• 2015-16 Baylor Meritorious Achievement Award winners to be honored at Homecoming

    Baylor Meritorious Achievement Award Winners 2015-16

    The university’s Meritorious Achievement Award winners annually demonstrate the wide reach of the Baylor family. This year’s honorees dedicated their careers to everything ranging from law and medicine to fighting human trafficking and serving ISIS refugees.

    Names like Chip and Joanna Gaines and Grant Teaff are instantly recognized even outside the Baylor family; other names, while less familiar, are connected with some of the most important work in their industries — business, nursing, journalism, education. Here are this year’s award winners:

    Alumni of the Year: Chip (BBA ’98) and Joanna (BA ’01) Gaines, stars of the hit HGTV show Fixer Upper. In addition to their Waco-based show (which attracted a national audience of 24 million viewers during Season 2), Chip and Joanna have opened their new downtown Magnolia Market at the Silos; a furniture line, paint line, design book and the couple’s memoir will launch in the coming year.

    Young Alumnus of the Year: Victor Boutros, BA ’98, a trial attorney in the U.S. Department of Justice Human Trafficking Prosecution Unit who has devoted his career to seeking justice for the oppressed who are targets of systemic violence.

    Pro Ecclesia: Billy (BA ’95) and Dawn (BSEd ’98) Ray, missionaries serving ISIS refugees in northern Iraq; today, they work with World Orphans to meet the needs of 600+ refugees just 75 miles from the frontlines.

    Pro Texana: Sue Mayborn, AHC ’01, the president/owner of Mayborn Enterprises who most notably played a major role in the building of the Sue and Frank Mayborn Natural Science and Cultural History Museum Complex at Baylor.

    Contributions to the Professions: Medicine: Dr. Michael Attas, BA ’69, chief cardiologist at Baylor Scott & White Hillcrest Medical Center for 20+ years and founding director of Baylor’s Medical Humanities program, a groundbreaking interdisciplinary program combining the sciences, humanities, social sciences and arts.

    Contributions to the Professions: Research: Dr. Harry “Fred” Tibbals III, BS ’65, a longtime professor who has devoted his career to improving the design of complex systems for performing challenging tasks across a staggering array of arenas, from vision to childbirth to NASA life support systems.

    Legendary Mentors: Grant and Donell Teaff, ABC ’86, a legendary Baylor couple whose compassionate and determined loyalty has blessed countless others; Coach Teaff remains the winningest coach in Baylor football history, while Donell served 10 years as a Baylor Regent and was president of the Baylor Round Table.

    Baylor Legacy: George (BA ’60, LLB ’62) and Martha (BA ’61) Chandler, longtime supporters of the university. George, one of the nation’s most renowned trial lawyers, and Martha sent two children to Baylor; after one of them passed from cancer in 2006, they and friends established a scholarship fund in his honor.

    Baylor Legacy: David (BA ’60) and Shirley Lake, whose desire to turn even the most difficult moments into something good led them to honor their late son Kyle, a beloved pastor at Waco’s University Baptist Church, with a foundation and scholarship fund following his untimely death in 2005.

    Baylor Legacy: Matt (BBA ’57) and Dot (BBA ’57) Miller, Baylor supporters for decades; perhaps their most lasting contribution to Baylor Athletics is Baylor Ballpark, of which they are among nine founding donors.

    Baylor Legacy: Winston Wolfe, ’64, founder of Olympic Optical Co., a global leader for sunglasses, safety eyewear and hearing protection; his support of Baylor has included an endowed professorship and scholarships, with a special focus on entrepreneurship and Baylor track and field.

    Founders Medal: Louise Herrington Ornelas, AHC ’92, a lifelong champion of nurses and nursing education, has generously met countless needs for Baylor nursing; most recently, that includes a lead gift that made possible the purchase of a new home for Baylor’s Louise Herrington School of Nursing.

    Sic ’em, Bears!

    [Learn about past Meritorious Achievement Award winners: 2010-11 || 2011-12 || 2012-13 || 2013-14 || 2014-15