News

Baylor University's George W. Truett Theological Seminary Alumni Association honored Anne Lenox Burton with its Distinguished Alumni Award on Nov. 13 in Dallas. Burton received the award at the Friends of Truett dinner held during the annual meeting of the Baptist General Convention of Texas.

Baylor University admission services will host prospective students and their parents during Sic 'Day from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., Monday, Nov. 20, on the Baylor campus. Approximately 160 students are expected to attend.

Baylor University will host the 50th anniversary of the American Studies Association of Texas conference Nov. 16-18.

Dr. Andrés Fontana will present a lecture titled "Terrorism, Organized Crime and Narcotrafficking as Major Threats in Latin America's Southern Cone" as part of the Global Issues Lecture Series from 4 to 5 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 16, in Room 116 of the Draper Academic Building on the Baylor University Campus.

Baylor University President John M. Lilley announced today that the Board of Regents has unanimously approved the appointment of Dr. Dennis A. Prescott, as Baylor's vice president for development. Prescott, a native Texan, currently serves as vice president for external affairs for Mississippi State University and chief executive officer of the MSU Foundation. He will assume his position at Baylor on Jan. 8, 2007.

About 50 students from Gaston Middle School in Dallas will tour Baylor University's Louise Herrington School of Nursing on Wednesday, Nov. 15, to get a better understanding of the nursing field.

Dr. James D.G. Dunn, an international New Testament scholar, will address the topic - "What Should Christians Do When They Disagree?" - for the Willson-Addis Endowed lecture from 3:30 to 5 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 16, in the Piper Great Hall of Baylor University's George W. Truett Theological Seminary.

The Baylor Undergraduate Mock Trial Team (BUMT) will be hosting its third annual Green and Gold Invitational Mock Trial Tournament on Nov. 17-19 at the Sheila and Walter Umphrey Law Center.

Baylor Theatre will debut Tom Stoppards's Tony Award-winning comedy, "Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead," at 7:30 p.m. Nov. 14-18 and 2 p.m. Nov. 19 in the Mabee Theatre of the Hooper-Schaefer Fine Arts Center.

In honor of Veterans Day on Saturday, Nov. 11, the Silver Wings Society at Baylor University will host a Veterans Day Ceremony at 4 p.m. Monday, Nov. 13, by the flagpole on the east side of Pat Neff Hall.

Students from Baylor Law School won a Rookie Mock Trial Tournament sponsored by Southern Methodist University Dedman School of Law in Dallas during the weekend.

For the 10th year in a row, the Baylor University Model Organization of American States Team has taken top honors as the Outstanding Delegation at the MOAS competition held Nov. 2-4 at St. Mary's University. The annual competition was sponsored by the World Affairs Council of San Antonio.

A national conference to be held at Baylor University will assemble an interdisciplinary group of scholars who will address the creative power of the Christian imagination and explore the interaction of Christian thought with various aspects of contemporary intellectual, social and political life.

Dr. Seon-Wook Kim, assistant professor and chair of the department of philosophy at Soongsil University in South Korea, will present a lecture on "North Korea: The Nuclear Crisis" at 4 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 7, in room 116 of the Draper Academic Building on the Baylor University campus.

An international conference celebrating the centenary birth of Hannah Arendt, a Jewish philosopher, activist and political writer, will take place Nov. 9-12 on the Baylor University campus.

Twenty teams from different universities around Texas will be on the Baylor University campus Saturday, Nov. 4, for the regional contest of the IBM-sponsored Association of Computing Machinery (ACM) International Collegiate Programming Contest (ICPC), a competition that brings the brightest computer programming college students together for a true "battle of the brains."

The Asian Students Association will host its sixth annual AsianFest and second annual Pandamonium culture show at 6:30 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 9, and 7 p.m. Friday, Nov. 10, respectively, on the Baylor campus.

Dr. Kenneth Hafertepe, chair of Baylor University's department of museum studies, will speak on "19th-Century Birds-Eye View of Texas" at 3:30 p.m. Wednesday, Nov. 8, in the Carroll Library reading room on the Baylor campus in conjunction with the opening of a new exhibit of the bird's-eye view images.

Baylor Law School students posted yet another "first" on the latest Texas Bar Exam - chalking up a 97.87 percent success rate, the highest pass rate among students from the nine Texas law schools who took the two-day examination in July this year.

Steppin' Out, Baylor's biannual day of service, will take place from 1 to 5 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 4, in various locations throughout the Waco community.

