Southwest Baptist University News
Release
Contact: Sharina Smith, Office of
Marketing & Communications
417-328-1803 / scsmith@sbuniv.edu
BOLIVAR, Mo. –Southwest Baptist University will begin its
official academic year with a formal convocation at 10:00 a.m. on Wednesday,
Aug. 22, in Pike Auditorium on the Bolivar main campus.
All SBU students, faculty,
staff, alumni, trustees, and retired employees of the University are invited to
attend.
Dr. Dwight Haun ‘81, director of teacher education, chair of the
department of education, associate professor of teacher education, and recipient of the 2012 Orien B. Hendrex
Distinguished Teacher Award, will present the annual convocation address.
The
Distinguished Teacher Award is chosen by the current and three previous
graduating classes and is presented annually to a faculty member for
“outstanding teaching ability and personal guidance.”
Dr. Donald Denton, associate professor
of theology, will be recognized
for receiving the 2011 Parkway Distinguished Professor Award. The Christian
College Education Committee of Parkway Baptist Church in Saint Louis awards
this honor annually to faculty members from each of the four Missouri Baptist
colleges who have made outstanding contributions to Christian education.
The faculty and staff Newcomer of
the Year awards also will be presented during formal convocation.
Dwight Haun
2012 Orien B. Hendrex
Distinguished Teacher
Dr.
Dwight Haun joined the SBU faculty in 1998 as assistant professor of teacher
education. Currently, Dr. Haun is the
director of teacher education, chair of the department of education, and
associate professor of teacher education.
He served a term as president of the SBU Faculty Senate, is a double
recipient of the Orien B. Hendrex Distinguished Teacher Award for 2005 and
2012, a Faculty Life Beautiful Award recipient, and he has received the SBU
Faculty Newcomer of the Year Award.
An
alumnus of SBU, Dr. Haun earned his Bachelor of Science in mathematics and
physical education in 1981. He earned a
Master of Science in secondary education and mathematics from Southwest
Missouri State University and in 1990 a doctorate in educational leadership and
policy analysis from University of Missouri-Columbia.
Dr.
Haun is a member of the National Middle School Association, Association of
Supervision and Curriculum Development, and the Missouri Association for
Colleges of Teacher Education. In 1995,
he was awarded the Master Teacher Award for the Bolivar R-I Schools.
Dr.
Haun and his wife, Verna, also a graduate of SBU, reside in Bolivar and have
two sons, Kendall, who is married to Leigh Anne, and Grant. The Haun family attends First Baptist Church
in Bolivar.
Donald Denton
2012 Parkway Distinguished
Professor
Dr. Donald Denton joined the
faculty of Southwest Baptist University in 2003. Dr. Denton has made significant contributions
to his discipline. His dissertation was
published by the prestigious T. & T. Clark Publishers and was recently
included in the digital Logos Library for scholars. He has presented research papers to national
and international meetings of biblical and theological scholars. He has contributed several articles to
top-level referred journals. He also has
submitted his research to a book of essays produced by international
scholars. In short, Dr. Denton is a
recognized scholar in gospel studies, cited often in major books and journals
of biblical scholarship.
An invaluable member of The
Courts Redford College of Theology and Ministry faculty, he was instrumental in
developing a new academic major in the Redford College. Recently, he established a new chapter of the
national honor society for theology students, Theta Alpha Kappa.
Dr. Denton received his Bachelor
of Arts from Southeastern Louisiana University, a Master of Divinity from New
Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary, and a Doctor of Philosophy from Fuller
Theological Seminary, Pasadena, California.
Dr. Denton and his wife, Diane,
have one son, Joshua. The Denton family
is active at their church, serving their community by participating in mission
trips, service organizations, and ministries to women and children. In addition, Dr. Denton leads Bible studies
at home and preaches for churches in southwest Missouri.
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Southwest Baptist University is a
leader among private universities in truly integrating Christ-centered academic
pursuits with comprehensive professional programs at an affordable price. Since
1878, the faculty and staff have created a caring, academic community to
prepare students to be servant leaders in a global society. The University has
been named one of America’s
Best Christian Colleges® for
13 consecutive years, one of America’s
100 Best College Buys® for 14 consecutive years, and it has been named
among institutions with America’s
Best College Scholarships®
for the past four years by Institutional Research and Evaluation, Inc.
For more information, visit www.SBUniv.edu. SBU’s
Office of Marketing & Communications is available to news media 24/7 at
417-399-7918.
