News

Heidi J. Hornik, Ph.D., has been selected as the 2025 Cornelia Marschall Smith Professor of the Year for her superlative contribution to the learning environment at Baylor.

Laura Lalani and Madeline Prescott join this week’s Baylor Connections podcast to talk about the development and impact of the Billington Peer Leader program on students as they navigate the transition to college. 

A passionate advocate for classical music "hidden figure" Florence Price, Baylor University pianist Michael Clark's new book is giving the world an opportunity to discover 20 of Price's previously unpublished piano pieces.

Baylor Professors Kevin D. Dougherty, Andrew P. Hogue, Wiff Rudd and  J. Lenore Wright receive the lifetime designation of Master Teacher, the highest honor granted to Baylor faculty for sustained excellence in teaching.

Baylor University's Dr. Sara Jansen Perry outlines the challenges with Return-to-Office mandates and the important considerations that arise with remote/hybrid arrangements.

National Weather Service forecasts that Waco, McLennan County and Central Texas will experience freezing temperatures Monday night, Jan. 20 through Wednesday, Jan. 22.

For Black gospel artists recording after 1963, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s “I Have a Dream” speech was more than a defining moment of the Civil Rights Movement. It became fertile ground for their creative expression.

Baylor's AFROTC, Detachment 810 has been ranked as the No. 1 Medium Detachment in the country, outperforming 49 other detachments nationwide to claim the top honor. 

Each year on Dr. Martin Luther King Day of Service, the Baylor University and Waco communities join others across the nation to participate in multiple events honoring Dr. King's life and legacy.

Baylor University has engaged Nashville-based entertainment and digital marketing agency Noise New Media LLC to elevate the University’s concert programming and live event experiences at the Paul and Alejandra Foster Pavilion and other campus venues. 

Due to a Winter Weather Advisory, Baylor University-Waco campus will transition to remote operations Thursday-Friday, Jan. 9-10, 2025. Normal campus operations will resume on Saturday, assuming weather conditions have improved.

Veterans of Baylor (VoB) has been honored among the 1,600 Student Veterans of America (SVA) chapters as the 2024 SVA Chapter of the Year for its “remarkable contributions in enhancing their campus community.” 

Baylor University has been awarded a $2.48 million grant from Lilly Endowment Inc. through its Religion and Cultural Institutions Initiative (RCII) to support a major expansion of the Black Gospel Archive (BGA) at Baylor University Libraries. 

President Linda A. Livingstone joins this week’s Baylor Connections podcast to recap the best of last year while laying out the foundation for all the exciting moments still to come in 2025.   

The National Weather Service has cancelled a Tornado WATCH for Central Texas, including the Baylor University-Waco campus, the City of Waco and McLennan County, Texas (Saturday, Dec. 28).

Truett Seminary’s Dennis Tucker, Ph.D., joins the Baylor Connections podcast to discuss the Psalms as poetry and how Scripture helps us discover wisdom and hope.

Baylor University experts to share ideas for resolutions that are easier to maintain while making a positive impact on our lives.

Baylor University will join City of Waco and McLennan County partners, in cooperation with the Waco/McLennan County Office of Emergency Management, to conduct a regular test of outdoor tornado sirens, beginning at 10 a.m. Friday, Jan. 3.

The holiday season is a time of joy, but for many – especially those grieving the death of a loved one or a deep loss – it can bring a complex mix of emotions, from sadness and sorrow to gratitude and joy.

Baylor University offices and most facilities will be closed during the Christmas and New Year’s holidays from Monday, Dec. 23, to Sunday, Jan. 5, 2025.

A new study examines the psychological factors driving parental investment in education, highlighting how a parent’s self-view shapes their spending patterns.

From tips on fostering stress-free gatherings and embracing sustainability to preserving family history and discovering timeless holiday entertainment, experts at Baylor University provide insights to make the season meaningful and magical. 

The holiday season brings warmth and joy – as well as excess clutter, waste and energy consumption. Baylor interior design expert, Elise King, M.I.D., M.A., shares simple and creative ways to decorate sustainably without sacrificing the festive spirit.

Baylor University has been named to TIME Magazine’s list of the 100 Best Colleges for Future Leaders 2025, a ranking measuring universities that excel in nurturing some of the nation’s most highly influential leaders.

From timeless tales to unexpected favorites, film expert highlights the season’s best cinematic treasures

Baylor University will welcome the top middle- and high-school esports teams in Texas for the fall Texas Esports League Finals, an interscholastic video gaming competition presented in partnership with Baylor University, on Saturday and Sunday, Dec. 14-15, at the Mark and Paula Hurd Welcome Center.

Baylor Law professor's award-winning research paper addresses a core issue in tort law: how lay jurors interpret the idea of “reasonableness.”

