Presidential Perspective - February 3, 2022

Baylor Students, Faculty, Staff and Parents:

My prayers have been with everyone as the winter weather has impacted our local community as well as Texans statewide. Planning for a wide range of weather scenarios, particularly those with freezing rain, sleet, ice and snow, is always difficult. Our emergency management team is working closely with the National Weather Service and state and local officials to receive guidance as we work to ensure the safety of our campus. Thank you for your understanding as we strive to make the best decisions for your safety and well-being and the continuation of our academic and campus operations.

Some updates for this cold February weather:

• Earlier this week we announced that Paul (BBA ’79) and Alejandra Foster of El Paso, Texas, received the 2022 Baylor University Founders Medal. Established in 1969, the Founders Medal is one of the most distinguished awards given by Baylor and is reserved for men and women whose service and contributions have been unusually significant to the life and future of the University. The Fosters have certainly helped shape the future of Baylor, as well as the University’s physical campus, through their generous gifts and through their service as co-chairs of the Give Light campaign’s National Steering Committee. We are extremely grateful for their philanthropy and for shining a light for Baylor.

• Speaking of the Give Light campaign, I will be in Atlanta, Georgia, this evening for a special Baylor Alumni event with Vice President and Director of Athletics Mack B. Rhoades IV and Head Football Coach Dave Aranda. Look for some exciting news following this event!

• As we celebrate Black History Month, I am excited to announce that we have selected an accomplished artist for the future sculptures of Baylor’s first two Black graduates – Rev. Robert Gilbert (BA ’67) and Mrs. Barbara Walker (BA ’67) – that will be placed outside of Tidwell Bible Building. Benjamin Victor of Boise, Idaho, was chosen for this important project through a competitive process in conjunction with Mrs. Walker, the Gilbert family and our Campus Experience Project Team, which is working through the recommendations of the 2020 Commission on Historic Campus Representations. Victor is the only living artist to have three works in the U.S. Capitol’s National Statuary Hall, as well as the youngest artist to ever be represented there. He also has agreed to involve students throughout the project, which will take 18 to 24 months to complete.

• Baylor is joining with student organizations and the Waco community for a host of recognition events in honor of Black History Month. Be sure to check out all the activities through Multicultural Affairs as well as the Office of External Affairs.

• Hollylynne S. Lee, Ph.D., Distinguished Professor of Mathematics and Statistics Education at North Carolina State University, has been named the 2022 recipient of the Robert Foster Cherry Award for Great Teaching. The Cherry Award provides the single, largest monetary award of $250,000 presented by a college or university to an individual for exceptional teaching with positive, inspiring and long-lasting effects on students. Dr. Lee is expected to teach in residence at Baylor during the 2023 spring semester.

• Alpha Epsilon Delta (AED) – Baylor’s pre-health professional honor society – will host its 49th Annual Pre-Health Symposium<, partnering with Baylor Student Government and Baylor’s Pre-Health Office to host representatives from health professional schools across the country, including Stanford, Dartmouth, Vanderbilt, UCLA, NYU and many more. The symposium will be held virtually Feb. 16-18 and in-person Feb. 19. Students will have opportunities to get feedback about what these institutions are looking for in prospective matriculants and build connections that can contribute to success in health professional programs, including medical, dental, physician assistant, optometry, veterinary, pharmacy, physical therapy and occupational therapy.

Remember to check on your friends and neighbors during this period of winter weather and extend our Christian hospitality and generosity to those in need.

Sincerely,

Linda A. Livingstone, Ph.D.
President

PHOTO OF THE WEEK

Baylor celebrated its 177th birthday on Tuesday complete with a special Dr Pepper Hour and green-and-gold cupcakes. As the oldest continuous operating university in Texas, Baylor was founded on Feb. 1, 1845.