Within just three semesters of beginning his college degree and playing soccer at Dallas Baptist University in 1998, Corsicana native Jay Fondren enlisted to serve in the U.S. military. Twenty years later, he crossed the stage and received his bachelor's degree.
Most veteran-students are between the ages of 24 and 40 and are juggling jobs and families in addition to being full-time students. Their intense experiences in active duty make it even harder to join in socially with traditional students, often leading to isolation. However, DBU provides them a supportive Christian environment where they can heal and grow.
At a recent Friday Symposium on March 6, Dr. Mark Cook addressed the importance renowned scholar and author C.S. Lewis gave to interpersonal connectedness and encouragement through letter-writing. Now, as DBU shifts gears into going fully online and social distancing, Lewis’ kernels of wisdom shared by Dr. Cook seem all the more relevant during a time of disruption.
DBU's Master of Arts in Theological Studies program was named one of the top 35 theology programs in the nation for 2020! Interested in the program? Read more to find out how you can be a part.
Dr. Dyer visited DBU to give a symposium speech, titled "Theological Ethics for the Age of Artificial Intelligence." He challenged students, asking whether they saw the implications of advancing technology as good, bad, or neutral.
DBU Patriots welcomed Shane Pruitt as a guest speaker at Chapel. For students, he brought one simple message: Jesus is better.
Elona Prroj stood before DBU students in a recent chapel service still wearing the dust from her own valley 10 years after the murder of her husband in Albania. Her encouragement to the DBU students gathered in chapel that day, listening to her story, was to understand what forgiveness is and what it isn't. Forgiveness, Elona discovered, is a decision rather than just a feeling. And it’s not a one-time event like revenge.
Jenny Yang, Senior Vice President of Advocacy and Policy, spearheaded a dialogue on "Justice, Compassion, and Truth: A Discussion on Immigration." She was joined by partner organizations of World Relief, including Seek the Peace, Welcoming Immigrants, The Refugee Empowerment Network, and Southcliff Baptist Church.
DBU honored Dr. Herb and Barbara Pedersen and heard from five-time World Series Champion and Yankee pitcher Andy Pettitte at the annual DBU Patriot Baseball Champions for Christ event hosted on the DBU campus on January 31.
"My greatest passion is to inspire, train, and encourage new generations of musicians; more than anything else, this has driven me to become a better performer and teacher," DBU Alumna Meredith Tompkins shared. Born and raised in Midland, Texas, Meredith grew up in a musical family and eventually gravitated to studying music herself.
Mark David prays every day that he can be a light in his corporate settings, demonstrating excellence in service to others to the glory of God and by extending a friendly smile and words of encouragement to people of different backgrounds who are experiencing the painful loss of a family member.
November 18-23 marked DBU's Homecoming celebrations for faculty, students, and alumni. Throughout the week, students enjoyed the first-ever Mr. Patriot, an annual male talent competition, as well as the faculty Chili Cook-Off and a Pepsi Break on the Quad. Patriots crowded the Burg Center when the doors finally opened, with students and faculty alike cheering on DBU’s basketball team as they defeated Arlington Baptist with a score of 88-57.
After living in the U.S. for the last 40 years, DBU alumna Elaine Saba felt called by the Lord to return to her childhood home of Liberia, prompted by the urgency of an educational crisis facing this struggling nation.
We asked Susan Mogish, one of our December graduates, to share with us a little about her journey and experience in the MAGL program.
“I hate textbooks!” high school teacher and DBU alumna Rachaele Tarrant says. Her students at OD Wyatt High School in Fort Worth agree. In a school where 88.2 percent of students are “at-risk” and 92.9 percent are “economically disadvantaged,” textbooks and traditional teaching methods aren’t going to cut it.
It was a big decision, and it called for a family meeting. DBU Alumnus Brance Barker, then a fourth-grader, hopped on his parents’ bed and sat next to his sister, wondering why a family meeting had been called. His father, Dewain Barker, who had been leading a homeschool co-op at the time, shared he was feeling led to pioneer the concept of the “University Method of Education." And so Brance’s young life changed significantly.
Before she ever attended her first missions class at DBU, the Lord had already been working in Brindley Taylor's heart to help her see every lost person through the eyes of His redemption.
The Graduate School of Ministry celebrated 15 years of establishment and excellence here at Dallas Baptist University this past month. The GSOM has been creating servant leaders to impact their community, training those God has called to ministry. Over 200 students, alumni, and faculty gathered to the GSOM's first Alumni and Student Networking Dinner to honor both distinguished alumni and outstanding students.
Faithful in every footnote is the phrase that was scripted above Dr. Christine Jones's desk as a doctoral student. While she worked on her dissertation, those words would morph into her personal outlook on education.
Dr. King’s call for racial equality and justice in America is far from fulfilled as we enter this new decade. That unfinished call goes beyond the starting point of awareness and a change of mind to move toward individual and collective accountable action, including participating in constructive dialogue, hiring without prejudice, conscientious engagement in civic life, and joining together to ensure a fair and impartial justice system, as well as ending cycles of poverty and educational disadvantages in underprivileged communities.
For current DBU graduate students, Shirley and Joyce Porto, the religious freedoms enjoyed by some are an urgent call to speak out for others around the world without them. Together they are working on campus to inspire students to give voice to the voiceless and make the world a more just place for all.
Belén Ramírez’s testimony of one incredible answered prayer for healing followed by several more that went unanswered for a long time illustrates a valuable spiritual lesson: “We are not God; we do not decide when God heals and when He doesn’t. You have to always ask for His will. And His will be done.”
For every anxious or drifting student who walks into Dr. Mary Nelson's office, ready to withdraw from their programs at any moment’s notice, she sees an image her younger self knew all too well.
The theme of senior Connor Torre’s story can be told in the one realization he has constantly faced the last four years: “God is directing my steps.”
