Angela Brown-Peterson and Dr. Timothy L. Wood were installed as academic chairs at Southwest Baptist University’s annual convocation Wednesday, Aug. 24.
Convocation marks the formal beginning of the academic year and is a time when campus gathers to focus on SBU’s mission and traditions.
“An academic chair is supported by an endowed fund that is permanently invested for a faculty member in a specific academic discipline,” SBU President C. Pat Taylor, Ed.D., said. “In higher education, it is an honor to hold an endowed academic chair.”
Elaine Simpson Chair of Business Administration
Angela Brown-Peterson
Brown-Peterson earned a bachelor of science degree in business administration with a concentration in marketing and a master’s in business administration from SBU. She is currently in pursuit of a doctorate in business administration from Northcentral University. Brown-Peterson is an assistant professor of business administration and chair of the business administration department.
The chair of business administration is named in honor of the late Elaine Simpson, who taught in the business department at Southwest Baptist College from 1957-1963 after receiving her bachelor’s degree in organ and business education from Missouri State University and her master’s in business education from Indiana University.
Simpson felt that she was called by God to help young people succeed in the business world. A portion of her estate was left to SBU, where the Elaine Simpson Chair of Business Administration was established.
Roy Blunt Chair of History
Dr. Timothy L. Wood
Wood received a bachelor of arts degree from Indiana University Southeast and a master of arts degree in history from the University of Louisville. He earned his Ph.D. from Marquette University, where he specialized in early American religious history. Wood is a professor of history, and has taught at SBU since 2004 and his work has appeared in numerous academic journals.
The chair of history is named in honor of U.S. Sen. Roy Blunt, who earned a bachelor of arts degree in history from SBU and a master’s in history from Missouri State University. Blunt was a history teacher at both the secondary and college levels prior to serving in Congress and the Senate. He also served on the adjunct faculty of Drury University and SBU, as well as president of SBU from 1993-1996.
“Schools matter and where you go to school matters. Teachers matter,” Blunt said, recalling SBU instructors who made an impact on his life. “Their impact on students goes on, just like Stacy Soden’s (2016 Orien B. Hendrex Distinguished Teacher) impact on students will go on; and Dr. Wood’s impact on students will go on; and Angela Brown-Peterson’s impact on students will go on.
“A lot of people come here and stay here for the right reasons. They come here because of their feeling that this is a calling that they’ve been given because it is the calling that they’ve been given.”
SBU now has seven endowed academic chairs. The others are:
- Dr. Troy Bethards – Dean, Robert W. Plaster College of Business and Computer Science / Ruby Letsch-Roderique Chair of Economics/Finance
- Dr. Julie Bryant – Associate Professor of Education / Lewis E. Schollian Chair of Education
- Dr. Michael Fuhrman – Chair, Department of Christian Ministries / Robert and Ruth Powell Chair of Preaching
- Dr. Kelly Malone – Associate Professor of Intercultural Studies / Jack Stanton Chair of Evangelism
- Dr. Rodney Reeves – Dean, The Courts Redford College of Theology and Ministry / Courts Redford Chair of Biblical Studies
PHOTOS:
1. Angela Brown-Peterson — SBU provost Dr. Lee Skinkle (left) presents Angela Brown-Peterson, chair of the department of business administration, as the Elaine Simpson Chair of Business Administration.
2. Dr. Timothy L. Wood — SBU provost Dr. Lee Skinkle (right) presents Dr. Timothy L. Wood, professor of history, as the Roy Blunt Chair of History.
3. From left: Dr. C. Pat Taylor, Angela Brown-Peterson, Dr. Timothy L. Wood and U.S. Sen. Roy Blunt.