Presidential Perspective - July 17, 2025
Baylor Students, Faculty, Staff and Parents:
It’s great to be back in Waco after spending some time in New Zealand and Australia. Oh, how I missed my HTeaO, our favorite Waco restaurants and seeing students walking across campus!
While traveling, I was able to spend some quality time in prayer, examining Scripture and experiencing the majesty and diversity of God’s creation. I also had time to reflect on what makes Baylor different – Our Faith, Our Purpose and Our Global Impact in a Changing World.
Baylor’s founders planted seeds of faith and knowledge in the soil of a growing Texas territory back in 1845. They dreamed of a university that would grow to meet the needs of “all ages to come.”
That vision is still alive — and more powerful than ever.
Today, Baylor stands as a leading Christian research university with a global voice, unwavering in its commitment to faith, excellence and service. Our mission is clear: to educate men and women for worldwide leadership and service by integrating academic excellence and Christian commitment within a caring community — now and for the future.
This is the Baylor Difference. It’s not just a path to a degree. It’s a calling to change the world. I am so glad that we are part of this calling together!
A few updates for you:
- NEW MEDICAL DIRECTOR: Earlier this week, the Division of Student Life announced that Dr. Burritt W. Hess, M.D., FAAFP, will join the Baylor University Health Center on Oct. 6 as our new Medical Director. A 1995 Baylor alumnus, Dr. Hess will join us from Waco Family Medicine, where he has served as Residency Program Director and provided leadership for 36 family medicine residents and oversight of medical education programs since 2023. His extensive background in both clinical practice and educational leadership will be invaluable as he works with our Health Center team to provide excellent holistic care for our students - heart, mind, body and soul. Until Dr. Hess arrives, an interim plan is in place to ensure continuity of care and operations at the Health Center.
- EXPANSION IN WORLD MISSIONS: I’m pleased to announce a new $2.5 million gift from alumni Susan and Lee Bush of Athens, Texas, establishing, in part, the Lampsato Endowed Chair of Baptist World Missional Engagement and the Lampsato Endowed Fund at Truett Seminary to advance research and involvement in areas related to Baptist life and work worldwide. In addition, the Bushes established the Lampsato Endowed Fund at Truett Seminary to support the work of the new chair, who also will support Truett’s recently announced Baptist World Alliance global program.
- FACULTY FULBRIGHT: For the sixth time since 2022, a Baylor faculty member has won the prestigious Fulbright U.S. Scholar award to teach, conduct research and carry out professional projects around the world. Congratulations to Baylor’s latest Fulbright U.S. Scholar, Philip Borter, D.M.A., assistant professor of cello, who will represent the University and the School of Music on the international stage this fall in Brazil. During his two-month residency in Rio de Janeiro, Dr. Borter will study the choro genre – an instrumental tradition often described as Brazil’s first urban popular music – and how it shapes the way modern Brazilian composers write for classical instruments, particularly the expressive voice of the cello. His goal is to bring this music back to the U.S. to help expand the cello repertoire and offer students and audiences a broader vision of classical music’s global landscape.
YES, I-35 IS A CHALLENGE: I know I sound like a broken record, but don’t be surprised when you return to Waco to find I-35 in full construction mode from campus all the way to the South Loop. I would highly encourage everyone to take detours through the city streets and experience something new that our great city has to offer!
Counting down the days to Welcome Week!
Linda A. Livingstone, Ph.D.
President
A big Sic ’Em from Down Under with part of our Baylor contingent at the Baptist World Congress in Brisbane, Australia, last week. Joining the First Gent and me are University Chaplain Dr. Charley Ramsey, Dr. Torie Johnson of Marketing & Communications, and Anis Quorzal of International Admissions.