new car?! Throughout the weekend we welcomed hundreds of alumni and families back to
campus, celebrating the 50th anniversary of the Class of 1968, 25 years of psychology as a major, and LETU Athletics. Our picnic this year was served inside the “original” gymnasium, and the Bodacious BBQ was enjoyed by over 400 people! The Blue &
Gold Banquet capped off the weekend with moving testimonies from Charlee Cyrus
(’01, Psychology grad) and former student Greg Sankey, now the SEC Commissioner.
Save the dates and plan to join us next year! Homecoming & Family Weekend 2019 will be April 11-13, 2019.
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Memorials
Donald Scott (’51 WE) died April 13, 2017 in Salem, Va. The
Navy veteran was a welding engineer in the Nuclear Division of
Y-12 National Security Complex and active in the AWS. He is
survived by daughters, Elizabeth and spouse Norm, Nancy and
Bruce Lockhart (’51 IS/WE), 93, died Jan.
spouse Greg, siblings and seven grandchildren.
24, in Clifton, N.J., predeceased by his first
wife, Patricia, and survived by his wife of 21
C.J. Speers (’69 IE) died July 28, 2017, in
years, Carol; sons Timothy and wife, Karen,
Waxahachie, Texas. He was owner/operator
Paul and wife, Patty, daughter, Wendy Axt,
of Brightway Electric as Master Electrician
and husband, David; 8 grandchildren, 10
before retiring. He is survived by his wife
great grandchildren; brother Glenn and nieces and nephews.
of almost 50 years, Fern, his son, Brady, daughter Rebecca and family members.
George Echols (’68 WE) of Longview, Texas, died March 8, 2017, in an automobile accident in Carroll County, Ga.
Lincoln Widmer (’75 CHBS) died April 17,
2017 in Baton Rouge, La, of cancer. He is
survived by his wife of 43 years, Patricia,
his son Damian and wife, Abby, and three
grandchildren, Anna, Will and Dean.
The loss of a loved one, friend or colleague often inspires us to ensure that their memory lives on. Many people find that supporting LETU is an ideal way to honor someone who has passed away. Gifts made “in memoriam” offer lasting honor to a loved one while providing family and friends with the satisfaction of knowing they have helped others. If you would like to give a memoriam to LETU, please call 1-800-259-5388 or donate online at www.letu/give. The family will be notified of your generosity when a memoriam is made.
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NOW Magazine | Spring 2018
Barney Burks (’84 WT) of Oil City, La. died
Dec. 31, 2017. A lifetime member of the
American Welding Society after 35 years of
service, he served the AWS Houston Section including as chairman, vice chairman, board
of directors, treasurer, secretary and edu-
cation and scholarship committee. He is survived by his wife, Renella, daughter Alexandra Deal, sister, Claire Leeftink and
nephews David and Gerrit Leeftink.
Larry Heintz (’84 ATBI) died March 10, in Folkestone, Great
Britain. With MAF for over 28 years, he developed safety
culture. He is survived by his wife, Jane, and children Val, Laura and Jon.
Tammy Lawver (’94 BBM) of Georgetown, In., died Oct. 6,
2017. She is survived by her husband, Eric, and sons, Ethan
and Dalton.
Keith Horst (’95 ATFL) died unexpectedly Sept. 26, 2017. He
is survived by his wife of 21 years, Erica (’95 BYBA), and
children Stephanie and Timothy and other family members.
Freddie Ritchey (’13 ISBS) and wife, Kaycie,
announce the birth of their first child, Amelia
Jean, born Jan. 30, weighing 6 lbs., 8 oz.
and 19 ½ inches long. Freddie was recently
Larry J. Frazier Sr (’09 ISE2) of White Oak, Texas, died Jan.
promoted to General Manager with Fastenal.
They live in Princeton, Texas.
