Baylor in the News – Jan. 28-Feb. 3, 2024

Contact: Baylor University Media & Public Relations, 254-710-1961
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WACO, Texas (Feb. 4, 2024) – Baylor University researchers and faculty experts were featured in national and local media stories about conversations around politics that reflect on civility and its place within political discourse, church foundation stones that tell a mostly forgotten story of religious and ethnic history and how governments decide “proportional responses” when responding to deadly attacks.

Jan. 29, 2024

Good Faith Media: Baylor University Hosts Conversation on Faith and Politics

Baylor President Linda A. Livingstone, Ph.D., moderated a panel discussion on faith and politics with thought leaders working to increase civil discourse around the country: Curtis Chang, executive director of Redeeming Babel and a consulting professor at Duke Divinity School; Justin Giboney, president of the AND Campaign; and Kaitlyn Schiess, author, co-host of the Holy Post podcast and a theology doctoral student.

Southeast Texas Record: Baylor Law Announces the Winners of The Closer 2024 Transactional Law Competition

Now in its eighth consecutive year, The Closer Transactional Law Competition, organized by the Baylor Law School, is an innovative, invitation-only transactional law competition showcasing the best and brightest law students from institutions committed to excellence in practical transactional law training. Professor of Law Beth Miller, B.A. ‘82, J.D. ‘85,  The M. Stephen and Alyce A. Beard Chair in Business and Transactional Law, is quoted in the article.

Jan. 30, 2024

eCampus News Innovations in Education: How to Make Your Campus More Mobile AND Safer

AUDIO: Jon Allen, associate vice president, chief information officer and chief information security officer at Baylor, discusses how Baylor has enhanced the campus experience with NFC wallet-based mobile credentials, where students use a smartphone or watch to make purchases, access meal plans, attend events and open and close physical locks. The solution has enabled convenience and higher levels of security.

Jan. 31, 2024

Associated Press: Secret history: Even before the revolution, America was a nation of conspiracy theorists

Gordon Melton, Ph.D., retired Distinguished Professor of American Religious History in Baylor’s Institute for Studies of Religion and an expert on the mid-19^th century Millerites, is quoted in the article about how conspiracy theories have served as dark counterprogramming to the American story taught in history books.

Feb. 1, 2024

The Christian Century: A landscape of lost denominations

Philip Jenkins, Ph.D., Distinguished Professor of History and director of the Program on Historical Studies of Religion at Baylor’s Institute for Studies of Religion, writes about how foundation stones in U.S. churches tell a mostly forgotten story of religious and ethnic history.

Feb. 2, 2024

Baylor Connections: Juliana Smith

AUDIO: How does Baylor create spiritual growth opportunities for hundreds of student-athletes? As the first Executive Senior Associate Athletics director for Mission Impact & Enrichment in Baylor Athletics, Juliana Smith works to serve students and equip colleagues to enhance this foundational goal. In this Baylor Connections, Smith explains the heart behind her newly created position and the vision to meet student-athletes wherever they are to share the Gospel and promote spiritual growth.

Voice of America: Issues in the News: Determining Proportional Responses Following Deadly Attacks

AUDIO: Baylor political science professor Peter Campbell, Ph.D., who studies international security including just war theory, joins Voice of America to discuss how leaders determine a proportional response to an attack that effectively responds but doesn’t unnecessarily escalate the situation.

Fatherly: Low Testosterone May Lead To Early Death. Here’s What That Means For You 

This article cites a 2022 research study by scientists at Baylor and the UT-San Antonio that found an association between low testosterone and early death. Lead author Michael Muehlenbein, Ph.D., a biological anthropologist studying evolutionary endocrinology at Baylor, is quoted that low testosterone may be a predictor of mortality in some cases, but the relationship is “not necessarily causal.”

The Lake News: Calvert City native wins 2024 Hatfield Prize

The Center for Public Justice (CPJ) has awarded its prestigious 2024 Hatfield Prize to Baylor University senior mechanical engineering major Jackson Boone from Calvert City, Kentucky, and Colby Humphrey, Ph.D., lecturer in political science. The pair will conduct research on social policy that impacts the well-being of vulnerable children, families and communities through a semester-long research project.

Religion News Service: Study: Spirituality boosts mental health during isolation and despair

Rebecca Bonhag, Ph.D., a post-doctoral researcher with Baylor’s Institute for Studies of Religion, and Matthew T. Lee, Ph.D., professor of the social sciences and humanities at ISR, were advisory group members for a new Fetzer Institute study that shows the positive effects of spiritual and religious engagement during COVID and similar times of challenge.

Feb. 3, 2024

KWTX-TV (CBS/Waco): Baylor football team shows support during annual No limitations Super Bowl

VIDEO: Members of the Baylor football team cheered on athletes with No Limitations Waco during the nonprofit’s annual Super Bowl. No Limitations Waco provides opportunities for people with special needs in Central Texas. “Just to be able to be out here and love them and celebrate them, the joy that they experience,” said Baylor safety Caleb Parker.

 Waco Tribune-Herald: Waco mock trial competition lets students build skills in law, beyond 

Baylor Law School was the site of a regional high school mock trial competition, with the winner advancing to the state competition in Dallas. Baylor Law students and working local judges served as the competition’s judges.

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.