NADIIIAA honors HPU for community service

January 23, 2024 at 2:35 pm Derrick Stuckly

HPU’s Hunter Sims (center), director of athletics, is pictured with the NADIIIAA One-Time Project Category Winner award, presented to the university in recognition of community service. With Sims are Matt Tanney, director of athletics and campus wellness at Wabash College, and Dr. Angel Mason, director of athletics at Berry University.

Howard Payne University was recognized by the National Association of Division III Athletic Administrators (NADIIIAA) when the organization recently announced the recipients of the NADIIIAA Community Service Award and Athletics Administrator Awards, presented at the NCAA Convention in Phoenix. HPU was named One-Time Project Category Winner in recognition of the university’s William B. Dean, M.D. Community Impact Day.

HPU held its second annual Impact Day on March 29, 2023, serving 21 non-profit organizations in the Brown County area. Projects included painting, assisting with landscaping, picking up trash and cleaning facilities. This event focuses on the importance of community service.

“I am grateful for the opportunity HPU provides for students and personnel to be actively engaged in the community,” said Hunter Sims, HPU’s director of athletics. “Under the leadership of our president, Dr. Cory Hines, the William B. Dean, M.D. Community Impact Day allows HPU to model two of the university’s core values, ‘Focused on Community’ and ‘Called to Service.’ I am humbled that HPU was recognized on the national stage for our community engagement.”

Of the more than 400 HPU students and personnel who participated in the 2023 event, more than 260 were HPU student-athletes and athletic staff, representing men’s football, basketball, soccer, baseball, tennis and golf; and women’s volleyball, basketball, soccer, softball, tennis and golf. Athletic staff included coaches along with personnel in strength and conditioning, athletic training, athletic communications and administration.

“The William B. Dean, M.D. Community Impact Day is a special, annual opportunity for the HPU family to set aside an afternoon to work together for the benefit of others,” said Dr. Cory Hines, HPU president. “Our athletics department plays a major role in that effort, and this award by the NADIIIAA is a much-appreciated recognition.”

HPU’s 2024 William B. Dean, M.D. Community Impact Day is scheduled for Wednesday, March 27. Organizations in the Brown County area are invited to submit project requests at www.hputx.edu/impactday. Submissions will be reviewed for eligibility by HPU leadership, and organizations will be notified following approval.

HPU was awarded a $200,000 grant by the Dean Foundation to establish the annual service event. The Dean Foundation is chaired by Dr. David A. Dean, son of the late Dr. William B. Dean, distinguished Dallas-area pediatrician and trailblazer in conditions affecting children such as dyslexia and polio. Dr. David A. Dean serves as chair of the North Texas Crime Commission as well as president and CEO of the public policy consultancy Dean International, Inc. He served the State of Texas for more than a decade as general counsel to Democratic Governor Dolph Briscoe and Republican Governor William P. Clements, Jr. He also served as Texas Secretary of State under Governor Clements. He earned the Bachelor of Business Administration degree from Southern Methodist University and the Juris Doctor degree from the University of Texas at Austin.