News

While several states have recently limited the ability for teacher unions to collectively bargain for their members, teachers will continue to flex their political muscle in a way scholars of policymaking have overlooked: through their pocketbooks, says a Baylor University political scientist.

A new study from biology researchers at Baylor University and the University of Maryland-Baltimore has found that there are consistent and widespread declines in stream biodiversity at lower levels of urban development more damaging than what was previously believed.

Baylor University is mourning the death of Dr. W. James Truitt, Professor Emeritus of Economics at the Hankamer School of Business, who passed away June 7 at his residence after a long illness. He was 71.

When scholars sparred recently over one professor's decision to ditch the "n-word" and replace it with "slave" in a revised edition of Mark Twain's The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, one issue was never in question: that Twain spurned racism. But what scholars have overlooked is the bone -- or rather, bones -- Twain had to pick with the Union, despite his speeches celebrating Lincoln's call for racial justice, said Dr. Joe B. Fulton, professor of English at Baylor University, in a new book marking the sesquicentennial of the Civil War's beginning.

The food pyramid that for 20 years has been the symbol of a healthy diet has been bumped by a circle icon called MyPlate that is more "socially friendly" and also can be quickly adjusted to accommodate people with special diet needs, such as diabetics or individuals struggling with their weight, says a Baylor University dietitian and national nutrition expert.

More than a hundred researchers from around the world will gather at Baylor University June 24-26 for the 2011 Transformative Consumer Research Conference to discuss ways to help alleviate the most pressing social and economic problems facing society today.

The School of Music will present the 2011 edition of Pipe Organ Encounter from Sunday, June 5, through Friday, June 10. This year's POE brings 24 four students from as far away as California and Hawaii for a week of intensive organ study on the Baylor University campus. The Central Texas Chapter of the American Guild of Organists is co-sponsor of the event.

Spring classes are over, grades are turned in and campus is quieting down awaiting the return of students in the fall. While this may be the most common view of what Baylor is like over the summer, campus is alive with summer camps for all ages.

A new study has found that an emerging tool for combating climate change may cause less harm to some soil animals than initial studies suggested. Earthworms perform many essential and beneficial functions in the soil ecosystem, including soil structure improvement and nutrient mineralization. However the earthworms' ability to perform these crucial functions can be suppressed when they are exposed to toxic substances.

Baylor University is mourning the death of Dr. John N. Jonsson, emeritus professor of religion and former director of the African Studies program at Baylor, who died May 26 at his home in South Africa after an extended illness. A native South African, Baptist pastor and scholar, Jonsson openly protested apartheid from the pulpit, the classroom and in other public forums, which included a run as an anti-apartheid candidate for the South African Parliament.

Baylor University today announced a $1 million gift that will provide additional scholarship support for students attending Baylor's Hankamer School of Business. Consisting of combined funds from the estate of recently deceased alumna and former faculty member Sadie Jo Black and from the family testamentary trust of her brother, W. Dial "Dub" Black, Jr. - also a Baylor graduate - the contribution is the latest in a long tradition of generous giving to Baylor by Sadie Jo and members of her family.

Baylor University doctoral student Jason Berninger has received a Research Associateship award from the National Research Council.

Joyce Jones, Organist-in-Residence at Baylor University, will perform the opening event in this year's Pipe Organ Encounter at 4 p.m. Sunday, June 5, in Waco Hall.

To see the future of trial law, look no farther than this week at Baylor Law School. The 18 best student trial advocates in the country will descend on the law school from June 1-5 to take part in the National Top Gun Mock Trial Competition.

Baylor Law School is mourning the loss of Dean Emeritus Angus McSwain, who died suddenly Sunday, May 29, in Waco. He was 87. Services will be 2 p.m. Wednesday, June 1, at Austin Avenue United Methodist Church in Waco. Visitation will be 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, May 30, at Wilkerson-Hatch-Bailey Funeral Home, 6101 Bosque Blvd.

This summer, Baylor University's Mayborn Museum Complex will host the LOST EGYPT: ANCIENT SECRETS, MODERN SCIENCE traveling exhibition, which explores how the lives and culture of ancient Egyptians are being uncovered in new ways, thanks to modern science and technology. The exhibition is produced by the Center of Science and Industry in Columbus, Ohio, and runs now through Sept. 5.

