Sul Ross State University

2008 ATHLETIC HALL OF HONOR, DISTINGUISHED ALUMNI, & OUTSTANDING SERVICE AWARDS BANQUET

Isaac Beard, Las Vegas, Nev.; women's basketball stars Melissa Davis Dutchover, Haskell, and Amie Parsons, Sweetwater; and long-time boosters Sanford and Maurine DeVoll, Alpine, have been elected as 2008 inductees to the Sul Ross State University Hall of Honor.

The late Dr. Abelardo "Abe" Baeza, longtime Sul Ross faculty member, and Dr. Roberta L. Rudnick, College Park, Md., professor of Geology at the University of Maryland, have been selected as 2008 Distinguished Alumni Award recipients. J. Travis Roberts, Jr., Marathon, surveyor and historical researcher, will receive the Slingin' Sammy Baugh Award for Outstanding Service to Sul Ross, during Homecoming 2008 festivities at Sul Ross State University.

The honorees will be feted at the annual Hall of Honor/Distinguished Alumni banquet Saturday, Nov. 1 in the Espino Confernce Center, University Center.

Isaac Beard

Beard, a 1996 graduate, played for the Lobo baseball team from 1994-96 after transferring from Odessa College. He led the Texas Intercollegiate Athletic Association (TIAA) and NAIA District 8 in home runs and runs batted in while leading Sul Ross to the 1996 conference championship. Beard was a two-time TIAA Most Valuable Player, three-time All-TIAA first team selection and won NAIA District and Southwest Region honors. He twice paced District 8 in homers and RBI and posted a .428 batting average. He and his family now live in Las Vegas, Nev.

Melissa "Missy" Davis Dutchover
Dutchover, who graduated in 1995, was a three-time All-TIAA selection for the Lady Lobos basketball team (1991-93) and the team MVP twice (1992-1993). A member of the 1992 conference champions, Dutchover finished her career as the all-time leader in three-point shots attempted (531) and made (182). She was fourth on the career scoring list (1,063 points), averaging 13.99 points per game, and her 18.1 average in 1991-92 was the third highest single-season mark. Dutchover added 280 assists, 3.68 per game and was on pace to break the career scoring record and several other marks when a knee injury ended her career early in her senior year. Dutchover, who twice received Academic All-Conference honors, is presently employed by the Granbury Independent School District.



Amie Parsons

Parsons graduated cum laude in 1996 after a four-year basketball career (1993-96) that saw her tally 1,112 points (12.8 per game) and grab 521 rebounds (5.99 per game), good for fifth place on both Lady Lobo career lists. She earned All-TIAA honors in 1993, 1994 and 1995 and was an Academic All-Conference selection in 1994, 1995 and 1996.
Parsons, a two-time team MVP (1994-95), holds the single-game records of free throws attempted (21) and made (17). She was on pace to become the career record holder in several categories when she suffered a knee injury during her senior season. She chose to bypass a medical red-shirt and despite limited playing time, helped Sul Ross win the conference title and gain a trip to the NAIA national tournament in Angola, Ind.
A member of the Dean's List in each semester at Sul Ross, Parsons lives in Sweetwater.


Sanford and Maurine DeVoll
Sanford and Maurine are long-time members of the Sul Ross Century Club.
Sanford DeVoll was instrumental in helping the Lobos gain the home field for the NAIA national quarterfinal football game in 1982. Sanford remains a strong supporter of Sul Ross and its athletic programs.  Maurine passed away in 2006.

Dr. Abelardo "Abe" Baeza

Baeza, who died in 2004, received B.S. (1967) and M.A. (1970) degrees from Sul Ross and a Ph.D. (1979) from Texas Tech University, Lubbock. The Alpine native was the first Hispanic Ph.D. to teach at Sul Ross, beginning his tenure in 1970.

Baeza, who received the Outstanding Teaching Award in 1997, served in numerous capacities, including instructor, associate professor and professor of English and Spanish, Minority Affairs director, director of Title V and director of the Mexican American Studies program. He was twice nominated for the Piper Professor Award from te Minnie Stevens Piper Foundation.

A prolific writer, Baeza both wrote a bout and promoted Chicano/Chicana authors and literature. His first book, "Keep Blessing Us Ultima," serves as a reading guide for Rudolfo Anaya's memorable novel, "Bless Me, Ultima."

Dr. Roberta L. Rudnick
Rudnick, who received a master's degree (1983) in geology from Sul Ross, taught at Harvard University (1989-2000) and has been a member of the University of Maryland faculty since 2000. She is an Elected Fellow of the Geochemical Society and European Association of Geochemistry, and has received numerous other academic awards.

A native of Portland, Ore., Rudnick received a B.S. (1980) degree from Portland State University and her Ph.D. (1988) from the Research School of Earth Sciences, Australian National University, Canberra, Australia. She was a Research Fellow (1989-1994) for the Australian National Univerisyt and a von Humboldt Fellow (1987-89), Max-Planck-Inst. For Chemie, Mainz, Germany.

In addition to her teaching and research, Rudnick serves as editor-in-chief of Chemical Geology and international editor, Journal of China University of Geosciences.

J. Travis Roberts, Jr.

Roberts, who grew up on the Roberts Ranch near Marathon, has dedicated much of his private life to historical preservation, including the Center for Big Bend Studies at Sul Ross. While serving as president of the Friends for the Center of Big Bend Studies, he donated $1,000 to the CBBS to demonstrate to the board that their duty is to promote fund-raising efforts.

As a member of the CBBS Advisory Council, he devised the idea of a $1,000 lifetime membership and wrote the first check to support it.

A 1959 civil engineering graduate of Texas A&M University, he worked four years for the Texas Highway Department and 43 for Hunter and Associates, serving as president. He now is self-employed as a professional land surveyor in Marathon.

Roberts has served on numerous boards and committees dedicated to historical preservation, including sponsoring member of the Texas State Historical Commission; chairman of the Brewster County Historical Commission; treasurer of Preservation Texas; president of the West Texas Historical Association and president of the Marathon Museum Society. He has received the Distinguished Service Award from the Texas Historical Commission and has authored several historical works about his family and Brewster County.