Baylor University Announces First Faculty Endowment for Nursing School

Louise Herrington School of Nursing’s FastBacc® Program receives $1.5 million gift, names new faculty professorship

WACO, Texas (Dec. 9, 2021) – Baylor University today announced a gift of $1.5 million from the Deerbrook Charitable Trust of Chevy Chase, Maryland, and Harris and Anne Clark of Dallas to establish the Louise Herrington School of Nursing’s (LHSON) first endowed faculty position. The Harris and Anne Clark FastBacc Endowed Professorship will provide permanent, enduring support for the FastBacc program, a 12-month accelerated post-baccalaureate Bachelor of Science in Nursing program.

LHSON Clinical Associate Professor Beth Hultquist, Ph.D., will be the inaugural holder of The Harris and Anne Clark FastBacc Endowed Professorship. Hultquist is the coordinator of the FastBacc program, a position she has held since 2014. Her leadership and consistent work have been instrumental to the growth and success of the program.

“For more than 100 years, the Louise Herrington School of Nursing has held a steadfast commitment to excellence in nursing higher education, and I am grateful for the personal investment and support from Harris and Anne Clark and the trustees of the Deerbrook Charitable Trust,” said Baylor President Linda A. Livingstone, Ph.D. “Baylor nurses are known as capable, compassionate professionals whose critical thinking and adaptability help them to succeed. Harris and Anne have long been dedicated supporters of the FastBacc program, and it is only fitting that this endowed professorship carry their name in recognition of their commitment to our Baylor nurses.”

The Clark Professorship supports the Give Light campaign priority of increasing faculty endowment support among the University’s 12 schools and colleges. Since the start of the campaign, 33 endowed faculty positions have been created to recruit and retain gifted faculty to teach, mentor and advance the research priorities of the University.

The endowed professorship is not the first time the Clarks and Deerbrook Charitable Trust have supported the FastBacc program. In 2009, a gift from the Trust helped to establish the intensive, full-time program in which students who already hold a bachelor’s degree in a non-nursing discipline complete 62 hours of nursing coursework at LHSON’s Dallas campus. The full-time program begins each summer with a combination of teaching methodologies, including traditional classroom, online courses, clinical and lab experiences and hybrid interactive learning courses. The first cohort of 16 students graduated in 2010. The FastBacc program has shown significant growth in the last 10 years, with 76 students graduating in May 2021.

“We are truly grateful for Harris and Anne’s incredible support of the FastBacc program and our nursing students,” said LHSON Dean Linda Plank, Ph.D. “Our Baylor nurses have been called to learn, to lead and to serve in their communities, and I am grateful for those who are helping them answer that call. The Deerbrook Charitable Trust and the Clarks are champions for our FastBacc nurses, and the faculty and students of LHSON celebrate what this gift will mean for the future growth of the program and for the men and women who will pass through its doors on their way to become exceptional nurses.”

The Clark Professorship will help LHSON by providing enduring resources for the FastBacc program through research support and salary and travel funding for the chairholder. As a permanent endowment, the Clark Professorship will serve as an attractive recruiting and retainment tool for faculty for the life of the program, providing stability and security to help LHSON in growing the academic track. The Clark Professorship endowment also will create opportunities for faculty and students, with resources previously tied up in funding faculty salary now available to fund other needs related to the program.

Harris and Anne Clark previously supported the FastBacc program and LHSON through the establishment of several endowed scholarships. Knowing that FastBacc students have access to fewer financial assistance opportunities due to the nature of their status as degree-holding students, the Clarks also created an emergency fund to support them during their time at Baylor.

Harris Clark earned a B.B.A. degree from Oglethorpe University in Atlanta, Georgia. Anne Clark graduated from Texas Tech University. Mr. Clark serves as a Trustee for the Deerbrook Charitable Trust. The Trust is a private foundation funded in 2006 by the late Hays Clark, father of Harris Clark. Since its inception, the Trust has been a valued partner and generous supporter of LHSON.

The Clark Professorship gift supports the priorities of Baylor key academic initiatives of Illuminate, the University’s strategic plan. Created as part of the Give Light Campaign, the Clark Professorship will support the University’s Health Initiative to grow research and collaboration in this area, spanning all schools and colleges within the University.

Baylor publicly launched the Give Light campaign on Nov. 1, 2018. To date, the campaign has raised $1.09 billion. The Campaign has seen 79,257 alumni, parents and friends give to the University’s priorities, as well as establishing 643 endowed scholarships. For more information or to support Give Light: The Campaign for Baylor, visit www.baylor.edu/givelight.

ABOUT BAYLOR UNIVERSITY

Baylor University is a private Christian University and a nationally ranked research institution. The University provides a vibrant campus community for more than 20,000 students by blending interdisciplinary research with an international reputation for educational excellence and a faculty commitment to teaching and scholarship. Chartered in 1845 by the Republic of Texas through the efforts of Baptist pioneers, Baylor is the oldest continually operating University in Texas. Located in Waco, Baylor welcomes students from all 50 states and more than 90 countries to study a broad range of degrees among its 12 nationally recognized academic divisions.

ABOUT BAYLOR UNIVERSITY LOUISE HERRINGTON SCHOOL OF NURSING

The Baylor University Louise Herrington School of Nursing (LHSON) located in Dallas, Texas, was established in 1909 as a diploma program within Baylor Hospital in Dallas, which is now Baylor Scott & White Health’s Baylor University Medical Center, and in 1950 became one of the six degree-granting schools of Baylor University. The first Baccalaureate degrees were granted in 1952, establishing the School among the earliest baccalaureate nursing programs in Texas. In 1999, the School was renamed the Baylor University Louise Herrington School of Nursing after Louise Herrington Ornelas, a 1992 Baylor Alumna Honoris Causa, who made an endowment gift to the School. The LHSON offers Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) degrees through Traditional, FastBacc® (one-year accelerated) and Distance Accelerated BSN programs. Plus, the LHSON offers an online Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) program with tracks that include Family Nurse Practitioner, Nurse-Midwifery, Neonatal Nurse Practitioner, Pediatric Nurse Practitioner, Executive Nurse Leadership and U.S. Army Anesthesia Nursing (USAGPAN), which operates at the U.S. Army Medical Center of Excellence at Fort Sam Houston in San Antonio. U.S. News & World Report‘s 2022 Best Graduate Schools rankings include several LHSON programs, including the DNP at No. 60 nationally and “Best Nursing” specialty rankings for LHSON’s USAGPAN at No. 8 and Baylor’s Nurse-Midwifery program at No. 21. To learn more, visit baylor.edu/nursing.