News

Campus sure is a little quieter this week! We’re in the midst of Baylor’s quarterly Board of Regents meeting, so I will get right to a few updates:

It seems like just yesterday we began the spring semester, yet here we are – at Commencement! Tomorrow and Saturday, we will celebrate more than 4,000 graduates, which is the largest graduating class in Baylor history.

I wanted to share with you the news that Brett Dalton, our Chief Business Officer, has informed me of his decision to retire from Baylor University, effective June 30, 2023. 

I hope you will join me tomorrow at 11 a.m. in the Paul Powell Chapel at Truett Seminary for “Lift Up Your Hearts,” a semester-ending service of prayer and worship not only for faculty and staff, but also for students and friends of the University.

As you are making plans for the summer, I encourage you to consider Baylor’s Summer of Discovery. This program offers tuition-discounted courses for students across multiple summer sessions. 

I wanted to share the news with you that David P. Rosselli, our Vice President for University Advancement, has made the difficult decision to leave Baylor University for Belmont University in Nashville to further develop its institutional advancement operations. His transition from Baylor will be effective June 30, 2023.

I hope you had a chance to see the news about an exciting addition to our Spring Commencement roster – our very own Lady is graduating! 

Greetings from a warm Washington, D.C., as I am beginning my first meetings today as the new chair of the American Council on Education.

As we approach the promise of Easter Sunday, our hearts anticipate its glory with great eagerness. 

Now is the time for us – together as a campus community – to begin considering the next chapter in our University’s strategic planning process as we look beyond Illuminate in our ongoing efforts to be recognized as the preeminent Christian research university. 

This Tuesday at 1:30 p.m. will be a historic moment in the life of Baylor as we unveil and dedicate the statues honoring the first Black students to earn their undergraduate degrees from the University – the late Rev. Robert L. Gilbert, B.A. ’67, and Mrs. Barbara A. Walker, B.A. ’67. 

There are a lot of ways to know how students are feeling on campus – from formal means (like our campus climate surveys) to more informal methods.

It’s March Madness time at Baylor University! Did you know that Baylor is among only 26 universities that have BOTH their men’s and women’s basketball teams competing in the 2023 NCAA Division I Men’s and Women’s Basketball Championships? That is some pretty select company.

It's hard to believe it’s already March and Spring Break is next week. I know many of you are looking forward to time away with family and friends and for rest and renewal during this busy time of year.

WACO, Texas (Feb. 24, 2023) – Baylor University today announced a $3.7 million gift from Jay and Jenny Allison of Frisco, Texas, to support the Give Light Capital Fund, as well as scholarships benefiting Baylor Law and the George W. Truett Theological Seminary. Baylor will recognize the couple’s philanthropic support through the naming of the Jay and Jenny Allison Development Center within the Paul and Alejandra Foster Pavilion.

WACO, Texas (Feb. 24, 2023) – At its regular February meeting, the Baylor University Board of Regents took action on several committee recommendations and received reports on a number of strategic University matters, including Baylor’s pioneering Faith and Character Study.

The Baylor University Board of Regents is on campus today and tomorrow for its quarterly meeting. As the official governing body of the University, our Regents have in common a genuine love for Baylor and a commitment to our Christian mission and their fiduciary responsibility. As is our custom, we will provide a summary of the Board meeting late Friday to the Baylor Family.

Even though Baylor has been classified as a “Research 1,” or R1, university only since December 2021, our recognition as a top research institution continues to grow.

In December during two Commencement ceremonies, we conferred nearly 1,300 degrees on newly minted Baylor graduates who now are flinging their green and gold afar as Baylor Alumni.

We’re going to start Black History Month with a bang!

Baylor University is celebrating the diversity of the Baylor Family in a number of ways.

Texas weather is often described as, “Wait five minutes, and it’ll change!” Just a few weeks ago, our temperatures were in the 80s, but we know how quickly the weather can remind us that it is indeed winter.

WACO, Texas (Feb. 2, 2023) – Baylor University announced today the appointment of Hannah Stolze, Ph.D., as the inaugural William E. Crenshaw Endowed Chair in Supply Chain Management in the Department of Management in Baylor’s nationally ranked Hankamer School of Business.

In light of some recent crimes that have occurred off campus, I want to reassure you that Baylor takes the safety and security of our students, faculty, staff and visitors very seriously.

We've been welcomed back to Waco for the spring semester by spring-like weather, free-flowing I-35 traffic and food-delivery robots traversing campus. I hope all are signs for a fun, transformational semester!