12, 2018. He is survived by his wife, Lori, children Larry Frazier Jr. and wife Shawn; Ginger Berry and husband Kevin; Melanie Ware and husband Craig; Mendy Steelman and Husband
Bobby; Rachel Boudreaux and husband Billy; Melissa Miller
and husband Brad; and 16 grandchildren.
Births
Weddings Shelia (Hodges) Worcester (’99 MBA) and husband, Greg,
married Oct. 20, 2016. She is the Accounting and HR Manager for Moovers Franchising, Inc., Olathe, Kan.
Matthew Maitland (’04 EE) and wife,
Amelia, announce the birth of their first
child, Lillian Grace, born Oct. 18, 2017, weighing 7 lbs., 3 oz. and 20” long in
Fort Mill, S.C. where Matt is a software
Jacob Shafer (’09 ME) and Heidi Morgan
(’12 ACCT) married Sept. 16, 2017, in Colfax, Wash., with many LeTourneau friends there to celebrate.
engineer for Chiron America.
Amy Turner (’10 PSYS) and Stephen Daniel Swenson (’05 ASAS) and wife,
Vangie, announce the birth of son,
Menton were married June 4, 2017, in Chicago, Il.
Caleb, born October 8, 2017. He was
welcomed by big sister, MaryElla, at their home in Wasilla, Alaska.
Laurissa (Whited) Lynch (‘16ENLL) and husband, David, married March 3. The
couple lives in Irving, Texas, where Laurissa James Christophersen (’10 PSYS) and
is a Technical Editor.
wife, Katie, announce the birth of their
first child, Pia Bernadett, born July 29, 2017. They live in Arlington, Va.
Ed Peterson (’16 MJE) and wife, Karissa,
married May 6, 2017. He is a rotation welding
engineer with TechnipFMC. The couple lives in Spring, Texas.
NOW Magazine | Spring 2018
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Brent Ahrend (’17 CVE) and Sarah Katz (’17
Jennifer Wenneker (’03 BYBA)
an Enrollment Officer for LETU and Brent is
album, Feb. 15, named Lela Mae after
PSYS) were married Aug. 26, 2017. Sarah is
working for L-3. They live in Longview, Texas.
released her first independent music her great grandmother. She and her
husband, Jeremy (’02), live in Lewis-
burg, Tenn.
Class Notes
David Eaton (’05 ME) is co-founder of
AXIS (axis.org), which specializes in helping
parents and teens communicate in the realm
of faith, technology, and culture. David and Richard Nichols (’68 CHBS) after being a company supervisor,
wife, Lindsey, and children Shiloh (5) and Zion (2) live in Colorado Springs, Co.
safety officer and chemistry teacher, is enjoying retirement with his wife, Bonnie, and four grandchildren in Fort Erie, Ontario,
Canada.
Michael Gaines (’08 MK) is the voice for Na-
tional Oilwell Varco’s corporate podcast, NOV
James Boyle (’74 BI) pastors at Immanuel Baptist Church, in
Fayetteville, N.C. His wife, Ginny, is a nurse. They have seven
grandchildren.
Today. He also hosts an internal company
podcast regularly broadcast to the company’s 30,000+ employees, found at www.nov.com/
NOVToday.
Jeff Rowland (’74 ATBS) retired Jan. 28, celebrating with
streamers and balloons and a cross-country flight as he ended
Sean Momsen (’09 MGT) is the new market manager at Orbis
Corporation in Oconomowac, Wis.
his 33-year flying career with American Airlines. He and his
wife, Cleo, live in Dallas, Texas.
Elaine Gillam (’10 BBM) is new in human resources at Phar-
Keith Anderson (’83 ET/ATBS) is the new director of engi-
MEDium, LLC in Sugar Land, Texas.
neering at FlightSafety International, in Broken Arrow, Okla. Jason Hewes (’11 AAET) was pictured Dan Bolin (’95 MBA) is retiring July 31 as international director
of Christian Camping International. He and his wife, Cay, live in
Tyler, Texas.
(pointing) on the first page of the Garmin Engineering Recruitment Brochure while
putting a Garmin System through its paces. Jason lives in Paola, Kan.
