PLAINVIEW – Dr. Kenneth Mattox, a longtime surgeon and hospital chief in Houston, and his wife June will be recognized as Wayland Baptist University’s 2021 Distinguished Alumni Benefactor Award winners during a Feb. 18 banquet held as part of the WBU Homecoming celebration in Plainview.
The Mattoxes were early major donors to the Impact 2020 Campaign and specifically to the School of Mathematics and Sciences project in which the Moody Science Building will receive a new laboratory addition and interior updates and renovations. Their gift will result in the school being renamed after Dr. Mattox, a 1960 graduate who distinguished himself as an expert trauma surgeon and served as Chief of Staff at Ben Taub Hospital in Houston for more than 40 years before partially retiring.
A native of Clovis, Dr. Mattox has received numerous recognitions and awards throughout the years. He is a distinguished Service Professor of the Micheal E. DeBakey Department of Surgery at Baylor College of Medicine. He has been a visiting professor or consultant at more than 800 medical schools, hospitals or health care systems. He is a member of 30 professional organizations, is past president of the American Association for the Surgery of Trauma, secretary-treasurer of the DeBakey International Surgical Society, past president of the Houston Surgical Society and the Texas Surgical Society.
He has been listed in Best Doctors in America and Best Doctors in Houston and has received several distinguished surgeon awards. He has written more than 15 books, 600 scientific articles and "about 1,000 abstracts," and has a ground-breaking cardiac surgical procedure named after him, the Mattox Maneuver.
Through it all, wife June has been his constant supporter, and the Mattoxes supported the campaign together out of gratitude to Wayland for being the place of his humble beginnings. An unveiling of the naming and groundbreaking for the Moody addition is slated for 2 p.m. Friday, Feb. 18, as part of homecoming.
“We are beyond proud to have a physician of the caliber of Dr. Kenneth Mattox in our alumni family and know that his success has the ability to inspire generations of Wayland science majors to accomplish big things,” said Teresa Young, director of alumni services. “His career has certainly been distinguished but we are also very honored to recognize his and June’s financial support that makes this amazing project possible.”
The Blue and Gold Banquet is set for 6 p.m. on Friday on the Plainview campus. It is open to alumni and friends for $15 per person, which includes a barbecue dinner. Besides the Mattoxes, other honorees include Dr. Nelson Hayashida, professor and chaplain; Dr. Glenda Payas, retired dentist; Dr, Emily Smith, epidemiologist and researcher; Gabe Trujillo, superintendent; and young alumni honoree Johnny Terra.
The dinner is just one piece of the homecoming weekend lineup that can be found online at www.wbualumni.com/homecoming. Registration is available online at that site. For more information, contact Young at (806) 291-3600.
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