The Perkins School of Theology Alumni/ae Council has selected Bishop Ruben Saenz Jr. (M.Div. ‘97; D.Min. ‘09) as the 2022 recipient of the Perkins Distinguished Alumnus/a Award. Saenz, a native of south Texas and lifelong United Methodist, was elected bishop in 2016 at the South Central Jurisdictional Conference and assigned to the Great Plains Conference, based in Topeka, Kansas. In his role as episcopal leader in Kansas and Nebraska, Saenz has worked to unify three former conferences that came together in 2014. In 2022, he was additionally assigned as the Coverage Bishop of the Central Texas Conference, based in Fort Worth, Texas. Read the press release here.
Saenz will be honored at the Distinguished Alumni Awards Banquet on November 14 on the campus of SMU. The banquet will also recognize the 2021 Award recipient, Evelyn Parker, and the 2020 Award recipients, the Rev. Donald W. Underwood and the Rev. Dr. Sidney G. Hall, III. The event takes place from 5 to 7 p.m. in SMU’s Martha Proctor Mack Grand Ballroom (Umphrey Lee Center, 3300 Dyer Street, Dallas, TX 75205). Cost is $55 per person or $550 for a table of 10. Purchase tickets here.