Dr. Robert Marks, distinguished professor of electrical and computer engineering at Baylor University, has been elected the first chapter chair of the newly created Dallas Section of the Institute of Electronic and Electrical Engineers (IEEE) Computational Intelligence Society (CIS).

Family businesses from across the state of Texas are slated to be honored on Thursday, Nov. 2, at the 17th Annual Texas Family Business of the Year Awards Banquet on the Baylor University campus.

Baylor University Associate Professor Sara Alexander will report her research findings in a lecture titled "In the Eye of the Storm: How Hurricane Iris Exposed the Social and Economic Costs of Tourism Development in Belize" from 4-5 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 2, in Draper 116.

New York Times best-selling author Bruce Feiler, whose books include "Walking the Bible: A Journey by Land," "Where God Was Born" and "Abraham: A Journey to the Heart of Three Faiths," will be the featured speaker at Baylor University's fifth annual Ferguson-Clark Author Lecture. Feiler's lecture, "Can We All Get Along? Building Bridges Among the Religions in the 21st Century," will begin at 7:30 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 9, in Waco Hall.

Professor Gerald R. Powell will give the keynote address during Baylor Law School's commencement ceremonies at 3:30 p.m., Saturday, Nov. 4, in the Miller Chapel. Baylor President John M. Lilley also will participate in the program and will award juris doctor degrees to the 13 graduates.

The Baylor University family is mourning the loss of Katie Moseley, an 18-year-old freshman from Livingston, who died Sunday night, Oct. 29, in a two-vehicle accident on state highway 164, five miles northwest of Buffalo. The lives of two additional individuals not affiliated with Baylor were also lost in the accident.

Kappa Delta and the Place2BU's annual Battle of the Bands will showcase a variety of music talent at 8 p.m. Friday, Oct. 27, in the SUB Bowl.

Photomontage pioneer Jerry Uelsmann, whose work has been exhibited in more than 100 shows in the United States and abroad, will deliver the M.D. Anderson Lecture at 7 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 2, in room 149 at the Hooper-Schaefer Fine Arts Center on the Baylor University campus. The lecture, "Process and Perception," is free and open to the public.

More than 60 environmental and human health scientists in Texas will be on the Baylor University campus Friday, Oct. 27, and Saturday, Oct. 28, for the annual meeting of the Gulf Coast Regional Chapter of the Society of Toxicology.

Professor Elizabeth S. Miller, a 15-year member of the Baylor Law School faculty, has been elected to membership in the prestigious American Law Institute.

Dr. Jonathan Boyarin, the Robert M. Beren Distinguished Professor of Modern Jewish Studies at the University of Kansas, will visit Baylor University on Thursday and Friday, to discuss renowned Jewish rabbi and theologian Abraham Joshua Heschel.

New data from the Baylor Religion Survey contradicts the stereotypical view that Evangelical Christians hold only conservative views on cultural and social issues. Similarly, the survey dispels the notion that nonevangelicals hold liberal views regarding the same cultural and social issues.

Dr. Tony Baker, an assistant professor of theology at Episcopal Theological Seminary of the Southwest in Austin, will present his lecture on ""Fiddling with the Melody: Balthasar on the Symphony of Truth" at 2 p.m. Friday, Nov. 2, in the Treasure Room of the Armstrong Browning Library on the Baylor University campus.

Baylor University's Hankamer School of Business will host its annual Business Ethics Forum - "Five Years Later: Leadership Lessons from Enron and Andersen" - Nov. 1-3 at the Hankamer School of Business. The forum will discuss some of the major ethical issues and lessons learned from Enron and Andersen, from their rich history and tradition to their demise.

In a world where self-promotion and assertiveness seem to be the norm and, in many cases, rewarded, humility can be considered a weakness. But a new study conducted by a Baylor University researcher indicates humility is actually a character strength with possible benefits.

Mary Kathryn Alexander, an accomplished musician who taught harp and piano at the Baylor University School of Music for more than 20 years, passed away Oct. 21 in Waco at the age of 80.

Baylor University's latest living and learning center for students could be called its most adventurous yet. Applications are being taken through Nov. 6 for the Outdoor Adventure Living and Learning Center (OA LLC), a partnership between Baylor's Campus Living and Learning, department of campus recreation and department of health, human performance and recreation (HHPR).

Joe White, president and owner of Kanakuk Kamps, will address Baylor University students at 10 and 11 a.m. Wednesday, Oct. 25, in Chapel services.

Baylor Law School teams nabbed first, second and fourth places at the Texas Administrative Law Moot Court Tournament held in Austin during the weekend.

Suzanne Skinner, a senior marketing major from Dallas, was crowned the 2006 Baylor University Homecoming Queen during Thursday night's Pigskin performance.

