Presidential Perspective - January 11, 2024

Baylor Students, Faculty, Staff and Parents:

It’s become so commonplace that it must be a Baylor tradition – a cold, arctic blast to welcome students back to Waco for the spring semester! I’m a frequent checker of several weather apps on my iPhone, and the Sunday evening-through-Monday forecast calls for some winter precipitation and bone-chilling temperatures. Be sure to plan your travel ahead of time, be on the lookout for any messages from the University, take care of your pets, plants and pipes, and be cautious on roadways, sidewalks and other surfaces. We want everyone back in Waco safe and sound!

Another Baylor tradition is that I hand out FREE comfort food to kick off each semester! Stop inside the warm SUB near the Student Activities Office this Tuesday beginning at 9 a.m. for Nightlight Donuts. I would love to say hello and personally welcome you back to Baylor.

A few notes at the start of the semester:

• BAYLOR FOUNDERS MEDAL: I am thrilled and honored to announce that Tommy Bowman, B.B.A. ’71, of Waco, is this year’s recipient of the 2024 Baylor University Founders Medal, one of the highest honors conferred by Baylor to deserving alumni and advocates whose support and service have shaped the University and impacted the future of Baylor in historically significant ways. Tommy holds a special place in Baylor history as the University’s first Black scholarship student-athlete, helping Baylor fulfill our mission as he led with integrity and excellence while removing barriers within the Baylor community. As a proud Baylor alumnus, he continues to be a voice of support and accountability, as both a dedicated Baylor Bear and through his service from 2001-10 on the Baylor Board of Regents. Tommy Bowman exemplifies our mission, and I am grateful for his transformational impact – as part of our history and how he has shaped our future.
• REMEMBERING DR. KING: This Monday is Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day, a day set aside to honor and celebrate the life, ministry and legacy of the late civil rights leader. The Baylor and Waco communities will join together for a week of in-person and online events honoring Dr. King, beginning tomorrow with the annual Wreath Laying Ceremony at MLK Jr. Memorial Park in Waco. Other events include the Racial Reconciliation Sunday Service at Church Under the Bridge with guest speaker Elise Edwards, Ph.D., assistant professor of Christian ethics and theology, Monday’s Peace March downtown over the Suspension Bridge, a panel discussion and worship service at Truett Seminary and online opportunities throughout the week via our Department of Multicultural Affairs.
• PANEL ON POLITICS AND FAITH: As we prepare to navigate another highly anticipated general election season, I am looking forward to moderating our Civil Discourse series kick-off panel on politics and faith. Our three distinguished guests include Curtis Chang, an author, Executive Director of Redeeming Babel and consulting professor at Duke Divinity School; Justin Giboney, an attorney, political strategist and president of the AND Campaign; and Kaitlyn Schiess, an author, co-host of the Holy Post podcast and a theology doctoral student. The panel will be on Monday, Jan. 22, at 3:30 p.m. in Foster 250. You won’t want to miss this important conversation.
• ACCESSIBLE SCIENCE: Spotlighted on this week’s cover of the prestigious journal Science Advances is an image of a first-of-its-kind tactile learning device developed at Baylor that allows students with blindness or low vision to visualize and comprehend hard scientific data such as compound structures, nanoscopic and microscopic imagery and more with the same accuracy as their sighted peers. Bryan F. Shaw, Ph.D., professor of chemistry, and his students have developed a number of resources in recent years to make science more accessible, but their latest research demonstrates how the ancient art form lithophane, with its raised images, enables tactile learning, opening the possibility of the transfer of any scientific data or images for sighted students into functional, thorough formats for students with blindness. We’re thrilled to see this mission-focused work and the doors it will open to welcome students previously excluded from opportunities in science.
• WINTER STUDY ABROAD: Baylor’s robust Study Abroad program in the Center for Global Engagement continues to provide numerous options for our students to immerse themselves in cultures around the world. In fact, over winter break, 200 students and 20 faculty participated in 14 Study Abroad programs, forming the largest Wintermester cohort ever at Baylor! Beyond the numbers and geographic scope, our Study Abroad team continues to expand access for students to academic travel, recently partnering with Student Opportunity & Achievement Resources (SOAR) for a group of McNair Scholars to travel to Belize and with the Office of Access and Learning Accommodation (OALA) for an Accessibility Abroad opportunity for students to explore France. These academic experiences provide invaluable opportunities for students to grow professionally and personally as they adapt and succeed in a diverse world.
• RECOGNIZING SPECIAL STAFF: The start of the new year is a great chance to reflect on our team achievements from the previous year. If you know a Baylor staff member who has gone above and beyond or a Baylor staff leader who is a beacon of excellence, I encourage you to submit a nomination for the Baylor Staff Awards by Feb. 1. Faculty and staff can visit the Staff Awards webpage to learn more about these awards and submit nominations. The selected winners will be honored at a ceremony in April.
• NEW “HEALTH” LEAVE: One of the things that makes Baylor a great college to work for is the ongoing reevaluation of our benefits package. Most recently, we’ve shifted the focus of “Sick Time” to “Health Leave,” which is now reflective in our policy and active in Ignite. The Health Leave Policy provides paid leave to eligible Baylor staff for reasons related to mental health or illness of an employee, their spouse, children or parent. This paid time off is also provided for attending healthcare and dental appointments for eligible Baylor staff, their spouse, children and parents. We believe this change to “Health Leave” better reflects the usage of this paid time off.

Be sure to check those men’s and women’s basketball schedules … We need you at Foster Pavilion!

Linda A. Livingstone, Ph.D.
President

PHOTO OF THE WEEK

We’ve had some beautiful Waco winter sunsets over the past few weeks. I cannot wait to share them with all of our new and returning students!