Presidential Perspective - April 7, 2022

Baylor Students, Faculty, Staff and Parents:

I don’t think we could have asked for a better combination of warm sunshine and a full slate of activities for this week’s return of Diadeloso, or “Day of the Bear,” as we celebrated this great tradition’s 90th anniversary. After two years without one of Baylor’s most beloved spring events due to COVID-19, the staff in Student Activities put together a wonderful opportunity to gather together as students, faculty and staff connected with friends and colleagues from across our campus – including more than 5,000 meals shared at the BBQ lunch. Walking through the festivities and getting to see so many smiling faces was a great reminder of the joy and fellowship we often get to share together as a Baylor Family.

Some updates for this week:

• Faculty and Staff: Please remember to RSVP for “A Celebration of R1 Achievement” on Monday, April 25, from 5:30-7 p.m. at McLane Stadium’s Baylor Club. We have a wonderful evening planned to express our appreciation to you. You should have received an email with the RSVP link yesterday morning.

• Graduate and Professional Student Appreciation Week continues through tomorrow, providing an opportunity to recognize the diverse and talented students enrolled in Baylor’s rapidly expanding Graduate and Professional Education programs. This week we celebrate YOU and your commitment to your personal future. You are a vital extension of who we are as a University, and hopefully soon you will join more than 150,000 Baylor alumni worldwide. Thank you for bringing your ambition, innovative thinking, Christian mindset and individual perspectives to Baylor. We are excited and thankful to be part of your career journeys.

• As part of National Collegiate Recovery Week April 11-15, Baylor will host a series of events next week with students and the Baylor and Waco communities featuring David Magee, best-selling author of the memoir “Dear William” and a change-maker on alcohol and other drug wellness education, support and wellbeing. Magee helped inspire and create the William Magee Center for Wellness Education at the University of Mississippi, named for his late son that’s similar to Baylor’s on-campus Beauchamp Addiction Recovery Center (BARC), which provides all-encompassing support for students in recovery from substance and behavioral addictions. Registration for the events about the impact of addiction on an everyday family and the Magees’ remarkable faith-filled response is available on the Gil Taylor Behavioral Health Series website.

• We continue the exciting momentum on the next phase of our successful Give Light Campaign with today’s announcement of a $3 million gift from Jim and Sharon Harrod of Horseshoe Bay, Texas, to establish The Jim and Sharon Harrod Endowed Chair of Christian Thought. This new chair – one of 34 endowed faculty positions created through Give Light – will enhance exceptional scholarship and transformational learning within the Honors College and the study of great thinkers who have stood at the intersection of the Christian faith and culture at large. The Harrod Chair also supports the Human Flourishing, Leadership and Ethics initiative within our Illuminate strategic plan and qualifies for additional support through the campaign’s Illuminate Chair Matching Program.

• Back in 1991, one of my new faculty colleagues in Baylor’s management department was Leslie Palich, Ph.D. Fast forward to today, Dr. Palich has received a prestigious and competitive Fulbright U.S. Scholar Award to Ireland from the U.S. Department of State. Beginning this fall at Dublin City University, Dr. Palich, The W.A. (Agnes) Mays Professor of Entrepreneurship, will begin work with DCU faculty on the ethical attitudes and behaviors of entrepreneurs and small business owners. The Fulbright honors the best of U.S. scholars who then teach and research abroad, a role important not only to building relationships between people and nations but also establishing research collaborations between Baylor and other top universities around the world.

• As I mentioned last week, the biannual Steppin’ Out Day of Service was held this past Saturday through our Missions & Public Life initiative. More than 1,800 students from approximately 60 campus organizations participated by collecting more than six tons of trash, beginning three community gardens, participating in a house build with Habitat for Humanity and many additional beautification projects across Waco. I am incredibly proud of the dedication, service and commitment to Christ that our students demonstrate as they offer their hard work back to our community.

Thank you for being part of the Baylor Family!

Linda A. Livingstone, Ph.D.
President

PHOTO OF THE WEEK

Growing up on a farm in rural Oklahoma, we had a few goats. But they weren’t the yoga kind that we saw at Diadeloso on Tuesday!