Student Regents Xavier Dawes and Meghan Fletcher join the Baylor Connections podcast to discuss their roles and how the experience gives them an inside look at Baylor's unified mission of student flourishing.

Holiday gatherings often bring a mix of joy and challenges, especially when navigating complex family dynamics. Baylor University communication expert Allison M. Alford, Ph.D., says anticipating potential hurdles, such as sensitive topics or interpersonal tensions, can help family members approach these events with confidence and clarity.

Baylor University will join City of Waco and McLennan County partners – in cooperation with the Waco/McLennan County Office of Emergency Management – to conduct a regular test of its Outdoor Warning System (tornado sirens) at 10 a.m. Friday, Dec. 6. The University’s testing period will be 10 to 11 a.m.

Baylor University senior Isabella Zárate, an international studies and environmental studies double major from Katy, Texas, has been awarded the highly competitive Charles B. Rangel Graduate Fellowship, funded by the U.S. Department of State and administered by Howard University.

As the holiday season approaches, there are multiple ways that individuals and families can employ mindful practices – both meaningful and eco-friendly – that reduce waste and support local communities. 

Gray Media Group and KWTX Television will present the nationwide debut of “A Baylor Christmas,” recorded in December 2023 from the performances of the Baylor Symphony Orchestra and combined choirs of the Baylor University School of Music. 

Art history course brings students outside of the classroom to discover art on the Baylor campus

Baylor experts offer practical advice for first-time donors and seasoned givers to align their resources, values and impact.

Toby Brooks, Ph.D., director of Baylor’s Academy for Teaching and Learning (ATL), joined the Baylor Connections podcast for a conversation about his journey in higher education that brought him to Baylor. 

Baylor University is making positive changes on campus and in local communities, including an expansion of composting efforts at all six campus dining facilities.

This holiday season, Baylor School of Music Christmas concerts are open to the Baylor and Waco communities to enjoy a range of offerings. 

November is National Adoption Month, and Baylor University supports families who adopt through Baylor Law School's annual Adoption Day, faculty research that focuses on various aspects of adoption and robust adoption assistance benefits for faculty and staff adoptive families.

Baylor University’s student chapter of the Society for Advancement of Chicanos/Hispanics & Native Americans in Science (SACNAS) has been honored by the national organization with an Outstanding Chapter award in the category of Celebrating Culture. Students and faculty representing SACNAS at Baylor received the award Oct. 31 while attending the National Diversity in STEM (NDiSTEM) conference in Phoenix.

Jo-Ann Tsang, Ph.D., associate professor of psychology at Baylor University, talks about gratitude as more than a seasonal sentiment on Baylor Connections.

Baylor University has been awarded a nearly $1 million grant from the EPA’s Environmental and Climate Justice Community Change Grants Program (CCGP) to drive transformative local initiatives aimed at bolstering food security, advancing sustainable agriculture and enhancing climate resilience in Waco’s underserved communities.

With electronics, online convenience and competitive pricing at the forefront, the landscape of Black Friday is evolving to match the shifting shopping habits of today’s consumers, said Baylor University consumer behavior expert James A. Roberts, Ph.D. 

Four Baylor University students have been named University Innovation Fellows, a nationally competitive global program run by Stanford University’s Hasso Plattner Institute of Design that empowers student leaders to increase campus engagement with innovation, entrepreneurship, design thinking and creativity.

Baylor researchers from multiple disciplines have explored the role and effects of gratitude and how it can amplify human flourishing in a variety of areas.

At its regular fall board meeting, the Baylor University Board of Regents approved new master’s degrees in burgeoning fields in engineering and education and received updates on future areas of academic focus for the University. In addition, the Board discussed strategies to fund the needs identified in the University’s new Baylor in Deeds strategic plan, which launched in September.

This week on the Baylor Connections podcast, Eduardo Contreras, Ed.D., vice provost for global engagement, discusses how Baylor’s Center for Global Engagement (CGE) facilitates cultural exchange and opportunity for students.

Families can build reading, writing and communication skills through simple daily routines, shared moments

 A new study from Baylor University shows that 46 extra minutes of sleep per night are linked to improvements in gratitude, flourishing, resilience and prosocial behaviors. 

National STEM Day is Nov. 8, and Baylor University researchers have partnered with local schools to provide engaging science presentations for students and teachers that encourage an affinity for STEM.

Todd Still, Ph.D., joins this week's Baylor Connections podcast for a conversation about the seminary’s mission, present growth and the vision for Truett’s future. 

Fellow designation honors Dr. Gesztesy’s distinguished contributions to the mathematical sciences.

Baylor University faculty are well-represented in a Stanford University database that ranks the world's top 2% of the most-cited researchers.

POSTPONED: Baylor University will join City of Waco and McLennan County partners – in cooperation with the Waco/McLennan County Office of Emergency Management – to conduct a regular test of its Outdoor Warning System (tornado sirens) at 10 a.m. Friday, Nov. 1. The University’s testing period will be 10 to 11 a.m.

With six southeastern states still reeling from successive hurricanes Helene and Milton, Baylor University students joined together with the BearAid Disaster Relief Team to pack 100 “flood buckets” for communities impacted by widespread destruction.

Baylor University today dedicated the newly renovated Honors Residential College during a morning ribbon-cutting ceremony, marking the official opening of the Honors College’s new home and the grand opening of the Carona Family Commons.

This fall, Baylor University welcomed the inaugural Louise Herrington Endowed Chair in Mental Health Nursing, the first endowed chair position in the history of Baylor’s Louise Herrington School of Nursing (LHSON). Karen J. Foli, Ph.D., RN, ANEF, FAAN, joins this week’s Baylor Connections podcast to talk about her experience with psychological trauma endured by nurses and how that affects their well-being. 

Baylor University School of Education (SOE) graduate Ashlyn Bergethon, B.S.Ed. ’24, has continued an impressive string of Baylor SOE student teachers being recognized with national and state honors for their work in the classroom while a Baylor senior.

Centered by a call to be salt of the earth and light of the world at the center, Baylor University launched a year-long series of campus-wide conversations, trainings and presentations in January focused on civil discourse, an important topic as Baylor strives to be a marketplace of ideas and extend the love of Christ toward others.

Ivan Korendovych, Ph.D., the inaugural James. R. Schofield Endowed Chair in Biochemistry at Baylor University, has been recognized by the American Chemical Society as the preceptor for this year’s Nobel Laureate Signature Award for Graduate Education in Chemistry, a national ACS award that recognizes an outstanding graduate student and instructor in chemistry.

Baptist historian and Truett Seminary  professor Alan Lefever, Ph.D., joins this week’s Baylor Connections podcast to talk about the roots of Baylor Homecoming, the traditions that have become Baylor icons and even the occasional shenanigans that accompany college students through the years.

In new research published in the journal Fuel, Baylor University researchers with the Cornerstone Atomization and Combustion Lab (CAC) have unveiled a pioneering method for the efficient combustion of biofuels, using a revolutionary Swirl Burst (SB) injector to burn glycerol/methanol blends with near-zero emissions.

Alyssa Mills, a Ph.D. candidate in geosciences at Baylor University and a graduate affiliate of NASA's Europa Clipper mission science team, is using machine learning to map the seafloor of Europa. 

Baylor University’s Institute for Faith and Learning will welcome more than 240 leading national and international scholars and practitioners for the 2024 Baylor Symposium on Faith and Culture, which focuses on the theme Renewing and Reimagining Institutions for the Common Good.

The Readers Meet the Author series kicks off Oct. 22, with Baylor history professor Elesha Coffman, Ph.D., in conversation with Dr. Elizabeth Flowers about Coffman's new book, "Turning Points in American Church History: How Pivotal Events Shaped a Nation and a Faith."

Baylor University research prompted changes to the Accreditation in Public Relations (APR) and the Certificate in Principles of Public Relations (CPPR) exams.

Baylor University’s Corey P. Carbonara, Ph.D., professor of film and digital media, Master Teacher and an innovator in advancing new frontiers in media production technology, has been selected to receive the 2024 Presidential Proclamation from the Society of Motion Picture and Television Engineers (SMPTE).

Baylor welcomes literary legend, social activist and feminist icon Isabel Allende for this year’s Beall-Russell Lecture in the Humanities at 3:30 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 9, at the Hurd Welcome Center. 

Microbiome researcher Aaron Wright, Ph.D., has earned a $5.6 million National Institutes of Health (NIH) Director’s Transformative Research Award that could lead to personalized treatments for gut microbiome diseases like IBS, Crohn’s, Ulcerative Colitis and more. 

Thomas Hibbs, Ph.D., joins this week’s Baylor Connections to raise awareness on the significance of political detox, a topic that aligns with Baylor’s focus on civil discourse.

National Play Outside Day encourages people to head outdoors to play together, enjoy nature and feel the multiple benefits of play.

This year’s pop princess-driven BearAware cybersecurity campaign marks October’s National Cybersecurity Awareness Month and reminds students, faculty, and staff to make smart and safe choices online. 

Extending Baylor University’s year-long focus on civil discourse, 12 Baylor University faculty members have joined together as the first faculty cohort of Bridgebuilding Fellows.

Baylor University will join City of Waco and McLennan County partners – in cooperation with the Waco/McLennan County Office of Emergency Management – to conduct a regular test of its Outdoor Warning System (tornado sirens) at 10 a.m. Friday, Oct. 4. The University’s testing period will be 10 to 11 a.m.

