12 minute read
CAMPUS LIFE
If You Build It...
Students & Special Guests Attend Intramural Fields Dedication
Close to 500 friends, including more than 300 students, plus faculty members, staff, and many special guests attended the Oct. 22 dedication of the new McClinton Family Intramural Fields.
The event kicked off with music from the Blackshirt Cru Spirit Band and an abundance of cheering for donors Paul “Crunch” and Carol McClinton of Waco.
Thanks to the generosity of the McClinton family, UMHB now has a beautifully upgraded recreation space, including the Crunch Time Pavilion. The McClintons donated a $1 million gift toward converting 2.6 acres of fields from natural grass to artificial turf. Other improvements include new field lighting, a pavilion, and permanent striping for the recreational sports played on these fields, including football, lacrosse, soccer, and softball.
The McClinton family arrived at the new intramural fields to the tune of the Crusader fight song through a high-energy victory line of cheering students. The ceremony included remarks from the university president, Dr. Randy O’Rear, UMHB student Kaden Cordell, and donor "Crunch" McClinton. Following a dedication prayer over the new facility from the university board of trustees chair Vince Banks '84, Crunch and his family cut the ribbon. Then, the group moved to the fields for a ceremonial first pitch from baseball legend Nolan Ryan of RS3 Turf, the company that provided the turf for the new intramural fields. Following the pitch, students and guests were invited to explore the new McClinton Family Intramural Fields.
“I am at a loss for words, but I am so grateful for this day, and I will never forget it,” remarked Crunch McClinton.
The university has a robust intramural program with more than 1,000 students participating each semester. In addition to the scheduled intramural activities, the fields are used for exercise and sport science classes, student life events, and unstructured student recreation.
“We are proud to have the McClinton name on this incredible facility at UMHB,” said university president Dr. Randy O’Rear. “Our intramural fields are one of the busiest places on campus, and our students deserve this beautiful new space to gather and play.”
Opposite page, Paul “Crunch” and Carol McClinton, along with others prepare to cut the ribbon in celebration of the opening of the new McClinton Family Intramural Fields.
At top, center, Paul “Crunch” and Carol McClinton stand with the new intramural sign bearing their name. At top, left, baseball legend Nolan Ryan tosses the first pitch on the new intramural fields to Crunch.
ore than a thousand alumni and their families
Mgathered on campus for fun activities, traditions, and special events celebrating Homecoming 2021 on Sept. 25. Since Homecoming 2020 was celebrated virtually through online activities and events, alums were more than excited to reunite in person for the traditional activities this year, including reunions, Stunt Night, Carnival on King Street, Donuts with Dr. O’Rear, the pep rally, and Alumni Tailgate. The UMHB football team walked away with a 34-28 win against HardinSimmons University.
For more 2021 Homecoming memories, visit Facebook, Instagram or Twitter and use the hashtag #UMHBHOCO2021.
CRUSADER FOREVER
At top, members of the Class of 1953 gathered for a reunion while friends Andrea Harney ’11 and Nikita Scott ’12 reunite at the game. Opposite page, Alumni Board President Justin Gaidusek ’04 and Director of Alumni Engagement Jeff Sutton present the 2021 Parker Award to Lillian Kay Cowan ’76 and Mary Gail Cowan Leming ’58.
#umhb
hoco2021
Carly Donnell '05
UMHB Homecoming was a huge success. Thank you to @umhbalumni for all the fun activities and @umhbfootball for a great game. Go Cru! #umhbhoco2021
|We enjoyed the UMHB Homecoming Pep Rally & Fireworks show last night! —Melissa Williams '07 |
Hannah Brown '21
Celebrating the Cru as an alumni this time. #crusaderforever #umhbhoco2021
#UMHBHOCO2021 was a success! Fun times for all and an amazing second half of the game!( ( —Jeff Sutton '07
Brittany Wood '11
Game day ready! Go Cru!! #umhbhoco2021 #umhbalumni
Cindy Willis '81
Fun hanging out with them at the game! #umhbhoco2021 #umhbalumni
Becca Beard '11
My 4 little future crusaders! Go Cru! #crukids #umhbhoco2021
Jaci Hartfiel '21
These little ladies! #umhbhoco2021 #umhb
For more than 110 years, members of the Cowan-Vardiman-Saegert family have chosen UMHB as their Christian university of choice. During Homecoming, Lillian Kay Cowan ’76 and her family was honored with the 2021 Parker Award for four generations who have attended or graduated.
