Presidential Perspective - April 3, 2025

Baylor Students, Faculty, Staff and Parents:

I truly enjoy this time of year at Baylor. Two of my favorite spring traditions are Steppin’ Out and Diadeloso (affectionately known as Dia), and they are both great – yet different – examples of how Baylor strives to educate men and women for worldwide leadership and service.

Steppin’ Out is a student-led event focused specifically on our local community in Waco. It started in 1985 and has transformed over the decades into a day of service that happens once each semester. This Saturday thousands of students will “step out” together across Waco to serve those who may need a little helping hand.

Diadeloso has a longer history, dating back to 1932 when the goal was to “bring smiles to the faces of students” by giving them a break from Baylor’s rigorous classes. Nearly 100 years have passed, and the goal remains the same as Baylor students continue to enjoy fun, food and fellowship every spring. This year’s “Day of the Bear” will be on April 8, and I hope you will come out for games, a special Dr Pepper Hour and the afternoon concert at Waco Hall – all organized by Baylor students. I always appreciate seeing so many faculty members, staff and their families on campus and engaging with each other as the Baylor Family – as well as how the entire University comes together to make it happen.

Here are a few updates for this week:

• SEXUAL ASSAULT AWARENESS MONTH: Throughout April, Baylor will again join universities and communities across the country to increase public awareness and prevention education about sexual assault and interpersonal violence during Sexual Assault Awareness Month. The Equity, Civil Rights, and Title IX Office invites students, faculty and staff to participate in this month’s events – including tonight’s “Light the Night” with teal lights at Rosenbalm Fountain, Pat Neff Hall and the Mark and Paula Hurd Welcome Center – and support the University’s commitment to fostering a safe and healthy campus, preventing acts of sexual violence and treating all members of the campus community with dignity and respect.
• TREE CAMPUS RECOGNITION: Baylor is well-known among the nation’s most beautiful college campuses, as noted most recently by Architectural Digest, U.S. News & World Report and Condé Nast Traveler. Now Baylor can add even more national recognition, this time from the Arbor Day Foundation as a Tree Campus Higher Education institution. Baylor has a long-standing history of planting, caring for and celebrating the hundreds of majestic trees across our 1,000-acre campus, and we’re excited to be part of the Tree Campus program that enhances community well-being through tree education, investment and engagement, which enables us to steward God’s natural resources well.
• BAYLOR 101 ON DEMAND: The recording for this spring’s Baylor 101 webinar, a conversation with Provost Nancy Brickhouse, Ph.D., regarding the development and implementation of the University’s new strategic plan, Baylor in Deeds, is available for on-demand viewing on the Baylor 101 website. During the one-hour session, Provost Brickhouse discussed how Baylor in Deeds builds on past strategic plans, is the result of robust feedback and is bolstered by college, school and other unit-level plans. I encourage everyone to watch this important conversation about the plan that will guide the University through 2030.
• GRADUATE STUDENT APPRECIATION: Next week is Graduate Student Appreciation Week, and we have much to celebrate at Baylor. Nearly 6,000 graduate students, both on and off-campus, contribute greatly to Baylor through research, teaching, scholarship and interactions with undergraduate students and faculty. Our distinct role as a Christian Research 1 university would not be possible without their efforts and excellence. During the next week, be on the lookout for stories highlighting the work of Baylor graduate students, and I look forward to visiting with many during the Graduate Student Association Assembly Meeting. So, to all our graduate students, thanks for all you do, and happy Graduate Student Appreciation Week!
• TSA PRECHECK POP-UP: Summer travel season will be here before we know it! To help our Bears wherever they’re headed next, Baylor has partnered with IDEMIA, an authorized TSA PreCheck enrollment provider, to host a pop-up event at the Mark and Paula Hurd Welcome Center April 7-11. TSA PreCheck is an enrollment-based membership that can save time at airport security lines — and save you from having to take your shoes, belts and jackets off or removing your laptop from your bag. Becoming a TSA PreCheck traveler requires an in-person appointment, and with no permanent enrollment centers in the Waco area, this is a great opportunity to complete the TSA PreCheck process. You can complete an application and schedule a time for the in-person appointment online. Learn more about the TSA PreCheck pop-up event and benefits of the program here.

I want to thank the Baylor Family for your generosity on another record-setting Giving Day. While the numbers are still being counted, we can see that in just one day nearly 4,000 gifts were contributed, with several hundred coming from right here on campus. We were once again able to surpass $2.2 million, and this faithful commitment to support Baylor students, programs, schools and colleges is always gratifying to see and greatly appreciated. THANK YOU, BAYLOR FAMILY!

Linda A. Livingstone, Ph.D.
President

PHOTO OF THE WEEK

Held Sunday through yesterday evening, FM72 continues to unite Baylor students with local churches and campus ministries during 72 hours of continuous prayer and worship on Fountain Mall in the heart of campus.