Imie Mark (’00 ATFL) is maintenance controller and deputy
CEO for Ethnos360 Aviation, serving New Tribes Mission (PNG). He serves missionaries taking God’s Word across Papua New
Guinea to some of the world’s most remote and inaccessible people groups.
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David Keehan (’13 BBM)
is the new president of Advanced
Polymer Coatings, Inc.,
Avon, Ohio.
Justin Easton (’13 ISE4) is a new teacher in Katy ISD. He and his wife, Kelsey, were married June 28, 2015.
Robert Childers (’16 AAMG) has been
an A&P Mechanic for AAR Corporation, Duluth, Minn., since October 2017.
Tiffany Connell (’16 LPC-MA) is an LPC intern at Mosaic Tree Counseling in Houston, Texas.
Matthew Fonken (’16 CE) has filed a U.S.
patent for his tech startup/research company, Marbl, a 3-D position tracking system for a new CAD modeling stylus. He lives in Fort
Collins, Colo.
Walker Freeman (’17 CST) is a new mechanical designer at Diversified Product Development. He lives in Waco, Texas.
Stephen Pinkney (’17 T 4-8) began working at the Angelina
County Juvenile Probation Office Apr. 9. He passed the state
exam and was certified as a Juvenile Probation Officer April 20. He lives in Lufkin, Texas.
Shalin Shah (’17 EENG-ME) is a new, embedded systems
engineer with American Pinball Inc., in Streamwood, Ill.
LETU + Greece June 2-14, 2019 Marsha and I invite you to join us on a 13-day tour
of Greece and the Greek Isles as we follow in the footsteps of the Apostle Paul. Our tour guides,
Dr. David and Elizabeth Sparks, will trace Paul’s
journeys and lead us as a community to a deeper
understanding of God’s Word throughout the
history of the Church. For more information and to
view the itinerary, visit www.letu.edu/Greece.
Cybersecurity from a Christian Worldview By Dr. Glyn T. Gowing
T
he FBI describes the impact
and losses from cybercrime as
“staggering,” with over $1 billion
in losses in 2016 alone. Cybercrime
to the Internet along with businesses,
designed to meet this need by educating
People want the convenience of being
the challenges faced in the modern,
churches and educational institutions.
is a growing problem that needs to be
able to access their data in near real
crimes range from individuals looking
risks—those same networks that allow
nation-states and terrorist organizations.
allow criminals ready access to those
addressed. Perpetrators behind these for easy profit, all the way to hostile
With the prevalence of computerized
business systems in stores, banks and
government offices, this increase in
computer-related crime raises concerns for privacy and safety.
Modern smart phones are more powerful than the computers that put men on the
Moon. The smartphone is connected
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NOW Magazine | Spring 2018
New cybersecurity programs are
banks, government offices, charities,
time, but that convenience comes with
for convenient legitimate access also
same resources.
Cybersecurity is a growing field, with an
estimated 28% job growth anticipated from 2016 to 2026 for information
security analysts and demand expected
to remain “very high,” according to 2018
Bureau of Labor Statistics.
students to be prepared to take on networked world.
LeTourneau University offers a needed
approach to cybersecurity by combining
solid academics and skills with Christian
ethics to prepare students to use their newly-gained skills while considering
eternity.
Cybersecurity professionals have and
use many of the same skills as cyber-
criminals, but instead use these skills to secure systems and protect data,
instead of committing crimes. These
valued professionals prevent and
NEW PROGRAMS
respond to crimes. In Psalm 19:7-10
we see that “The Law of the LORD is
perfect” and that “The judgments of the
LORD are true and righteous altogether.” LeTourneau’s emphasis on integrating
faith into “Every workplace, every nation” is critical in preparing cybersecurity
professionals for the field.
