Presidential Perspective - February 20, 2020

Baylor Students, Faculty and Staff:

Waco is Basketball Capital, USA! Both Baylor basketball teams are 24-1 overall and 13-0 in Big 12 play, with the men ranked #1 and the women #2. A couple of basketball-related notes:

• The Baylor Family congratulates Coach Kim Mulkey on reaching 600 wins faster than any other NCAA Division I head coach in history. As a former college basketball student-athlete and the daughter of a coach, I have great appreciation for how Coach Mulkey leads her program with integrity and hard work, building elite teams who consistently compete at the highest levels while also ensuring that her student-athletes graduate and are prepared as champions for life beyond basketball. We are very proud of Coach Mulkey and her staff, and we look forward to cheering her and the Lady Bears on for the rest of this season and for many more to come.

• And I suspect you’ve heard ESPN College Gameday will broadcast from the Ferrell Center on Saturday at 10 a.m., prior to our top-ranked men’s basketball team hosting third-ranked Kansas at 11 a.m. Coach Scott Drew and his team have now won a Big 12-record 23 games in a row, breaking the previous record held by the Jayhawks. The game is officially a sellout, and as expected, there is high demand for both student and faculty/staff tickets. Please take time to review this important information related to Gameday, timelines and tickets. And don’t forget to wear white!

Some additional information to share with you this week:

• As I reflect on what occurred during and after Chapel last week, it is clear that we must do better at fostering, as well as demonstrating, a welcoming and caring community built on respect. This commitment to our University mission must be reflected not only regarding Chapel, but in our daily activities and interactions with others on campus, in the community and even on media. Hate and disrespect have no home on our campus. I am reminded of James 1:19-20: “Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry, because human anger does not produce the righteousness that God desires.”

• The season of Lent begins next week, a time for us to begin our contemplative journey together to the Cross, where we celebrate the true splendor of the resurrection of Jesus Christ, our risen Savior, on Easter Sunday. Beginning at 12:15 p.m. this Tuesday, our Chaplain’s Office will continue its six-week Texts and Teachers Bible study for faculty and staff during which six Baylor Scholars will teach on various biblical texts that connect with the themes and stories of the Lenten season. If you would like to attend, you can RSVP by emailing Ronda_Kruse@baylor.edu.

• Winston Churchill once said, “You make a living by what you earn; you make a life by what you give.” The success of our University would not be possible without the continued investment and hard work of our dedicated faculty and staff. It was such a pleasure last week to celebrate alongside many of you and your colleagues at the Annual Service Recognition Luncheon. More than 350 faculty and staff were honored for their service in five-year increments, ranging from those who reached their fifth anniversaries to their 50th. Thank you all for choosing to work at Baylor and also for giving of yourselves and making a life here at the University.

• A reminder that the ceremonial groundbreaking for the Mark and Paula Hurd Welcome Center, to be located at the corner of I-35 and University Parks Drive, is set for tomorrow afternoon at 4:30 p.m. Students, faculty and staff are invited to attend the event (look for the white tent along Dutton Ave.) as we celebrate the start of this transformational project for our campus.

As I mentioned last week, our Board of Regents is on campus for its quarterly meeting through tomorrow afternoon. We will provide a meeting summary to you on Monday. Here’s to a couple of basketball wins on Saturday at the Ferrell Center: The men vs. Kansas at 11 a.m. and the women vs. Oklahoma at 4 p.m.

Sincerely,

Linda A. Livingstone, Ph.D.
President