Baylor in the News – Feb. 16-March 1, 2025

Contact: Baylor University Media & Public Relations, 254-710-1961
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Note: The opinions expressed in these articles do not necessarily reflect those of the University.

Baylor University’s Black Gospel Archive continues to raise its national profile through high-level media coverage, including NPR’s All Things Considered and CBS News Texas, while Baylor faculty experts discuss the implications of daylight savings time on health policy and medical practice, future possibilities for wireless communications and AI in the classroom. 

Featured News

NPR All Things Considered: Black Gospel Archive fills gaps in gospel music history

AUDIO: NPR puts the spotlight on Baylor University's Black Gospel Archive, which has collected and digitized more than 60,000 gospel songs over more than two decades, making it one of the largest digital gospel collections in the world. Gospel scholar and BGA co-founder Robert F. Darden, Professor Emeritus of Journalism, and BGA ambassador Stephen Newby, D.M.A., The Lev H. Prichard III Endowed Chair in the Study of Black Worship, are interviewed in this story about Baylor’s expanding archive that collects, preserves and make accessible Black sacred materials.

CBS News Texas: A look at the Black Gospel Archive at Baylor University

VIDEO: CBS News Texas highlights Baylor University’s Black Gospel Archive, which is dedicated to making available thousands of digitized Black gospel recordings. Reporter Ashley Moss interviewed Stephen Newby, D.M.A., The Lev H. Prichard III Endowed Chair in the Study of Black Worship and ambassador for the Black Gospel Music Preservation Program. Newby said the archive not only celebrates Black culture and preserves a legacy, it is accomplishing a critical work – preserving thousands of gospel records and the history of the highly influential musical genre.

National/International

American Academy of Sleep Medicine: The hidden costs of daylight saving time: Medical malpractice payments

Sleep researchers Chenlu​ Gao, Ph.D., and Michael K. Scullin, Ph.D., associate professor of psychology and neuroscience at Baylor, have studied whether mild sleep loss and circadian disruptions from daylight savings time were associated with medical malpractice incidents and perceptions of their severity with their findings having implications for health policy and medical practice while adding to the broader conversation on DST’s effects on health and safety.

Law360: US Lagging China In Spectrum Use, Experts Tell Senate

(Subscription required) Baylor’s Charles Baylis, Ph.D., director of the SMART Hub innovation center and professor of electrical and computer engineering, testified at a U.S. Senate committee hearing on spectrum technology, saying that the country faces a “national crisis” of spectrum availability with industry growth outpacing government action.

Jewish Sacred Aging: Measles? These days, why not?

As a measles outbreak continues to spread in West Texas, Jeff Levin, Ph.D., M.P.H., University Professor of Epidemiology and Population Health, professor of medical humanities, director of Program on Religion and Population Health at Baylor, laid out 10 ethical concepts in the Journal of Religion and Health derived from Jewish tradition pertaining to medicine, public health and personal responsibility. 

The Washington Times: U.S. evangelical ministry offers programs to improve prison systems worldwide

Researchers at Baylor’s Institute for Studies of Religion have teamed with Prison Fellowship International (PFI) to assess the impact of faith-based programs such as The Prisoner’s Journey and The Sycamore Tree Project on recidivism among their participants.

Daily Nous: Interdisciplinary Study of the Virtue of Patience Launched with $4.71M Grant

Baylor University interdisciplinary researchers will begin a project funded by a $4.71 million grant from Temple Religion Trust called “Patience in Adversity,” including a longitudinal study that will collect data from different populations who face adverse circumstances: parents of adolescents with disabilities, Muslim-American parents of adolescents, and parents of adolescents in a diverse sample in Southern California.

Follett: Redefining the Campus Store Experience: Insights from Baylor, Houston, and Miami

Baylor’s Jason Cook, Vice President for Marketing and Communications and Chief Marketing Officer, shares his insight on creating a destination of school pride and connection with the Spirit Shop at Baylor. “We knew we had to create something that reflected the investment families make when they choose Baylor,” Cook said.

Local/Regional

Waco Tribune-Herald: Retiring Baylor Chaplain Burt Burleson adapted ministry to meet changing student body over 18 years

Baylor University Chaplain Burt Burleson, D.Min., will step down at the end of the spring semester, closing nearly two decades of faith-driven work to enrich, awaken and, in some cases, heal the spiritual dimension of students' lives.

Waco Tribune-Herald: Baylor's Men's Choir celebrates quarter-century under director

Fans of the Baylor University's Men's Choir will get an amplified experience of it this Sunday when the choir and its alumni – some 200 strong – will celebrate 25 years with director Randall Bradley, D.M.A., a church music professor and director of Baylor's Church Music Program and Dunn Center for Christian Music Studies, who plans to retire at the end of the spring semester.

KWBU-FM (Waco/NPR): Supreme Court of Texas holds session at Baylor University

The Supreme Court of Texas held a session at Baylor Law School to give law students and members of the public the opportunity to hear oral arguments in two cases. After the cases were heard, the court opened up a brief question-and-answer segment for the audience.

KWKT-TV (Waco/FOX): Black History Month: Big Dreams of Writing Books

VIDEO: FOX44 News highlights Mia Moody, Ph.D., chair and professor of journalism, public relations and new media at Baylor, who always wanted to be a journalist with a bigger dream of writing books. A former newspaper reporter, she has published four books from her research about race, gender, religion and mass media.

KWTX-TV (Waco/CBS): How Central Texas universities and school districts are now bringing AI into the classroom

VIDEO: More Texas universities and schools are now bringing AI into the classroom, including Alec Tefertiller, Ph.D., assistant professor of journalism, public relations and new media at Baylor, who will be teaching a new course that shows students how to use AI.

KXXV-TV (Waco/ABC): 'Teaching is my passion': Robinson ISD hires Baylor teacher resident full-time

VIDEO: This story about Baylor’s teaching residency program features Baylor senior Miranda Morris, who spends Monday through Thursday working alongside a teacher mentor at Robinson Elementary School. Next year, she will be a second-grade math teacher at the school. Freshman teacher-candidates in the Baylor School of Education often start as tutors, advance to teaching assistants their junior year and finish off with an internship as seniors.

ABOUT BAYLOR MEDIA & PUBLIC RELATIONS

Baylor's Office of Media and Public Relations (M&PR) supports the University's Baylor in Deeds strategic plan as a premier Christian Research 1 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. Learn more about Baylor University at www.baylor.edu.