wfn.org | United Methodist foundation gives Kresge award to Houston woman

[NewsDesk <NewsDesk@UMCOM.UMC.ORG>]

March 22, 1999	Contact: Linda Green*(615)742-5470*Nashville, Tenn.
10-71B{147}

By United Methodist News ServiceEvie Jo Wilson, a long-time supporter of Lon
Morris College, a two-year United Methodist-related school in Jacksonville,
Texas, has been recognized for her dedication to the church and her
commitment to  United Methodist higher education.

Wilson is the winner of the 1999 Stanley S. Kresge Award, given annually by
the United Methodist Foundation for Christian Higher Education. She is a
long-time member of St. Paul's United Methodist Church in Houston.

The foundation, with offices in Nashville, Tenn.,  raises, manages and
distributes funds to foster education in a Christian context in schools,
colleges, universities and theological schools in the United Methodist
Church.

Recipients of the Kresge award along with the annual Outstanding Educator,
Chaplain of the Year, and Campus Minister of the Year awards were announced
March 6 during the semi-annual meeting of the foundation's board of
trustees. 
 Nominating Wilson for the award, Clifford M. Lee, president of Lon Morris
College in Jacksonville, Texas, said, it would be impossible to recount her
many acts of generosity.  "Her support of Texas United Methodist education
in general and Lon Morris in particular has been going on for decades," he
said.  "In a real sense, this small, unique United Methodist institution
would probably not be in existence were it not for the support of Evie Jo
Wilson." Allen D. Bishop, Jr., professor of chemistry at Millsaps College,
Jackson, Miss.,  is this year's recipient of the Outstanding Educator of the
Year Award. The award was established to honor teachers in United
Methodist-related schools whose accomplishments have made an extraordinary
impact on their students, peers, academic institution, church, and
community.
"Dr. Bishop has been a tireless contributor to the life of the college,"
said Millsaps College President George M. Harmon. "He has taken on
significant leadership roles, recently completing service as the chair of
the colleges tenure and promotion committee,  that have improved the
academic programs and intellectual life at Millsaps College," he said. The
recipient of this award receives an artistic replica of the Cokesbury Bell
and $5,000.  The Chaplain of the Year award goes to the Rev. William M.
Finnin, Jr., of Dallas. chaplain and minister to the university at Southern
Methodist University in Dallas. 

Finnin has served United Methodist higher education institutions for more
than a quarter century, the past 18 years as chaplain and minister to the
student, faculty, and staff communities of Southern Methodist University in
Dallas.  Nominating Finnin, SMU President R. Gerald Turner, said "While we
know him best as the minister who serves our campus community, Chaplain
Finnin is a recognized national leader in ecumenical university chaplaincy
service." The recipient of this award receives an inscribed sculpture and
$5,000 to further the development of programs sponsored by their office. The
Rev. Enoch L. Hendry, director of the Wesley Foundation at the University of
Tennessee, Knoxville, is the recipient of the Campus Minister of the Year
award. 

"Rev. Hendry has served with honor and deep commitment to his Christian
faith, the United Methodist Church, and the students of the University of
Tennessee,"  said Jack P. Weikel of the Holston Conference Board of Higher
Education and Campus Ministry. The recipient of this award receives an
inscribed sculpture and $5,000 to further the development of programs
sponsored by the campus minister's office.
The United Methodist Foundation for Christian Higher Education seeks to
develop a sound funding base to ensure the continuing presence and influence
of the church in providing higher education in a Christian context. For more
information, contact the foundation at P.O. Box 871, Nashville, Tennessee,
37202-0871; phone (615) 340-7385 or (800)811-8110; Fax (615) 340-7048.
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