Presidential Perspective - June 5, 2025

Baylor Students, Faculty, Staff and Parents:

I hope you saw the news earlier this week that Rev. Dr. Charley Ramsey has been named Baylor University’s new University Chaplain and Dean of Spiritual Life, effective Monday, June 9. The University Chaplain is a critically important role at Baylor where the individual in that position is responsible for leading and nurturing the spiritual wellbeing of thousands of students, faculty and staff. Charley is uniquely qualified to serve in this capacity as he prepares to succeed Dr. Burt Burleson, who retired in May.

Charley is a two-time Baylor graduate, was ordained in the Baptist church, and he is currently serving as our Associate University Chaplain and Director of Campus Ministries and Church Connections. In addition, Charley’s ministry and academic career before returning to Baylor in 2017 includes global mission leadership, interfaith scholarship and faculty appointments in the U.S. and South Asia. He will bring a depth of experience in pastoral care, spiritual formation and more to the Baylor Family, and I look forward to seeing how he leads as University Chaplain and Dean of Spiritual Life.

Here are a few updates for today:

• ORIENTATION AND LINE CAMP: The first session of New Student Orientation and Baylor Line Camp starts Monday, and over the next two months Baylor will welcome hundreds of students and their families to campus to prepare for the fall semester. Attendees get to meet other new Bears, learn about their major, meet with academic departments and take their first steps as part of the Baylor Line. All experiences are available to new first-year and transfer students. Parents or guests are encouraged to attend Orientation as well. Line Camp is an extended orientation opportunity for students only. It is built around Baylor’s rich history and transformative undergraduate student experience. You can learn more about Orientation and Line Camp in this brief video.
• SUMMER OF DISCOVERY: Baylor’s Summer of Discovery offers in-person and online classes to help incoming and current students catch up, get ahead, add a minor and more. Classes are taught by Baylor faculty and since summer tuition is reduced, students and families can lower their costs when compared to the fall and spring semesters. In addition, Summer of Discovery courses are available across multiple sessions, and they support most degree plans and majors. The full summer and Summer 1 classes start on Monday, but students can still register for Summer 2, which begins on July 14.
• TAPESTRY OF CARE: As a Christian Research 1 university, Baylor is well-positioned to identify solutions to some of our greatest challenges, including those involving mental health. However, research shows churches are often on the front lines of mental health crisis response – whether or not they are equipped to handle it. This is where the pathbreaking Tapestry of Care (TOC) partnership between Baylor, The Congregational Collective of San Antonio and Harvard Medical School will begin its work. Funded by a $1.76 million grant from the John Templeton Foundation, over the next three years TOC will equip pilot congregations in the greater San Antonio region as community hubs for mental health engagement. This new model embraces the unique role of churches while fostering collaboration and trust between mental health providers and faith-based communities.
• LAUREN DAIGLE CONCERT UPDATE: During the spring semester we announced Lauren Daigle, a two-time GRAMMY®, seven-time Billboard Music, four-time American Music and 12-time GMA Dove Award winner, will perform at Foster Pavilion on Friday, Sept. 12, at 7 p.m. The concert will kick off Family Weekend, which includes our home football game against Samford University – a fellow Baptist institution. Concert tickets are only available for purchase online and they are selling fast. Be sure to secure your spot today, and Baylor parents can use promo code BUFamily25, while seats remain. You don’t want to miss this new start to a truly special Baylor weekend.
• I-35 CONSTRUCTION UNDERWAY: If you’re in Waco right now, you have probably noticed roadwork is underway on I-35. This latest project will reconstruct a three-mile section of Interstate 35 from 12th Street near campus to South Loop 340. Although this will greatly improve safety and mobility through Waco, we know – in the short term – we will need to be patient, alert and resilient. TxDOT will soon begin shifting all northbound I-35 traffic to the southbound mainlanes, reducing all traffic to two lanes in each direction and allowing space for the full reconstruction of northbound I-35. Working alongside TxDOT, we will keep you informed of the latest construction updates, and you also can sign up for TxDOT’s email updates at My35WacoSouth.com.

Linda A. Livingstone, Ph.D.
President

PHOTO OF THE WEEK

Did you know that during the summer, Baylor undergraduates teach hundreds of middle school students from local school districts science basics, like how to use a microscope?