News

The Baylor Program on Prosocial Behavior, a unit within the Baylor Institute for Studies of Religion (ISR) has received a $400,000 grant from the Office on Violence Against Women in the U.S. Department of Justice to continue the National Domestic Violence Fatality Review Initiative (NDVFRI), a program to study domestic violence fatalities and assist agencies and communities in the prevention of domestic violence.

Baylor University's Hankamer School of Business was selected as one of 25 best schools for Entrepreneurship in the nation, according to Fortune Small Business's first-ever ranking of "America's Best Colleges for Entrepreneurs." In the Family Business category, Baylor was selected as one of the six best schools. The selections appear in the September 2007 issue of the magazine.

Dr. Mark Ellis, professor of Jewish Studies and director of the Center of Jewish Studies at Baylor University, will speak at a festival on the Jewish faith and the role it plays throughout the world on Aug. 24, in Gloucestershire, England. Ellis will speak to groups of 500-800 people during the three-day event.

They have different majors, follow different career paths and come from different backgrounds. But Baylor University students are united by a commitment to missions and a desire to demonstrate God's love throughout the world. This year Baylor offered more than 10 extended mission trip opportunities, challenging approximately 125 students to use their classroom studies to serve others.

In an event that will help instill in new students a dedication to service, more than a thousand Baylor University freshmen will participate in the "First Step" community service project at 8 a.m. Saturday, Aug. 18, in Downtown Waco and on Baylor's campus.

As Baylor University begins a new academic year, thousands of Baylor University students - including the highest-quality freshman class ever - are back on campus amid a lot of excitement - from the opening of Brooks Village to more national recognition for the substantial progress the university has made over the past five years.

The Texas Collection, the largest special collections library/archival research center in the library system at Baylor University, has been designated as the official university archive, President John M. Lilley announced today.

After the hustle and bustle of moving into residence halls, new Baylor University students will dive in to a weekend of activity designed to welcome them to campus and make them feel at home. Move-in Days will be held over two days, Wednesday and Thursday, with Welcome Week running Aug. 16-19. A full schedule of events will incorporate Baylor's community atmosphere into each activity.

Baylor University is encouraging its students, alumni, faculty and staff to wear their Baylor green and gold colors on Aug. 31, as the university participates in the nationwide "College Colors Day," sponsored by the Collegiate Licensing Co. (CLC)

Baylor University will confer degrees on nearly 500 graduates during summer commencement exercises at 10 a.m. Saturday, Aug. 11, in the Ferrell Center on the Baylor campus.

For the first time, Baylor University will welcome more than 2,700 freshmen to campus over two days, Wednesday, Aug. 15, and Thursday, Aug. 16. Because of the addition of the new Brooks Village residential community, students will now be assigned a day and time to move to campus.

Bill Baker, senior lecturer in Arabic and Middle East studies at Baylor University, received an Honorary Certificate of Graduation from the Nazareth Baptist School (NBS), the only evangelical K-12 school in Israel, on June 2. Baker attended NBS elementary school in Nazareth during the 1950s, when his parents were Baptist missionaries for 10 years. He was not able to graduate from the school because of a mission field transfer that placed the family in Haifa, a distant Israeli city.

It might be between academic quarters, but Baylor Law School's Sheila and Walter Umphrey Law Center is a busy place this week. District and county attorneys from throughout Texas are attending courses at the Law School in advanced trial advocacy skills for felony prosecutors.

Dr. Thomas Kidd, assistant professor of history, has been named a Top Young Historian by the History News Network. Kidd is one of 20 young academics included on the list.

This fall, the Lifelong Learning program of the Baylor Alumni Association will offer "Great Decisions," a discussion-focused course that engages citizens in learning about the world.

The Baylor Alumni Association will present two awards during summer commencement ceremonies at 10 a.m. Saturday, Aug. 11, at the Ferrell Center. The Price Daniel Distinguished Public Service Award will be presented to the Honorable Sidney A. Fitzwater, while the non-profit organization Texas Baptist Men will receive the Abner V. McCall Humanitarian Award.

Dr. Bennie F.L Ward, distinguished professor of physics at Baylor University, has received an honorable mention in an international essay competition conducted by the Gravity Research Foundation.

