1980s
Larry Davis, BSEd ’81, was named chief diversity officer at Texas A&M University-Central Texas, where he most recently served as director of student services. He was a Baylor Track and Field letterwinner.
Dr. Sherry B. Perkins, BSN ’82, was named president and CEO of University of Maryland Capital Region Health. She is a Fellow of the American Academy of Nursing and an adjunct faculty member of the University of Maryland School of Nursing.
Dr. Glenn Sanders, BA ’82, MA ’83, was named dean of the College of Arts and Sciences at King University in Bristol, TN. Sanders has taught history at Oklahoma Baptist University since 1988. He also chaired OBU’s departments of anthropology, history and political science and the division of behavioral and social sciences.
Mark R. Williamson, BBA ’82, was honored with a 2018 Elite Lawyer Award for the area of family law. He is the founding partner of Williamson Law Firm in Dallas.
James R. Rodgers, JD ’83, an attorney with The Moore Law Firm in Paris, TX, was inducted into the Paris Junior College Academic Hall of Honor Class of 2018. He was a summa cum laude graduate of PJC in 1978. Rodgers has practiced law in Paris for more than 35 years.
Leslie Schaffner, BA ’83, is president of the nonprofit Wichita Falls [TX] Area Community Foundation. Before accepting the position, Schaffner was director of special initiatives at the Priddy Foundation for 16 years.
Webster Stickney, MA ’83, is managing director of SierraConstellation Partners, LLC, a Houston-based interim management and advisory firm to middle-market companies in transition. His experience includes 35 years working with the family of Drayton McLane and the McLane Group. Stickney has served as the CEO of a Central Texas defense contractor, the CEO of a Texas blown-film manufacturer and a board member of the Houston Astros.
Dr. Elizabeth Davis, BBA ’84, president of Furman University in Greenville, SC, received the 2018 William M. Burke Presidential Award for Excellence in Experiential Education from the National Society of Experiential Education (NSEE). The award recognizes a sitting college president who has made “significant contributions to experiential education and exemplifies a commitment to college students through entrepreneurial support of experiential education on campus and in the community.” Davis was Baylor executive vice president and provost from 2010 to 2014.
Letha Turner Horbacz, BSN ’84, celebrated 30 years of service as a cardiac nurse at Baylor University Medical Center Dallas. Contact at horbfam@aol.com.
Debbie Snyder, MA ’84, is group vice president, corporate social responsibility solutions (CSR), for StratusLIVE, a Virginia Beach, VA-based provider of cloud-based, enterprise-class CRM and donor management software for nonprofit organizations and CSR teams. She has more than 25 years of experience in CSR program leadership, global program development, strategic planning and consulting.
Dr. Stephen Stookey, BA ’84, is dean of the School of Religion and Philosophy at Wayland Baptist University. He joined the Wayland faculty in 2016 as a professor of religion. Stookey is a trustee for the T.B. Maston Foundation and is on the Board of Directors of the Baptist History and Heritage Society.
Laura Swearingen, BBA’84, a real estate executive with The Laura Swearingen Team, RE/MAX Associates of Arlington, TX, joined Noticed, an invitation-only service for distinguished professionals. Swearingen has been chosen as a Distinguished Real Estate Professional.
Tresi Moore Weeks, BA ’84, JD ’87, was appointed Chair of the Board for Disability Rights Texas. Contact at 5600 Tennyson Parkway Suite 105, Plano, TX 75024 or tresi@weekslawfirm.com.
Stephen Kwaku Asare, MBA ’85, is an accomplished scholar and practitioner selected by the Ghana Center for Democratic Development (CDD-Ghana) as its first Democracy and Development (D&D) Fellow. Asare will serve as a D&D Fellow in Public Law and Justice. A KPMG Professor in accounting at the University of Florida Fisher School of Accounting, Asare is known in Ghana as a public intellectual and scholar-activist.
Gary Furr, PhD ’85, celebrated 25 years as pastor of Vestavia Hills Baptist Church, Birmingham, AL. Also a conference speaker and a published author, Furr serves as the founder of the Alabama Coalition for Healthy Mothers and Children, a faith-based, nonprofit organization of health care professionals, educators and community leaders advocating for the health care of Alabama children.
