Presidential Perspective - Sept. 10, 2026

Baylor Students, Faculty, Staff and Parents:

The first home game of the 2026 Baylor football season is upon us, and I know the Baylor Family will fill the stands at McLane Stadium on Saturday night against defending SWAC Champion Prairie View A&M. It’s 254 Night, and I am looking forward to seeing and hearing you cheer on our team. Besides the game, I can’t wait to watch our freshmen run the Baylor Line for the first time, showcasing the “Best Walk-Out Tradition in College Sports.”

There’s even more to be excited about this year as the Fan First Era begins. Concession pricing has been lowered to make game day more affordable, and the Backyard tailgating experience will be festive and high-energy. Plus, there’s a free concert before every home game, starting this weekend with Suede in the Backyard tailgate area at Touchdown Alley. There’s so much to see and do on Saturdays at McLane.

Students, there’s something special for you there this Friday as well. Beginning at 7 p.m. at the stadium, all first-year and transfer students can sign the actual Baylor Line and be a part of the official class picture. Don’t forget to wear your Line jersey!

Here are a few updates for this week:

• SEPTEMBER 11 REMEMBRANCE: Each year Baylor honors those who lost their lives during the September 11 terrorist attacks, and we will do so again on this 25th anniversary of the tragedy. The Army ROTC 9/11 stair climb at McLane Stadium begins at 6 a.m. on Friday, and the campus community is invited to a brief gathering at the flagpole at Pat Neff Hall on Friday at 9:30 a.m. We will also hold the annual McLane Carillon Memorial Recital, beginning at 12:15 p.m. that afternoon. Finally, beginning at sundown tonight, the lights of Pat Neff, Mark and Paula Hurd Welcome Center and Rosenbalm Fountain will be lit red, white and blue as we remember and pray for our nation.
• STUDENTS AND SLEEP: New research from Baylor sleep expert Dr. Michael Scullin and Dr. Jason Carter, Dean of the Robbins College of Health and Human Sciences, finds that students today get a lot less sleep than their peers from just a few decades ago. Using data from the American College Health Association, the researchers found that 60% of college students report feeling rested only two days a week. Such insufficient sleep has negative consequences for mental health, academic success and long-term wellbeing. So, students, while we encourage you to pursue excellence in all you do, we also want you to adopt healthy sleep habits as a foundational component of flourishing, learning and engaging fully in campus life at Baylor.
• TEMPLETON FOUNDATION AWARD: Baylor’s Hankamer School of Business and the Spurlock Judicial Fund have received a $1.2 million grant from the John Templeton Foundation to strengthen judicial virtue and ethical leadership in Mongolia. Working with the Mongolian Judicial Association and the Lawyer Support Center, the three-year initiative will engage approximately 500 judges and attorneys while providing international experiences for more than three dozen Baylor students. It will be one of the most comprehensive studies of virtue development within the legal profession, examining how participation influences ethical reasoning, professional identity and judicial decision-making. This project is yet another demonstration of Pro Mundo (For the World) in action.
• VOTER REGISTRATION DAY: Tuesday, Sept. 15 is National Voter Registration Day, and Baylor students, faculty and staff will again have an opportunity to register to vote at locations across campus. Planned registration sites include the SUB, Moody Memorial Library and the Penland lobby, among others. I am grateful for the ongoing work of the Baylor Ambassadors and Student Government in organizing this important effort for the campus community. Although we are in the middle of another contentious election season, at Baylor we will engage with one another respectfully and without hostility. We will be a marketplace of ideas and open dialogue that meets or exceeds the expectations for our caring Christian community now and in the months to come.

It was great to see so many of you at this week’s faculty and staff meetings. Both events were recorded, and I encourage you to watch the videos on demand when they are available on the Provost’s website and the HR website, respectively.

Linda A. Livingstone, Ph.D.
President

PHOTO OF THE WEEK