Baylor University's annual Missions Week will be held Oct. 22-26 and will provide students with several opportunities to interact with missionaries from a variety of different missions organizations.

The Baylor University Board of Regents at its Homecoming meeting today set tuition and fees for 2007-08, while approving new academic programs and the construction of a faculty center.

KWBU-TV will broadcast the Baylor University Homecoming Parade, one of the oldest and largest collegiate homecoming parades in the nation, with live coverage from 9 to 11 a.m. Saturday, Oct. 21. The parade will also be streamed live on the Internet at

Researchers in the Exercise and Sport Nutrition Lab (ESNL) at Baylor University are recruiting 80 apparently healthy but overweight men and women between the ages of 35 and 60 to participate in a study to evaluate the effects of a nutritional supplement on weight loss.

Baylor University has received a nearly half-million dollar grant from the National Science Foundation (NSF) to provide as many as 40 scholarships to transfer students from regional community colleges and partner institutions who wish to continue their education in engineering or computer science at Baylor.

Azar Nafisi, the author of the best-seller Reading Lolita in Tehran: A Memoir in Books , will deliver this year's Beall-Russell Lecture in the Humanities at Baylor University. Nafisi's lecture, "Republic of the Imagination," will begin at 3:30 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 26, on the fifth floor of the Cashion Academic Building. Admission is free.

Baylor University will celebrate its 97th anniversary Homecoming Oct. 18-21 with a variety of traditional events and activities.

Baylor University's Martin Museum of Art will be the site of two contemporary art installations by artists Victoria Star Varner and Jiyoung Chung. The exhibitions will run from Oct. 26-Nov. 30.

Sometimes the best part of success is the journey that takes you there. That's what Dr. Kevin Pinney, a chemistry professor at Baylor University since 1993, will discuss in-depth at the Cornelia Marschall Smith Professor of the Year lecture at 4 p.m., Tuesday, Oct. 17, in room D109 of the Baylor Sciences Building.

The recent community summit - "Beyond Leadership: Transforming Leaders Into Lifelong Servants" - proved to be a huge success, as Allan Marshall, Baylor University's external vice president for the student body, brought together Baylor students, faculty, and administrators, with Waco community leaders to discuss meaningful ways to get involved and strengthen the Baylor-Waco relationship.

In November, Student Body External Vice President Allan Marshall will start a new program at Baylor called the Alumni Mentor Program (A.M.P.).

The Baylor University Alumni Association will honor six Baylor graduates during the first performance of Pigskin Revue on Friday, Oct. 20, at Waco Hall. The Outstanding Young Alumni Award is given annually by the Baylor Alumni Association to recognize professional achievement and distinguished service to Baylor by alumni 40 years old or younger.

Dr. Judy Lott, dean of Baylor University's Louise Herrington School of Nursing, has been named the 2006 Woman of Distinction by the Baylor Women's Council of Dallas.

Baylor University's School of Education will host educators and reading specialists from more than 40 Central Texas schools, school districts and universities for the 2006 Regional Texas Association for the Improvement of Reading (TAIR) Conference from 8:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Friday, Oct. 13, on the Baylor campus.

Do you ever long for the "good old days" when life was much simpler? On Saturday, Oct. 14, visitors are invited to travel back in time with Village Days at the Mayborn Museum Complex at Baylor University. From 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., special activities will take place in the Gov. Bill and Vara Daniel Historic Village, an outdoor component of the museum complex.

Baylor University has joined the growing list of universities that have connected to Internet2, a state-of-the-art high-speed research network connection that will strengthen the "next generation" capabilities for Baylor faculty and students.

While the majority of law schools nationwide are facing a decline in applications, Baylor University Law School is "bucking the national trend" with an increase in applications, according to an article in the Texas Lawyer publication.

Dr. Marc Ellis, director of the Center for American and Jewish Studies and University Professor of American and Jewish Studies at Baylor University, will speak at a peace conference titled "Making Multi-faith Connections in the Practice of Peace and Non-Violence" on Oct. 11-12 at Southwestern University in Georgetown, Texas.

Baylor University's Institute for Studies of Religion (ISR) and the Program on Prosocial Behavior have received a $400,000 grant from the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP) to establish a research initiative that examines the role religion plays in prosocial youth behavior.

Dr. Mark Long, director of Middle East studies and assistant professor in the Honor's College, will discuss "The Meta-Narrative of Osama bin Laden" from 3:30 to 4:30 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 10, in Draper 116 at Baylor University.

