SPRING 2025 - Like many Baylor graduates, Dr. Allan Watson credits the professors who mentored him during his time in Waco with helping to shape his life. A particularly important figure was Dr. Ralph Lynn, who taught history at Baylor and was beloved by many students.

“Among the many memorable sayings Ralph Lynn had, one of my favorites was "While we are free to choose, we are seldom free to choose the circumstances under which we are free to choose," Allan said. “Over the years, I have come to understand the gravity of his remark." A Baylor alumnus twice over, Allan (B.A. '63, M.A. '68) went on to earn an M.Phil. in history in 1969 and a Ph.D. in history in 1971, both from George Washington University. Instrumental in encouraging him to earn a doctorate were Ralph Lynn and his wife, Bessie Mae Lynn, who joined former Baylor president Abner McCall in helping him secure the necessary funding.

Today, Allan said gratitude for the favorable circumstances and blessings he and his wife, Connie Sue Watson, have enjoyed have led them to give back to Baylor. They have established the Watson Endowed Excellence Fund to support faculty development in the Department of History and the Watson Endowed Scholars Program, a merit- based scholarship program for students majoring in history.

BENEFITING THE FUTURE

The Frisco couple created both endowments in 2023 and have established a planned gift that will benefit the programs through their estate. “We hope the endowments will create circumstances where more students can understand the past through the study of history," Allan said. “Moreover, we believe that the pursuit of that discipline in a Christian setting like that at Baylor will help them to make informed choices that will benefit future society."

The Watson Endowed Scholars Program will assist history majors in building enriching peer relationships and is structured so that students receive more scholarship funds the longer they participate in it. “That is intended to allow for the recruitment of lower-division students, who tend to change majors, while making certain that those who elect to continue with a history major will have the resources to complete their degree," Allan explained.

LASTING IMPACT

After completing his doctorate, Allan, who had grown up in Waco, returned to Texas for a career in academia that began with helping to develop the University of Texas at Dallas (UTD). During that time, he met Connie Sue Sasser, and they were married in The Episcopal Church of the Transfiguration in Dallas, where they are still parishioners today. 

After UTD, Allan spent time at Texas State University as assistant to the president and then vice president before he and Connie moved to Washington, D.C., where he served as vice president of the American Association of State Colleges and Universities and executive vice president of the AASCU Foundation. In 1991, he was recruited to again return to Texas as president of the Alliance for Higher Education — a position from which he retired in 2020. 

Through the many twists and turns in his and Connie's lives, Allan said Baylor has remained a constant presence. 

“In many ways, I never left Baylor and Baylor never left me," he said. “My time there gave me access to some great, lifelong friendships that I continue to cherish. My experience at Baylor was what led me to focus on what I might do to facilitate a similar experience for others."