Biggs named 2012 Distinguished Alumnus by Perkins
Perkins School of Theology has honored Mouzon Biggs Jr. of Tulsa with the 2012 Distinguished Alumnus Award. The presentation was made Feb. 6 in Dallas at a dinner in his honor, during Perkins’ Ministers Week. Rev. Dr. Biggs has been senior pastor for almost 32 years at Boston Avenue UMC in Tulsa. The church will host the Oklahoma Annual Conference on May 27-30, and he will be the featured preacher. Since he began serving at Boston Avenue, in 1980, that church has received more than 8,300 new members, and endowments have grown from $200,000 to more than $26 million. The 11 a.m. Sunday worship service, broadcast live on Tulsa’s Channel 8, is the most highly watched program in its time slot. Biggs also has addressed churches, colleges, conventions, and Chambers of Commerce in 30 states and has traveled in 41 countries. He is author of "Moments to Hold Close," and co-author of "When You Graduate." Biggs’ interfaith and interracial efforts have been recognized widely. He received the National Conference of Community and Justice Award, the Martin Luther King Jr. "Keeping the Dream Alive" Award, the Tulsa Jewish Community’s "Righteous Gentile" Award, and Tulsa Rotary’s "Spirit of Will Rogers Award." His service to United Methodist-related Perkins seminary and Southern Methodist University includes mentoring 20 Perkins students in one-year internships. The Dr. Mouzon Biggs Jr. Endowed Scholarship Fund was established at SMU in 1975 by Mr. and Mrs. Morris Cloninger of Beaumont, Texas. In 2008, the Mouzon Biggs Jr. Chair of United Methodist Studies was established at Phillips Theological Seminary in Tulsa. Biggs has been elected seven times as an Oklahoma Conference clergy delegate to the denomination’s General/Jurisdictional Conferences. He graduated from Centenary College, Louisiana, then earned his master’s degree from Perkins in 1965. Biggs holds two honorary doctorates, from Oklahoma City University and Texas Wesleyan University. He and his wife, Gayle, have two sons, Trey and Jason, and six grandchildren. The Distinguished Alumnus Award recognizes a graduate who has demonstrated effectiveness and integrity in service to the Church, continuing support and involvement in the goals of Perkins and SMU, distinguished service in the wider community, and exemplary character. |
