Baylor Faculty Appear Among Top 2% of World’s Most Cited Researchers

Contact: Lori Fogleman, Baylor University Media & Public Relations, 254-709-5959
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By Derek Smith, Baylor University Marketing & Communications

WACO, Texas (June 15, 2023) – Baylor University is well-represented on a prestigious list compiling the top most-cited researchers in the world. In a database compiled by Stanford University, 36 current or retired Baylor faculty members appear among the top 2% of the most-cited researchers across 22 disciplines.

Citations are a measure of the impact of faculty research. For researchers, publishing their work in a peer-reviewed, scholarly journal is a key step in getting their research out for other scholars to share and to benefit the public. Once research is in a journal, the next step in extending that work is when other scholars cite that work, meaning they view it as important to understanding their own research or to serve as a foundation on which to springboard further work.

Baylor University’s Illuminate strategic plan cast a vision for research at an R1 Christian research university marked by “quality, visibility and impact.” Journal publication and further citations live out that pursuit. Publication advances professors’ work from the lab or the office to the world at large—a sign of quality, a platform for visibility and the potential for further impact. In that realm, numerous Baylor faculty are among the world’s elite.

“Being cited is a sign that your work matters to a community of scholars and leaders beyond Baylor,” Provost Nancy Brickhouse, Ph.D., said. “It means your work is significant, credible and influencing the work of others.”

The database, available through the Elsevier Data Repository, was compiled by Stanford faculty members Jeroen Baas, Kevin Boyack and John P.A. Ioannidis. A database listing means the faculty member met a variety of metrics that place him or her among the top 2% of researcher citations.

In a Fall 2022 update to the list, the following Baylor faculty members (current and retired, as noted and in alphabetical order) appeared:

• Robert P. Adams, Ph.D., Retired Biology Research Professor
• Emmanuel Agamloh, Ph.D., Associate Professor of Electrical Engineering
• Alexander Beaujean, Ph.D., Professor of Psychology
• Matt Bradshaw, Ph.D., Retired Sociology Faculty, Baylor Institute for Studies of Religion
• Bryan W. Brooks, Ph.D., Distinguished Professor of Environmental Science and Biomedical Studies
• Dawn Carlson, Ph.D., H.R. Gibson Chair of Organizational Development-Management
• Thomas A. Fergus, Ph.D., Associate Professor of Psychology
• Paul Froese, Ph.D., Professor of Sociology
• Fritz Gesztesy, Ph.D., Ralph and Jean Storm Professor of Mathematics
• Craig Gundersen, Ph.D., Snee Family Endowed Chair, Baylor Collaborative on Hunger and Poverty
• Greg Hamerly, Ph.D., Associate Professor of Computer Science
• Johnny Henderson, Ph.D., Distinguished Professor of Mathematics
• Johnathan Hu, Ph.D., Associate Professor of Engineering
• Peter Klein, Ph.D., W.W. Caruth Endowed Chair of Entrepreneurship and Corporate Innovation
• Kwang Lee, Ph.D., Chair and Professor, Electrical and Computer Engineering
• Dorothy E. Leidner, Ph.D., Professor Emeritus, Information Systems
• Jeff Levin, Ph.D., University Professor of Epidemiology and Population Health, Professor of Medical Humanities
• Christine Limbers, Ph.D., Associate Professor of Psychology
• James A. Marcum, Ph.D., Professor of Philosophy
• Michael Muehlenbein, Ph.D., Professor and Chair, Anthropology
• Jerry Park, Ph.D., Associate Professor of Sociology
• R. Jason Pitts, Ph.D., Assistant Professor of Biology
• James Roberts, Ph.D., Professor of Marketing
• Robert C. Roberts, Ph.D., Retired Resident Scholar, Baylor Institute for Studies of Religion
• Christie Sayes, Ph.D., Associate Professor of Environmental Science
• Michael Scullin, Ph.D., Associate Professor of Psychology and Neuroscience
• Rodney Stark, Ph.D., Retired Distinguished Professor of the Social Sciences
• Rod X. Sturdivant, Ph.D., Associate Professor of Statistical Science
• S. Kay Toombs, Ph.D., Professor Emeritus of Philosophy
• Jo-Ann Tsang, Ph.D., Associate Professor of Psychology
• Annette von Jouanne, Ph.D., Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering
• Kirk Wakefield, Ph.D., Edwin W. Streetman Professorship in Retail Marketing
• Anzhong Wang, Ph.D., Professor of Physics
• Marley W. Watkins, Ph.D., Research Professor, Educational Psychology
• Robert Woodberry, Ph.D., Research Associate Professor, Baylor Institute for Studies of Religion
• Bernd Zechmann, Ph.D., Director of the Center for Microscopy and Imaging 

Citations are a measure to discern the impact of faculty research, although, as the database compilers note, failure to appear in the database “does not mean that the author does not do good work…We alert users that all citation metrics have limitations and their use should be tempered and judicious.”

While far from the only mark of researcher quality and impact, the citations database remains a milestone to celebrate.

“To be among the top 2% of cited researchers in a discipline signifies that you have been involved in work that contributed foundational, if not transformational, knowledge to a given field,” Vice Provost for Research Kevin Chambliss, Ph.D., said. “The more faculty we have on the list, the more ‘seats’ Baylor will occupy ‘at the tables’ where these topics are discussed. This is one of the most important ways that Baylor research can influence national and international conversations and have a positive impact on the world.”

ABOUT BAYLOR UNIVERSITY

Baylor University is a private Christian University and a nationally ranked Research 1 institution. The University provides a vibrant campus community for more than 18,000 students by blending interdisciplinary research with an international reputation for educational excellence and a faculty commitment to teaching and scholarship. Chartered in 1845 by the Republic of Texas through the efforts of Baptist pioneers, Baylor is the oldest continually operating University in Texas. Located in Waco, Baylor welcomes students from all 50 states and more than 90 countries to study a broad range of degrees among its 12 nationally recognized academic divisions.