Tarleton State University Gala recognizes Distinguished Alumni

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Tarleton's Alumni Association honored five alumni, a faculty member, a former staff member and a corporate partner at the university's 2020 gala. From left are Tarleton President James L. Hurley and wife Kindall, Dr. Steve Steed, Kris Brown (representing Mike Brown Auto Group), Austin Large, Dr. Dan McCoy, the Hon. James E. Morgan, Dr. Stanley "Stan" Carpenter, Dr. Dwayne Snider and TAA Board President Ranae Lane.

STEPHENVILLE — Tarleton State University’s Alumni Association honored five alumni, a faculty member, a former staff member and a prominent corporate partner at the grand finale to the three-day inauguration celebration for the university’s 16th president, Dr. James L. Hurley, Saturday evening, Feb. 29.

Proceeds from tickets for this year’s gala — An Evening in Purple —benefit high-performing students with great need, extending funding beyond maximum state and federal aid to cover tuition, fees, books, and room and board.

Beginning this fall, Federal Pell Grant students in the top 25 percent of their high school class, or GPA equivalent, will be eligible for a new scholarship program, the Tarleton Promise. Private donations, along with support from the Tarleton State University Foundation, Inc., and the Chancellor’s Century Council, will help fund the program.

In addition to ticket-proceeds, members of the President’s Inauguration Leadership Committee and many university friends also made donations to the Tarleton Promise. Additional support comes from the Tarleton State University Foundation Inc. and the Alumni Association.

“For the Tarleton family to fund scholarships for these students is a most appropriate way to welcome our new president and demonstrate our determination to be an institution of opportunity,” said Dr. Kyle McGregor, vice president of the Division of Institutional Advancement and chair of the inauguration planning committee.

To learn more about the Tarleton Promise, visit donate.tarleton.edu/Promise.

Honored were Distinguished Alumni James E. Morgan, Dr. Gary Moore, Dr. Dan McCoy and Dr. Stan Carpenter; Distinguished Young Alumnus Austin Large; Distinguished Faculty Dr. Steve Steed; Distinguished Staff Dr. Dwayne Snider; and Distinguished Friend Mike Brown Auto Group.

Distinguished Alumni

Dr. Delbert Stanley “Stan” Carpenter

Dr. Stan Carpenter is dean of the College of Education at Texas State University, following seven years as a department chair there and nearly 19 years as a professor of higher education administration and leadership at Texas A&M University.

After receiving his PhD from the University of Georgia in 1979, Carpenter served as dean of students at the University of Arkansas at Monticello before going to Texas A&M, first as assistant director of development, then as assistant professor.

He has several notable career accomplishments, including 10 years as executive director of the Association for the Study of Higher Education. He served as chair of the Senior Scholars for the Association for College Student Personnel and founded the Faculty Fellows group for the National Association for Student Personnel Administration.

As dean at Texas State, Carpenter has positioned the College of Education to achieve its mission at an emerging research university with a focus on serving Hispanic students. A signal accomplishment of the college and its faculty was receiving a NASA grant for creating an Educator Professional Development Collaborative among minority-serving institutions using NASA content to help train STEM teachers and pre-service teachers in culturally sensitive ways. The project is supported by the largest grant in Texas State University history — $15 million for five years.

After his retirement, Carpenter was named Texas State University Distinguished Professor Emeritus.

Dan McCoy, MD

Dr. Dan McCoy is a physician, entrepreneur and communicator with a passion for improving the way healthcare is delivered. At a young age, growing up on a cattle ranch in Central Texas, he had clarity for his future and a desire to be a physician — the first in his family.

He currently is the president of Blue Cross Blue Shield of Texas. Leading up to this role, he served as the company’s divisional senior vice president and chief medical officer, directing market strategy for all of Texas.

As an advocate for independent physicians, he was instrumental in creating TMA PracticeEdge, a physician-services company that aims to help Texas physicians stay independent by assisting with the transition to value-based care. He is quoted as defining true value-based care as “a doctor placing a hand on a patient,” understanding that physicians have a powerful and immediate effect on the way medicine is delivered and value created.

McCoy came from an established private dermatology practice at Baylor University Medical Center and the Sammons Cancer Center, which is known for treating complex, systemic skin diseases and melanoma. He also served as principal owner of a communications consulting firm, where he developed innovative solutions to the challenges of the changing healthcare industry.

He graduated summa cum laude with a bachelor’s degree in biology from Tarleton and earned his MD at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical School in Dallas.

Dr. Gary Moore

Dr. Gary Moore’s career has taken him from Lampasas High School, where he was a member of the Class of ’67; to Tarleton, where he earned a bachelor’s degree as an agricultural education teacher; to Ohio State University, where he completed his master’s and doctoral studies; to teaching positions at Alabama A&M, Purdue, Louisiana State and North Carolina State universities.

Now a professor emeritus at North Carolina State, Moore’s résumé boasts entries as a sought-after keynote speaker, 148 journal publications, three books and 300 scholarly presentations.

A former high school teacher in Kansas and Ohio, he has spoken in 41 states, three provinces in Canada and on three continents. He is a member and past president of the American Association for Agricultural Education, Inc., and writes a blog, “The Friday Footnote.”

