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Governor
appoints three to TWU Board of Regents
5/4/05
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AUSTIN — Three women with close ties to Texas Woman’s
University have been appointed by Gov. Rick Perry to serve
on the TWU Board of Regents.
Virginia Chandler Dykes of Dallas, Dr. Lou Halsell Rodenberger
of Baird and Sharon Venable of Dallas will serve on the TWU
governing board until Feb. 1, 2011.
Mrs. Dykes completed the graduate occupational therapy program
at TWU in 1954 after earning her bachelor of arts in art and
psychology from Southern Methodist University. In 2002, she
established the Virginia Chandler Dykes Leadership Award,
which is presented annually to an outstanding TWU occupational
therapy student. Mrs. Dykes and her husband, Roland, also
helped establish the Fanny B. Vanderkooi Endowed Lectureship
for the TWU School of Occupational Therapy. She formerly served
on the TWU Foundation Board.
A life member of the Texas Occupational Therapy Association,
Mrs. Dykes was director of the Occupational and Recreational
Therapy Department at Baylor University Medical Center for
25 years. She also founded the Boomerang Club, the first support
group for stroke patients and their families in Dallas. She
is well known for her leadership in such organizations as
the Dallas Opera, the Dallas Arboretum Women’s Council
and the Fort Worth Opera.
“TWU is a marvelous school, and I am extremely honored
to have the opportunity to assist in spreading the knowledge
that TWU is a major supplier of health care professionals,”
Mrs. Dykes said.
Dr. Rodenberger, professor emeritus of English at McMurry
University in Abilene, is a writer, lecturer, book reviewer
and writing consultant. She earned her bachelor’s degree
in journalism in 1947 from TWU, then known as Texas State
College for Women. She earned both her master’s and
doctorate at Texas A&M University. She served as secretary
of the TWU Foundation Board prior to her appointment to the
TWU Board of Regents, and was named a TWU Distinguished Alumna
in 1987.
The author of numerous critical essays about writers of the
West and Southwest, Dr. Rodenberger is a member of the Texas
Institute of Letters, Western Writers of America, Women Writing
the West and the West Texas Historical Society. She is a fellow
of the Texas State Historical Association, and is a past president
of the West Texas Historical Association and the Texas Folklore
Society.
“I’m an alum, I’ve been active as an alum,
and I’m delighted to be serving in this capacity,”
Dr. Rodenberger said.
Ms. Venable is vice president of international and technical
business development for the Greater Dallas Chamber of Commerce,
where she promotes international business development and
foreign direct investment and markets the DFW region’s
technology industry.
She was a member of the TWU Foundation Board, and a former
chair of the board’s finance committee, prior to her
appointment to the university’s Board of Regents. She
currently serves as a community representative on the TWU
Strategic Plan Steering Committee.
Ms. Venable is a member of the Texas Economic Development
Council and an ex-officio member of the North Texas District
Export Council. She serves on the boards of The Science Place
and the Dallas Committee on Foreign Relations, and is on the
advisory board of “Woman’s Enterprise” magazine.
She also serves on the master’s associate board of Southern
Methodist University’s Cox School of Business. Venable
graduated from Dallas Baptist University and received her
master of liberal arts degree from SMU.
“TWU is an important institution with an exciting future,
and I look forward to being part of it,” Venable said.
Mrs. Dykes, Dr. Rodenberger and Ms. Venable were appointed
to fill the expired terms of Dr. Linda Hughes of Dallas, Jerry
L. Brownlee of Hico and Delia Reyes of Dallas, respectively.
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For Further Information Contact:
Karen Treat
Senior Copywriter
Tel: (940) 898-3456
e-mail: ktreat@twu.edu |