Leah Jackson, associate dean of Baylor Law School, will discuss women in the legal profession during a conference held at Oxford University. Jackson will present "Women in Leadership Positions in the Legal Professions: Do They Face a Glass Ceiling or Clogged Pipeline, or Is It Now a Ceiling of Lifestyle Bubble?" on Monday, Aug. 6, at the Oxford Roundtable "Women's Rights and Leadership: Regaining the Momentum."

Baylor University's Habitat for Humanity chapter - the nation's first collegiate chapter of the non-profit, ecumenical Christian housing ministry - will mark its 20th anniversary with Project Build Hope, a venture that will bring together incoming Baylor freshmen on a project like few before. More than 2,000 members of the Class of 2011 will lay the foundation for their Baylor experience together by framing a Habitat house on campus during Welcome Week.

Baylor University has received an Innovation Award from the National Association of College and University Business Officers (NACUBO) for utilizing wind power and saving money at the same time.

Baylor University researchers have developed a new way to test the "heat" inside a habanero chili pepper. The relatively simple technique to analyze the active components in the pepper could provide quicker and more accurate information to the food preparation industry and to those wanting to utilize peppers for medical purposes, such as pain relief.

Eleven students from the Baylor University School of Social Work traveled to Dallas July 25 to hear Jim Wallis speak at the Texas Freedom Networks' Faith and Freedom Speaker Series. Wallis, president of Sojourners/Call to Renewal, is best known for his leadership in a faith-based social justice movement encouraging Christians to address poverty in new ways.

Baylor University's Mayborn Museum Complex will present award-winning American Indian performers Lowery Begay and Dallin Maybee as part of the summer programming complementing the "Wrapped in Tradition: The Chihuly Collection of American Indian Trade Blankets" exhibit. Begay and Maybee will perform traditional American Indian dances and engage visitors with their storytelling skills and flute performances July 28-29.

A Baylor University researcher has created the first experimental observation of molecular chaos, providing evidence that a widely accepted, yet unproven, assumption is indeed accurate.

Baylor Law School will hold its summer commencement exercises at 10 a.m. Saturday, July 28, in Jones Concert Hall at the Glennis McCrary Music Building on the Baylor University campus. William R. Trail, The Darrell L. Keith Professor of Law and Medicine Emeritus, will deliver the keynote address. Additionally, James Will Eidson, the highest ranking student in the graduating class, will deliver student remarks. Baylor President John M. Lilley also will participate in the program and will award juris doctor degrees to the 40 graduates.

Jack M. Thornton, a longtime Baylor University administrator who helped install the university's first punch-card computing system in the late 1950s and retired in 1998 as University Host, died July 21 in Waco after a battle with cancer. He was 76. Funeral services for Thornton will be held at 1 p.m. Tuesday, July 24, at Columbus Avenue Baptist Church. Visitation will be from 5 to 8 p.m. Monday, July 23, at OakCrest Funeral Home, 4520 Bosque Blvd. in Waco.

The Baylor University Board of Regents concluded its three-day July retreat on Friday, approving the formation of the Baylor Advanced Research Institute (BARI) and upgrading the medical humanities program, and announced Baylor's plans to mark the 400th anniversary of the founding of the first Baptist churches with a year-long celebration beginning in fall 2008.

Buryl Red, a 1957 Baylor University church music graduate and world-renowned musical director of The CenturyMen, was honored with the Award for Exemplary Leadership in Church Music, given by Baylor's Center for Christian Music Studies during the 2007 Alleluia! Church Music Conference July 17-20 at Baylor.

Baylor University announced today an approximately $4 million gift from the estate of Allene Hubler that will establish an endowed chair, an endowed professorship and an endowed scholarship in the Ministry Guidance program within Baylor's department of religion.

More than 150 students from seven Waco ISD middle schools will be "stomping" around the Baylor University campus July 9-13 and again July 23-27, as they participate in Project S.T.O.M.P. (Summer Travels Opening Mathematical Possibilities), a Baylor and WISD initiative funded through the GEAR UP Waco grant.

Baylor University announced today a $1.2 million gift from the estate of John Reagan Harris of Center, Texas, that will establish the John Reagan Harris Endowed Scholarship Fund, as well as the John Reagan Harris Endowed Music Ministry Excellence Fund within the Baylor School of Music's Center for Christian Music Studies.

