News

WACO, Texas (June 2, 2023) – Blasting off this summer is Baylor University’s STEM+ Camp Launch, designed for incoming fifth grade students from three Transformation Waco schools. Sponsored by the Baylor School of Education, with collaboration from the School of Engineering and Computer Science and funding from Waco’s Cooper Foundation, the program consists of three one-week sessions, taking place June 5-23 at the Mayborn Museum.

WACO, Texas (June 1, 2023) – Baylor University today announced a $5 million gift from John and Helen Carona of Dallas, providing significant momentum and support for the renovation and construction of the Honors Residential College, as well as the University’s other major capital priorities through the Give Light Capital Fund.

WACO, Texas (May 31, 2023) – Baylor University will join City of Waco and McLennan County partners – in cooperation with the Waco/McLennan County Office of Emergency Management – to conduct a regular test of outdoor tornado sirens, beginning at 10 a.m. Friday, June 2.

WACO, Texas (May 31, 2023) – For the second year in a row, Baylor University has been named among the nation’s top 10 Most Trusted Universities, according to global research firm Morning Consult as part of its Most Trusted Brands project, the definitive measure of consumer brand trust across industries, including higher education.

WACO, Texas (May 30, 2023) – Baylor University’s Department of Religion has announced that Ba Wool (Paul) Kim has been named the recipient of the 2023 Robert L. Gilbert Scholar in Religion Graduate Stipend. Kim has been accepted to the University’s Ph.D. program in religion with a concentration in Old Testament studies.

WACO, Texas (May 24, 2023) – As families prepare to travel to grandma’s house over the summer or gather with extended family at reunions, we often are regaled with tales about an older relative’s fascinating life story or their firsthand experience as an eyewitness to history. So how do you capture and preserve those precious memories?

WACO, Texas (May 23, 2023)  – The U.S. Department of Agriculture has awarded $7.2 million to the Baylor Collaborative on Hunger and Poverty to operate its innovative Meals-to-You summer meals program for a fifth summer.

WACO, Texas (May 22, 2023) – Baylor University today announced the addition of two American black bear cubs to the Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA)-accredited Bill and Eva Williams Bear Habitat. The cubs, named Judge Indy and Judge Belle, will join the Baylor Family in the on-campus habitat as early as mid-summer.

WACO, Texas (May 21, 2023) – Baylor University researchers and faculty experts were featured in national and local media stories about the efficacy of hypnosis, college students and their need for sleep and the Baylor Board of Regents May meeting.   

WACO, Texas (May 19, 2023) – During its regular May meeting, the Baylor University Board of Regents elected new leadership and approved the 2023-2024 operating budget, three renovation projects and two new degree programs – a Master’s degree in Physician Assistant Studies and a Bachelor of Science/Master of Science degree in Biology of Global Health.

Baylor sleep researcher Michael K. Scullin, Ph.D., associate professor of psychology and neuroscience, and Blake Barley, doctoral candidate in psychology in Scullin’s sleep lab, examined how institutional factors, biological factors and behavioral choices play a role in sleep problems for college students and if chronotypes may more malleable than current theories suggest.

WACO, Texas (May 16, 2023) – For most of U.S. history, tattoos have been associated with sailors and bikers, but not church-going people. As tattoos have become more popular, with nearly one-third of U.S. adults sporting at least one tattoo, religious-themed tattoos have also increased. A recent study examined the behaviors of college students with tattoos, including religious tattoos.

Baylor University researcher Jay Yoo, Ph.D., associate professor of apparel merchandising in Baylor’s Robbins College of Health and Human Sciences, found that the social and cultural influences on the desirability of tanning – which has been associated with good health and an active lifestyle since the 1920s – is often stronger than the dangers of harmful UV exposure.

WACO, Texas (May 14, 2023) – Baylor University researchers and faculty experts shared their thoughts and expertise with various media outlets on the effect of Instagram and TikTok on psychological well-being, a new study that provides insight into community dynamics during once-in-a-century pandemic and remembering how the 1953 Waco tornado changed the landscape of downtown.

WACO, Texas (May 9, 2023) – Twelve Baylor University professors have been honored with Outstanding Faculty Awards for teaching, scholarship and contributions to the academic community for the 2022-2023 academic year.

WACO, Texas (May 8, 2023) – The Texas Historical Commission (THC) has awarded the Baylor University Institute for Oral History (BUIOH) with the Governor’s Award for Historic Preservation, the highest honor in Texas in the field of historic preservation.

WACO, Texas (May 7, 2023) – Baylor University researchers and faculty experts shared their thoughts and expertise with various media outlets on the relationship between anxiety and autonomic blood pressure regulation, expanding SNAP benefits for online purchases and a new exhibit at Baylor’s Martin Museum of Art, featuring selections from the Jessica and Kelvin Beachum Family Collection.

WACO, Texas (May 4, 2023) – Baylor University today announced a $1.5 million gift from Charlie and Cindy Fuller of Woodway, Texas, and their family, establishing an endowed faculty chair position to support innovative research and teaching within the Diana R. Garland School of Social Work.

WACO, Texas (May 4, 2023) – ***POSTPONED*** Baylor University will join City of Waco and McLennan County partners – in cooperation with the Waco/McLennan County Office of Emergency Management – to conduct a regular test of outdoor tornado sirens, beginning at 10 a.m. Friday, May 5.

WACO, Texas (May 3, 2023) – Baylor University today announced a $1.5 million challenge grant from the J.E. & L.E. Mabee Foundation of Midland, Texas, providing significant momentum and support for the renovation and construction of the Honors Residential College. The grant will fund a significant portion of the more than $7 million needed in philanthropic support to complete the project, one of many capital projects funded through the Give Light campaign.

WACO, Texas (May 3, 2023) – Noted Baylor University smartphone researchers Meredith E. David, Ph.D., Associate Professor of Marketing, and James A. Roberts, Ph.D., The Ben H. Williams Professor of Marketing in the Hankamer School of Business, have investigated the correlation between the “flow states” – or happiness experienced by individuals – while using Instagram and TikTok and psychological well-being.

WACO, Texas (May 2, 2023) – Andrea L. Dixon, Ph.D., The Frank M. And Floy Smith Holloway Professor in Marketing and executive director of the Center for Professional Selling at Baylor University’s Hankamer School of Business, has been honored as a Piper Professor of 2023 for the state of Texas by the Minnie Stevens Piper Foundation.

WACO, Texas (May 2, 2023) – Results from the Waco COVID Survey have provided needed insights into how the dynamics of COVID-19 transmission, health behaviors and COVID-19-related attitudes changed across the first two years of the pandemic in the McLennan County, Texas.

​WACO, Texas (May 1, 2023) – May 1 marks the 125th anniversary of the Battle of Manila Bay – the first battle of the Spanish-American War.  Baylor University military historian David A. Smith, Ph.D., senior lecturer in history, is the author of A New Force at Sea: George Dewey and the Rise of the American Navy, which tells the story of one of the most important officers in the U.S. Navy between the Civil War and World War II. 

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WACO, Texas (April 30, 2023) – Baylor University researchers and faculty experts were featured in national and local media stories as they shared their thoughts and expertise on a paradigm-shifting discovery about prehistoric Africa, what post-COVID demand at food banks says about the economy and how mental health impacts college golf coaches.

WACO, Texas (April 28, 2023) - Baylor University offices will close early at 3:30 p.m. today (Friday, April 28, 2023), and no classes will be held on campus after 3:30 p.m., due to severe weather predicted to move through the Waco area, including the Baylor campus, this afternoon and evening. The National Weather Service has placed Waco and McLennan County under a Tornado WATCH until 8 p.m., which includes the potential for tornados, large hail and damaging winds.

WACO, Texas (April 27, 2023) – An exhibit of selected works from the Jessica and Kelvin Beachum Family Collection, Narrative as Reality: Constructing an Identity, will be on display May 6 through Nov. 5 at Baylor’s Martin Museum of Art. 

WACO, Texas (April 26, 2023) – UPDATE: The National Weather Service has canceled the Tornado Watch at 8:58 p.m. CT. 

WACO, Texas (April 26, 2023) – Baylor University announced today that it has joined the Southwest Airlines® Destination 225° program, the airline’s pilot training program, as a university partner. The pathway program offers qualified collegiate aviators an opportunity to become a Southwest® First Officer.

WACO, Texas (April 25, 2023) – Josepha Mbouma, a first-year student at Baylor University’s  George W. Truett Theological Seminary and Baylor and Truett alumna Kingsley East Gibbs has been awarded Fellowships at Auschwitz for the Study of Professional Ethics (FASPE).  

Leading scholar on disability, faith and flourishing, Erik W. Carter, Ph.D., encourages churches to receive the gifts, friendship and faith of people with disabilities.

WACO, Texas (April 25, 2023) – Highlighted by the graduate entrepreneurship program breaking into the Top 10 nationally, several Baylor University graduate and professional programs were among those ranked in the 2024 Best Graduate Schools rankings, released today by U.S. News & World Report.

WACO, Texas (April 24, 2023) – Baylor University faculty members Julie deGraffenried, Ph.D., department chair and associate professor of history in the College of Arts & Sciences, and Karon LeCompte, Ph.D.,  associate professor of curriculum and instruction in the Baylor School of Education, have been selected to receive the 2023 Centennial Professor Awards for summer research projects.

WACO, Texas (April 24, 2023) – Baylor University students from across the disciplines have continued their strong momentum into the 2022-2023 academic year by receiving some of the most prestigious – and highly competitive – scholarships and fellowships at the national and international levels for public policy and diplomacy, critical language study, STEM research and more.