While scientists know humans domesticated horses about 6,000 years ago, little research pinpoints the exact time period and place that humans used horses for transportation, food and work. But now, a new Baylor University study funded by a grant from the National Geographic Society will attempt to help answer when and where humans started domesticating horses in Turkey.

Administrative offices will be closed Monday, May 30, in observance of Memorial Day, while other facilities have altered hours.

From large metal sculptures to a tiny print of a metallic owl to a life-like painting of people cutting meat, The Martin Museum of Art's "Selection from the Permanent Collection" exhibition showcases many different forms of art.

Baylor University's department of chemistry and biochemistry will host the second annual FGA Stone Symposium at the Baylor Sciences Building May 26 and May 27.

The late and legendary musician Bob Wills is the King of Western Swing -- which Texas lawmakers this week declared Texas' official music -- but it's time to pay homage to a lesser known fellow who helped Wills ascend to the throne, says a Baylor University researcher.

A new study by Baylor University environmental health researchers found that zebra fish exposed to several different technical mixtures of polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) - a common fire retardant - during early development can cause developmental malformations, changes in behavior and death.

Baylor University is one of only 114 U.S. universities - and the only Texas university - named "With Distinction" to the 2010 President's Higher Education Community Service Honor Roll, the highest federal recognition a college or university can receive for its commitment to volunteering, service-learning and civic engagement.

Male rappers see the "independent woman" as an educated, bill-paying person who will care for an average guy without making demands, while female rappers stress their sexual prowess and keep mum about their domestic skills, according to a Baylor University researcher's study.

Baylor University President Ken Starr was among two former U.S. Solicitors General who assisted the Liberty Institute today in presenting oral arguments before the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals in one of the nation's most important cases involving free speech. Known nationwide as the "candy cane" case, the outcome of Morgan v. Plano Independent School District will likely determine whether elementary school children have First Amendment rights under the U.S. Constitution.

Pillars: A Celebration of Senior Adults, hosted by George W. Truett Theological Seminary, will be held Tuesday, May 24, through Thursday, May 26, as a time to reflect on the importance of senior citizens in the community.

Amanda Randolph, a May 2011 Baylor University graduate from La Vernia, Texas, has been selected for a Fulbright grant, becoming Baylor's 25th Fulbright recipient since 2001. Randolph will study at the University of Jyväskylä in Finland as part of the flagship international educational exchange program sponsored by the U.S. Department of State.

Baylor University, in collaboration with the U.S Forest Service (USFS) Rocky Mountain Research Station, has developed a model that predicts the risk of wetland habitat loss based on local wetland features and characteristics of the landscape surrounding the wetland. The new model was used to predict the fate of wetland habitats over a 13-state area in the southern United States and was published in the journal Ecological Applications.

Dr. Byron R. Johnson, Distinguished Professor of the Social Sciences and director of the Institute for Studies of Religion at Baylor University, was a guest on FOX News Channel's national morning program "FOX and Friends," where he discussed his new book "More God, Less Crime" and the possible effect of religion on crime. The segment aired live on May 15, 2011.

Dr. James Lee Pleitz, a well-known Baptist pastor and denominational leader in Florida and Texas who served for nine years on the Baylor University Board of Trustees, died Sunday, May 15, in Pensacola, Fla.

The Texas Independent Film Network Film Series, hosted by Baylor University's Film and Digital Media division, will continue with a free showing of "St. Nick" Thursday, May 19, in Castellaw Communications Center, Room 101.

The Texas Commission on the Arts has named Baylor University artist-in-residence Karl Umlauf as the Texas State Visual Artist 2-D for 2012.

A Baylor University geology professor has been awarded a Marie Curie Fellowship that will provide more than $300,000 for a future research study in Europe. Dr. Boris Lau, assistant professor of geology at Baylor, is the first professor at Baylor to be selected as a Marie Curie Fellow.

At their spring meeting today, Baylor University Regents approved a $428.6 million operating budget for 2011-2012, elected new officers and board members, and approved the establishment of the Robbins Institute for Health Policy and Leadership in Baylor's Hankamer School of Business.

Piper Center for Family Studies and Child Development located in Waco has earned accreditation from the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC) - the nation's leading organization of early childhood professionals. The center is the only child care center in McLennan County to have earned the accreditation.

Two Baylor University chemistry professors have invented a new polarimeter, a basic scientific instrument used to measure and interpret the polarization of transverse waves, such as light waves, that could prove useful in determining the purity of pharmaceuticals.