Jack Folmar, a former Baylor University trustee and regent designated an Alumnus Honoris Causa for his dedication to the university, died Monday, July 9, in Dallas. A memorial service for Folmar will be held at 2 p.m. Friday, July 13, at Park Cities Baptist Church in Dallas, with a reception immediately following.

Dr. David Garland, dean of Baylor University's George W. Truett Theological Seminary, has announced the appointment of Dr. Dennis Tucker, associate professor of Christian scripture, as associate dean of the seminary.

Dr. Ralph L. Lynn, one of Baylor University's legendary professors who challenged thousands of students, including best-selling authors, politicians, business leaders and faculty colleagues, to "Bear up nobly," has died. Lynn, professor emeritus of history, passed away July 10 in Waco at the age of 97. Funeral services will be held at 11 a.m. Friday, July 13, at First Baptist Church of Waco, 500 Webster.

On July 14, the Baylor Alumni Association will honor the 2007 members of the Torchbearers Society during a luncheon for Torchbearer members and directors of the association. The event will begin at noon at the Galloway Suite at Floyd Casey Stadium.

As one of the largest municipal parks in the country, Cameron Park in Waco encompasses dozens of different vegetative species that thousands of area residents enjoy every year. But little has been known about the environmental history of the 416-acre park, until now. Baylor University researchers have completed the first-ever comprehensive study of Cameron Park, analyzing the settlement patterns of the area and studying in-depth how the vegetative species have changed.

Dr. Sarah-Jane Murray, assistant professor in the Great Texts program of the Honors College at Baylor University, has been elected to membership into one of the leading medieval research communities in French academia. She is the first member invited from outside the French-speaking world.

Dr. Hans-Peter Roeser, director of the Institute of Space Systems at the University of Stuttgart in Germany, will be on Baylor University campus Friday, June 29, to provide insight into Stuttgart's small satellite programs, payloads, and the associated ground downlink operations and data analysis.

Baylor University is among the most productive research universities in the nation, according to a new study released by Academic Analytics, a corporation based in Stony Brook, N.Y. that measures faculty scholarly productivity. Baylor also placed in the top 10 among large research universities in Texas, defined as institutions with 15 or more Ph.D. programs across multiple disciplines.

Baylor President John M. Lilley today released a statement on the contractual relationship with the Baylor Alumni Association.

A physical monument is in place for the first time in Baylor University history to honor the memory of 10 students, known as the Immortal Ten, who died in a tragic accident near Austin more than 80 years ago.

The organ is not a "thing of the past," according to Baylor University Organist-in-Residence Joyce Jones, especially when Baylor's upcoming "Pipe Organ Encounter" for church organists and adult pianists is filled yet again to capacity.

Baylor University has added another Fulbright Scholar to its growing number of students who have received the prestigious honor. Joy McCullough, a recent University Scholar graduate from Los Alamos, N.M., will study aquatic toxicology in Finland beginning this fall on a Fulbright Scholarship.

Baylor University President John M. Lilley released the following statement today about the passing of Ruth Graham, wife of renowned evangelist Billy Graham and mother of Baylor regent Anne Graham Lotz.

Baylor Law alumna Claudine Jackson has been named the Outstanding Young Lawyer of the Year by the Texas Young Lawyers Association. Jackson will receive her award next week during the State Bar of Texas' annual meeting in San Antonio.

The Baylor University School of Music will present its annual Summer Piano Institute from June 17-23 in the Jesse H. Jones Theatre in the Hooper-Schaefer Fine Arts Center on the Baylor campus. This year's institute will host a total of 32 high school piano students from Texas, Oklahoma and Washington.

Dr. Suzy Weems, professor and chair of the department of family and consumer sciences at Baylor University, joined more than 50 other professors and graduate students from university nutrition and food science departments around the country at the inaugural National Institutes of Health (NIH) Office of Dietary Supplements (ODS) intensive practicum on dietary supplement research.

Representatives from Waco's Scottish Rite presented a $66,000 check Friday, June 15, to Baylor's Camp Success, marking one of the largest amounts given to the literacy program in a single year.