Greetings from the River Walk in San Antonio, where I am participating in the annual NCAA Convention this week.

WACO, Texas (Jan. 12, 2023) – Baylor University today announced the recipients of the 2023 Baylor Alumni Awards, which honor individuals who embody the distinctive mission of the University and their remarkable achievements. A celebration honoring the impact of Baylor alumni around the world and recognizing this year’s recipients will be held on campus Feb. 24, 2023.

It’s been nearly a month since my last weekly Presidential Perspective, and I hope you had a wonderful (and restful!) Christmas break and are ready for all 2023 has in store for Baylor University.

As we approach the Christmas season and its beautiful traditions and sweet moments together, I pray we each pause to be grateful for one another and for the overwhelming love of God and the remarkable gift of His son.

This is our last Presidential Perspective of the semester as we begin final exams. This fall has just flown by, but what an exciting semester we’ve had together as we fully emerged from the long effects of the pandemic.

As we wind down the fall semester, we also begin the Christmas season at Baylor. This is truly a special time on our campus that prepares our hearts in celebration of the birth of our Savior Jesus Christ.

As we approach the Thanksgiving holiday and look toward the light of Christ to be celebrated at Christmas, I wish to express my personal gratitude – as well as to extend the gratitude of everyone on the faculty and staff of Baylor University – to the Baylor Family for your support of our outstanding students and your contributions to fulfilling the mission of Baylor.

You don’t want to miss Saturday’s football game at McLane Stadium! We’ll have great football weather for an increasingly rare night game, and our Bears will be playing with a berth in the Big 12 Championship Game on the line against No. 23 Kansas State.

WACO, Texas (Nov. 4, 2022) – At its regular quarterly meeting, the Baylor University Board of Regents focused its discussion on Baylor’s position in the higher education marketplace, highlighted by strong financial reports about upgraded bond ratings and positive investment returns amid continued strong demand for a Baylor experience and education.

The Baylor University Board of Regents will be on campus today and tomorrow for its quarterly meeting. This is an important group of Baylor volunteers, as they serve as the official governing body of the University and ensure alignment with our Christian mission and financial integrity.

As part of President Linda A. Livingstone's campuswide Spiritual Wellbeing initiative, Baylor University will hold a Faculty & Staff Chapel at 11 a.m. Wednesday, Nov. 9, in Paul W. Powell Chapel at Truett Seminary.

We are heading into the final five weeks of the Fall semester, which is generally the toughest part of the academic year. Don’t let the weight of the semester bog you down.

We ushered in cooler temperatures earlier this week, just in time for our 113th anniversary of Homecoming on the Baylor campus. But you know how Texas weather is – high temperatures will be back in the upper 80s over the weekend, so plan accordingly!

This is one of those weeks in which I’ve had an opportunity to fling Baylor’s green and gold afar.

Election Day is one month away on Tuesday, Nov. 8, providing an opportunity for us to exercise one of our most important privileges and rights as Americans.

Did you know that Baylor’s iconic green and gold can be traced as far back as 1897? As legend has it, a member of the student committee selected to choose the official colors for the University was traveling to a debate tournament by train.

I am pleased to announce today a five-year contract extension through 2027 for Provost Nancy Brickhouse, Ph.D., whose strong and collaborative leadership as our chief academic officer has been instrumental in elevating Baylor to join the nation’s top-tier research institutions as a preeminent Christian Research 1 university.

Every year, the Baylor Family celebrates National Research Administrator Day — observed on September 25 — as an opportunity to express our enduring gratitude to research administrators, grant writers, staff, postdoctoral researchers and undergraduate and graduate students who each play a vital role in the University’s success.

National Research Administrator Day is celebrated annually on Sept. 25 across the country, but we’ve adopted it as our own at Baylor over the past few years.

This has been a week of big news for the University, so let’s get right to the headlines!

I must admit that the First Gent and I are big fans of Baylor Athletics, especially during the week-long build up for a big football game like BYU this Saturday.

To conclude each week we celebrate Spirit Fridays on all Baylor campuses when we encourage the entire Baylor Family to fling their green and gold afar.

We're nearly through the first week of the fall semester!

The beginning of the fall semester is finally here! I cannot wait for the first day of class on Monday.

Yes, it's August, but this is certainly the most wonderful time of the year! We can feel the excitement and enthusiasm building for two seminal events next week in the lives of Baylor students: Move-in and Welcome Week.

You may have seen the exciting news from earlier this week that Baylor University has been recognized as one of the nation’s top-10 Most Trusted Universities, according to global research firm Morning Consult.