Baylor University will confer degrees upon approximately 2,000 graduates during

Plano senior Chris Russell and Shreveport, La., junior Hannah Lee have been accepted into Columbia University's Summer Fellowship Painting Program in New York City.

People living in countries with governments that have a greater number of social services report being more satisfied with life, according to a study by a Baylor University researcher.

Baylor University's Institute for Studies of Religion will host a symposium on Restorative Justice from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. Saturday, May 7, at the Mayborn Museum Complex on the Baylor campus.

The Armstrong Browning Library will present the "Southern Harmony" concert at 7:30 p.m. Saturday, May 7, in McLean Foyer of Meditation inside Armstrong Browning Library on the Baylor campus. A reception will follow in the library's Martin Entrance Foyer.

If Jesus' Great Commission to "Go ye therefore, and teach all nations" were viewed as a business, it would be booming. The number of U.S. Christians taking part in trips lasting a year or less has grown from 540 in 1965 to an estimated more than 1.5 million annually, with an estimated $2 billion per year spent on the effort. But is the spiritual profit worth the investment? A Baylor religion professor gives the question a qualified "Yes."

Baylor University has experts in terrorism, national security, ethics and religion available to comment on the death of Osama bin Laden.

A Baylor University mechanical engineering professor has been selected to receive a national award for building a new area of research on polymer composites at Baylor.

Baylor Law School will hold its spring commencement ceremony at 10 a.m. Saturday, April 30, at First Baptist Church, Waco. The Honorable Ken Starr, president of Baylor University and The Louise L. Morrison Professor of Constitutional Law, will deliver the commencement address. In addition, Andrew Wade Guthrie, the highest-ranking student in the graduating class, will deliver student remarks.

Baylor University today announced a generous commitment from the Callaway Foundation, benefiting students in the Hankamer School of Business and increasing the existing Callaway Foundation Endowed Scholars Fund scholarship to $1 million. The commitment also brings the total fundraising of The President's Scholarship Initiative -- a three-year effort Baylor launched in 2010 -- to more than $24 million.

Dr. Kambiz GhaneaBassiri, associate professor of religion and humanities at Reed College in Portland, Ore., will lecture on "Islam in America, Religious Freedom and Equal Rights in America" at 1:30 p.m. Monday, May 2, on the fifth floor of Cashion Academic Center on the Baylor University campus.

Baylor University seniors Austin Cook-Lindsay and Chelsea Mitcham have been selected as recipients of Fulbright grants from the flagship international educational exchange program sponsored by the U.S. Department of State. They are Baylor's 23rd and 24th Fulbright recipients since 2001.

A team of four graduate students from the Baylor University Graduate Sport Management Program brought home the championship in the third annual Case Study Competition held during the Scholarly Conference on College Sport April 20-22 at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. The conference was sponsored by UNC's College Sport Research Institute (CSRI).

In the wake of the Japanese earthquake, tsunami and nuclear crisis, one Baylor University student will travel to Japan this summer as a delegate in the annual Japan-American Student Conference (JASC).

Capt. John Sarisky of the U.S Public Health Service and the Environmental Health Services Branch of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in Atlanta, Ga., will lecture on "The Foundation and Future of Public Health: One Hundred Years of Environmental Health Problem Solving" at 3:30 p.m. Tuesday, April 26, in room C206 of the Baylor Sciences Building on the Baylor University campus.

The Pulse, the undergraduate journal of Baylor University, will present a lecture by senior University Scholar Stephen Margheim on his essay "Barfield contra Lewis on Truth and Imagination" at 7 p.m. Tuesday, April 26, in the Alexander Reading Room on the Baylor campus.

Baylor University will continue the testing of its outdoor public address and indoor voice evacuation systems beginning at 1 p.m. Friday, April 22. The university conducted a partial test Thursday.

Due to the Easter holiday, Baylor University will not hold classes and will close administrative offices Friday, April 22, through Monday, April 25, while other university facilities will modify their hours.

Dr. Jeffrey Hamilton, professor and chair of Baylor's department of history, has been selected for the 2011 Baylor Centennial Professor award, which will allow him to travel to England for research on Henry de Lacy, Third Earl of Lincoln and a confidant of Edward I.

Baylor University will test its outdoor public address and indoor voice evacuation systems at 3:30 p.m., Thursday, April 21. The public is being notified so that the test will not be confused with an actual emergency.