The growing prevalence of cybercrime
is the evidence of what happens when
people without a godly worldview
“There were days at my previous job where the only difference between doing my job and committing a felony was the fact that I had permission from the computer system’s owner to hack it.”
acquire certain technical skills. We
At LETU, I am free to show how faith is
There were days at my previous job
involved in these fields to use these
the foundation of what we do.
my job and committing a felony was
need people with solid Christian ethics
potentially dangerous skills to pursue a
higher calling, one in which they embody
the exhortation in First Corinthians 10:31,
“Whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God.”
Someone who takes Jesus’ words of
“Do to others as you would have them
an integral part of cybersecurity, forming
“Do not steal” is one of God’s com-
mandments to His people. As Christian
where the only difference between doing the fact that I had permission from the
computer system’s owner to hack it.
cybersecurity professionals, not only
LeTourneau University is the ideal envi-
the tools with which to do so—we also
of the strong integration of faith into
systems. We find the vulnerabilities in
background, Christian faith integration
do we not steal—even though we have prevent theft by protecting information
ronment to study cybersecurity because
practice. We provide a solid academic
do to you” (Luke 6:31) and “Love your
those systems and then correct them
and experienced instructors to give our
as guiding principles for life would
and exploit them.
succeed in this vital field. ■
neighbor as yourself” (Mark 12:31)
before criminals find the vulnerabilities
students the foundation they need to
be less likely to abuse these skills for
personal gain.
As with any position of trust, such
as cyber security, police, physicians,
teachers, etc., it is important to be able to trust the person’s moral and ethical
foundation. A strong Christian faith with
Dr. Glyn T. Gowing is associate professor of
a consistent walk with Christ provides
computer science and chair of the global computer
person lives, which, in turn, engenders
two decades for a Fortune 500 company as a
that foundation. It is evident in how that trust and confidence in that person’s
motivations and resolve to act in an
ethical manner.
This past year, I left 20 years of industry experience to come to LeTourneau University to teach because I saw
LeTourneau as the ideal place in which to teach cybersecurity.
LETU’s combination of a strong faithbased education with the university’s
hands-on approach to learning fosters
an environment where students and
science program at LETU. He worked for nearly computer programmer, software developer and security analyst doing incident response, computer forensics and other security functions. He earned his undergraduate degree in general science from the University of the State of New York and his master and doctoral degrees in computer information systems from Nova Southeastern University. After accepting Christ at the age of 19, he was later able to use his security expertise to protect missionaries in closed countries. For the past 10 years, he has taught graduate courses in computer security, auditing, management cryptography and other topics at NSU. He is teaching his second semester at LETU.
graduates have practical experience in
applying what they learn and applying it in light of their faith.
NOW Magazine | Spring 2018
37
LETU’s New RN to BSN Program to Expand Career Opportunities By Kimberly Quiett, RN, DNS
N
urses who are engaged in their
registered nurses already working in the
worldview look at their patients
Science in Nursing degree (BSN)–in as
profession from a Christian
not as a room number or a disease, but
as someone created in the image of
God and worthy of excellent care. Our nursing students at LeTourneau Uni-
versity learn that everything we do is to
honor our Lord and Savior, and that puts
a different light on how we do what we
do—because we realize we need to be
the best. That attitude promotes quality
care and excellent outcomes. We see
that in our nursing students every day.
Beginning in the Fall of 2018, LETU is
launching a new, fully online program for
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NOW Magazine | Spring 2018
health care field to earn a Bachelor of
few as 12 months, in some cases.
The new online RN-to-BSN program is
especially valuable to nurses who seek
for 80 percent of nurses to have a BSN by the year 2020. Some hospitals and healthcare organizations are requiring
a mandatory BSN within five years of hiring.
Health care is continuously evolving in
career advancement. The nurse who
complexity and technology, and the BSN
needs a BSN to compete for those
for critical thinking through complex
wants to get into a leadership position jobs. It is becoming more common for a
BSN to be the minimum expectation.
