Presidential Perspective: Baylor Achieves R1 Status

Dear Baylor Family:

I am overjoyed to share with you some wonderful news we learned this morning. We have received notification from the Carnegie Classification of Institutions of Higher Education that Baylor University has achieved Research 1 status, joining the nation’s top research institutions as a doctoral university with very high research activity and as a preeminent Christian research university.

Our R1 aspirations have represented an incredible opportunity – one given to us by God – to do what very few, if any, universities have achieved: maintaining our foundational Christian mission while reaching R1 status as a top-tier research university.

Through the dedicated work of our faculty and staff and our academic and research leadership, we have made remarkable progress since 2018 on our Illuminate strategic plan, which provided the framework to build on Baylor’s historic strengths and strategically invest in new areas of research and service. Through top-tier research, scholarship and external funding support, R1 universities – that now include Baylor University – bring their voice to bear in addressing our world’s most significant challenges. And as a Christian research university, Baylor infuses the quest for solutions, at the highest levels, with the University’s distinct Christian voice and mission.

As we have traversed this journey to R1, our commitment to excellence university-wide has grown even stronger. That commitment remains evident in our transformational undergraduate education, in providing impactful services to students that support them academically, spiritually, personally and in their future careers, and in achieving at the highest levels of human performance in the arts and athletics as we prepare students for worldwide leadership and service.

I want to personally thank our Board of Regents, who supported Baylor’s institutional aspirations with the approval of Illuminate four years ago and for their most recent reaffirmation of our R1 goals through Illuminate Forward for 2022-27. I am also deeply appreciative of the ongoing support of the Baylor Family through our Give Light campaign on behalf of our faculty, students and campus overall.

Today is not the end of our journey, but rather a significant step in a trajectory in which we will continue to elevate the quality and impact of our educational and research endeavors. Today, let us give thanks to God and join together to celebrate this monumental achievement.

Thank you,

Linda A. Livingstone, Ph.D.
President