Baylor University's Mayborn Museum Complex will once again incorporate cell phone audio tours into their summer exhibit Wrapped in Tradition: The Chihuly Collection of American Indian Trade Blankets to enhance the overall exhibit experience. The Mayborn was one of the first museums in Texas to use this technology last summer, and the results were so positive, they are bringing it back again.

Love letters written by a Civil War soldier in the early 1860s have crossed into the digital age, thanks to a local physician and the Baylor University Electronic Library.

A $250,000 gift from Don A. and Ruth Vernon Buchholz of Dallas brought Baylor University's Louise Herrington School of Nursing Simulator Fund halfway to its goal - and comes with a challenge for other School of Nursing supporters to fully fund the $500,000 project.

Longtime Baylor University supporter Anna Elizabeth Sturgis Jeanes died at her home in Waco on June 6. Jeanes was a beloved wife, friend, community leader and member of the Baylor family.

Nationally prominent experts in medical and health care ethics with credentials in law, medicine, philosophy and theology will be among the speakers during Baylor University's annual Medical Ethics Conference on June 8-9 at George W. Truett Theological Seminary on the Baylor campus.

Baylor Law alumna Jerry Clements has been named one of the "50 Most Influential Women in Law" in America by the National Law Journal. In its May 28, 2007 issue, the NLJ said its team of editors looked for women with "the demonstrated power to change the legal landscape, shape public affairs, launch industries and do big things." Clements was one of only two Texas attorneys named to the list.

Dr. Michael Frisch, a professor of psychology at Baylor University and a nationally recognized authority in the emerging field of positive psychology, will participate in an international conference focusing on using the arts to promote a person's quality of life.

Following services this morning at First Baptist Church of Waco for Baylor University President Emeritus Herbert H. Reynolds, the funeral procession of vehicles will proceed during the noon hour through the Baylor campus. The procession will travel along on Fifth Street to Oakwood Cemetery.

The family of Herbert H. Reynolds, President Emeritus of Baylor University who passed away unexpectedly on May 25 in New Mexico, has announced arrangements associated with Dr. Reynolds' funeral and memorial in his honor.

The Texas House of Representatives honored Baylor University President Emeritus Herbert H. Reynolds on Saturday, May 26, with a memorial resolution, HCR 277 by Rep. Jim Dunnam (BBA '86, JD '87). Both the House and Senate then adjourned in Reynolds' honor.

Baylor University's Dr. Kent Gilbreath has been selected as a Piper Professor of 2007, a prestigious honor presented annually to the top Texas professors by the Minnie Stevens Piper Foundation. Gilbreath is a professor of economics and holder of The E.M. and Thelma Stevens Chair of Private Enterprise and Entrepreneurship in the Hankamer School of Business.

The opening concert of Baylor University's 2007 Summer Choral School will be presented at Armstrong Browning Library at 7:30 p.m. Monday, June 4, in the McLean Foyer of Meditation.

Dr. Carlos William Moore, The Edwin W. Streetman Professor of Marketing at Baylor University's Hankamer School of Business, passed away on Sunday, May 27, in Emmett, Texas. He was 64. Funeral services will be held at 2 p.m. Wednesday, May 30, at Griffin-Roughton Funeral Home in Corsicana.

Baylor University President Emeritus Herbert H. Reynolds, the 11th president of Texas' oldest continuously operating university, died suddenly May 25 in Angel Fire, N.M. He was 77.

As the 2007 spring semester came to an end, Baylor University's Student Government leaders reflected on their accomplishments of the past year, focusing on what the achievements meant to them personally and how they were able to impact others through their daily lives.

Baylor University's Institute of Biomedical Studies has signed a two-year inter-institutional agreement with one of the nation's leading cancer research centers, the Mary Crowley Medical Research Center (MCMRC) in Dallas, which will allow Baylor graduate students to conduct their graduate studies in MCMRC labs.

The Baylor University College Bowl team's third trip to the national tournament in four years ended with their best finish ever--placement in the final four. The team competed May 4-6 at the University of Southern California, with other top teams from across the nation.

Baylor University's Mayborn Museum Complex is pleased to announce its 2007 summer traveling exhibit - Wrapped in Tradition: The Chihuly Collection of American Indian Trade Blankets - which will be on display in the Thomas E. and Emilyne Weed Anding Traveling Exhibit Gallery at the museum from May 20-Aug. 18.