The Baylor University chapter of Phi Delta Kappa International and Waco ISD will host Dr. Ricardo Garcia, an award-winning author and education professor at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, for a public presentation on "Building Community in Schools and Classrooms" from 6 to 8 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 12, at the Waco ISD Texas Playhouse Theater, 201 I-35 South.

Baylor University's Mortar Board chapter will celebrate International Students' Day at 7 p.m. Monday, Oct. 9, in the basement of the Bill Daniel Student Center. The event will feature free food and drink and activities designed to encourage fellowship among international students.

Baylor University admission services will host prospective students and their parents during Sic 'Em Day from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., Monday, Oct. 9, on the Baylor campus. Approximately 130 students are expected to attend.

The Center for Jewish Studies at Baylor University will hold a discussion on "Religion, War & Peace: Thinking and Living Our Faith" at 4 p.m. Monday, Oct. 9, in room 133 of the Marrs McLean Science Building.

Baylor University's annual Robert T. Miller Distinguished Lecture Series will focus on the foreign policy of the late Sen. Robert Taft, son of U.S. Pres. William H. Taft and author of the Taft-Hartley Act, which remains a basic labor law.

Alpha Tau Omega and the Place2BU are teaming up to host the second annual bed races event at Baylor University from 4 to 7 p.m. Friday, Oct. 6, on Fountain Mall.

The 16th annual meeting of the Texas Medieval Association (TEMA) will be held Friday and Saturday, Oct. 6 - 7, on the Baylor University campus.

Dr. Michael Bishop, professor of journalism at Baylor University, has been named The Fred Hartman Distinguished Professor of Journalism.

Dr. Hans Redlef Arnold, former head of the German Foreign Office and ambassador to the United Nations, will present a lecture titled "Europe and the United States: Where do we go from here?" at 7 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 5, in the Bennett Auditorium at Baylor University.

For the past decade, Lynnette Geary has spent hundreds of hours after work and on weekends, practicing and performing as Assistant Carillonneur on Baylor University's majestic 48-bell McLane Carillon. Now the musician and assistant to the dean of the College of Arts and Sciences has been named Baylor's official University Carillonneur.

Positive psychology - the study of how to improve a person's happiness and quality of life - is a new trend that is rapidly changing traditional psychology and mental health care. The idea is developing after years of evidence-based research and a Baylor University professor is helping lead the way.

Princeton Theological Seminary professor and biblical scholar C. Clifton Black will present "The Gospel According to Johnny Cash: The New Testament and The Crafting of a Public Theology," as part of the Minette and Huber Lelland Drumwright Jr. Colloquium in New Testament Studies, at 3:30 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 5, in the Paul and Katy Piper Great Hall at Baylor University's George W. Truett Theological Seminary.

A "BUnited" event that focuses on topics of diversity will take place at Chapel at 10 and 11 a.m. Wednesday, Oct. 4, in Waco Hall.

Men's Fitness Magazine today released its list of the Top 25 Fittest Colleges in America in 2006, and Baylor University is in great shape at No. 9 in the annual survey.

Dr. Naymond Keathley, senior vice provost at Baylor University, has announced that Michael D. Morrison, The William J. Boswell Professor of Law at Baylor Law School, will succeed Dr. William A. Mitchell as The Jo Murphy Chair in International Education and director of the Center of International Education (CIE) at Baylor, effective Feb. 1, 2007.

For the third consecutive year, law students at Baylor University have been ranked the "most competitive" in the nation, according to The Princeton Review, the New York-based education services company that publishes the law school guide, "Best 170 Law Schools."

Dr. James L. Crenshaw, Robert L. Flowers Professor of Old Testament at Duke University Divinity School, will serve as guest speaker at the Daniel B. McGee Endowed Lecture in Religious Studies. Crenshaw's lecture, "The Reciprocating Touch: The Knowledge of God in Wisdom Literature," will begin at 3:30 p.m. Monday, Oct. 2, in Miller Chapel on the Baylor University Campus.

Reformed Mafia crime boss Michael Franzese will speak to Baylor University students during Chapel services at 10 and 11 a.m. Monday, Oct. 2, in Waco Hall.

Described by Law Dean Brad Toben as an "inspiration to all," law librarian Susan Kendrick was surprised Friday by members of the Baylor Law School "family" when the reference/reading area on the first level of the law library was dedicated in her honor and in memory of former librarian, the late Della Geyer.

Dr. Ruth Ann Foster, one of the two founding faculty members of Baylor University's George W. Truett Theological Seminary, died Thursday, Sept. 28, in Hewitt after battling cancer. Visitation will be from 10 a.m. to noon Tuesday, Oct. 3, at First Baptist Church, Waco. A memorial service will follow at the same location at 1 p.m. with the Rev. Julie Pennington-Russell, pastor of Waco's Calvary Baptist Church, officiating.