The long lineage of the Cowan-Vardiman-Saegert families have resided in Lampasas and Coryell counties all of their lives. The first generation, which attended Baylor Female College included Annie Sybell Cowan Simpson, Pauline Virginia Vardiman Cowan, Laura Evelyn Vardiman Cowan, and Marie Arnold Vardiman. The second generation included Dorothy A. Saegert Smith, ’45; Mary Gail Cowan Leming, ’58; Bettye Sue Cowan Pruett, ’59; Anna Maureen Cowan Edwards, EX; and Jane Jones Vardiman, EX. The third generation to attend included Lillian Kay Cowan, ’76; and Linda Gail Leming Hunt, EX. Trevor Wayne Hunt, EX was the fourth-generation student to attend.
“Our family takes great pride in having graduated from the university of choice for Christian higher education, a crown jewel in Central Texas,” said Kay who, along with Mary Gail Cowan Leming ’58, represented the extended family to receive the award. Alumni Board President Justin Gaidusek ’04 presented the award to Kay, who also serves on the alumni board and has been actively investing in her alma mater over the years with her leadership, time, and resources.
The Parker Award was established in 1991 by the Alumni Association and given in honor of the former UMHB president and first lady, Bobby E. and Marietta Parker. It is presented to families who are multi-generational or multi-member alumni who have demonstrated loyalty, support, and commitment to the university.
Lillian Kay Cowan, who worked as a professional registered nurse and a double board certified family nurse practitioner for more than 40 years, is also creating a presidential endowed scholarship titled “Saving Souls, Saving Lives” which will help students seeking a degree in Christian studies or nursing.
“Kay is the alumna every university wants. Her years on UMHB’s campus transformed her life, and now she wants to give back,” said Associate Vice President for Fundraising Tucker Glaske. “This scholarship will serve our students for many years to come!”
Out of this World
Pictured, Gen. Charlie Duke came to campus this past fall with wife Dorothy to share stories from his Apollo 16 adventure on the moon and following God.
The youngest astronaut to walk on the moon, Charlie Duke, was the 2021 McLane Lecture featured speaker on Sept. 29.
Duke, 86, who now lives in San Antonio, was 36 years old when he became the youngest man to walk on the moon during the Apollo 16 mission that ran from April 21-23, 1972. He is one of only a dozen men to set foot on the moon. He was also known as the voice of Mission Control for Apollo 11, the first manned crew mission to the moon.
He described to the audience how he vividly remembers the day he launched into space; he was thrilled and excited, but also a little fearful, especially during the first stage of liftoff. “The spaceship shook like crazy” for two minutes and 42 seconds, burning off 4.5 million gallons of fuel in just 35 miles altitude, he said. About three hours later, the ship left the Earth’s orbit, and three days later the crew reached the moon, which is 20,000 miles away from Earth.
Once he uncovered the windows and looked out into space, he recalls seeing the Earth for the first time— brilliant jewel colors on the perfect sphere suspended in black space.
“I didn’t know scripture in those days, but when I gave my life to Jesus, I’m reminded of that picture every time I read Isaiah 40 where it says God sits enthroned above the circle of the Earth,” he said.
Duke, who grew up in Charlotte, N.C., graduated as the valedictorian of his class at Admiral Farragut Academy in 1953, then went on to earn a bachelor’s degree in naval sciences from the U.S. Naval Academy. Upon receiving his commission in the U.S. Air Force, he entered pilot training and received his wings in 1958. Duke served three years in Germany as a fighter-interceptor pilot. He attended Massachusetts Institute of Technology, where he completed a master’s degree in aeronautics and astronautics in 1964, then entered the USAF Test Pilot School at Edwards Air Force Base and completed his training there in 1965.
The following month, he saw an article in the Los Angeles Times that said NASA was looking for astronauts. “I answered a front-page ad and got selected! So, we moved to Houston and started to work for NASA.”
Duke worked on five of the nine missions to the moon, and he and John Young were the ninth and 10th men to step on the moon.
Even though Duke said he attended church since he was a small child, he didn’t know Jesus until later in life after retiring from NASA in 1975 to enter private business.
