Baylor in the News – Jan. 15-21, 2023

Media Contact: Baylor University Media and Public Relations, 254-710-1961
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WACO, Texas (Jan. 22, 2023) – Baylor University researchers and faculty experts were featured in national and local media stories as they shared their thoughts and expertise on NASA-funded Baylor research on the Moon’s “weird” volcanoes, the impact of catchy tunes or “earworms” on falling asleep, a color imaging system revolutionizing TV, cinema and storytelling through vibrant colors never seen before and the need for schools to fully use the skills of school psychologists.

Jan. 15, 2023

Providence: “Hate Speech” and Blasphemy
Paul Marshall, Wilson Professor of Religious Freedom at Baylor, writes about the growing international effort to resist punitive restrictions on blasphemy and apostasy, which occur mostly but not exclusively in Muslim-majority countries.

Jan. 17, 2023

KCEN-TV (NBC/Waco): Baylor University uses Grubhub-linked food delivery robots around campus
VIDEO: Baylor University has officially released 20 robots and they're currently rolling around campus as part of a new food delivery partnership between Baylor Dining, Starship Technologies and Grubhub.

Jan. 18, 2023

KWTX-TV (CBS/Waco): Baylor research group receives $260,000 grant from NASA to research volcanoes on the moon
VIDEO: Baylor’s Planetary Research Group’s $260,000 grant from NASA is assisting Baylor research about the light-colored volcanoes on the moon that will determine what the rocks are made of for future missions to the moon. Sophomore Allie North is one of the lead researchers along with planetary geophysicist Peter James, Ph.D.

KXXV-TV (ABC/Waco): Tru Jamaica reopens as temporary food truck on Baylor campus after fire
VIDEO: After a fire destroyed Tru Jamaica in December, the restaurant officially reopened as a food truck on the Baylor campus this week. While the restaurant works to rebuild, its return is a collaboration with Baylor Dining, as well as a truck donation from Di Campli's Italian restaurant in Waco.

KXXV-TV (ABC/Waco): Week of service aims to end human trafficking in Waco
VIDEO: Baylor students are teaming up with Unbound Waco to assist in efforts to stop human trafficking. As part of an MLK week of service project, junior Cate Urbani Urbani organized a weeklong service project to collect items like blankets, toiletries and clothing to put in a survivor kit for victims getting help from Unbound Waco.

ZME Science: Music to sleep by: what makes some songs sleepy?
Listening to music before bed can sometimes backfire, causing dreaded ‘earworms’ — catchy songs that are stuck playing inside your head even hours after you listened to them. Neuroscientists at Baylor University found people who experience one or more earworms per week at night were six times more likely to report poor sleep quality compared to those who rarely experienced earworms.

Becker’s ASC Review: ASC market could still see growth despite ongoing staffing issues
Staffing shortages remain a top priority for ambulatory surgery centers (ASC) administrators, but some healthcare leaders believe the ASC market can still thrive under the pressure. Michael Richards, M.D., Ph.D., The Ben H. Williams Professor of Economics at Baylor, believes “2023 will be another year of increasing consolidation within the ASC space. Care will continue to shift out of the hospital, and ASCs will benefit from that.”

The Christian Century: Giving disappointment its due
Jonathan Tran, Ph.D., The George W. Baines Professor of Religion, associate professor of Great Texts and associate dean in the Honors College at Baylor, writes about when some of our dreams aren’t fulfilled, it may be a mercy, but that’s no consolation.

City and State NY: Opinion: Casinos will do more harm than good in NYC
This opinion piece about a proposed Times Square casino cites research by Baylor economist Earl Grinols, Ph.D, who found that the social costs of casinos are three times higher than casino benefits.

Jan. 19, 2023

Religion News Service: At Boston-area church, a theology lab tackles complex topics with humility, curiosity
Baylor history professor and associate dean Beth Allison Barr, Ph.D., is an upcoming speaker for an online theology lab run by Highrock Church, a multiethnic congregation that’s part of a network of churches in the Boston area that bear the same name. The lab is a series of online discussions to give church members — and other interested Christians — a broader understanding of their faith and the way Christianity is lived out in the world.

KWTX-TV (CBS/Waco): Central Texas colleges and universities respond to nationwide TikTok concerns
In a statement about TikTok being banned or blocked on government-owned or issued devices and networks, Baylor joins” many higher education institutions across the country continuing to monitor the situation involving TikTok very closely… It’s important to note that any decision would be one not taken lightly.”

Christianity Today: What You May Be Getting Wrong About Biblical Womanhood
AUDIO: In her “Viral Jesus” podcast, Andrews University communication professor and author Heather Thompson Day interviews Baylor history professor Beth Allison Barr, Ph.D., whose bestselling book “The Making of Biblical Womanhood” has stirred fierce debates on social media about women in the church, but she hopes it also will motivate us to give our Bibles a closer read.

