Presidential Perspective - July 31, 2025

Baylor Students, Faculty, Staff and Parents:

Today is the last day of July, which means the countdown to the start of the new academic year officially begins tomorrow. Here are some key dates that I’m personally tracking:

• Aug. 5: Soccer takes the field for the first time this season in exhibition play at the Betty Lou Mays Soccer Field.
• Aug. 12: Community Prayer Breakfast where local leaders, pastors and members of the Baylor community gather to pray for students, educators and institutions across Waco and surrounding areas as the school year begins.
• Aug. 21-22: Move2BU as we welcome #BU29 to campus, and there is still time to volunteer to support this unique and important Baylor tradition.
• Aug. 21-24: Welcome Week continues to grow, and I heard this year’s “A Waco Welcome” will likely top 2,000 guests, not including students.
• Aug. 25: First Day of Classes (Don’t forget this one!)
• Aug. 29: Football kicks off against Auburn at McLane Stadium on Friday night, and we will share more information about this weeknight game soon.
• Sept. 4: Volleyball home opener against Northwestern at the Ferrell Center in the Baylor Classic.

I am looking forward to so many more memorable moments and learning opportunities throughout the Fall 2025 semester!

A few updates for you:

• FAMILY WEEKEND DEADLINE: We are just weeks away from the start of the semester, and Family Weekend will be here before we know it. I hope you are planning to return to Waco for this special time of connection between Baylor students and their families. Preparations are well underway for After Dark, Taste of Waco and the Family Weekend Tailgate. You can still purchase a ticket package to these events plus the Bears’ football game against Samford until midnight today – before individual tickets go on sale tomorrow. And don’t forget this year’s slate of activities includes GRAMMY winner Lauren Daigle in concert at Foster Pavilion!
• FACULTY/STAFF SERVICE OPPORTUNITY: Baylor Missions, Service and Public Life within the Office of Spiritual Life is working in partnership with Texans on Mission on a Flood Recovery Service Day on Friday, Aug. 8, in San Angelo for up to 50 interested Baylor faculty and staff. On July 4, San Angelo received a foot of rain that caused the Concho River to rise rapidly to 14 feet – damaging an estimated 12,000 homes. This opportunity to serve our neighbors who have lost so much sits at the heart of our Christian mission. It is also an opportunity to use your spiritual wellbeing leave, if you have not already done so. If you are interested in serving, please fill out this interest form.
• NSF AWARD FOR CANCER RESEARCH: Baylor faculty continue to earn high honors on the national stage, and we’re proud of Liela Romero, Ph.D. Dr. Romero is a 2011 Baylor graduate and associate professor of chemistry and biochemistry who has earned a prestigious Early Career Development Award (CAREER) from the National Science Foundation. Dr. Romero, who worked in Baylor chemistry labs as a student, is an organic chemist who mixes elements from natural products to develop new products with greater disease-fighting ability. Through her NSF award, Dr. Romero will be able to further her study into these synthetic mixtures that could eventually lead to drugs that fight diseases like cancer. Sic ’em, Dr. Romero!
• MCNAIR SCHOLARS CONFERENCE: Since 2019, Baylor has hosted the McNair Scholars Research Conference, a national conference that brings more than 300 undergraduate scholars – both McNair and non-McNair – from universities across the country to campus to share their faculty-mentored research, participate in professional development and engage with more than 30 of the nation’s top graduate schools as they navigate toward a Ph.D. This year’s conference is Aug. 7-8, at the Foster Campus for Business and Innovation and includes a pre-conference session hosted by our Graduate School – giving scholars an inside look at Baylor labs, libraries, research spaces and more. Faculty and staff are encouraged to stop by any of the student research presentations, including the poster session and Graduate School Fair in the Mark and Paula Hurd Welcome Center on Friday, Aug. 8. The full schedule is on the conference website.
• FROM PAGE TO STAGE: This fall, Baylor Theatre will launch the Baylor New Play Initiative, debuting a national festival Sept. 26-28 in the Mabee Theatre that features staged readings of four new works by rising playwrights, culminating with the $15,000 Kirk New Play Prize. The pandemic had a profound effect on theatre festivals and programs across the country, and I am proud Baylor Theatre stepped forward with this visionary initiative for a new generation of American theatre that blends academic insight with professional production to nurture new plays from “the page to the stage.” To learn more about the initiative or to purchase tickets, visit the Baylor Theatre website.

The fall is coming, and our Parent Engagement Office is supporting dozens of Baylor Send-Off Parties happening across the country to help incoming students and parents meet each other. These special gatherings offer the chance to meet Bears from your hometown before moving to Waco, and I am excited to attend a few in the coming weeks.

Linda A. Livingstone, Ph.D.
President

PHOTO OF THE WEEK

Future Bears starting their journey from Baylor’s original campus in Independence, Texas.