Presidential Perspective - May 9, 2024

Baylor Students, Faculty, Staff and Parents:

Congratulations to the more than 3,500 students who have earned a Baylor degree this spring – including the more than 3,300 who will walk across the Ferrell Center stage as part of Commencement ceremonies this Friday and Saturday. I am so excited to welcome you into the long line of Baylor Alumni who are making an impact around the world each and every day!

We are so proud of our 2024 graduates, and we want to send you off in style. I hope you will stop by the Hurd Welcome Center THIS AFTERNOON for our Senior Celebration and Decal Drive-Thru from 3 to 4:30 p.m. Enjoy a final Dr Pepper float, pick up some Baylor swag, take fun photos and learn how to connect with other Baylor alums in your area. As you leave, follow the signs to the decal drive-thru, and our team will place your official Baylor Alumni decal on your vehicle for you. Sic ’em, Baylor grads!

Some updates for this week:

• IMPORTANT FAFSA INFO: Amidst all the nationwide FAFSA delays affecting college and university campuses nationwide, Baylor's Student Financial Aid Office is thrilled to announce that the first batch of 2024-25 financial aid offers was sent last week to many incoming students. The office plans to send offers to current and graduate students in early June. If you’ve had issues completing your FAFSA application, our Baylor One Stop is ready to assist you. Your education is our priority, and we are committed to supporting you every step of the way. If you are interested in federal aid for the 2024-25 academic year, don’t miss out – file your FAFSA today!
• BU-DBU ENGINEERING PARTNERSHIP: It was an honor to join a group of academic leaders from Baylor and Dallas Baptist University, including DBU President Adam Wright, for an official signing ceremony celebrating a new program that expands engineering education opportunities at Baylor for DBU students. The agreement provides an academic pathway for DBU students to earn one of four bachelor’s degrees in engineering at Baylor's School of Engineering and Computer Science. Baylor and DBU share common values as institutions of Christian higher education in the Baptist tradition, and we are excited to support and collaborate with one another as we seek to produce graduates who integrate their faith with their vocation.
• MCNAIR SCHOLARS SUCCESS: Since 2017, Baylor’s McNair Scholars Program has prepared dozens of undergraduate students, specifically from low-income, first-generation and other underrepresented backgrounds, to acquire the knowledge and skills required to successfully navigate a path to a Ph.D. program. This year’s McNair Scholar graduates are well on their way to reaching that goal after being accepted into some of the nation’s most distinguished graduate programs (including at Baylor!). A special thanks to our faculty who dedicate themselves as mentors to our McNair Scholars while also immersing them in research and other scholarly activities.
• YOUTH WORSHIP INITIATIVE: Empowering young people is critical to the growth of today’s church communities, and Baylor’s Dunn Center for Christian Music Studies in the School of Music will expand the next phase of its youth Worship Lab Initiative, thanks to a four-year $1 million grant from Lilly Endowment Inc. as part of its Strengthening Ministries with Youth Initiative. This new grant phase will engage and equip the local church by restructuring Worship Lab from a four-day summer camp for aspiring high school worship leaders to a broader brand of worship-related resources, including a five-day summer camp, one-day church workshops, a curated website of instructional videos and more. We are so appreciative of this powerful work that bolsters youth music and worship initiatives that foster life-long leadership and service.
• APPRECIATION FOR TEACHERS AND NURSES: During this week – which is both National Teacher Appreciation Week and National Nurses Week – we take a moment to express our deepest appreciation for our Baylor teachers and nurses. For more than 100 years, Baylor has been producing extraordinary teachers through the School of Education who are passionate about guiding, nurturing and inspiring their students every day, and nurses through our Louise Herrington School of Nursing who have been called to be the hands and feet of Christ for those who are hurting or in need of comfort. THANK YOU, teachers and nurses, for your dedication, your expertise and your love as you teach and serve others.

Best wishes this summer, and I pledge to pray daily for your safety, relaxation and a little fun in the months ahead.

Linda A. Livingstone, Ph.D.
President

PHOTO OF THE WEEK

Baylor was recently ranked No. 14 in Architectural Digest’s list of the 64 prettiest college campuses in the nation.