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Global Educator to Lecture

March 8, 2002

The Herschel H. and Frances J. Hobbs Lectureship in Baptist Faith and Heritage is OBU's first endowed lectureship, established in 1980 by friends of Dr. and Mrs. Hobbs in honor of the couple's outstanding Christian service. The chapel service is at 10 a.m. in the university's Raley Chapel with a luncheon for honored guests of the university immediately following.

Dr. Bishop has more than 25 years of experience in the field of education, with more than 13 of those years spent overseas.

She currently serves as the international director for the Consortium for Global Education where she maintains communication between member schools and universities and institutions of higher education abroad. She also investigates overseas educational needs and opportunities, develops pilot programs and strengthens international partnerships.

Prior to her current position, Bishop was an education coordinator and consultant with Cooperative Services International and taught at Emory University in the faculty/teacher training program.

She served eight years with the International Mission Board as an education specialist and teacher in Korea. She also has lived and worked in Hong Kong and London, leading educational work in Central Asia, the Middle East and North Africa.

Bishop is a board member for Global Resource Service and a member of Phi Delta Kappa and NAFSA. In 1989, she was awarded the Olympic Service Medal by Korea's minister of sports.

She has given numerous presentations on areas of educational research throughout her career, including most recently "A Strategic Role for International Education" at the Consortium for Global Education Meeting at Louisiana College this September.

Also this year, Bishop presented "International Studies for Life and Learning" at Anderson College last March and "Global Education Opportunities for Private Universities in the Middle East and North Africa" at the Tunisian-American Education Conference at the University of Tunis Carthage in Tunisia last April.

She earned a bachelor of arts degree in elementary education from Furman University and a master of education degree in special education from Clemson University. Bishop earned a doctorate in educational leadership and supervision from Emory University.

Dr. Hobbs was pastor of Oklahoma City's First Baptist Church from 1949-72. A graduate of Howard College in Birmingham, Ala., he received master's and Ph.D. degrees from Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, Ky. After completing his education, Dr. Hobbs served as pastor of churches in Alabama, Indiana, Kentucky and Louisiana before coming to Oklahoma City.

Dr. Hobbs served as preacher for the Baptist Hour from 1958-79, a ministry which was heard over 400 radio stations across the world. Among the many offices he held was the presidency of the Southern Baptist Convention in 1963. He is the author of 162 books and countless articles. He received an honorary doctor of divinity degree from OBU in 1986.

Mrs. Hobbs, who died in 1984, also was a graduate of Howard College and attended Southern Baptist Theological Seminary and Women's Missionary Training School, both in Louisville. She served as secretary of the Southern Baptist Minister's Wives Conference and was a member of the board of directors of the Oklahoma Woman's Missionary Union.

Dr. Hobbs died on November 28, 1995 at the age of 89.