Baylor University senior James Nortey, a philosophy and political science major from Cedar Park, recently was selected for placement in the prestigious Federal Bureau of Investigation honors internship program. Nortey joins fellow Baylor student Christine Tamer as one of only 56 students selected from a nationwide pool of applicants.

With more than half of all recent industrial innovation in the United States attributed to advances pioneered through scientific research, publicly-funded research and development is vital to the foundation of today's scientific and technological progress.

As cellulosic ethanol becomes more and more a front-runner to help reduce the country's "addiction to oil," the high cost of producing it still stands as one of the major hurdles. But now, Baylor University researchers have identified about 40 different compounds created in the pre-treatment step when making cellulosic ethanol that could be responsible for restricting the fermenting process, which ultimately leads to higher production costs.

We rejoice in our suffering, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not disappoint us.
Romans 5:3-5

The Apostle Paul's powerful words to the Romans echoed through Jones Concert Hall during Baylor Law School's spring commencement.

As the United States Air Force commemorates its 60th anniversary, Baylor University's Air Force Reserve Officer Training Corps (ROTC) Detachment 810 will celebrate that proud tradition and its own milestone on Saturday, as the program commissions its largest class of second lieutenants in 48 years.

The Baylor University Board of Regents at its spring meeting today approved a $345 million operating budget for 2007-08. The board also elected officers, heard an alumni report and celebrated the groundbreakings of two significant facilities to be built on the Baylor campus.

Baylor University will hold a groundbreaking ceremony for the McMullen-Connally Faculty Center at 2 p.m. Friday, May 11, at the construction site on South Fifth Street between Speight and Bagby Avenues. A reception will follow immediately in the Ed Crenshaw Student Foundation Center.

Baylor University Law School alumnus Harper Estes has been elected president-elect of the State Bar of Texas for the 2007-2008 year. In 2008-2009, he will serve as president of the third-largest bar association in the United States.

Two Baylor University researchers have been awarded several significant grants from OXiGENE Inc., an international biopharmaceutical company, to continue and greatly expand their research into new cancer fighting compounds.

Baylor University will celebrate its annual commencement with a weekend of events Friday, May 11, and Saturday, May 12. More than 1,700 students will participate in commencement exercises, which have taken place annually since 1854. To date, Baylor has produced more than 135,000 graduates.

Three noted scholar/teachers have been selected as finalists for Baylor University's 2008 Robert Foster Cherry Award for Great Teaching, the single largest award given to an individual for exceptional teaching. The award winner, who will be announced in spring 2008, will receive $200,000 plus $25,000 for his or her home department and will teach in residence at Baylor during fall 2008 or spring 2009.

Baylor University will hold a groundbreaking ceremony for the $34 million Alwin O. and Dorothy Highers Athletics Complex and the Simpson Athletics and Academic Center at 5 p.m. Thursday, May 10, at the construction site on University Parks Drive, near the Baylor Marina, bringing Baylor's football operations back to campus for the first time in the modern era.

Five Baylor Law School alumni were among the 15 Texas attorneys who were inducted as Fellows into the prestigious American College of Trial Lawyers (ACTL), one the premier legal associations in the United States and Canada.

Recent graduates of Baylor University's Louise Herrington School of Nursing have once again scored significantly higher than the national average on a standardized nursing certification test, according to results released by the National Council of State Boards of Nursing (NCSBN).

The Baylor Alumni Association will honor Joy Fenner and Dr. Bill Sherman with the George W. Truett Distinguished Church Service Award, during Baylor University's morning and afternoon commencement exercises on May 12 at the Ferrell Center.

One-hundred percent of Baylor law students who took the Texas State Bar Exam in February passed it on their first try, according to results released by the Texas State Bar examiners. This was the highest pass rate among students from the nine Texas law schools.

The Baylor Alumni Association will honor four retired faculty members during a May 5 luncheon co-sponsored by the Baylor Retired Professors/Administrators Program. Baylor President John M. Lilley will present the awards, which are given annually in recognition of scholarship, devotion and service to the university.

Raising a five-figure dollar amount is a challenge. Raising it in small increments, at a suggested $25 per gift, is even more difficult. However, that is exactly what the Baylor class of 2007 did, and on April 24, they dedicated their senior class gift - landscaping the Draper/Old Main Complex courtyards.

