WALL OF HONOR 2022
The College of Humanities and Social Sciences (CHSS) Wall of Honor was established by the CHSS Alumni Advisory Board to acknowledge faculty and alums who have distinguished themselves throughout their careers through personal and professional achievements and who have made significant contributions to SHSU, the students, society, and thus have brought honor and distinction to our university.
The College of Humanities and Social Sciences is pleased to announce the 2022 Wall of Honor Recipients:
Mr. Dan Richard Beto
Mr. Walter M. "Mac" Woodward Jr.
The official ceremony for the Wall of Honor was held on Friday, February 18, 2022 at 6:00 p.m. in the Lowman Student Center Ballroom on the Sam Houston State University campus.
MR. DAN RICHARD BETO, has devoted more than five decades to the criminal justice system. He worked as a juvenile probation officer, a Federal Probation Officer, and as director of two community supervision and corrections departments in Texas.
He was the founding Executive Director of the Correctional Management Institute of Texas at Sam Houston State University, a position he held from 1994 to 2005, when he retired. As head of the Institute, Mr. Beto directed a staff charged with the responsibility of providing training and technical assistance to institutional and community corrections personnel. As part of his duties, Mr. Beto served as Director of the Texas Probation Training Academy, the Center for Project Spotlight, and the National Resource Center for Police-Corrections Partnerships.
Under his direction, the Institute provided secretariat services to the Texas Probation Association, Texas Jail Association, Texas Association for Court Administration, and the National Association of Probation Executives. Mr. Beto is a past President of the Texas Probation Association and the National Association of Probation Executives. He has served on the Board of Directors of the American Probation and Parole Association and as a member of the Delegate Assembly of the American Correctional Association. Moreover, he was a member of the Reinventing Probation Council of the Manhattan Institute and served as convener and facilitator of the Texas Reinventing Probation Strategy Group. Currently, Mr. Beto is Chair of the International Committee of the National Association of Probation Executives.
Mr. Beto, who earned a Bachelor’s degree in Sociology and a Master of Arts degree in Criminology at SHSU, is widely published in journals peculiar to the criminal justice arena. He is the former editor of Executive Exchange, the publication of the National Association of Probation Executives, and Texas Probation, the journal of the Texas Probation Association, and serves on the editorial board of Federal Probation. Mr. Beto has served as a consultant on projects funded by the Bureau of Justice Assistance, the National Institute of Corrections, and several other agencies and organizations. In addition, he has been involved in a number of international initiatives.
MR. WALTER M. "MAC" WOODWARD JR., was raised in Huntsville and has spent almost all of his seven-plus decades living in his hometown. His service to the community and Sam Houston State University is almost as lengthy: as a banker, SHSU employee, City Council member, Mayor, and board member of many charities, Woodward has made his community a better place.
Mac attended Sam Houston State University, where he met his wife, Leanne, who taught in public schools for almost three decades. They have two children, Wilbourn and Anne, and two grandchildren, Walter and Thomas.
After earning degrees in history—BA from SHSU; MA from the University of Houston—Mac began work at the Sam Houston Memorial Museum, where he combined his passions of history, studying Sam Houston’s life and legacy, and service to the public. He worked as a Historical Interpreter, Curator of Collections, and Director of the SHMM before retiring in 2021.
In the civic realm, Mac served nine years on the City Council, the longest tenure of any official in the past half-century. In addition, Mac served two terms as Mayor. During his tenure, Mac spearheaded successful efforts to triple the size of the public library, preserve water rights for the next 25 years, and expand fire services to the entire town.
Mac has also been active on government committees, non-profits, and other boards. He has served on the Board of the Boys and Girls Club, the Rita B. Huff Humane Society, the Parks and Recreation Board, the Oakwood Cemetery Advisory Board, the Samuel Walker Houston Museum and Cultural Center Board, the 1836 Project, and the management committee of Gibbs Brothers and Company.
Past Wall of Honor Recipients: