Presidential Perspective - October 30, 2025
Baylor Students, Faculty, Staff and Parents:
What an awesome time the First Gent and I had welcoming students to “Dinner with the Livingstones” on Wednesday evening at Allbritton House! It is certainly one of our favorite parts of Homecoming Week 2025.
With Saturday’s football game against UCF slated for 11 a.m. at McLane Stadium, we did adjust a few things in the Homecoming schedule. The oldest Homecoming parade in the entire country will step off from downtown Waco at 7 a.m. The Parade livestream, from Fifth Street in the center of campus, will be available at virtualevents.baylor.edu/parade. I can’t wait to see the floats and student groups walking through the city and across campus.
The Mark and Paula Hurd Welcome Center will be open Friday from 8 a.m. to 9 p.m. for Homecoming at the Hurd, but times shifted on Saturday. The Hurd will be open from 7 a.m. to 11 a.m. before closing so everyone can make their way to the stadium.
In addition to our longstanding traditions like Mass Meeting, Pigskin Revue and the Bonfire, I hope you will attend something new this year, like the Fall Festival on Third Street. On Friday from 6 to 8 p.m., kids of all ages can enjoy candy, costumes, games, prizes, photo ops, food and more along Third Street between Dutton Avenue and Baylor Avenue. Finally, don’t forget to make your way to the Sid Richardson Building facing Fountain Mall from 5 to 6 p.m. on Friday for the Livingstones’ annual FULL-SIZE Halloween candy bar giveaway. We can’t wait to see your costumes!
We have a beautiful fall weather forecast, so I’m looking forward to seeing everyone in their green and gold this weekend!
Here are a few updates:
- NEW MECHANICAL ENGINEERING FELLOWS: Congratulations to mechanical engineering professors Douglas E. Smith, Ph.D., and Liang Sun, Ph.D., who have received the highest honors from their respective professional societies:
- Dr. Smith has been elected by the American Society of Mechanical Engineers as an ASME Fellow in recognition of his exceptional engineering achievements and contributions to the profession and to ASME. Only about 5% of ASME members are elected Fellows so this is quite a prestigious honor for Dr. Smith, a materials science researcher who came to Baylor to help develop and grow research in support of our vision to become a Christian R1 university.
- Dr. Sun has been elected as an Associate Fellow of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics. Dr. Sun joined the ECS faculty in 2024, bringing active research credentials in aerospace engineering, including autonomous systems, advanced air mobility and safe, intelligent flight. His AIAA recognition will provide more opportunities for Baylor students through research, industry and ECS’s new aerospace engineering degree.
- FOSTER SUCCESS CENTER AWARD: Baylor’s Paul L. Foster Success Center is dedicated to supporting the flourishing of every student by offering countless services that promote academic achievement, personal development and vocational exploration. The staff work tirelessly to help our students meet and exceed their goals, and I was thrilled to see one of our own recognized on a national stage. Carroll Crowson, director of student success and engagement at Baylor, recently received the 2025 Excellence in Technology Administration Award from the education company EAB. Carroll leads our Navigate360 platform that helps guide students through their academic journey, directly contributing to our outstanding four- and six-year graduation rates. Please join me in congratulating Carroll on this tremendous honor!
- HUDSON WESTBROOK CONCERT TICKETS: In case you missed the announcement, Hudson Westbrook, a Texas native and chart-topping country star, is coming to the Paul and Alejandra Foster Pavilion on Friday, April 24, 2026. Presale student tickets are available through 10 p.m. CT tonight, then public tickets go on sale tomorrow at 10 a.m. CT at baylor.edu/concerts. This show is another opportunity to promote our hometown of Waco while also supporting a new live entertainment revenue stream for the University. I am looking forward to welcoming even more comedians, artists and musicians to Waco and the Baylor campus in the future!
- SOUNDINGS PROJECT ENDURES: Launched in 2018 with a $1.5 million grant from Lilly Endowment Inc., Baylor’s Soundings Project is led by Darin Davis, Ph.D., clinical professor of moral philosophy in the Honors Program in the Honors College. Dr. Davis gathered 12 congregations from a wide range of Christian traditions to explore how Christians discern God’s call in today’s complex world. But what started as a grant has become something larger – friendships, practices and ministries that help congregations listen for God’s call in ordinary life. Dr. Davis explained it this way, and I could not agree with him more: “The Soundings Project is a new model that begins with the assumption that the Christian university and the church have a common work to do in the world. That work is to help people discover and live out their God-given meaning and purpose.”
- BASKETBALL SEASON OPENERS: Basketball season is here (!), and both our men’s and women’s teams will officially tip off their seasons on Monday, Nov. 3. The No. 16 women will face No. 7 Duke “across the pond” in Paris at 11 a.m. on ESPN, and the men will host UT Rio Grande Valley at Foster Pavilion at 7 p.m. I hope you will help “Pack the Pavilion” for the Bears on Monday and all season long. Remember, complimentary tickets for faculty and staff may be available on game days, and student tickets can be requested using the student ticketing platform.
If you are planning to vote next Tuesday, remember the Hurd Welcome Center is a designated polling place for McLennan County and is the convenient, on-campus location many have requested. While we may not always agree on politics, our campus community will remain peaceful and united under Christ as we follow His command to love our neighbors as ourselves.
Linda A. Livingstone, Ph.D.
President
PHOTO OF THE WEEK:
My front yard was full of students Wednesday night during Dinner with the Livingstones!