Four Inducted Into Hall of Leaders

Linda Carleton, Hon. Samuel Carroll, III, Dr. H. K. Neely & Pauline Richardson named to Hall in 2017

March 24, 2017 Grace Mitchell, Staff Writer/Intern

Hardin-Simmons inducted four new members to the Hall of Leaders during a noon luncheon on Friday in the Johnson Multipurpose Room.

The Hall of Leaders provides permanent recognition for graduates, former students and former employees who have distinguished records of achievement and proven themselves as men and women of good character. Since its establishment in 2001, 89 people have been inducted. 

The plaques honoring inductees are located on the first floor circular corridor of the Skiles Building. University Chancellor Dr. Lanny Hall emphasized the importance of this location on campus.

“The fact that that Hall of Leaders is in such a prominent place is a constant reminder to our faculty, staff, and students as well as to our visitors on campus of the tremendous heritage of HSU,” he said.

The 2017 Inductees were Mrs. Linda C. Carleton, Hon. Samuel J. Carroll, IIIDr. H. K. Neely, and Mrs. Pauline M. Richardson. (Full bios of the recipients are located at the bottom of page.) 

Linda Carleton thanked HSU for giving her the opportunity and place to use the gifts God has given her. She attributed her successes to the support of family, friends, and God.

“I did not plan to be here; I did not plan to be a Dean of Students. We never know what God is doing in our lives, but we can be sure He is at work,” she said.

Joel Wilkes accepted the award on behalf of his friend and colleague, the late Hon. Samuel J. Carroll, III. He emphasized the importance of Hardin-Simmons to Carroll.

“This was the anchor; this was the home that brought Sam to our community. Everything that he did for our community originated here. Hardin-Simmons was this family that he really saw as his base,” Wilkes said.

Dr. H. K. Neely’s son, Robert, accepted the award for his late father. While Neely was instrumental in planning the Logsdon School of Theology Complex, he “was most proud to have the opportunity to teach and shape the lives and faiths of so many students at this fine university,” Neely said.

Dr. Truett Latimer accepted the award on behalf of his former teacher, the late Pauline Richardson. 

“It was a pleasure to know both of the Richardsons. They served the university in such a noble manner. Pauline was the first First Lady for many years who was very active on the campus; the students knew her,” Latimer said.

For full biographies on each of the inductees and for a full list of past inductees, visit: https://www.hsutx.edu/about/pres/hall-leaders/

The Hall of Leaders was made possible by a generous gift from Dr. Doyle and Inez Kelley. 

Linda C. Carleton  

University Dean – Community Leader

The life of Linda Carleton has been centered on service to her Lord, developing young leaders and leadership in her community.  While she has never been a student at HSU, her life has been intertwined with HSU for more than three decades. During those years, she established herself as a significant leader on this campus and in the Abilene community.  

Born in Shreveport, Louisiana on March 19, 1943, Linda Carruth attended public schools in Shreveport, graduating from C.E. Byrd High School in 1961.  Her undergraduate years included enrollment at San Jose State University, Louisiana State University, Centenary College, and Louisiana Tech University where she earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in English Education in 1965.   

She returned to Shreveport in 1966 to begin her career as an educator, teaching junior English at Byrd High School, her high school alma mater.  The following fall, she transferred to teach junior English at Captain Shreve High School when it opened in 1967.  

The following year, 1968, she married Robert Carleton and they began a new life as a Christian couple in Shreveport.  Rob worked in the electric utility industry and Linda continued to pursue her career in public education, completing a Master’s degree in Education at LSU in 1974.  

In 1977, Rob was transferred from Southwestern Electric Power Company to West Texas Utilities in Abilene to develop a corporate training program.  The couple enjoyed living in a college town and began attending events on the Hardin-Simmons University campus.  One of their favorite events was the Christmas tree lighting ceremony.  They had been in town less than a year when Linda joined the HSU family part-time, supervising student teachers.  In 1985, she moved to full-time status, to serve as Associate Dean of Students.  Thus, began Linda’s 30-year career as a student development administrator at HSU.  She was promoted to Associate Dean of Students and Director of Housing and, soon after, to Dean of Students in 1992, then, ultimately, in 1998 to the very significant leadership post of Associate Vice President of Student Development.  

Affectionately known as “Dean” Carleton to thousands of students under her positive influence, she served as a vital senior administrator with three HSU presidents – Fletcher, Hall and Turner.  Her responsibilities were numerous.  They included working with social clubs, student government, chapel/assembly programs, new student orientation, as well as student discipline.  While supervising and administering student discipline is not always the most pleasant of experiences, Dean Carleton pursued a redemptive approach and tried to teach meaningful life lessons as she worked with each student.   