Many hospitals are choosing BSN-edu-
cated nurses first to fill patient care and management positions. Nursing cre-
dentialing organizations have proposed
educational curriculum prepares nurses situations and developing a lifetime of
learning. BSNs are prepared for practice
in a variety of settings, from hospitals
and homecare situations to ambulatory
care and case management.
NEW PROGRAMS
Because nursing is hard work physically,
older nurses may especially be attracted to the RN-to-BSN program to enable them to shift from bedside care roles
to other roles that require the additional
education in leadership and communication skills that a BSN provides. The ex-
perience of years of practice combined
with the BSN education is certainly
valuable to the profession of nursing. Studies have suggested that patient
care outcomes are improved when
nurses have a BSN degree. Published research summarized by the Robert
Wood Johnson Foundation in the 2014
story “Building the Case for More
Highly Educated Nurses” indicates that
patients cared for primarily by nurses
who had their BSN were less likely to die, stayed in the hospital for shorter periods
and faced lower heath care costs.
LETU first began offering a residential Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN)
degree after a comprehensive evaluation and approval from the Texas Board of
Nursing in 2014. The residential program
was accredited by the Commission on College Nursing Education (CCNE) in
Health care is continuously evolving in complexity and technology, and the BSN educational curriculum prepares nurses for critically thinking through complex situations and developing a lifetime of learning.
September 2017, an accreditation
that extends for five years through
June 30, 2022.
Today, LETU nursing graduates from
our residential program have achieved a
100% pass rate on the National Council
Dr. Kimberly Quiett has been the Dean of the School
is a measure of how well nurses are
2013, when she began the proposal documentation
Licensure Examination (NCLEX), which
prepared to provide safe, quality care for
health care consumers. Not many schools
can claim a 100% NCLEX pass rate.
Our nursing faculty and our university
are dedicated to graduating exceptional nurses. When someone is spiritually
formed, they realize that everything they
do is inspired by their faith.
LETU’s new RN-to-BSN program is
currently pending approval by the
of Nursing at LeTourneau University since August for the Texas Board of Nursing application to launch the nursing program at LETU. A specialist in oncology nursing, Quiett has 22 years of experience in medical/ surgical nursing. She has taught nursing at the undergraduate, master’s and doctoral levels, serving as an assistant professor at both the U.S.A. College of Nursing and the University of Mobile, Ala. She earned her Bachelor of Science in Nursing from Samford University, her Master of Science in Nursing from the University of South Alabama, and her Doctorate of Nursing Science from Louisiana State University.
Southern Association of Colleges and
Schools. To learn more, go to www.letu.
edu/nursing. ■
NOW Magazine | Spring 2018
39
DISTINGUISHED Each year, five graduating seniors are selected based on academic achievement, servant leadership, generosity with time and resources, spiritual growth evidenced by a maturing faith in Jesus Christ and the potential to be an effective ambassador for Christ in every workplace and every nation. See the Distinguished Seniors tell their LeTourneau stories at vimeo.com/letourneau/seniors.
ZEB ENGLISH LANGUAGE AND LITERATURE
“I basically came here, fell in love with the place and fell in love with the people I met…and when the time came to make the final choice of colleges, I felt like this is where God wanted me to be, and I couldn’t give the place up.”
MARTHA MARKETING
“To me LeTourneau has been an experience of being challenged and growing in my confidence. I would say my time at LeTourneau over the course of my life has been a really rich time. The relationships that I’ve built and the different school projects I’ve had to work on and the different relationships and connections I’ve made with the professors and faculty and staff here, I’ve really enjoyed.”
SHAWNA MECHANICAL ENGINEERING
“LeTourneau’s been a really great place to learn about engineering and get a rigorous education, but also have a great community. I really appreciate how the professors really care about the students and you can just go meet with them and they really take the time to care about you.”
KEREN BIOLOGY
“The one thing I think I’ll take away from my four years here is getting to see the promises of God come to life. I’m forever grateful for all that LeTourneau has done for me the past four years intellectually and spiritually.”
