The awards have expanded. The venues have moved. But the purpose remains consistent: to recognize members of the Baylor Family whose leadership, service, scholarship, and public impact reflect distinction.
1965
Dr. Gordon Teal and Earl C. Hankamer, Sr., are recognized as the University’s first Outstanding Alumni. Ex-Students Association Executive Director Dr. George Stokes presented the awards at Pigskin Revue during Baylor Homecoming.
1972
Dr. Cornelia Marschall Smith and Judge Abner V. McCall receive the Distinguished Alumni award, making Dr. Smith the first woman to receive the award.
1973
Dr. Joseph Martin Dawson receives the first posthumous Distinguished Alumni award. Dr. Dawson, who died July 6, 1973, was to have been honored at the 1973 homecoming.
1977
The W. R. White Meritorious Service Award is established, presented first to Raymond and Genevieve Dillard for significant service to the University. The Dillards were the major donors for the Hughes-Dillard Alumni Center.
“The Meritorious Service Award was named for the late President Emeritus W. R. White who, although he was not an alumnus, gave much of himself to the University.”
Genie Dyer, assistant director of the Alumni Association.
1980
Judge Abner V. McCall and his wife Mary are presented with the inaugural First Families of Baylor award. The award is presented to one Baylor family with a history of more than one generation of family members attending, supporting, and serving the University — though just one generation is a low bar for recipients of this award.
The second First Families of Baylor Award was presented in 1981 to the Rogers-Sanders family, whose roots with Baylor date back to 1857 and, at the time of the award’s presentation, had six successive generations attend the University.
Third, fourth, and fifth generation descendents of Baylor’s seventh president and 1893 graduate of the University, Samuel Palmer Brooks, received the First Families award in 1987.
1981
The Distinguished Retired Faculty award is established, honoring Martha Barkema, Dr. J. D. Bragg, P. D. Browne, Dr. Christine Fall, Dr. Guy B. Harrison, and Dr. W. R. Stephens in its first year. The award today is known as the Herbert H. Reynolds Retired Faculty Award, in honor of the late President Emeritus.
1985
The Outstanding Young Alumni Award is established, recognizing the professional achievement and distinguished service to the University by alumni 40 years old or younger. The inaugural set of awardees included Judge Sidney A. Fitzwater, Dr. Kent Gilbreath, Walker G. Harman, Dr. Alfred Scott Lea, and Lyndon L. Olson, Jr.
Lyndon Olson may perhaps be the most awarded individual in The Baylor Line’s history, receiving first the 1985 Outstanding Young Alumni Award, the Distinguished Alumni Award in 1999, the Price Daniel Distinguished Public Service Award in 2003, and the 2020 George W. Truett Distinguished Church Service Award.
1990
The George W. Truett Distinguished Church Service Award is established to honor an individual who exemplifies the life and career of the late pastor of the First Baptist Church of Dallas. The inaugural award was presented to banker Dewey Presley.
1990
The first Price Daniel Distinguished Public Service Award is presented to Judge Abner V. McCall. The award is established to award any member of the Baylor Family in an elected or appointed local, state, or national office that exemplifies the spirit of selfless dedication to public service represented by the life and career of the late Gov. Price Daniel.
1998
The Abner V. McCall Humanitarian Award is established, dedicated to members of the Baylor Family who exhibit a Christian response to the world around them, in commemoration of the life of former Baylor President Abner V. McCall. Dr. James M. Dunn was honored with the inaugural humanitarian award.
2011
The Baylor Alumni Association consolidates its awards — previously distributed during homecoming, Parents Weekend, and various meetings and banquets — into one gala, the Hall of Fame Awards Ceremony, for the first time. Then-association President Emily Tinsley and co-chair Gracie Hilton are credited with the event’s creation.
2021
The Babs Baugh Servant Leadership Award is established, recognizing individuals who have risen to the call of leadership to better the Baylor Family in the servant-hearted manner of the late Barbara “Babs” Baugh. George Cowden III received the inaugural award.
“Babs was a lot of fun. Babs was smart. Babs was caring. Most of all, she responded to the needs of others — whether those others were individuals or the largest institutions, Babs always responded positively. I think it was maybe a hand towel in her kitchen that bore the words ‘Stop me before I say yes again.’ That was Babs.”
George Cowden III
