Endowment Fund Established for “Michael Travers Excellence in Writing Award”

The endowment exists to provide continued funding in perpetuity for the monetary awards given to winners of the competition: Judson students in good academic standing who have completed 60 or more credit hours and placed within the top three contestants for their submission of an 8- to 10-page academic research paper.

Formerly known as the “Baccalaureate Colloquium,” the competition was renamed in 2024 in honor of Travers, who originally founded the competition during his time as professor of English at Judson. Travers taught at the college from 2002 to 2008 and then from 2010 until 2014. Following a faith-filled battle with cancer, Travers passed away in March, 2017, leaving an enduring impact on Judson’s English program.

Friend and former colleague of Travers John Burkett, associate professor of rhetoric and composition and director of the writing center at Southeastern, commented on the legacy of excellence that Travers’ left:

“Michael Travers was not only a beloved English professor who loved and taught the Scriptures but also shaped the quality of writing and communication at Southeastern by proposing the Writing Center, the ‘Excellence in Writing Competition,’ and our former Quality Enhancement Plan titled ‘Critical Thinking through Writing’ in 2012-2016, making a lasting impact on individual students and the quality of education that we offer at Southeastern.”

Michael Travers was not only a beloved English professor who loved and taught the Scriptures but also shaped the quality of writing and communication at Southeastern.

Before his time at Judson, Travers served at Liberty University; there he met Farver who at the time served as professor of exercise science. She and the Travers family soon became close friends and remained so over the coming decades.

During Friday night’s celebration, this year’s award recipients read aloud their winning papers, and Barbara and Farver shared briefly about Traver’s legacy and love for writing.

“It’s so appropriate as an honor for my husband,” Barbara expressed regarding the competition. “He loved language; he loved words.”

She reflected on his passion for the written word and especially for the word of God and how that overflowed in his teaching approach: “My husband’s love for his students and his desire that they see good writing as an essential part of their Christian testimony led him to try to reach every student with written comments, always in a fountain pen,” she remembered fondly.

As a former colleague and friend of Travers, Farver expressed her motivation for the establishment of the endowment:

“Since my very first encounter with Dr. Michael Travers, I developed a high degree of respect for his Christian testimony, intellect, and academic accomplishments,” she said. “From my perspective, Dr. Travers was indeed a consummate professional who demonstrated his gifts of teaching, research, and scholarly writing, as well as challenging students to learn and apply all they could while enrolled in his classes. Dr. Travers [was] committed to higher education, and his desire to mentor students resulted in many rewarding years of dedicated service to Liberty University [and] Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary, as well as other Christian institutions.”

Dr. Travers was indeed a consummate professional who demonstrated his gifts of teaching, research, and scholarly writing, as well as challenging students to learn and apply all they could while enrolled in his classes.

Southeastern is thankful for the generosity and investment of these two women in carrying on Travers’ legacy through their support of Judson students’ academic endeavors.  Read more here about Judson’s English program, which trains critical thinkers and communicators in the spirit of Travers’ commitment to the written word and ultimately the word of God.