News - 2019

East Texas Baptist University held the second annual Good Samaritan Luncheon on Thursday, April 25 to recognize Marshall Convention and Visitor Bureau Board Chair George Carter and Marshall City Commissioner-District 1 Gloria Moon for their servant leadership in Marshall. ETBU selected Carter and Moon to receive the Good Samaritan Award, inspired by the parable in Luke 10:25-37.

East Texas Baptist University has been recognized by the Annual RegisteredNursing.org Registered Nurse (RN) Program State Rankings as the sixth-ranked RN Program in Texas out of 119 programs evaluated and 50 ranked. Since 2015, ETBU nurses have achieved 100 percent pass rates on the National Council Licensure Examination (NCLEX) and received job offers within three months of degree completion.

Dr. Cole Franklin received the International Public Debate Association (IPDA) 2019 Bennett Strange Coach of the Year Award at the IPDA National Championship Tournament and Convention on Tuesday, April 17 in Shreveport, Louisiana. Determined by a vote of all university programs attending the national tournament, the Coach of the Year award is presented to a debate director annually and honors the coach for his or her dedication to students, mentoring, debate education and pedagogy, and service to the association and debate community.

East Texas Baptist University honored 150 graduating seniors with an official ETBU Class Ring during the 2019 Ring Blessing on Monday, April 15 in Baker Chapel of the Ornelas Spiritual Life Center. Initiated in December of 2018, the ceremony celebrates the accomplishments of students and connects generations of alumni. As a token of appreciation to graduating seniors, the graduation ring symbolizes the University’s blessing over students as they commence from ETBU to pursue their vocational callings.

The East Texas Baptist University Theatre Arts Department concluded the 2018-2019 season with a performance of Marjorie Prime by Jordan Harrison on Thursday, April 11 through Sunday, April 14. Set in 2062, the 2015 Pulitzer Prize Finalist play centers on Marjorie Lancaster, an elderly woman with dementia, and her family. As director, ETBU Theatre Arts Department Chair Traci Ledford personally invested in the production.