Presidential Perspective - June 19, 2025

Baylor Students, Faculty, Staff and Parents:

As we move into the heat of the summer in Waco, I am reminded of how blessed we were this past academic year. Amid turbulent times across all higher education, God was gracious to our students, faculty and staff. I am looking forward to seeing how God continues to bless us during the summer as many in the Baylor Family study and serve across the world.

Hundreds of Baylor students, faculty and staff are participating in study abroad opportunities, serving in various mission fields and working with the next generation at summer camps right now. The First Gent and I will have the opportunity to visit one Baylor study abroad program – Baylor Business in Sydney – on our way to the 23rd Baptist World Congress in Brisbane, Australia. This is an amazing chance for us to see the unmistakable Baylor spirit in action.

Brad and I will also take some time to rest and rejuvenate, and I pray you find time for rest as well. In the meantime, here are a few updates:

• DEAN’S LIST HONOREES: Congratulations to the more than 5,200 Baylor undergraduates named to the Spring 2025 Dean’s Academic Honor List in recognition of their outstanding academic work during the semester. Students on the Dean’s List earned a minimum semester grade-point average of 3.70, with no grade lower than a “C” while enrolled in at least 12 graded semester hours. I’m proud of our students’ exemplary work in the classroom, and I extend my gratitude to our exceptional faculty for their dedication to undergraduate teaching and mentoring, a true hallmark of a Baylor education.
• ARMSTRONG BROWNING LIBRARY RECOGNITION: We all know what an extraordinary space the Armstrong Browning Library & Museum is at Baylor. Now, even more people will have the opportunity to learn about this gem of our campus since it is the subject of the Texas Center for the Book’s newest Lone Star Libraries video and article. This special highlight provides a peek into a library dedicated to the lives and works of famed Victorian poets Robert and Elizabeth Barrett Browning. Not surprisingly, it is one of the most beautiful and romantic places on campus.
• ANOTHER RECORD-BREAKING YEAR: It is another record-breaking year for Baylor students and recent alumni who have earned some of the most prestigious and competitive fellowships and awards available. We learned this week that Baylor has another student Fulbright recipient, bringing our total to 23. And in case you forgot, Baylor students also received a record four Goldwater Scholarships, two Boren Awards (Scholarship and Fellowship), two Critical Language Scholarships, a Fulbright UK Summer Institute award, a Pickering Foreign Affairs Fellowship and a Rangel Graduate Fellowship. These are remarkable accomplishments, and they demonstrate the power of a transformational Baylor education while reinforcing our belief that “the world needs a Baylor.”
• PHYSICS BREAKTHROUGH PRIZE: And speaking of awards, Baylor’s High Energy Physics team recently won the prestigious Breakthrough Prize in Fundamental Physics. Often called the “Oscars of Science,” the Breakthrough Prize honors pioneering discoveries that deepen the understanding of the universe. Baylor’s team – Jay R. Dittmann, Ph.D., Kenichi Hatakeyama, Ph.D., Andrew Brinkerhoff, Ph.D., and Jonathan Wilson, Ph.D. – is another example of our growing research and reputation. A preeminent Christian research university, Baylor is one of only 52 private R1 research universities and one of the few distinctly Christian universities recognized among the nation’s top research institutions.
• I-35 TRAFFIC SHIFT BEGINS MONDAY: As we all return to Waco in the weeks and months ahead, I-35 to the south of the University will look quite a bit different. On Monday, crews will begin shifting all northbound I-35 traffic in the three-mile stretch from 12th Street to South Loop 340 to the southbound mainlanes – officially starting the full reconstruction of northbound I-35. Both directions of I-35 will be reduced to two lanes, and once traffic is fully shifted, crews will close several northbound exits and direct connects. It will take us some time – and a lot of patience – to get used to the traffic change, but we did it before from 2019-23, and we can do it again. Find out more at com, where you also can sign up for My35 email alerts.

Tomorrow is the first official day of summer, and it’s a good reminder to hydrate and re-apply the sunscreen, Bears!

Linda A. Livingstone, Ph.D.
President

PHOTO OF THE WEEK

Today is Juneteenth, a national holiday commemorating the day when the message of the United States’ abolition of slavery finally reached Texas on June 19, 1865, two-and-a-half years after President Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation. In Waco last Saturday, Baylor was well-represented in the city’s Juneteenth Community Parade Celebration, including our men’s and women’s basketball teams, Baylor Libraries, Student Activities, Mayborn Museum and the Office of External Affairs.