Merrie Beckham Alumni By Choice of the Year
Named in honor of the first recipient of a Baylor Alumni By Choice Decree and inaugural recipient of Alumni By Choice of the Year in 2021, is presented to an individual who was previously nominated and selected as an Alumni By Choice recipient and who has achieved distinction through exceptional contribution to Baylor’s international, national, state or community welfare.
Marie E. Chiles
The Merrie Beckham Alumni By Choice of the Year, named in honor of the first recipient of a Baylor Alumni By Choice Decree and inaugural recipient of Alumni By Choice of the Year in 2021, is presented to an individual who was previously nominated and selected as an Alumni By Choice recipient and who has achieved distinction through exceptional contribution to Baylor’s international, national, state or community welfare. The 2023 honor is awarded to Marie E. Chiles of Dallas.
Marie Chiles received her bachelor’s degree in mathematics at Chatham University and was named a Baylor Alumna By Choice in 1986. Marie met her husband, John, B.B.A. ’50, J.D. ’52, when she was serving as a first lieutenant in the U.S. Air Force in England, where they married in 1955. Upon returning to Texas, John served as an attorney for Humble Oil and Refining Co., which later became ExxonMobil, until his retirement in 1982.
Marie and John have been among Baylor’s most loyal benefactors for more than 50 years. The Chiles are longtime advocates of Baylor Law School and the Louise Herrington School of Nursing and were the organizers of the Mayborn Museum Complex support group. In 2012, the Chiles were awarded The Founders Medal, the University’s most distinguished honor.
Marie is a devoted member of the Louise Herrington School of Nursing Board of Advocates, and she and John received the first Friends of Nursing Award. They established the Dean’s Good Samaritan Fund and donated three simulators to equip Baylor nursing graduates with the hands-on experience and skills necessary to transition successfully into their medical careers.