RACHEL CIVIL ENGINEERING
“I haven’t been able to overcome challenges like I have been able to here. Coming into engineering school I did not think like an engineer…and it’s been a great opportunity to see a different way to approach life and approach problems. I went on an adventure the last four years. My whole world’s been redefined.”
By Janet Ragland
H
urricane Harvey became the
costliest storm on record when it
slammed the Texas Gulf Coast last
August with winds of around 130 miles per hour, causing at least $125 billion in damage, widespread flooding and
severe economic hardship. Many LETU students come from the Texas Gulf
Coast region. Their families were hit hard.
A senior civil engineering student from Houston said she found it difficult to
focus on school last fall when she knew her parents’ family business—one that
they had built since the 1980s—had
flooded. They lost all their files, their
equipment, their furniture—and their steady income.
“There was a very high chance we could not afford for me to finish,” she said.
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NOW Magazine | Spring 2018
“Luckily they had enough savings to help me pay for the fall semester, but it was
going to be very difficult to afford the spring semester.”
That’s where the LETU Hurricane Harvey scholarship made a difference.
“I had been wondering what God would do to provide,” she said. “He had pro-
vided gifts from my coworkers, church,
my parents’ clients, as well as my fellow
students in the Honors College here at LeTourneau.”
LETU set up a Hurricane Harvey
scholarship fund (www.letu.edu/harvey)
to provide tuition aid. To date, more than $31,000 in aid has been awarded. These
funds have successfully enabled stu-
dents to return this semester—students
who might otherwise not have been able to continue their college education.
“The community of God has been
revealed to me in a whole new way over
these last several months as I have seen how so many people have trusted God
and shared his love with my family,” she said. “I have learned that LETU is truly
a Christ-based and trusting univer-
sity—people of God who want to share his love and be a strong community to
support each other.”
Families are still rebuilding. It takes time.
And LETU is honored to be a part of
easing the burden for our students and their families in the process. To those
of you who have donated to the fund, thank you.
Meet Tom Bevan Tom Bevan is LETU’s new Director of
Planned Giving and Endowed Scholar-
ships. With over 20 years of experience in financial planning, trusts, annuities,
estate and legacy planning, Bevan
knows which plans and financial instru-
ments can help people ensure that the things the Lord has entrusted to them
are safeguarded for generations to come as their final legacy.
Significant tax advantages are still avail-
able during this window of time, before
the next tax code changes, Bevan said.
He has built educational programs to
assist donors to understand the options they have, depending on their circum-
stances, that can be customized around needs and ultimate gift intentions.
“A wide array of gift planning instruments
is available in the realm of what is known
as planned giving, or charitable gift planning,” Bevan said. “Many gift plans can
become a meaningful part of retirement
income and legacy planning.”
Bevan and his wife, Laura, have three
grown children—the youngest of whom is an LETU electrical engineering
alumnus. Their youngest son, David,
who graduated in 2010, lives with his
wife, Elizabeth, in Longview with their
three children, ages 5, 3 and 1. Bevan
says being closer to the grandchildren has been a true blessing.
Bevan can be reached at TomBevan@letu.
edu or by phone at (903) 233-3833. ■
Helping Churches Go to Work By Dr. Bill Peel
C
hurch leaders across the country are recognizing the
Air Force Business Management School. He was earning his
workplace. LETU’s Center for Faith & Work consults
horizon when I met him in 2013.
need to equip Christians to live out their faith in the
with churches of all sizes, denominations and demographics to help pastors empower congregants to see their work as a holy
calling and see themselves as Christ’s ambassadors in their workplace mission field.
One church we work with is Grace Bible Church near San
Antonio, where I recently led a Workplace Grace Conference.
Pastor Erin Weaver first learned about the importance of equip-
ping men and women to integrate their faith with their work
a few years ago from church elder Master Sergeant Claude Hungerford, stationed nearby at Randolph Air Force Base.
A gifted strategic planner, Hungerford was the go-to consultant for base commanders, serving as commandant of the U.S.
