May 17 Spring Commencement To Include Honorary Doctorate For Virginia Beall Ball
Baylor University will confer degrees on more than 1,600 students during two commencement exercises Saturday, May 17, in the Ferrell Center.
The first ceremony will begin at 9:30 a.m. for students in the College of Arts and Sciences and the Graduate School arts and sciences programs. In addition to the conferral of degrees, the Baylor Alumni Association will present the annual George W. Truett Distinguished Church Service Award to Baylor President Emeritus Herbert H. Reynolds. The university also will confer an honorary doctor of humane letters on Mrs. Virginia Beall Ball, a 1940 Baylor graduate and philanthropist, who brought such enriching cultural events to Baylor and the Central Texas community as the Beall-Russell Lecture Series and the Beall Poetry Festival.
The second ceremony begins at 2:30 p.m. for graduates of the Schools of Business, Education, Engineering and Computer Science, Music and Nursing, the Graduate School professional school programs and George W. Truett Theological Seminary. The alumni association will present the Price Daniel Distinguished Public Service Award to Baylor graduate Lyndon L. Olson Jr., former ambassador to Sweden. In addition, Dr. Blaine McCormick, assistant professor of management in the Hankamer School of Business, will be recognized as the 2003 Collins Outstanding Professor, an award voted upon by graduating seniors and funded by the Carr P. Collins Foundation.
Baylor President Robert B. Sloan Jr. will give the traditional charge to students in the morning and afternoon, with greetings brought by Drayton McLane Jr., chair of the Baylor Board of Regents. During the morning ceremony, Dr. Robert Packard, professor emeritus of physics, will serve as bearer of the mace. Dr. Norman (Buddy) Gilchrest, professor emeritus of health, human performance and recreation, will have the honor at the afternoon ceremony.
Baylor also will honor the recipients of Outstanding Professor and Teaching Awards: Gerald R. Powell, professor of law; Dr. Preston M. Dyer, professor of social work; Dr. John M. Davis, assistant professor of mathematics; Dr. Kevin G. Pinney, associate professor of chemistry; Kathryn S. Mueller, senior lecturer in sociology; Dr. Jean A. Boyd, professor of music literature; Judy C. Bowman, senior lecturer in economics; Dr. James A. Roberts, associate professor of marketing; Dr. Pauline T. Johnson, professor of nursing; and Rita S. Patteson, assistant professor and librarian, Armstrong Browning Library.
Special recognition also will be given to retiring Baylor faculty: Dr. Alan N. Cook, professor of finance; Dr. Thelma L. Cooper, assistant professor of piano; Dr. William F. Cooper, professor of philosophy; Dr. Douglas W. Crow, professor of German and sculptor-in-residence; Dr. Harry Elzinga, professor of musicology; Johanna Guenther, associate professor of nursing and director of the Learning Resources Center; Dr. Frauke A. Harvey, professor of German; Kent H. Keeth, associate professor and director of The Texas Collection; Dr. David A. Kopplin, professor of psychology; Dr. Andy Moore, professor of English; Dr. Lee Polk, professor of communication studies; Calvin Smith, associate professor and chair of museum studies; Carey Ann Smith, assistant professor of nursing and assistant dean for student services; Kathleen Sparkman, assistant professor and preservation librarian; Dr. Donald D. Schmeltekopf, provost and vice president for academic affairs; Dr. Larry D. Vanlandingham, professor of percussion instruments; Dr. Ken-Hsi Wang, professor of physics; and Dr. James L. Williamson, professor of educational administration;
Retiring administrators to be honored include Robert James, athletic department; Charles A. Jones, university development; and Basil Thompson, general counsel.
For more information, contact Lois Ferguson, assistant provost for academic services, at (254) 710-3663.