An international leader in medical oncology is coming to the Baylor University campus. Dr. Waun Ki Hong, professor and director of the Division of Cancer Medicine at M.D. Anderson Cancer Center, will present the endowed W. Dial Black Family Lecture at 6:30 p.m. Wednesday, April 20, in room B.110 of the Baylor Sciences Building on the Baylor campus.

The community input portion of Baylor University's strategic planning process will conclude at the end of April, but there remain plenty of opportunities for members of the Baylor University family to share ideas that will inform the development of Baylor's next 10-year strategic plan.

A study led by Baylor University and Wesleyan University geologists shows that a new method that uses different size and shape traits of leaves to reconstruct past climates over the last 120 million years is more accurate than other current methods.

Baylor University's department of theatre arts will close its 2010 to 2011 season with Homer's "The Odyssey" Tuesday, April 19, to Wednesday, April 20, and Wednesday, April 27, to Sunday, May 1, in Mabee Theatre on the Baylor campus.

Baylor University has been honored as a winner of the National Wildlife Federation's annual competition Chill Out: Climate Action on Campus, which recognizes U.S. schools that are designing and implementing creative approaches to advance sustainability on campuses.

Baylor University graduates Sarah Berry, Jessie Kuykendall and Christa Leotti have been selected as this year's recipients of the F. Ray Wilson II Award for Best Thesis. The award honors the life of the beloved Baylor professor of biology and Master Teacher, who directed 37 Honors theses during more than 30 years of teaching at the university.

With finals beginning next week, most Baylor Law students are in the study zone, but approximately 50 students took time off Saturday, April 9, to help some special folks have fun. Thanks to the initiative of student Bobby Kaufman, who is in his third quarter, Baylor Law ran the softball throw at the Special Olympics Heart of Texas Region Track and Field meet at Baylor University's Hart-Patterson Track.

Robert Darden, associate professor of journalism and media arts in the College of Arts and Sciences known for his work on Baylor University's Black Gospel Music Restoration Project, has been named the Cornelia Marschall Smith Professor of the Year. The annual award is presented to a faculty member who makes a superlative contribution to the learning environment at Baylor.

Baylor University President Ken Starr warns that private universities in Texas will be harmed if the Tuition Equalization Grant (TEG) program is cut. Calling it an issue of vital importance, Starr is strongly encouraging alumni, students, parents, faculty, staff and friends of the university to show their support for the embattled program.

Baylor University Film and Digital Media will host a showing of the 1978 film "The Whole Shootin' Match" from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. Thursday, April 14, in Room 101 of Castellaw Communications Center on the Baylor campus.

The annual Baylor University President's Concert will present an evening of choral favorites at 7:30 p.m. Saturday, April 16, in Jones Concert Hall in Glennis McCrary Music Building on the Baylor campus.

Three Baylor students - Greg Bond, George Montanez and Eduardo Torrealba - have been accepted into the National Science Foundation's Graduate Research Fellowship Program, which supports graduate students in science, technology, engineering and mathematics.

Three preeminent scholar/teachers from U.S. universities have been selected as finalists for Baylor University's 2012 Robert Foster Cherry Award for Great Teaching, the only national teaching award -- with the single largest monetary reward of $250,000 -- presented by a college or university to an individual for exceptional teaching. The winning professor will be announced by Baylor in spring 2012.

With an estimated 10,000 Mexican Free-tailed bats living around the greater Waco area, a new Baylor University study will attempt to document where, exactly, the bats like to roost around the city and identify certain structures and variables that attract the bats in the first place.

Baylor senior Haley Dermody has earned a spot in the highly competitive "Teaching Assistant Program in France" (TAPIF), sponsored by the French Ministry of Education.

Baylor University has released the first report that details its numerous environmental achievements in waste reduction, recycling and energy conservation since 2007.

Dr. Marcie H. Moehnke, lecturer in the Baylor University department of biology, has been selected by this year's senior class as the 2011 Collins Outstanding Professor, an annual award provided by the Carr P. Collins Foundation that recognizes and honors extraordinary teachers at Baylor.

From more than 700 entries, five Baylor University fashion design students' designs placed at the national Dallas Career Day competition held at the Dallas Market Center's World Trade Center on Friday, April 1.

