By Loretta Fulton

Abilene’s three university campuses are already buzzing with activity in preparation for the beginning of classes on Aug. 25.

Among the highlights of the opening of the fall semester are:

• Monday, Aug. 25, 11 a.m.–119th Opening Assembly, Abilene Christian University, Moody Coliseum.
• Tuesday, Aug. 26, 9:15 a.m.–Fall Convocation, Hardin-Simmons University, Behrens Chapel, followed by a luncheon at 11 a.m. in the Johnson Building.
• Friday, Sept. 26, 11 a.m.–Inauguration of the new president of McMurry University, Radford Auditorium, followed by a reception in Garrison United Methodist Campus Center.

ACU students are in for two treats this week during Wildcat Week. A candlelight devotional will begin at 9:15 p.m. Tuesday, Aug. 19, in Beauchamp Amphitheatre in front of the Biblical Studies Building. Guests will hold candles and sing hymns as they are welcomed by faculty, staff, alumni and returning students. 

That will be followed early Thursday morning, Aug. 21, by a sunrise devotional, beginning at 6:45 a.m. on the steps of the Biblical Studies Building.

“Students will gather for early morning worship and a devotional, along with refreshments and a beautiful West Texas sunrise,” a news release says. 

ACU freshmen enjoy a game of tug-of-war during last year’s Wildcat Week. This year’s Wildcat Week is happening this week. Photo courtesy of ACU.

New and returning students and faculty at McMurry will immediately notice construction in progress on the entrances to the university. The donor-funded campus beautification project will have several purposes, said Michael Hutchison, vice president for institutional advancement.

1. Frame the exterior of the campus with new McMurry signage at the corners of S. 14th and Ross Streets and Hunt Street and Sayles Boulevard that will include landscaping, irrigation, and lighting.  
2. Two McMurry pillars with landscaping, irrigation, and lighting that will be placed at the main entrance of the campus to the Maedgen Administration Building, Radford Auditorium, and the Garrison United Methodist Campus Center.
3. Landscaping, lighting, and irrigation will be added on the corner and middle of Centennial and Sayles.

“The purpose of this project is to continue to enhance the look of campus and to provide an inviting atmosphere for our campus guests, prospective students, alumni, and faculty, staff, and administration,” Hutchison said.

Hardin-Simmons students will hear a special guest speaker at the Fall Convocation on Tuesday, Aug. 26. Neal Jeffrey, associate pastor of pastoral and preaching ministries at Prestonwood Baptist Church in Plano, was an All-American quarterback at Baylor University and was drafted in 1975 by the San Diego Chargers

The highlight of events at McMurry will be the inauguration of a new president, Dr. Lynne Murray, on Sept. 26. She will become the 11th president of McMurry, succeeding Dr. Sandra Harper, who retired at the end of 2024. When Harper was named president in 2013, she became the first woman president of McMurry. 

Dr. Lynne Murray

The Religious & Spiritual Life Department is planning a chapel series as a prelude to the inauguration. Chapel service begin at 11 a.m. Tuesdays in the Mabee Room of the campus center.

“We have a special line-up of guest preachers this fall as we prepare to celebrate McMurry’s upcoming presidential inauguration,” said Rev. Ricky Harrison, University Chaplain and Director of Religious & Spiritual Life. “Our chapel series for the first half of the semester is ‘Making Her-Story: Transformative Women of Faith.”

The list of guest preachers follows:

• Sept. 2 – Rev. Grace Sosa (First Central Presbyterian Church Abilene)
• Sept. 9 – Rev. Matt Miofsky (The Gathering UMC St. Louis)
• Sept. 16 – Rev. Tara Beth Leach (Good Shepherd Lutheran Church Chicago)
• Sept. 23 – Rev. Stacey Piyakhun (Horizon Texas Conference of the United Methodist Church)
• Sept. 30 – Rev. Dr. Russell Miller (McMurry University Assistant Chaplain)

Loretta Fulton is creator and editor of Spirit of Abilene