Presidential Perspective - July 29, 2021
Baylor Students, Faculty, Staff and Parents:
The countdown continues – 25 days until the start of the fall semester on Aug. 23. Wow! Our faculty and staff have been diligently preparing for the return of our students for what promises to be an exciting semester. Following are a few updates for this week:
- Later today at 5 p.m. CT, I’ll join incoming students and parents for a Facebook Live Q&A on the official Baylor Facebook page. I anticipate a lot of good questions as we prepare for a normal fall with classes and events at 100% capacity. Earlier today, you should have received the first weekly email update that focuses initially on some of the most frequently asked questions about COVID-19 weekly testing and testing exemptions, which include full vaccination or a positive COVID-19 test within the past 180 days. We will continue to share weekly updates leading up to Aug. 23, with all updates available on our COVID-19 website.
- As a former collegiate student-athlete, I always get excited for the Summer Olympics and stand in awe of these Olympians who represent their home countries at the highest level of athletic competition. A school-record six former Baylor student-athletes are in Tokyo for the “2020” Summer Olympics, as they began last week (one year late due to the COVID-19 pandemic). Trayvon Bromell (BSED ’18, track & field), Brittney Griner (BSED ’19, women’s basketball) and John Peers (tennis) are each on Olympic rosters for the second time, while more recent Baylor track & field stars KC Lightfoot and Wil London (BSED ’19) and former men’s basketball All-American Ekpe Udoh (BSED ’11) have made it to the Olympics for the first time. Here’s your personalized Baylor Olympian TV guide on BaylorBears.com. Sic ’em, Bears!
- We have a current Baylor professor – Alex Yokochi, Ph.D. – who was a three-time Olympian representing his native Portugal in three consecutive Olympics: 1984 in Los Angeles, 1988 in Seoul, and 1992 in Barcelona. Now a professor of mechanical engineering, Dr. Yokochi was a swimmer competing in both the 100m and 200m breaststroke in 1984 at age 19, finishing seventh in the 200m. He competed in the same two events in 1988 (again finishing top-10 in the 200m) and 1992, when (at age 27) he was team captain and “pretty much the grandpa of the team.” Today, Dr. Yokochi is in his fifth year teaching at Baylor. He came from Oregon State after being drawn by our vision of a Christian research university and the opportunity to pursue his teaching and research as a Christian engineer with Baylor students.
- I recognize many of you are concerned about the future of Baylor’s athletic conference affiliation, after the University of Texas and the University of Oklahoma have expressed their desires to leave the Big 12 for the Southeastern Conference. Please be assured that we understand the significance of this action, and as I stated on Tuesday, we will approach the situation strategically and deliberately for the future of Baylor. One important aspect that has been absent in all the public discussion is the unfortunate loss of longtime, special rivalries. Baylor and Texas have met every season since 1945, which is our longest consecutive streak against any opponent and the second-longest for Texas behind only the Oklahoma series. Baylor has five wins against Texas since 2010, joining Kansas State, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State and TCU as the only teams with five wins vs. UT in that span. I know you will be cheering for our Bears with me at McLane Stadium Oct. 30, as well as all season long.
Please be sure to keep up with your email inboxes, as the University will be sending more and more information in preparation for the fall semester in the weeks ahead. I can’t wait to see everyone back on campus!
Sincerely,
Linda A. Livingstone, Ph.D.
President