Dr. Frank Shushok Jr., associate vice president for student affairs and assistant professor of higher education at Virginia Tech University, and Dr. Blaine McCormick, associate professor of management and entrepreneurship at Baylor University, will lecture as a part of the annual Leadership Lecture Series at 5:30 p.m. Monday, April 11, in Kayser Auditorium of the Hankamer School of Business on the Baylor campus. The event is free and open to the public.

Dr. Carlos Stroud, professor of optics and physics and director of the Center for Quantum Information at the University of Rochester in Rochester, N.Y., will present two lectures on Tuesday, April 12, on the Baylor University campus.

Zhi Lin, professor of art at the University of Washington, will present a lecture titled "Understanding Humanity through Cultural Convergence and Intersections," at 4 p.m. Tuesday, April 12, in Room 120 of Morrison Hall on the Baylor campus.

Baylor University is mourning the death of Dr. F. Gordon A. Stone, Emeritus Robert A. Welch Distinguished Professor of Chemistry and one of the 100 most-referenced chemists in the world by the Institute for Scientific Information. Dr. Stone passed away April 6 at the age of 85. Services are pending at OakCrest Funeral Home in Waco.

This year, Baylor University students, faculty and staff will take a break from the spring semester to celebrate "Deep in the Heart of Dia," the 77th annual Diadeloso music festival, on Thursday, April 14, at Fountain Mall on the Baylor campus.

Steppin' Out, Baylor University's biannual day of service, will take place Saturday, April 9, at various locations throughout the Waco community.

The accounting department of Baylor University's Hankamer School of Business is calling on Baylor faculty, staff and students and Central Texas residents to help break the record for the world's largest Zumba class on Thursday, April 14, on Fountain Mall on the Baylor campus. The event - dubbed Bear Zumba - will help raise funds for Baylor accounting students' vocational mission trip to Uganda this summer.

Dr. Mark A. Noll, the Francis A. McAnaney Professor of History of Notre Dame, will present the final installment of the Presidential Symposium Series at 4 p.m. Saturday, April 9, in the Paul Powell Chapel in George W. Truett Theological Seminary on the Baylor University campus.

Dr. Beverly Roberts Gaventa, Helen H.P. Manson Professor of New Testament Literature and Exegesis at Princeton Theological Seminary, will lecture on "The Rhetoric of Violence and the God of Peace in Paul's Letter to the Romans" at 3 p.m. Thursday, April 7, in Miller Chapel of the Tidwell Bible Building on the Baylor University campus.

Some linguistics students at Baylor University haven't been minding their "P's" and "Q's." Instead, they've been tending to "R's" -- and finding they crop up in Central Texas conversations much more than they did decades ago.
The finding is of interest because it provides clues to identity and socioeconomic status.

The 17th annual Beall Poetry Festival, a three-day celebration of some of the finest contemporary poetry, will feature four renowned poets. The event will run Wednesday, April 6, through Friday, April 8, on the Baylor campus.

Episcopal priest Dr. Carl Daw will present "If You Mean It, Sing It" as this year's Northcutt Lecture presented by Baylor's School of Music.

"Are Christians Called to Change the World?" will be the theme of the annual symposium hosted by the Baylor University Center for Ministry Effectiveness and Educational Leadership from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. Monday, April 4, in Paul W. Powell Chapel of George W. Truett Theological Seminary on the Baylor campus.

The Baylor University School of Music's Brass Area's Group A, a six-member trumpet ensemble, won first place and was awarded $4,000 at the National Trumpet Competition held at George Mason University in Fairfax, Va., last month. Baylor Group B, a four-member trumpet ensemble, was named a finalist.

Baylor University's Institute for Oral History has won the Texas Historical Commission's 2011 Award of Excellence in Preserving History.

Baylor's nationally-ranked debate team - The Glenn R. Capp Debate Forum - capped off a tremendous season, finishing in the Elite Eight of the National Debate Tournament (NDT), held March 25-28 in Dallas. This is Baylor's strongest finish at the national championships since 1996, when Baylor made it to the Final Four.

Baylor University will welcome several distinguished speakers and performers to campus this spring. Below is a list of the lectures, conferences, symposia, and performances that will be held during April and May at Baylor.

Baylor University's annual Fiesta, a celebration of the Mexican-American and Latino influences in the Baylor community, will be held from 6 to 9 p.m. Thursday, March 31, at Traditions Plaza at Fifth Street and Fountain Mall on the Baylor campus.