Presidential Perspective - September 1, 2022

Baylor Students, Faculty, Staff and Parents:

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. This Friday we will join colleges and universities across the country in the national celebration of College Colors Day as we officially kick off the college football season. So pull out your favorite Baylor-branded apparel and let’s support our Bears in all sports every Friday throughout the fall semester!

Here are several updates for this week:

• Being a light unto the world for Christ is part of who we are at Baylor. On Sept. 13, accounting and business law faculty and students in the Hankamer School of Business will partner with Caritas of Waco on the 58:10 project, inspired by Isaiah 58:10: “You must actively help the hungry and feed the oppressed. Then your light will drive out the darkness, and your darkness will become like the middle of the day.” Around 500 volunteers will gather in Foster 250 to pack 100,000 meals in only three hours, with each food pack feeding up to 4 to 6 people here in McLennan County. The greatest need is raising $40,000 for food supplies and packing items (they’re halfway there!) and finding additional volunteers. You can give or volunteer here – Let your light shine!


• Five years ago, Baylor was awarded its first highly competitive grant from the U.S. Department of Education to implement the Ronald E. McNair Postbaccalaureate Achievement Program. We recently learned the great news that Baylor has received another five-year grant to continue this incredible opportunity for students. The Baylor McNair Scholars Program prepares high-achieving low-income, first-generation and historically underrepresented students for doctoral programs through immersive research with their Baylor faculty mentors and other scholarly activities. I’m so proud of our McNair Scholars, which include now-Baylor graduates who are well on their way to a Ph.D. through graduate programs here and at other prestigious universities around the country.


• Did you catch last night’s season 10 finale of the top-rated Discovery adventure series “Expedition Unknown?” Baylor faculty and students took center stage on the episode “Finding Italy’s Lost Empire,” which featured Honors College professors Davide Zori, Ph.D., and Colleen Zori, Ph.D., who led adventurer/host Josh Gates through their archaeological dig site as they seek to understand the Etruscan occupation of the San Giuliano plateau in central Italy. Faculty from other disciplines worked on the San Giuliano Archaeological Research Project this summer along with students in our study abroad Archaeology Research in Italy program. It’s fascinating to see Baylor research like this leading the way in understanding the conditions by which humans, communities and societies flourish.


• In July we mourned the loss of Judge Joy Reynolds, one of our beloved live bear mascots. Because this occurred at a time when many members of the Baylor Family were not on campus, we decided to wait until the semester began to join together to remember Joy’s wonderful contributions to our community. Beginning at noon today with a Carillon concert followed by the opening of a self-guided exhibit at the Bill and Eva Williams Bear Habitat (or inside the SUB if inclement weather persists) that will run through Saturday, we invite you to stop by and celebrate Joy and say hello to her sweet sister Lady. Also, watch for some fun recognitions at Saturday’s football game – like a special flag carried by the Baylor Line, a memorial decal on Baylor football helmets and a surprise from the Golden Wave Band.


• September is National Preparedness Month to raise awareness about the importance of preparing for disasters and emergencies that could happen at any time. Tomorrow at 10 a.m. – and on the first Friday of each month throughout the year – Baylor joins our city and county partners to test our outdoor tornado sirens. Tomorrow, we also will conduct a required test of our multi-tiered Baylor Alert emergency notification system, which we use to alert our campus community of a significant emergency or threat on or near campus. If there are storms tomorrow, we will not test the sirens, but we will still test Baylor Alert, including text and email, official University social media channels, our website and the Baylor Information Line at 254-710-4411.


• The Bears are back at home this weekend for a Sunday soccer contest against the Big 10’s Iowa starting at 7 p.m. Coming off its first win of the season against SEC-power Florida, Baylor looks to notch its first victory on the home pitch under first-year head coach Michelle Lenard. It’s also Faculty & Staff Appreciation Day. Baylor faculty and staff can redeem a free ticket to the match with a valid BU ID.

I hope to see everyone at McLane Stadium Saturday night!

Linda A. Livingstone, Ph.D.
President

PHOTO OF THE WEEK

I am so proud of our Baylor student-athletes from all sports, including the seven-time national champion Acrobatics & Tumbling team, who shared their JOY with families and future Baylor generations as part of Meet the Bears last Saturday.