WACO, Texas (April 23, 2023) – Baylor University researchers and faculty experts were featured in national and local media stories as they shared their thoughts and expertise on the emotional and spiritual support provided to the City of West after a deadly fertilizer plant explosion 10 years ago, DNA replication and repair and its impact on human health and works by Black composers that span the 17th to 21st centuries.

WACO, Texas (April 19, 2023) – Baylor University is inviting students, alumni and all associated with the Baylor Family to join in celebrating the graduation of the University’s beloved American black bear, Lady, as she moves from the campus habitat to a private, auxiliary facility fully maintained by her Baylor Bear Habitat caregivers, staff and veterinary team.

WACO, Texas (April 19, 2023) –  Thomas D. McGrath, Ph.D., senior lecturer of chemistry and undergraduate program director in the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry at Baylor University, has been selected as the 2023 Collins Outstanding Professor, an honor voted on annually by the senior class.

WACO, Texas (April 18, 2023) – The Baylor University Counseling Center has been accredited by the International Accreditation of Counseling Services (IACS), the premier leader in setting the benchmark for the full range of professional counseling services on college and university campuses worldwide.

WACO, Texas (April 17, 2023) – Fast Fashion is the most popular trend in retail fashion today but has a devastating cost to the environment. Baylor fashion expert Jay Yoo, Ph.D., says consumers are learning more about the environmental impacts of fashion and searching for better options. 

WACO, Texas (April 17, 2023) – Richard Rankin Russell, Ph.D., professor of English and graduate program director of English at Baylor University,  was presented with the 2023 Cornelia Marschall Smith Professor of the Year at the annual Academic Honors Convocation on April 14.

WACO, Texas (April 16, 2023) – Baylor University researchers and faculty experts were featured in national and local media stories as they shared their thoughts and expertise on how ancient environments influenced the evolution of early apes in eastern Africa, how food is used in grieving rituals and how worship music is influenced by church organizations.

WACO, Texas (April 15, 2023) – Baylor University is mourning the passing of longtime University benefactor and dedicated alumnus William K. “Bill” Robbins of Houston. Bill is survived by his beloved wife, Mary Jo Robbins, with whom he shared a passionate love of Baylor and a deep commitment to its Christian mission.

WACO, Texas (April 13, 2023) – Something as simple as a grass can fundamentally change the understanding of life in the prehistoric world. A pair of studies funded by the National Science Foundation and published in the journal Science document the earliest evidence for locally abundant C4 grasses in eastern Africa and how C4 grasses and open habitats influenced early ape evolution.

WACO, Texas (April 12, 2023) – Baylor University Provost Nancy Brickhouse, Ph.D., announced today that Mikeal Parsons, Ph.D., professor and The Macon Chair in Religion at Baylor University, has been designated as Baylor’s inaugural University Distinguished Professor, the highest honor bestowed on Baylor faculty.

WACO, Texas (April 9, 2023) – Baylor University researchers and faculty experts were featured in national and local media stories as they shared their thoughts and expertise on an innovative treatment model for children with autism and their siblings, how smartphone usage impacts mental health and a pair of unusual ads about Jesus that aired during the Super Bowl.

WACO, Texas (April 7, 2023) – Baylor University’s Hillis Scholars Program, with support from the Career Center, will host Joseph P. Dervay, MD, MPH, MMS, a flight surgeon at the NASA Johnson Space Center, for a university-wide talk on the on- and off-Earth experiences, challenges and service of space and operational aerospace medicine at 5 p.m. Thursday, April 13, in Room 506 of the Cashion Academic Center.

WACO, Texas (April 4, 2023) – Before a celebratory crowd in front of the iconic Tidwell Bible Building, Baylor University today unveiled and dedicated statues honoring the University’s first Black graduates, the late Rev. Robert L. Gilbert, B.A. ’67, and Barbara A. Walker, B.A. ’67.

WACO, Texas (April 4, 2023) – Baylor University's collegiate recovery program, Beauchamp Addiction Recovery Center, known as BARC, is celebrating National Collegiate Recovery Week and National Collegiate Recovery Day with a line-up of engaging activities for students April 11-15, including daily lunches, games, puppy therapy and a formal dance.

WACO, Texas (April 3, 2023) – Following a six-month internal candidate search, Baylor University Provost Nancy Brickhouse, Ph.D., announced today that DeAnna Toten Beard, M.F.A., Ph.D., chair of the Department of Theatre Arts and professor of theatre history and dramaturgy, has been selected as vice provost for faculty affairs, effective July 1, 2023.

WACO, Texas (April 2, 2023) – Baylor University researchers and faculty experts were featured in national and local media stories as they shared their thoughts and expertise on the Silicon Valley Bank collapse, human flourishing and its real-world applications for well-being, and Graduate Student Appreciation Week, which shines a light on how graduate students impact teaching, research and scholarship.