In 2008, Dean Carleton retired from HSU, but only after launching her dream in 2004 for a neighborhood enhancement program.  Abilene’s non-profit organization, “Connecting Caring Communities,” a neighborhood enhancement initiative, is the result of that dream.  

Throughout her busy and productive professional career, she has been extremely active in their church, First Baptist Church of Abilene, and in service to her community.  

Listing all her church activities would be next to impossible.  From 1983 to 1985, Carleton served as Outreach Director of the church.  She has served on numerous church committees including the Budget Committee, Finance Committee and the Committees on Committees.  For two years, she chaired both the Committee on Committees and the Budget Committees.  She was ordained as Deacon in 1997, and has served as deacon secretary, vice chair and chair.  She has also chaired the Reflection and Direction Committee and the Vision Coordinating Team.  She and Rob have served as Co-Directors of the Young Adults in Sunday School, and she has taught 7th grade girls.   

Within the Abilene community, she has served on numerous boards including Habitat for Humanity, Big Brothers and Big Sisters, the Office of Community Services Advisory Council and Connecting Caring Communities.  Not surprisingly, she served as President of Connecting Caring Communities for two years and on that board from 2008 to 2014.  

The Carletons have two daughters, both HSU graduates, Leslie Strader and Robin Cunningham; two sons-in-law, Rob and Greg; and most importantly, five grandchildren:  Maggie, Jay and Katherine Strader; and Gracie and Wesley Cunningham.  

For her outstanding leadership in her church and in the community, and for her devotion to developing student leaders, Hardin-Simmons University is proud to induct Linda Carleton into the HSU Hall of Leaders.

Hon. Samuel J. Carroll, III  

Military Leader – Judge

Samuel J. Carroll, III was born December 2, 1946, in Greenville, Mississippi to Samuel Jacob Carroll, II and Laura Blount Carroll.  From this small Mississippi Delta town, Carroll’s influence as a military and judicial leader would be large.  

After graduating from Greenville High School in 1965, he enrolled at the University of Mississippi where he earned the Bachelor of Arts degree in English, in 1969.  Sam began his education for a military career while in graduate school at Mississippi State University where he was in the Reserve Officer Training Corps.  In 1974, he earned the Master of Education degree in Guidance Education and received his commission as an officer in the United States Army.    

Upon graduation, he attended the Infantry Officers Basic Course and Airborne Training at Fort Benning, Georgia, followed by the Tactical and Strategic Intelligence Officers course at Fort Huachuca, Arizona.  He then served the 1st Battalion of the 501st Infantry as a Platoon Leader and Battalion Intelligence and Security Officer, followed by flight training at Fort Rucker, Alabama.  He was then assigned to Fort Hood as an attack helicopter section leader, platoon leader and troop operations officer.  In 1981, Captain Carroll attended the Military Intelligence Advance Course, followed by Fixed Wing Qualification.  In June 1982, he was assigned to the 73rd Combat Intelligence Company, an aerial surveillance unit as Executive Officer and Operations Officer. In October of 1984, he became the Training and Operations Officer for the 2nd Military Intelligence Battalion.  

Among his other military leadership roles, he commanded the 330th Electronic Warfare Aviation Company, in Ecterdingen, Germany, providing key intelligence support to tactical commanders in Western Europe.  His second command was the B Company 2nd Military Intelligence Battalion, an Aerial Exploitation unit, also based in Germany.  He flew missions in the Grumman QV-1 Mohawk, an armed military observation and attack aircraft designed for battlefield surveillance.  

From Germany, he moved to Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, to attend the Command and General Staff College.  Returning to Fort Hood in 1987, he worked in military intelligence operations, culminating as Executive Officer of the Combat Electronic Warfare Intelligence Battalion.   

In 1989, Major Carroll moved to West Texas A&M where he served as Department Chairman and Professor of Military Science, as well as ROTC Battalion Commander.  Next, he became Battalion Commander and Professor of Military Science at HSU, supervising the ROTC programs in this region, which included Hardin-Simmons University, Abilene Christian University, McMurry University and Howard Payne University.    

In 1994, while at Hardin Simmons, he earned a second master’s degree – this time in Counseling and Human Development.  In 1995, Lieutenant Colonel Carroll retired from his distinguished 25-year military career.  

Among many awards, Carroll’s decorations include the Army Commendation Medal with Three Oak Leaf Clusters and the Army Achievement Medal.  

At a time when others would rest, Sam pursued yet another career in the legal field.  

