Presidential Perspective - September 4, 2025

Baylor Students, Faculty, Staff and Parents:

The fall semester is certainly off and running at a brisk pace! I hope everyone is settling into new routines and becoming acclimated academically, physically and spiritually. I know the start to an academic year can be overwhelming for new and returning students alike – not to mention faculty and staff. So, I wanted to point out a few key resources that are available if you need them – now or throughout the semester.

• Baylor’s Paul L. Foster Success Center offers a full range of services designed to promote academic achievement, personal development and vocational exploration. It is in the Sid Richardson Building.
• The Counseling Center’s mission is to foster wholeness for every student through caring relationships, cultural humility and integrated mental health services. It is in the McLane Student Life Center.
• The Office of Spiritual Life, located in the Bobo Spiritual Life Center, offers programs and resources to nurture spiritual wholeness and missional living in students, faculty and staff.
• The Equity, Civil Rights, and Title IX Office engages on issues of harassment and discrimination with care and integrity. The team is available to students, faculty and staff, and is located in the Clifton Robinson Tower. This office is also accessible via phone, email and anonymous avenues.

I pray that if at any time you or someone close to you is struggling that you will take advantage of these or other support services Baylor has for you.

Here are a few updates for the week:

• BAYLOR ALERT TEST: September is both National Campus Safety Awareness Month and National Preparedness Month, which reminds us that preparing now and being familiar with how our multi-tiered Baylor Alert emergency notification system works can keep us, our families and communities safe. Tomorrow at 10 a.m. – and on the first Friday of each month – Baylor joins with our City of Waco and McLennan County partners to test our Outdoor Warning System, which includes tornado sirens and voice activations. At the same time, we will test Baylor Alert, which is how we notify you of a significant emergency or threat on or near campus. This is also a good time to check your emergency contact information. You can make updates by following the instructions on the Baylor Emergency Management website.
• LAUREN DAIGLE CONCERT SELLOUT: The excitement is building for two-time GRAMMY winner and Christian vocal powerhouse Lauren Daigle in concert Friday, Sept. 12, at 7:30 p.m. at Foster Pavilion. Her sold-out show will kick off Baylor Family Weekend, which also includes the Baylor vs. Samford football game at McLane Stadium on Saturday. Daigle’s performance will be Foster Pavilion’s second concert – and second sellout – following Baylor alum Forrest Frank back in April. I can’t wait to see Lauren in concert, and I hope to see some of you there!
• BEST EMPLOYER FOR WOMEN: For several years Forbes has recognized employers in different industries that improve their workplaces for women, and Baylor has made the list for the first time! According to the online database, Baylor ranks No. 182, out of 700 companies, and is in the Top 25 among higher education institutions. Better still, we rank No. 2 in Texas, behind only Baylor College of Medicine in Houston. As stated online, Forbes’ list is the result of an independent survey of more than 140,000 women at U.S. companies with at least 1,000 employees, and it is wonderful to know Baylor is viewed so favorably by women – both inside and outside the University.
• AI VENTURE CHALLENGE: A few weeks ago, Baylor’s Hankamer School of Business announced it will launch the nation’s first AI Venture Challenge, a student competition where undergraduates pitch AI-powered business ideas to solve real-world problems. With $5,000 in prizes, the event will blend entrepreneurship and technology while advancing Baylor’s focus on innovation and ethics in the Human-Technology Interface. This new competition is one more example of how the commitments and imperatives that weave through Baylor in Deeds are coming to life across the University.
• DR PEPPER HOUR TOUR: One of Baylor’s most cherished traditions is Dr Pepper Hour. Each week Baylor students, faculty and staff are invited to Barfield Drawing Room to grab a free Dr Pepper ice cream float. A few years ago, we took the tradition on the road to introduce Baylor in an innovative way to prospective students and members of the Baylor Family. This weekend the Dr Pepper Hour Tour will head to Dallas to offer an afternoon refreshment to the students, faculty and staff at the Louise Herrington School of Nursing before making a stop for our friends and longtime partners at the Baptist General Convention of Texas. We have collaborated with Texas Baptists for decades, and I’m excited we can bring this Baylor tradition to their backyard.
• 9/11 STAIR CLIMB AT MCLANE: Next Thursday Baylor will join others across the nation to commemorate the 24th anniversary of the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, and remember the countless lives lost and the heroic actions of the nation’s first responders. Beginning at 5:30 a.m., the entire Baylor Family is invited to participate in a 9/11 stair climb at McLane Stadium with Baylor’s Army ROTC. Participants can choose between 2,071 steps – the exact number first responders climbed when saving lives that day – or a shorter route. You are encouraged to sign up in advance.

Don’t forget our volleyball and soccer teams are both playing at home tonight. Volleyball’s home opener at the Ferrell Center begins at 6 p.m. against Northwestern, and soccer will face Texas at Betty Lou Mays Field at 7 p.m.

Linda A. Livingstone, Ph.D.
President

PHOTO OF THE WEEK

You are looking good, Class of 2029!