His almost two dozen academic honors include being named Distinguished Merit Award winner for the Federal College of Animal Health and Production Technology in Nigeria and the College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences Dean’s Award from Tarleton, both in 2019. He is a 2007 Tarleton Distinguished Alumni Award winner and received the 2017 Lifetime Achievement Award for contributions to agricultural education and FFA.

James E. Morgan

James Morgan took a circuitous route to what proved to be a highly successful law career. And it all started at Tarleton.

He was named judge of the 220th District Court of Texas in 1983, a position he held for nearly three decades. He now serves a 20-county area of the state as a senior district judge.

His journey to the bench began in 1970 at Tarleton when he earned his bachelor’s degree, with honors, in agricultural education. After graduation he left for Texas A&M University to work on a graduate degree with an eye on returning to Stephenville to teach.

In 1973, after completing his master’s studies, his educational trek took him to law school at the University of Texas at Austin, then a two-year stint as a business professor at Tarleton. While still teaching, he opened his law practice in De Leon in 1976.

In 1977 he began working to help get former Tarleton student Charles Stenholm elected to Congress. Stenholm was elected in 1978, and he took his campaigner and friend to Washington to work on his staff.

The capital never felt right to Morgan, however, so he returned to his law practice in De Leon where he worked until his selection as a district judge.

Distinguished Young Alumnus — Austin Large

Austin Large is a California native who now proudly calls Central Texas his home. He has spent his career in agricultural education and FFA, serving in positions at the local, state and national level.

His career interest began in 2000 when he was accidentally placed in an agricultural science course his sophomore year of high school. His agricultural science teacher was unrelenting in his support, which helped him discover his passion and ultimate calling.

Large graduated with a degree in agricultural education from California State University, Chico, and taught agricultural science until 2012, when he accepted a position as leadership development coordinator for the Texas FFA Association. He managed the association’s student officer team, statewide leadership development programming and large portions of the state’s FFA convention.

While in that position he enrolled at Tarleton State University, earning his master’s in agriculture and consumer resources in 2014. That year he moved to Indianapolis to work on leadership programs for the National FFA Organization.

After three years with National FFA, he was named executive director of Texas FFA in Austin.

Distinguished Faculty — Dr. Steve Steed

Dr. Steve Steed landed at Tarleton in 1971, planning to teach a couple of accounting courses before he moved north and into the private sector. Nearly five decades later, he retired in 2015 as dean of Tarleton’s College of Business Administration.

When he joined the university, enrollment hovered around 1,700, and the College of Business was on the third floor of the agricultural building in Stephenville. Many students were returning from the Vietnam War.

He was among the first professors at Tarleton to own a computer, which led to a 30-year stint as chairman of the university’s computer services committee. When Tarleton opened its first microcomputer lab in the 1980s, he helped get more PCs for the university dollar by convincing participating departments to order unassembled units and put them together on arrival. Faculty members unloaded the truck, received training on assembly — and created three computer labs.

Steed has served the Stephenville community as a board member of Texas Health Resources and the Optimist Club and as a Tarleton volleyball coach. His 17 years with Texas Health Resources inspired research on the availability of healthcare providers in rural Texas counties.

He did his undergraduate work at McMurry College, before earning his master’s degree from Hardin-Simmons University and his PhD in accounting at the University of North Texas.

Distinguished Staff — Dr. Dwayne Snider

Coming to Tarleton from Gorman in 1967, Dr. Dwayne Snider had already spent some time in front of students. As a high school junior, his algebra teacher was injured and young Dwayne was drafted to fill in for six weeks.

With plans to get back in the classroom, Snider earned his bachelor’s degree in mathematics at Tarleton in 1971 before moving to Texas Tech to earn both his master’s and doctoral degrees.

He returned to Tarleton in 1976 to teach, beginning a career that spanned more than four decades and ended with his retirement as associate provost. He made a significant impact on students, faculty and administrators at Tarleton, working with math, institutional research, the Dick Smith Library, intern-to-learn programs, military science and students with disabilities.

Additionally, he served on coordinating boards and those for construction planning and academic standards.

Among his professors were Dr. Robert Fain, Tarleton’s first provost, who taught chemistry; the namesake of the Stephenville campus science building, Dr. Lamar Johanson, who taught freshman botany; and Dr. Robert Walker, former graduate dean, who taught English.

Snider’s accomplishments over a 40-plus-year career are impressive. He lists two standouts.

“One is I’ve worked for every Tarleton provost to hold the title. Dr. Robert Fain was the vice president for academic advancement, and somewhere along the way his title included provost. The title has been associated with that position since. The other thing I’m really proud of is being a full professor in mathematics.”

Snider’s legacy at Tarleton is instilled in the L. Dwayne and Connie Snider Endowed Scholarship, created by the Sniders’ children in 2017.

Distinguished Friend — Mike Brown Auto Group

Mike Brown Auto Group is a family owned and operated group of dealerships focusing on customer service, honesty, integrity and giving to the community they love.

Brown has been in the automotive business for more than 50 years and in 2001 welcomed the opportunity to start a dealership in Granbury. He and daughter Kris are driven to uphold the core values on which their company was founded.

Giving back to the community and organizations that benefit children is of particular importance to them. They have worked with or contributed to such organizations as the Hood County Livestock Raisers Association, Christmas for Children and the Tarleton Alumni Association.

Tarleton is particularly close to Kris’ heart as she is a 1997 graduate. Her daughter, Riley, is a Tarleton Texan and on pace to graduate in 2021.


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