He attended the Texas Wesleyan University School of Law, earning his Juris Doctor degree in 1998 and was admitted to the Texas Bar in 1999.  He returned to Abilene as an Assistant District Attorney for eleven years, during which he was elected President of the Abilene Bar Association.  

With the encouragement of others, he pursued elective office as a judge.  In November of 2010, he was elected Judge of the Taylor County Court at Law #2.  After re-election in 2014, he faithfully served until his untimely death in a tragic bicycle accident on August 6, 2015, while participating in the Tour de Gap Bike-A-Thon benefiting the Abilene Food Bank.  He is interred at the Texas State Veterans Cemetery in Abilene.  

Judge Carroll was highly respected for his deep commitment to the rule of law, and for his beliefs that no one is above the law, and everyone is equal under the law.  

The love of his life was his wife, Grace Ann, whom he married in 1992.  Their mutual support and devotion to each other were exemplary.  Special joys of his life were daughter, Laura, and grandsons, Jacob Henry and Zachary Hagen.   

For his distinguished service as an exemplary military leader, devoted public servant and judge, it is a high honor for Hardin-Simmons University to induct one of its outstanding graduates, the Honorable Samuel J. Carroll III, into the HSU Hall of Leaders.

Dr. H. K. Neely   

University Administrator – Theologian

H.K. Neely, Jr. was born February 1, 1934 on a farm in Whitesboro, Texas.  He was the first child of H.K. and Edna Neely, and would become a gifted preacher of the gospel, theologian and excellent academic administrator.   

H.K. loved growing up on the farm in Grayson County, playing and working in God’s beautiful creation.  He helped with daily chores and looked after his three younger sisters, learning the value of hard work coupled with love of family.  He often shared stories from his early childhood of attending brush arbor meetings with his parents, borrowing “treasures” from his mother’s purse to play with in the sawdust during services.  These experiences, no doubt, influenced his life-long love for brush arbors, or tabernacles as they were also called, fostered his devotion to the rural church, and developed within him a deep and abiding faith that would lead him to surrender his life to the ministry at the age of fourteen.  

During H.K.’s teenage years, his family moved to West Texas when his father entered the oil business, later forming Neely Well Services.  He attended Cisco High School, where he met his future bride, Barbara Schaefer, and graduated in 1951, the Salutatorian of his class.  In high school he was named “Who’s Who in Academics and Activities,” served as school paper sports reporter and competed in speech tournaments.  After graduation, he attended Cisco Jr. College where he was the Sports Editor of the College newspaper, was named to his second “Who’s Who” recognition and was a reporter for the Cisco Press.  From Cisco Junior College he transferred to Baylor University, where he graduated in the fall of 1954 with a B.A. in Religion and History.  Subsequently, he attended Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, where, in 1963, he earned a Bachelor of Divinity degree and then a Doctorate of Theology in church history.  In the summer of 1966 he pursued post-doctoral work at Harvard University.    

H.K. was licensed and ordained at East Cisco Baptist Church in 1952 and began his ministerial career at Spring Creek Baptist Church near Meridian, TX.  When he and Barbara married in Cisco, on July 18, 1953, it was only natural that they would attend church at Spring Creek the next day where he delivered both morning and evening sermons prior to leaving on a honeymoon.  He later pastored at Necessity Baptist Church and then First Baptist Church, Rising Star.  Throughout his life, he continued to preach for revivals, serve in interim pastorates, and conduct Bible Studies.  

In the fall of 1963 he and his family moved to Bolivar, Missouri where he became In-Service Training Director at Southwest Baptist University, later founding the Courts Redford School of Theology and becoming the inaugural recipient of the Orien B. Hendrex Distinguished Teacher Award.   

In 1980, God called H.K. to Hardin-Simmons where he founded the Logsdon School of Theology, of which he was Dean, served as the Phillips Professor of Bible and provided leadership for the building of the Logsdon School of Theology Complex.  The structure’s unique curved shape serves as a powerful metaphor for the embracing arms of God’s love.  His instrumental vision led to the design of the key elements in the Logsdon Chapel window, with the cross in the center, the Bible, God’s Word, on the right, and a dove on the left, representing the Holy Spirit.   

He was instrumental in bringing excellent faculty to Logsdon and in recruiting students who have contributed significantly to the Logsdon community.  In 1995, he led the Logsdon faculty to create the Master of Divinity degree, an effort that eventually grew into Logsdon Seminary, with its four graduate degrees and five extensions beyond the Abilene campus.  While at Logsdon, H.K. was recognized by the Home Mission Board for his work in originating In-Service Guidance programs for Southern Baptist Colleges.  He received the “Logsdon School of Theology Distinguished Alumni Award” as an Honorary Alumnus in April 1998.  