KRIV-TV (FOX/Houston): Your screens may get more colorful soon
VIDEO: Baylor professors Corey Carbonara, Ph.D., and Michael Korpi, Ph.D., students and alumni at Baylor have created a color imaging system called 6P Color Inc. that is revolutionizing TV, cinema and storytelling through vibrant colors never been able to see on air before.

CNHI News: Texas lawmakers to revisit redistricting, but experts predict no significant changes
The Texas Senate will take up redistricting once again next week, but experts said they believe it will result in no change. The Senate will hold four days of public testimony on the 2021 lines, but Pat Flavin, Ph.D., The Bob Bullock Professor of Political Science at Baylor, said he does not expect “any substantive changes to come out of those.”

KWBU-FM (NPR/Waco): Business Review - I Can't Decide
AUDIO: Ashley Otto, Ph.D., assistant professor of marketing at Baylor, gives insight to decision making and the best way to help those who sidestep the process.

Jan. 20, 2023

Baylor Connections: Jason Cook
AUDIO: In the past year, Baylor has been named one of the nation’s 10 most trusted universities, was recognized among the country’s elite universities for teaching and research and has earned honors for excellence in numerous areas. There’s plenty of exciting news to share at Baylor and Jason Cook, vice president for marketing and communications, talks about the momentum at Baylor, branding the Big 12 and more on this Baylor Connections.

The Dallas Morning News:
In this column, Eric L. Robinson, Ph.D., associate professor of educational psychology at Baylor, writes about how school districts are not hiring enough school psychologists and also not taking advantage of psychologists’ skills. Baylor School of Education has a National Association of School Psychologists-accredited school psychology program in Waco and Dallas.

Study Finds: Best Board Games For Adults: Top 5 Titles Most Recommended Across Expert Reviews
This article about the best board games for adults cites Baylor research by Karen Melton, Ph.D., associate professor of child and family studies at Baylor, who found that couples who play board games or take an art class together experience a high from oxytocin, the so-called “love hormone,” through these activities.

The Chronicle of Higher Education: Transitions: Texas Christian U. Names New President; U. of Nebraska at Lincoln President to Retire
Daniel J. Pack, Ph.D., dean of the College of Engineering and Computer Science at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga, has been named dean of the School of Engineering and Computer Science at Baylor University, in Texas.

Diverse Issues in Higher Education: On the Move: Torie A. Johnson
Torie A. Johnson has been named associate vice president for strategic communications and initiatives at Baylor University in Waco, Texas. She served as the associate commissioner for academic relations for the Southeastern Conference.

News9 (India): US universities in India not to face infrastructural issues: Baylor univ official to News9
Anis Qourzal, senior director of international admissions at Baylor, is quoted in this article about how foreign universities setting up campuses in India will look towards improving quality of education and give aspirants exposure to world-class learning in their home country.

News9 (India): Glad to have IITs, IIMs in United States: Baylor University Official to News9
Anis Qourzal, senior director of international admissions at Baylor, is quoted in this article about Indian institutes setting up campuses in USA as “a great development” that “will strengthen the Indo-USA relationships.”

Jan. 21, 2023

The Guardian: A rare glimpse inside Britain’s secret vault of whale skeletons
This article about the Natural History Museum’s legendary cetacean collection of bones of 6,000 whales, dolphins and porpoises cites groundbreaking Baylor research on whale earwax plugs. Through studying this earwax, researchers discovered persistent chemical pollutants and the stress hormone cortisol to reveal how, between 1870 and 2016, human activities from commercial whaling, war, industrial pollution and shipping noise, caused physical stress responses in whales.

Waco Tribune-Herald: Tiny fossils at Waco mammoth site may help fill in bigger prehistoric picture
A 1-millimeter fish vertebra and a slightly longer, unidentified bone recently found at the Waco Mammoth National Monument will tell researchers more about the area’s ecosystem during the lives of the Columbian mammoths whose remains were found there. It’s part of the Turtle Bluff Project, a research effort with support from students at Baylor, McLennan Community College and other schools.

Forbes+: Spotify Sleep Playlists Include Some Surprisingly Upbeat Music
This article about music playlists to help people fall asleep cites a 2021 study by Baylor sleep researcher Michael Scullin, Ph.D., who found that musical “earworms” made people wake up at night from having a song stuck in their head. Scullin said, “Almost everyone thought music improves their sleep, but we found those who listened to more music slept worse.”

ABOUT BAYLOR MEDIA & PUBLIC RELATIONS

Baylor's Office of Media and Public Relations (M&PR) supports the University's Illuminate strategic plan as a top Christian research university by focusing on faculty research and expert opinions, innovative teaching, major awards and recognition, and community involvement. Through its media training workshops, the Baylor M&PR team develops faculty experts to effectively communicate the impact of their research or speak as subject-matter experts into national trends and conversations with media outlets, through Hot Topics and on the Baylor Connections podcast. Our faculty expert directory is available on the M&PR website at www.baylor.edu/news/experts.

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 20,000 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.