Dr. Michael H. Kennedy, MHA ’85, was named chair of the department of health policy, economics and management at the University of Texas Health Science Center at Tyler, TX, School of Community and Rural Health. Kennedy was an associate professor in the Department of Health Services and Information Management at East Carolina University.
Jeffery Looney, BSEd ’85, was named city manager of Granite Shoals, TX. He began his career at Mexia [TX] State School as program coordinator, then coordinated a five-county foster care program for people with disabilities. He later became Mexia city judge and went on to work as city manager and administrator of cities in Texas and Colorado.
Todd Dorton, BBA ’86, of Waco was appointed by Texas Gov. Greg Abbott to the Family Practice Residency Advisory Committee. The committee is responsible for funding recommendations for Higher Education Coordinating Board and other support programs. Dorton is president and CEO of Ethos Risk Advisors, LLC. He is a member of the Waco Business League and the Ukrainian Economic Reform Committee.
Judy R. Hodgkiss, JD ’86, an attorney with The Moore Law Firm in Paris, TX, was inducted into the Paris Junior College Academic Hall of Honor Class of 2018. Hodgkiss was valedictorian of her Paris High School graduating class and graduated summa cum laude from PJC in 1980.
Dr. Ginna Laport, BA ’86, is chief medical officer at Tempest Therapeutics Inc., a San Francisco-based development-stage biotechnology company. She has expertise in hematology, oncology and clinical drug development and will be a part of the transition Tempest is pursuing to become a clinical-stage biotechnology company.
Doyle R. Simons, BBA ’86, is retiring after five years as president and CEO at Weyerhaeuser Company. He served as chairman and CEO of Temple-Inland Inc., from 2008 to 2012.
Kristy Bonner, BA ’87, was recognized by the Dallas Business Journal as a 2018 Women in Technology honoree for making a difference in her workplace. Bonner is an IT director at NCH Corporation, headquartered in Irving, TX. She is also vice president of the DFW Alliance of Technology and Women.
Glen, BBA ’87, and Laura Lee Pirtle, BSEd ’89, are the new owners Classic Chrysler Dodge Jeep Ram Fiat in Arlington, TX, at 1111 I-20 East at Collins. They will remodel the facilities, and they welcome all Baylor graduates and friends to stop by and see them.
Lee Mulcahy, BA ’88, of Aspen, CO, will have his paintings exhibited in Beijing’s 798 at Horizon, Nairobi’s National Museum and at his outlaw gallery/studio in Aspen’s Burlingame Ranch in 2019. Contact at leemulcahyphd@gmail.com.
Mark Chronister, BS ’89, was appointed Central Market Large and Jumbo Employer Team (LJET) Leader by Mercer, a global consulting leader in advancing health, wealth and career. Chronister spent 11 years as the Dallas Health Office Business Leader, where he maintained and grew awareness and presence in the Dallas and Austin markets.
Deeanne King, BBA ’89, longtime Sprint leader and current senior vice president of omnichannel operations and customer experience, was named Sprint’s chief human resources officer. King has been with Sprint for nearly 30 years and has extensive management experience across a variety of business units, including care, operations and human resources.
Peter Larsen, BA ’89, of Newburyport, MA, is writing a blog, O.K. with the War: One Texan’s Unlikely Journey Over There, about his grandfather’s experience in France in World War I. O.K. Farrell of Amarillo, TX, was also the father of Nancy Farrell Larsen, BBA ’58, and grandfather of Ann Larsen Lawrence, BA ’91. www.larsenlink.com
Don R. Reeves, BBA ’89, joined Roberts & Roberts in Tyler, TX, where he will continue to represent injured victims. Reeves worked as a personal injury attorney at Bennett Law Office in Longview, Texas, for approximately 19 years.
Charles E. Sutton Jr., JD ’89, was appointed head of the workers’ compensation practice group at corporate and insurance defense firm Wanek Kirsch Davies LLC in New Orleans.