In 1998, he returned to Southwest Baptist University to serve as Vice President for Denominational Relations and Dean of the Redford School of Theology.  In 2002, he became Executive Director of the newly formed Baptist General Convention of Missouri, remaining in this position as a full-time volunteer for two years.  

H.K. and Barbara had four children – Robert, Amy, Susan and Kara – and eight grandchildren.  

For his distinguished service to the cause of Christ and for his outstanding contribution to theological education, Hardin-Simmons University is proud to induct H.K. Neely into the HSU Hall of Leaders.  

Pauline M. Richardson  

University First Lady – Professor

Pauline Mayes Richardson’s life was dedicated to Hardin-Simmons University.  

Her legacy became intertwined with the school’s as soon as she first registered as a Simmons Academy student in 1909.  From that day forth she began a lifelong experience with HSU in which she would hold the positions of student, faculty member, sponsor, and First Lady.  Throughout her time on the 40 Acres and until her death in 1965, she remained an active member of the community.  

Pauline was born to John and Julia (Hunt) Mayes on April 17, 1892 in Eastland County.  Hailing from Hamlin, Pauline entered Simmons in 1909 as a student at the Academy.  She graduated in 1910, with a diploma in piano.   The Bronco   claimed, “she moved her audience to tears with her wonderful touch.”  During her time as a Simmons College student, Pauline was an active member of many social clubs, including The Pope Society, Student Council, Prohibition League, Young Women Christian Association (YWCA), Chafing Dish Club, Tennis team, K.K. Club, Mandolin Club, and Pope Orchestra.  She graduated with an AB in modern languages in 1912.  Her senior biography in the 1912  Bronco   states that Pauline was “very fond of Music, Language and the Class President.”  

Pauline met her husband, Rupert Richardson (aka the Class President) while attending Simmons College.  He referred to her affectionately as “one of the girls from Anna Hall” and his “sweetheart” in his book,  Famous Are Thy Halls  .  

After graduating from Simmons College, Pauline returned to Hamlin to teach school.  Over the next three years, she would divide her time teaching in Hamlin and Lubbock, with visits from Rupert, who during that time earned a graduate degree from the University of Chicago and taught in Caddo, TX.  

Pauline and Rupert married on December 28, 1915 and lived in Cisco, where they both taught in the public school there until moving to teach in Sweetwater.  

Pauline and Rupert returned to HSU in 1917.  They lived in Cowden Hall and served in the position of what is equivalent to today’s Resident Directors.  Within  Famous Are Thy Halls  , Dr. Richardson recalls, “We were not enthusiastic about the task but we complied with the President’s request. The assignment proved to be most interesting and it was fortunate for us that we were permitted to have such an experience.  Save for a few more scars, a few more boys, who were a little more sophisticated perhaps, Cowden Hall was as I had left it in 1912.”  

In addition to mentoring and, at times, mothering, the young men of Cowden Hall, Pauline furthered her education.  She studied at Madrill University in Montreal, Canada and the American Conservatory of Music in Chicago for her postgraduate work.  After she earned a Master’s from the University of Texas in 1926 she taught French at HSU, and did so for over 30 years until her death.  From 1943 to 1953 she also served as HSU First Lady.  

Mrs. Richardson passed away at the age of 73 on April 28, 1965.  Eleven years later, in 1976, The Rupert and Pauline Richardson Library was dedicated on the HSU campus – a fitting tribute for two beloved scholars on this campus.  Along with the preservation of her name through this building, the Richardson Research Center, located on the second floor, houses papers, photographs, and memorabilia pertaining to Pauline and her family.  

The Richardsons had one child, Rupert Richardson, Jr., born in 1920.  Rupert Jr., like both of his parents, attended Hardin- Simmons, and graduated in 1940.  He enlisted in 1942 to serve during World War II.  When he returned, most likely due to Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, he was a changed man.  War had taken its toll on the previously happy, charismatic young man who had grown up on this campus.  

In 1951,  The Bronco   was dedicated to Dr. and Mrs. Richardson.  The words written by the students are as applicable today as they were then:  

“To two who have dedicated themselves to us, we gratefully dedicate the 1951  BRONCO  . . .we know that no one has contributed more to the present and to the future of our beloved school than have Pauline Mayes Richardson, M. A. and Rupert Norval Richardson, Ph. D., Litt. D.”  

In that same spirit, now 66 years later, Hardin-Simmons University proudly inducts one of her own, Pauline Mayes Richardson, into the HSU Hall of Leaders.

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