“I believed in Him in my mind, but He wasn’t in my heart,” he said. After his space days, when Duke opened his business, he said, “I took my eyes off the moon and put them on money, thinking that was going to give me the peace I needed.”
Even though he was making a good living, his family life began to crumble until he began following Jesus. He told the audience that being an astronaut was an amazing adventure; however, following Jesus doesn’t compare.
“I am the only person in this room who has walked on the moon,” Duke said. “It lasted three days, cost a lot of money, and I had to work hard to do that. But walking with Jesus, we can all do that. Every one of us is invited to walk with Jesus.”
COLLEGE OF VISUAL AND PERFORMING ARTS
Calendar of Events
umhb.edu/arts
Event dates and times are subject to change. TICKET OFFICE:
254-295-5999 Ticket Office hours: 12:00 - 4:00 PM Monday through Friday and one hour prior to events.
February
Dean's Series Jonathan & Emily Gary piano duo
Feb. 4 | 7:30 PM Baugh Performance Hall
Visiting Artist Jeff Carl, Personal Geography: Land, Art, and Faith
Feb. 17 | 4:00 PM Baugh Performance Hall
Bonny Leibowitz: Appearances in a Placeless Place
Feb. 21 - March 11 Art Gallery
Wind Ensemble and Jazz Ensemble
Feb. 22 | 7:30 PM Baugh Performance Hall
March
Tea Time Concert with One Voice
March 9 | 3:30 PM
King Street
Student Art Competition
March 21 - April 8
Art Gallery
Midday Music with Jazz Ensemble
March 23 | 12:15 PM
King Street
Women's Chorus
March 25 | 7:30 PM
Baugh Performance Hall April
Spring Musical: A Year with Frog and Toad
April 8 - 9 | 7:30 PM Baugh Performance Hall
Tickets: $20 Adult - $10 Child & Senior
Instrumental Chamber Ensembles
April 12 | 7:30 PM Baugh Performance Hall
Art Exhibit - Senior Exhibits
April 12 - May 7 Art Gallery
UMHB One Voice
April 19 | 7:30 PM Baugh Performance Hall
Pottery Sale
April 20 | 10:00 AM - 5:00 PM King Street
Tea Time Concert with Wind Ensemble
April 20 | 3:30 PM King Street
Wind Ensemble
April 22 | 7:30 PM Baugh Performance Hall
Jazz Ensemble
April 26 | 7:30 PM Baugh Performance Hall
New Degree Helps Bridge Gap
Southwest Borderlands Studies gives students new options and understanding of diverse cultures
UMHB is launching a new degree in Southwest Borderlands Studies that helps distinguish it from other schools and provide new offerings that most schools don’t have yet.
“Very few schools in Texas, and even fewer of our size, have a program such as this,” said Dr. Jacky Dumas, a professor and associate dean for the School of Humanities.
The Southwest Borderlands Studies degree incorporates bilingual communication, social relations between diverse Southwest cultures, advocacy, and policy into one degree. It will help students who have an interest in going into a broad range of careers including law enforcement, military, social work, law, education, counseling, forensics, and even ecology.
“Students will deepen their knowledge of diverse cultures within both UMHB and the broader community, as well as their understanding of the influence of various waves of migrations both within and outside of the U.S.,” Dumas said.
Students in the new degree plan will also have the opportunity to understand different cultures and how they influence the communities of the Southwest, said Dr. Karla Gonzalez, the associate professor of Spanish at UMHB, who will be teaching various classes on Hispanic culture, history, and language.
Students are also encouraged to take Spanish courses to help understand the people that they will encounter while in their professions. The Southwest Borderlands Studies degree promotes diversity and the education of students on the different problems that the communities of the Southwest face. "I am excited that students will have the opportunity to connect with other cultures that live within their own community, and also that they will have a broader global vision in serving these communities through their vocation or profession," Gonzalez said.
This degree is very important to UMHB and Texas because it sets the university apart from other universities, Gonzalez said. It also shows the people of Texas that we care about the diverse cultures inside the state and across the Southwest, she added. "The Southwest Borderlands Studies degree can help bridge gaps in the understanding of Latinx communities," Gonzalez said. –Victoria Kuntz, student writer
