Baylor in the News – June 4-10, 2023

Contact: Baylor University Media & Public Relations, 254-710-1961
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WACO, Texas (June 11, 2023) – Baylor University researchers and faculty experts were featured in national and local media stories about the use of artificial intelligence to help people interact with a loved one after death, engaging fifth graders in STEM to spark the next generation of scientists and the connection between baseball and spirituality.

June 4, 2023

Get Religion: World watches as Sufi singer awaits death in Nigeria – for lyrics said to be 'blasphemy'

Paul Marshall, research professor in political science and The Jerry and Susie Wilson Chair in Religious Freedom at Baylor’s Institute for Studies of Religion, is quoted in the article about Sufi Muslim singer Yahaya Sharif-Aminu, who is accused in Nigeria of circulating social-media messages containing lyrics they said attacked the Prophet Muhammad.

June 6, 2023

Newswise: Baylor Chemist-led Study Leads to Scientific Journals Changing Guidelines

Caleb Martin, Ph.D., associate professor of chemistry and biochemistry at Baylor, and a team of international researchers set out in 2022 to determine first-ever challenge of elemental analysis validity, which has sparked conversations among journal editors and chemists about reevaluating this current threshold. This research also was covered by Phys.org.

Waco Tribune-Herald: Historic Waco church building on the market for $1.5 million

Kenneth Hafertepe, Ph.D., professor and chair of museum studies at Baylor, is quoted in this article about a historic Waco church built in 1921 that is now for sale at $1.5 million. The church is among those featured in the Mayborn Museum’s new “Waco’s Historic Houses of Worship” exhibit, drawn largely from Haftertepe’s upcoming book, “Historic Buildings of Waco, Texas.”

WGLT-FM (NPR/Bloomington, IN): When pastors stray: Eastview not the only congregation to face ethics crisis

AUDIO: Robert Creech, Ph.D., retired professor of pastoral leadership at Baylor’s Truett Seminary and author of the book, “Ethics for Christian Ministry: Moral Formation for 21st Century Leaders,” is quoted in this story about church congregations facing a top-level ethics crisis.

Politifact: The average amount of assistance for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program is $6 a day.

Craig Gundersen, Ph.D., professor of economics and The Snee Family Endowed Chair at the Baylor Collaborative on Hunger and Poverty, is cited as an expert source on food insecurity and food assistance programs for this fact check of a statement on SNAP by a U.S. Representative.

June 7, 2023

Agence France-Presse (AFP): AI chatbots offer comfort to the bereaved

Candi Cann, Ph.D., associate professor of religion at Baylor’s Honors College whose research focuses on death, dying and grief, is quoted in this article about new technologies using artificial intelligence to help people interact with a loved one after death. This article was picked up worldwide by more than 100 media outlets.

Baptist Standard: Joel Gregory: Steps Back Home

VIDEO: This Baptists Preaching column features a sermon on James 4:6-10 preached May 21, 2023, at Second Baptist Church in Little Rock, Ark., by Joel Gregory, Ph.D., The George W. Truett Endowed Chair in Preaching and Evangelism and director of the Kyle Lake Center for Effective Preaching at Baylor’s Truett Seminary.

Baptist Standard: Around the State

Baylor University announced a $5 million gift from John and Helen Carona of Dallas, providing support for the renovation and construction of the Honors Residential College, as well as other major capital priorities through the Give Light Capital Fund.

KWKT-TV (FOX/Waco): EV charging station coming to Baylor

An EV charging station will be coming to Baylor University. The campus’ “flagship” station will be installed at the new Mark and Paula Hurd Welcome Center in time for its grand opening in September.

June 8, 2023

The Conversation: Pat Robertson’s lasting influence on American politics: 3 essential reads

The Conversation highlights three articles from its archive that explain Pat Robertson’s influence in blending religion into U.S. politics, including Baylor Honors College faculty member Samuel P. Perry, Ph.D., associate professor of communication in the BIC, who wrote in January 2021 that Robertson’s blend of politics and religion may not necessarily contribute to Christian nationalism, but “it does contribute to conflating Christian identity with American identity.”

June 9, 2023

Baylor Connections: Dakota Farquhar-Caddell

AUDIO: This spring, Baylor announced the upcoming addition of two bear cubs to campus—Judge Indy and Judge Belle, American black bear cubs who will make campus their home in the weeks ahead. Dakota Farquhar-Caddell, associate director of student activities and the Robert Reid Director of the Baylor Chamber of Commerce, oversees the Baylor Bear program. In this Connections, he takes listeners inside the process to find Indy and Belle, shares insights into their personalities and highlights Baylor’s care for Lady as she graduates from campus to her new Baylor home.

Waco Tribune-Herald: Baylor camp engages Transformation Waco fifth graders as scientists

The Baylor University School of Education kicked off its new program STEM+ Camp Launch this week for Transformation Waco fifth graders. Co-founders and co-directors Sandi Cooper, Ph.D., and Suzanne Nesmith, Ph.D., curriculum and instruction faculty members at Baylor, were interviewed.

June 10, 2023

The Dallas Morning News: In celebration of the spirituality of baseball

Robert Darden, lifelong baseball fan and Emeritus Professor of journalism, public relations & new media at Baylor, writes about a certain kind of spirituality that is unique to baseball.

Waco Tribune-Herald: Hundreds of Catholics walk downtown Waco in Eucharistic revival

Michael Foley, Ph.D., professor of patristics in the Great Texts program within Baylor’s Honors Colleges, is quoted in this article about the Feast of Corpus Christi procession, a small step in a larger national movement of Eucharistic revival in the Catholic Church.

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.

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 100 countries to study a broad range of degrees among its 12 nationally recognized academic divisions.