"Tech at Night:" Celebrating Homecoming Week 2008

Enjoy the spirit and fun of Homecoming with the annual parade, football game, Top Techsan Awards Luncheon and Homecoming Dinner.

Alumni Highlights

Homecoming 2008 is a week that both students and alumni have been looking forward to since Homecoming 2007. This year’s theme, “Tech at Night,” helps build the excitement for a week that is packed with enjoyable activities.

Covenant Health System is the title sponsor of the TTAA Homecoming Week which begins Oct. 6. The week is filled with a variety of events. These activities range from a tamale fest to a talent showcase, culminating in the parade, homecoming football game and announcement of the Homecoming King and Queen on Oct. 11.

A complete Homecoming schedule can be found online, along with the applications needed to participate in events such as the annual parade. This year’s parade will begin at First Baptist Church at 10 a.m. and end on campus at the intersection of 18th & Indiana Avenue.

The Alumni Association has several events taking place during Homecoming week, including the “Top Techsan Awards Luncheon,” “A Matador Evening” and the Official Suddenlink Football Pre-Game Party at the Frazier Alumni Pavilion.

Top Techsan Awards Luncheon

The first of these events, the “Top Techsan Awards Luncheon,” will be held Friday, Oct. 10, at the Merket Alumni Center. Four honorees will each receive a plaque and a cash award of $500. Full-time, non-faculty employees are eligible for consideration and selections are based on nominations that exhibit a team-spirit attitude within the Texas Tech community.

Peggy and Bill Dean are the 2008 recipients of the Lauro F. Cavazos Award. The award will be presented at "A Matador Evening: The 48th Annual Homecoming Dinner" on Oct. 10.

A Matador Evening

Following the luncheon will be “A Matador Evening: The 48th Annual Homecoming Dinner.” The event will take place at the Lubbock Memorial Civic Center with a reception at 5:30 p.m. followed by dinner at 6:30 p.m. The Alumni Association is pleased to have Jeff Klotzman, News Director/Anchor of Fox 34 News at Nine, as this year’s Master of Ceremonies.

“A Matador Evening” is a popular event in which individuals who have made a positive impact on the university are honored with the prestigious Lauro F. Cavazos Award. The 2008 recipients are Peggy and Bill Dean. The Deans have provided both countless hours of public service and unconditional support to Texas Tech University, the Lubbock Independent School District, the City of Lubbock and West Texas as a whole.

Bill Dean, ’61, ’65, ’71, started his tenure at Texas Tech as the director of student publications from 1967–1978. He accepted the executive vice president role at the Texas Tech Ex-Students Association (Texas Tech Alumni Association) in 1978 and continues in that role today. Dean served as an assistant professor in the Department of Mass Communications from 1972–1975. He was promoted to associate professor in 1975 and continues to serve in that role. In 1998, Dean was named an associate dean in the College of Mass Communications and continues in that role today.

Dean is married to the former Peggy Clark, who earned a bachelor’s degree in elementary education from Texas Tech in 1966 and went on to complete a master’s degree in elementary education in 1969. They have two children and two granddaughters.

Upon graduating from Texas Tech, Peggy taught in Lubbock for 25 years. Peggy has served her community in various capacities through the years. She has been a member of the board of the Lubbock Women’s Club for two years. She is a sustaining member of the Junior League of Lubbock, a member of the Community Bible Study of Lubbock, Lubbock Symphony Guild, Museum of Texas Tech Association and many other organizations. Peggy says the center of her life is her family and she loves being involved in their activities. She loves bridge and is known to be one of the best bridge players in Lubbock.

The Distinguished Service Award, which will also be presented during the event, recognizes outstanding service rendered to the Alumni Association or Texas Tech University. The Texas Tech Alumni Association is proud to announce the recipient of the Distinguished Service Award is Kitty Harris Wilkes.

Wilkes is the director of the Center for the Study of Addiction and Recovery and co-director of the Center for Prevention and Resiliency at Texas Tech. Her work has led to her innovative programs being actively developed as models for other collegiate environments around the nation. Only three universities in the United States have programs that focus on recovering students who deal with addictive disorders, however no other university has a program as comprehensive as Texas Tech’s.

Tickets for “A Matador Evening” are $50 per person. Table sponsorships are as follows:

The Alumni Association is offering several corporate sponsorship opportunities for the Week of Oct. 5-11, 2008. As one of the corporate sponsors, the company will receive one table and signage at “A Matador Evening,” “Top Techsan Awards Luncheon,” and the Alumni Association Official Suddenlink Pre-Game Football Party. They will receive advertisement in the Texas Techsan and their name in the programs as one of the sponsors for all three Alumni events. The money generated from the sponsorship will assist the Alumni Association in the underwriting costs of the events described.

For more information on these events, please call (806) 742-3641.