Presidential Perspective - September 22, 2022

September 22, 2022

Baylor Students, Faculty, Staff and Parents:

National Research Administrator Day is celebrated annually on Sept. 25 across the country, but we’ve adopted it as our own at Baylor over the past few years. We will celebrate this day tomorrow, on a Friday, and it will be especially meaningful this year — our first as an R1 university. I’d like to take a moment to say THANK YOU to everyone who makes great research happen at Baylor:

  • To our wonderful faculty for investing your careers at Baylor and tackling high-level, interdisciplinary research that addresses some of the biggest global challenges facing our world;
  • To our research administrators in the Office of the Vice Provost for Research for working behind the scenes to support our institutional growth as you walk alongside faculty to support the strongest possible award submissions at the highest levels of ethics and compliance;
  • To the many faculty and staff who advance Baylor research as they support researchers in colleges and schools, departments, labs and business offices;
  • To our postdoctoral researchers who facilitate research and mentorship across campus; and
  • To our amazing student researchers at both the undergraduate and graduate levels for your spirit of teamwork that has elevated our institution and advanced our Christian mission through research that makes a real impact.

Be on the lookout tomorrow to see our researchers and research administrators celebrated in a variety of ways. We’ll have stories that share the heart behind Baylor research as well as billboards in Waco, Dallas and Houston highlighting research that addresses cancer, environmental health, human flourishing, data sciences and materials science. You’ll also see advertisements running on LinkedIn and in the Texas Tribune, along with plenty of posts on Baylor social media that we hope you will consider sharing in your own network to amplify Baylor research and the people who make it happen.

Some additional information of interest:

  • Congratulations to the 10 faculty members who have been selected by Provost Nancy Brickhouse, Ph.D., as 2022-23 Baylor Fellows for their teaching excellence and desire to advance Baylor’s commitment to transformational education. The Academy for Teaching and Learning launched the program in 2011 to recognize outstanding teachers and provide them the opportunity to implement new teaching approaches in Baylor courses. This year’s theme is “Teaching for First Gen Success.” The
    Baylor Fellows are: 
    • Coretta Pittman, Ph.D., associate professor of English and 2022-23 Senior Fellow;
    • Jared E. Alcántara, Ph.D., professor of preaching and The Paul W. Powell Endowed Chair in Preaching;
    • John M. Davis, Ph.D., professor of mathematics;
    • Kristi Humphreys, Ph.D., lecturer in English;
    • Ron A. Johnson, Ph.D., associate professor of history and The Ralph and Bessie Mae Lynn Chair of History;
    • Marcie Moehnke, Ph.D., senior lecturer in biology and associate dean for undergraduate studies in the sciences;
    • Lakia Scott, Ph.D., associate professor of curriculum and instruction and graduate program director;
    • Andrea Shepherd, D.N.P., clinical instructor in nursing;
    • Elon Terrell, Ph.D., senior lecturer in mechanical engineering; and
    • Nadine Welch, M.S., CCC/SLP, clinical associate professor of speech pathology.

  • A faithful part of the Baylor experience is the opportunity to grow, love and serve, whether that’s on a Baylor mission trip with our global partners or getting involved in a local organization right here in Waco. Baylor Missions Week 2022, supported by the Lynn A. and Jacqueline S. Harmon Endowment, begins this Monday, Sept. 26, with events and activities through Wednesday. Highlights include Dinner at the Fountain and in the Halls, a Missions Fair and a Serve Locally Tabling Event, as well as a Habitat House build on Fountain Mall as we join together to frame a Habitat home for a family in our community.

  • For Faculty and Staff – Our first “Baylor 101” event will be held this Wednesday, Sept. 28, from 1-2 p.m. as we focus on the Baylor WellBeing platform, including the upcoming administrative transition of the Baylor Health Plan to UMR/UnitedHealthcare. Baylor 101 will be held virtually for your convenience and to provide an opportunity for viewers to easily ask questions. Look for a Zoom link in your inbox next week. We’ll archive the sessions online in the event the times aren’t convenient for you.

  • Each semester Baylor recognizes undergraduates for their outstanding academic work with the Dean’s Academic Honor List, including the students named to the Summer 2022 Dean’s List. To be honored, students have earned a minimum semester GPA of 3.70 with no grade lower than a “C” while enrolled in at least 12 graded semester hours. It starts in the classroom, and I’m grateful our students have the opportunity to engage with exceptional Baylor faculty, whose deep love of undergraduate teaching was recognized nationally in the latest U.S. News rankings.

Sic ’em, Bears!

Linda A. Livingstone, Ph.D.
President


PHOTO OF THE WEEK

Photo of the Week - 22Sep22

I enjoyed seeing the smiling faces of so many families and students during Family Weekend. It is indeed a great time to be a Baylor Bear.