New research from Baylor University reveals that coyotes, like domestic dogs, have the ability to produce the famous "puppy dog eyes" expression, challenging the hypothesis that this facial feature evolved exclusively in dogs as a result of domestication.

Baylor film historian lists the perfect films for thrill seekers and scaredy cats 

Baylor's Faith & Sports Institute's Paul Putz joined Cori Bolts and Kenny Boyd of Baylor Athletics on the Baylor Connections podcast to discuss their collaborative efforts to better serve student-athletes through Christian character development. 

Earth’s gravity captures a small asteroid from September to November

Baylor University Libraries will host “Passport to Media Literacy,” an interactive media literacy experience from 2 to 4 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 2, in the Garden Level Learning Commons of Moody Memorial Library, sponsored by local NPR affiliate KWBU-FM, Baylor’s Department of Journalism, Public Relations and New Media and the Baylor Libraries. 

Student Opportunity and Achievement Resources addresses the unique challenges of college food insecurity

The Hispanic Association of Colleges and Universities has announced that Felipe Hinojosa, Ph.D., professor of history at Baylor University and The John and Nancy Jackson Endowed Chair for Baylor in Latin America, is among the 45 fellows who will make up the sixth cohort of its Leadership Academy/La Academia de Liderazgo.

Baylor University today is celebrating National Research Administrator Day to highlight top-tier research throughout the University. 

Baylor's Missions, Service & Public Life will host its annual Missions Week from Sept. 30 to Oct. 3, featuring a variety of tabling events, socials and dinner. 

The Baylor Collaborative on Hunger and Poverty works to end food insecurity through innovative programs, global partnerships

Baylor University set a new high for the one-year retention rate for first-time freshmen – a key indicator of undergraduate students’ successful adjustment to University life – and also announced its official fall enrollment of 20,626 students.

Throughout October, Baylor will host a series of events celebrating the sustainability efforts around campus in honor of Campus Sustainability Month.

Baylor University’s transformational undergraduate academic programs and experiences were Top 10 national highlights in the 2025 Best Colleges rankings, released today by U.S. News & World Report.

Baylor University again has attained elite Honor Roll status as one of the best colleges in the nation to work for, according to the Great Colleges to Work For® program. Based on faculty and staff responses to a related annual survey, Baylor was recognized in eight categories, including its first-ever recognition in the Diversity, Inclusion & Belonging category. 

Baylor’s Brian Jordon, Ph.D., and Paul Allison, Ph.D., discuss the impact their work has on a local, national and global scale on Baylor Connections. 

An innovative Baylor University study has shed light on the often-overlooked experiences of women doing “daughtering” in families, particularly during the COVID-19 pandemic, which created immense challenges in their relationships with parents and other family members. 

The Baylor Symphonic Band and Baylor Wind Ensemble are proud to welcome prolific guest composer and conductor Frank Ticheli, D.M.A., as a special guest, at 7:30 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 19, in Jones Concert Hall.

An interdisciplinary team of researchers at Baylor University found that family caregivers who recognize and cultivate feelings of gratitude adjust to their roles with a greater sense of well-being and enhanced coping.

Baylor University will host a variety of vibrant events in celebration of Hispanic Heritage Month from Sept. 15 to Oct. 15.

Provost Nancy Brickhouse, Ph.D., and Chief of Staff to the President Tiffany Hogue, J.D., joined this week’s Baylor Connections podcast to discuss the new strategic plan, Baylor in Deeds. 

During September’s National Preparedness Month, the Baylor University Department of Public Safety (BUDPS) encourages the Baylor Family to enhance their readiness for emergencies by understanding the University’s multi-tiered approach to safety and security. 

Baylor University has been recognized again by the Dave Thomas Foundation for Adoption as one of the nation’s top education institutions offering robust adoption benefits programs.

Baylor's 10th annual Boundary Breaking Women’s Panel to take place from 3:30 to 4:30 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 19, on the fifth floor of the Cashion Academic Center. The event features 10 Baylor faculty and staff members in campus leadership roles of leadership to highlighting showcase 10 women boundary-breakers.

This fall, Baylor University is joining universities and communities around the country to increase public awareness and prevention education about sexual assault and interpersonal violence as the Equity, Civil Rights, & Title IX Office brings awareness to The Red Zone.

Matt Asare, Ph.D., M.P.H., M.B.A., CHES, assistant professor in the Department of Public Health at Baylor University, has received a five-year, $2.5 million National Institutes of Health National Cancer Institute Cooperative Agreement Award (U01) award in partnership with colleagues at the University of Cape Coast, Ghana, and the University of Minnesota Medical School to support Asare's continued work promoting cancer screening in Ghana.

Vice President for Student Life Kevin P. Jackson, Ph.D., talks about the countless resources and opportunities available to support the complete development of students in this Baylor Connections podcast.