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NOW Magazine | Spring 2018
doctorate in leadership and saw a Pentagon position on his
With his exuberant passion for taking his faith to work, he told
of how God had blessed his work and used him to bring the
gospel to many in the military. His contagious faith and genuine concern for his co-workers earned him the unofficial title of chaplain/pastor of his workplace.
In 2016 Hungerford shocked me when he said he turned down
developing policy for the Pentagon, retired from the military, and pursued an associate pastor position at Grace Bible
Church. I asked why he would want to give up his influence in
the military. His answer was simple: He was following his calling.
As a young adult, he felt called to vocational ministry. After
working at a struggling church that couldn’t afford to pay him,
he enlisted in 1983 in the United States Air Force—thinking it
would be a four-year detour from pastoral ministry. God had
other plans.
Four years led to more years. Promotions and opportunities honed his God-given gifts in ways he never imagined. He
learned first-hand the importance of training Christians to
extend God’s kingdom into the workplace. He realized many
pastors have no idea what the men and women to whom they preach on Sunday face when they go to work on Monday.
He learned first-hand the importance of training Christians to extend God’s kingdom into the workplace. He realized many pastors have no idea what the men and women to whom they preach on Sunday face when they go to work on Monday.
Want to encourage your pastor to consider how your church can help people take faith to work? Take your pastor to lunch. Learn more at CenterForFaithAndWork.com/Lunch
Hungerford’s postponement from the pastorate turned into
a 35-year training, engineered by God, that showed him the
difficulties and darkness Christians face in the secular work world. He also saw how the power of Christ can transform
any workplace.
Today, Weaver and Hungerford at Grace Bible Church
are living out the Rev. Billy Graham’s words—“I believe one of
the next great moves of God is going to be through believers in the workplace.” ■
LeTourneau University’s Center for Faith & Work
assists dozens of churches. We seek to help church
leaders equip their congregations to take faith to work.
How can we help you and your church?
NOW Magazine | Spring 2018
45
LETU Degrees in Hand Lead to Grad Schools Abroad in Scotland and England Two 2017 LETU graduates are broadening their cultural experiences as they earn their graduate degrees abroad.
Kara Huff
Emma Durham
Kara Huff earned her bachelor’s degree in business at
Emma Durham earned her bachelor’s degree in interna-
LETU last May and today is pursuing her Master of Science in International Conflict and Cooperation at the University
tional studies with minors in cross-cultural studies and history/political science at LETU last May and today is
of Stirling in Scotland. Huff will spend this summer writing
studying intelligence and international security at King’s
experience. “Eventually, I would like to enter the Foreign
counter-terrorism within the landscape of international
her dissertation with hopes to get a government job to gain
Service and work for the government overseas,” she said.
College in London. “This program has allowed me to study
security using the perspective and tools of intelligence and
analysis,” she said. “I am hoping to have a career as an
intelligence analyst, studying and analyzing diverse security
threats—whether they be global or national.”
To read more about Kara Huff and Emma Durham, visit LETU.edu/NOWsp18-kara and LETU.edu/NOWsp18-emma.
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NOW Magazine | Spring 2018
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Relationships Matter.
Almost every LeTourneau University student learns about LETU through a relationship with one of our alumni, a friend, a family member a youth pastor or another person in their lives. One of the greatest donations YOU can make to LeTourneau University is to tell others about us... That is exactly what Lloyd Smith did. During Homecoming 2018, Grandpa Lloyd, 77, a 1963 graduate of LeTourneau Technical Institute, brought his grandson, Bennett Smith, 17, to tour the campus because his grandson is interested in engineering. YOU can help us recruit the next generation of LETU students. Before you discard this magazine, recycle it by sharing it with a friend, a student, a high school counselor, a church youth pastor or even leave it in the waiting room of your doctor’s office on your next visit. Help us spread the word about LeTourneau University!
We are blessed to have you in our LETU family!
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