News Briefs

U.S. Poet Laureate Billy Collins was the headliner at this spring's Beall Poetry Festival. Collins is a frequent guest on National Public Radio and has published several collections of poetry. "The Best Cigarette," a recording of Collins reading a selection of his poems, was released in 1997.
Nigerian student Ade Ifelayo received 64 percent of the student body vote in the spring election, becoming the first black and the first international student elected to lead the student government. This fall, Ifelayo will be a senior economics major.
The Texas Supreme Court convened at Baylor's Sheila and Walter Umphrey Law Center April 3. The nine justices publicly heard arguments in two cases. On April 6, dedication ceremonies for the new facility were held. Judge Robert M. Parker of the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals gave the keynote address. Later that day, the annual Law Day banquet honored John Eddie Williams of Houston as the Baylor Lawyer of the Year for 2002. Keynote speaker for the banquet was Baylor graduate and former Texas Gov. Ann Richards.
New chairs were appointed in three departments this spring. Dr. Stan C. Denman, assistant professor of theater arts, Dr. J. Randall O'Brien, professor of religion, and Dr. Charles E. Davis, associate professor of accounting and The Ernst & Young Fellow in Accounting, were appointed chairs of their respective departments. Dr. Denman has served as acting chair of the theater arts department since August 2000, when former chair Bill Cook returned to full-time teaching. Dr. O'Brien assumed his new responsibilities June 1, succeeding Dr. William H. Brackney, who will assume a full-time teaching post in the religion department. Dr. Davis was appointed chair of the accounting and business law department in the Hankamer School of Business after a nationwide search for the position. He has been a faculty member at Baylor since 1991.
Baylor Libraries started the new year by restructuring its divisions and reassigning and expanding roles. Dr. Reagan Ramsower, dean of libraries and associate vice president and chief information officer, refers to it as a 21st century library that will better serve the burgeoning needs of students and faculty. Part of the new structure includes the formation of a division of electronic libraries.
For almost three decades, he was the man who knew every sidewalk, lamppost and street sign on the campus -- and was responsible for all of them. Ken Simons, assistant vice president for facilities planning and operations, retired from the University May 31 after 28 years of service. Major projects completed under his watch include the Ferrell Center, the McLane Student Life Center, the Sheila and Walter Umphrey Law Center and the Jim and Julie Turner Riverfront Sports Complex. Rick Creel, Simons' assistant for the past year as director of operations, was appointed as the new assistant vice president for operations and facilities.
Sheila Bates, named Texas Field Instructor of the Year at the National Association of Social Workers conference, received a national honor in February. She was one of three recipients of the "Heart of Social Work Award," presented at the Council on Social Work Education conference in Nashville, Tenn. Bates earned master's degrees in sociology and social work administration from Baylor and the University of Texas-Arlington, respectively. She is a field instructor in Baylor's School of Social Work and a supervisor at Child Protective Services in Waco.
A new joint master of divinity-master of science in education (counseling) degree program was approved by Baylor's Board of Regents at its February meeting. It will be offered through George W. Truett Theological Seminary and the counseling program in the School of Education's Department of Educational Psychology.