Presidential Perspective - June 15, 2023

Baylor Students, Faculty, Staff and Parents:

I am happy to report that the surgery went well, and my rehab is off to a great start. If everything continues on this pace, I should be back in Pat Neff Hall soon and fully recovered and ready in time for the start of the fall semester. And, by the way, the First Gent has been an excellent caregiver!

Some updates for this week …

• RESEARCH RIPPLE EFFECT: A Stanford University database of the world's most cited researchers features no fewer than 35 current or retired Baylor researchers - a tremendous achievement and a sign of Baylor's global impact. This prestigious list is an incredible undertaking, and inclusion is an elite honor as only the top 2% of researchers in 22 disciplines are included. When Baylor faculty researchers are cited by colleagues around the world, it extends the impact of their work and that ripple effect reflects well on the quality of Baylor research and scholarship. This is far from the only measure of research impact, but it’s one we celebrate today. We're grateful for research marked by quality, visibility and impact advanced by our faculty.


• JUNETEENTH CELEBRATION: Baylor will be closed Monday, June 19, in observance of Juneteenth, a national holiday that commemorates when the message of the United States' abolition of slavery finally reached Texas on June 19, 1865, more than two years after President Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation. In celebration, I hope you will share in the many Juneteenth partnerships and events throughout Waco, among them:
  • The Mr. and Miss Juneteenth Scholarship Pageant at 7 p.m. tomorrow in Barfield Drawing Room in the Bill Daniel Student Center;
  • The annual Juneteenth Celebration Parade, organized by the Cen-Tex African American Chamber of Commerce, at 10 a.m. Saturday from Heritage Square in downtown Waco to East Waco;
  • Waco NAACP’s annual Juneteenth Community Celebration from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday at Wilbert Austin Park;
  • Juneteenth Family Funday celebrating African American heritage and independence with a kids zone, food vendors, health fair and live music beginning at 2 p.m. Saturday at Brazos Park East; and
  • Levitt AMP Music Series from 5 to 9 p.m. Saturday at Bridge Street Plaza, featuring our own Tyrha Lindsey-Warren, Ph.D., clinical associate professor of marketing, as well as a Jules Bledsoe tribute arranged by Horace Maxile, Ph.D., associate professor of music theory. 


• HEALTH SERVICES ACCREDITATION: A question often asked during Orientation is, "Baylor has an actual health clinic on campus? With doctors?" We certainly do, and I’m very proud of our dedicated physicians, nurses and staff of Baylor Health Services, which again has achieved the three-year accreditation seal of approval from the Accreditation Association for Ambulatory Health Care (AAAHC). A valuable part of student success is their health and wellness, and we are grateful for the quality medical care and services our health center provides students within a Christian environment.


• FIRST NURSING ENDOWED CHAIR: Last week, we announced a $1.5 million gift that extends a wonderful family legacy of support and transformational investment in the mission of our Louise Herrington School of Nursing. In honor of the School's namesake, Louise Herrington Ornelas - or "Ms. Lou" as she was known to her friends at LHSON – her family has established the first endowed chair position in the nursing school, The Louise Herrington Endowed Chair in Mental Health. This chair - which qualifies for matching support through Give Light's Illuminate Chair Matching Program - will support innovative research and teaching in the areas of mental and behavioral health, including addressing the critical need for mental health professionals. This is especially timely with the launch in August of LHSON's Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner track within its Doctor of Nursing Practice graduate degree program.

We're about to reach 100 degrees awfully early in June. Summer is already in full force!

Linda A. Livingstone, Ph.D.
President

PHOTO OF THE WEEK

Every summer the Baylor campus becomes a stage for our upcoming commercial that will air during televised athletics broadcasts and on social media for the upcoming academic year. Here’s a sneak peek of what to expect beginning this fall.