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Bishop Minerva G. Carcaño received the 2011 Distinguished Alumna Award from the Alumni/ae Council of SMU's Perkins School of Theology at a banquet on February 7, 2011.

The annual award, presented as part of Perkins’ Ministers Week, recognizes one Perkins graduate who has demonstrated effectiveness and integrity in service to the church, continuing support and involvement in the goals of Perkins School of Theology and SMU, distinguished service in the wider community, and exemplary character.

In 2004, Bishop Carcaño became the first Hispanic woman to be elected to the episcopacy of The United Methodist Church. Today, she is one of 69 active bishops leading the denomination worldwide. She currently serves as Bishop of the Phoenix Episcopal Area, Desert Southwest Conference of The United Methodist Church, and is the official spokesperson for the Council of Bishops on the issue of immigration. Bishop Carcaño received a Masters of Theology from Perkins in 1979.

Bishop Carcaño, a native of Edinburg, Texas, was ordained elder in the Rio Grande Annual Conference in 1979. In addition to serving as a pastor of local churches in Texas, Arizona, and California, in 1986 she became the first Hispanic woman to be appointed a United Methodist district superintendent. She also led the Mexican American Program at Perkins School of Theology as director from 1996-2001.

In remarks during the banquet, the Rev. Jeannie Treviño-Teddlie, current Director of the Perkins Mexican-American Program, celebrated Bishop Carcaño’s leadership. Retired United Methodist Bishop John Wesley Hardt also paid tribute to Bishop Carcaño’s leadership from an early age as a youth representative to the General Board of Global Ministries, while offering thanks for the extensive United Methodist connections and associations that helped to form Bishop Carcaño and other leaders through the years.

, founded in 1911 at , is one of five official University-related schools of theology of . Degree programs include the Master of Divinity, Master of Sacred Music, Master of Theological Studies, Master of Church Ministries, and Doctor of Ministry, as well as the Ph.D., in cooperation with at SMU’s of Humanities and Sciences.

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