Baylor University researchers have found the residue of three new human medications in fish living in the Pecan Creek in North Texas.

Dr. Jacquelin Neatherlin, a professor in Baylor University's Louise Herrington School of Nursing and an expert in neuroscience nursing, has received the Melanie Minton Certified Neuroscience Registered Nurse of the Year award, presented May 1 at the annual meeting of the American Association of Neuroscience Nurses in Orlando.

In recognition of their vision, leadership and generosity to the university, Baylor University honored Ken and Celia Carlile of Marshall with the dedication of the Ken and Celia Carlile Atrium in the Baylor Sciences Building during a ceremony on April 25.

The Baylor University family is mourning the loss of Caitlin Creed, a freshman social work major from Homewood, Ala., who died in a car accident Monday, April 30, near Palestine. Visitation will be held from 6 to 8 p.m. Thursday, May 3, at Autry Funeral Home, 1025 SE Loop 456, in Jacksonville, Texas. Funeral services for Caitlin will be held at 4 p.m. Friday, May 4, at Central Baptist Church, 1909 E. Rusk St., in Jacksonville.

Christine Tamer, a junior journalism major from Colleyville, has received a place in the highly competitive Federal Bureau of Investigation honors internship program. Tamer is one of only 56 students selected from a nationwide pool of thousands of applicants.

Nearly 300 Baylor University upperclassmen will receive their official Baylor Ring this spring, when Baylor President John M. Lilley presents the rings in a ceremony at 5:30 p.m. Tuesday, May 1, in Waco Hall.

Baylor University's Student Government hosted fellow student leaders from Southwestern University and Texas Christian University at the Conference of Private Universities on April 14.

Baylor University's Hankamer School of Business student sales team placed third at the ninth annual National Collegiate Sales Competition (NCSC), held March 15-17 at Kennesaw State University in Georgia. Both Baylor contestants advanced to the semi-final round, finishing at the top of the 88-person field.

The newly elected leaders of Baylor University's student body were officially sworn into office on April 26, receiving a welcome and congratulations for the upcoming school year from Waco Mayor Virginia DuPuy and Baylor President John M. Lilley.

Baylor University's Piper Center for Child and Family Studies has joined local organizations all around the country who are working to improve opportunities for all young children. April 22-28 is the Week of the Young Child, celebrated each year to recognize the needs of young children and thank educators and others involved in building better futures for all children.

The Texas Outdoor Education Association has honored Dr. Norman L. "Buddy" Gilchrest, professor emeritus of health, human performance and recreation at Baylor University, with its top award - the John Fortner Outstanding Educator Award - presented during TOEA's Annual Conference at Leakey's H.E. Butt Foundation Camp.

Baylor University faculty, staff, students and alumni are invited to send a personal electronic card of the Pat Neff tower illuminated in Virginia Tech's school colors of maroon and orange to those who might have been affected by this tragedy. Whether Baylor alumni and friends in the Blacksburg area, or to students and alumni of Virginia Tech, the eCard will let them know that Baylor stands with them during this difficult time.

Baylor University Law School will hold its spring commencement ceremony at 10 a.m. Saturday, April 28, in Jones Concert Hall at the Glennis McCrary Music Building on the Baylor campus. Law Professor Gerald Powell will serve as keynote speaker. Baylor President John M. Lilley also will participate in the program and will award juris doctor degrees to the 61 graduates.

Keep a sense of humor and don't take yourself too seriously. Those were the words of wisdom the Honorable Ed Kinkeade gave to Baylor University Law students at the inaugural John William and Florence Dean Minton Endowed Memorial Academic Convocation.

Baylor University's Theta Nu chapter of Alpha Tau Omega received the North-American Interfraternity Council's Award of Distinction for an individual fraternity on April 16 at a national awards ceremony.

Professor Martha C. Agee, senior lecturer in business law, was selected as the 2006-2007 Collins Outstanding Professor award recipient. She will present a public lecture at 4 p.m. Thursday, May 10, in Kayser Auditorium, titled "Law and Ethics in our Daily Lives: The Green and Golden Rule," where she will focus on common lawsuits and how to avoid them or resolve them in a Christian and ethical manner.