Dr. George Gawrych, associate professor of Middle East history at Baylor University, will deliver a lecture titled "Hezbollah and the Challenges for Peace in the Middle East" at 4 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 28, in Room 116 of the Draper Academic Building as a part of the Global Issues Lecture Series.

Baylor University's Institute for Studies of Religion (ISR) has received a $378,862 grant from the John Templeton Foundation to fund ISR's Initiative on the Economics of Religion. The grant will provide funds for four scholars to investigate the connection between religion and economic growth and the effects of government intervention in religious markets on the practice of religion.

Baylor University will be featured in a television series about "Religion in the United States" to be shown in Brazil beginning next month by the SBT Brazilian Network (Sistema Brasileiro de Televisao).

Baylor Career Services will host the annual fall Job Fair for students and alumni to network with a wide variety of employers from noon to 5 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 27, 2006 at the Ferrell Center.

Baylor University students will have the opportunity to pause and reflect during special worship Chapel services at 10 and 11 a.m. Wednesday, Sept. 27, in Waco Hall. The worship Chapel service was created in response to student evaluations that said they would like to see an entire Chapel dedicated to worshipping Christ through song.

Capt. Shane Runyon, a 2001 graduate of Baylor University's Louise Herrington School of Nursing, has been selected by the Air Force as Air Mobility Command Nurse of the Year.

As part of continuing research and the success of the spring program, Dr. Keith Sanford, a clinical psychologist and an associate professor of psychology and neuroscience at Baylor University, is again offering free marriage assessments to any central Texas couple

Bill and Eva Williams of Scottsdale, Ariz., have been selected as Baylor University's Parents of the Year for 2006. The couple was honored during the halftime ceremony of the Baylor vs. Army football game Sept. 23 in Waco, Texas.

The Baylor Alumni Association presented the First Families of Baylor Award to the Ragland-Patterson family on Friday, Sept. 22, during Parents Weekend festivities. The family also was recognized during halftime of the Baylor-Army football game on Sept. 23 at Floyd Casey Stadium.

Renowned historian Brian Tierney, Professor Emeritus of History at Cornell University, will deliver the Hugh and Beverly Wamble Lecture on Religious Liberty at 3:30 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 27, in room 510 at the Cashion Academic Building on the Baylor University campus. Tierney's lecture, "Religion and Natural Rights: Historical Contexts and Contingencies," is free and open to the public.

The Baylor Alumni Association will welcome seventy-five new Alumni By Choice at a noon luncheon on Saturday, September 30, at the Hughes-Dillard Alumni Center.

Prominent Baylor University supporter and Amarillo philanthropist Troy M. Mays passed away Sept. 15 at the age of 82. The recipient of the 2006 Founders Medal, one of Baylor's most distinguished honors, Mays supported numerous areas of Baylor near and dear to his heart, honoring family and friends in the process.

His numerous friends and colleagues in the Dallas area and at Baylor University were this week mourning the death of popular Baylor graduate and former Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) official Gregg Alan Cooke, who died suddenly Sept. 17 in Dallas. He was 51.

Christian comedy duo Craig Gross and Jake Larson will share real life stories and spiritual lessons to Baylor University students during chapel services at 10 and 11 a.m., Sept. 25, in Waco Hall.

To help students "go beyond the norm," while strengthening ties between the Baylor University and the city of Waco, Student Body External Vice President Allan Marshall will host a community summit called "Beyond Leadership: Transforming Leaders Into Lifelong Servants" from 4 to 6:30 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 28, in Barfield Drawing Room of the Bill Daniel Student Center.

Dr. Thomas S. Hibbs, dean of the Honors College at Baylor University, has announced the appointment of Dr. Andrew C. Wisely, associate professor of German and director of the division of German and Russian, as director of the Honors Program at Baylor.

After Dark, an annual All-University variety show, will feature the talent of Baylor University students Friday, Sept. 22, at 7 and 10 p.m., in Waco Hall.

Baylor Law School will host a debate on "Framing the Debate: Religion in the Public Square" at 4 p.m. Monday, Sept. 25, in the Jim Kronzer Appellate Advocacy Classroom and Courtroom (room 127).

Baylor Theatre will present William Shakespeare's Hamlet at 7:30 p.m. Sept. 26-30 and 2 p.m. Oct. 1 in the Mabee Theatre of the Hooper-Schaefer Fine Arts Center.