News

Incoming Baylor University freshmen were encouraged to begin their college careers by getting involved in the community. More than 2,000 took that "First Step" the morning of Aug. 24.

Hundreds of Baylor University freshmen made quite an impact on a 15-block Waco neighborhood Aug. 24 during the "First Step" community service project.

Hot-air balloon pilots will ignite their burners and illuminate the twilight sky - all to the sounds of popular Christian music from Avalon - in the parking lot of Baylor University's Ferrell Center at 9:15 p.m. Friday, Aug. 30.

A crowd of more than 150 Baylor University administrators, faculty, staff, students and journalists heard from President Robert B. Sloan Jr. about the progress of Baylor 2012, the university's bold 10-year vision, during the annual President's Media Luncheon, held each year at the beginning of the fall semester.

While obesity is becoming a problem for U.S. children, the transition to middle school can sometimes lead to eating problems and unsafe dieting practices, according to research by two Baylor nutrition science professors.

Because of limited parking, a free shuttle service will be available for those planning to attend the balloon glow and free concert Friday, Aug. 30, in the parking lot of the Ferrell Center.

Aim High, Aim Air Force. No One Comes Close. Cross Into the Blue. These easily recognizable advertising slogans invite young people to consider the United States Air Force as a possible career path. A number of Baylor students have accepted that invitation by joining the University's Air Force Reserve Officer Training Corps (ROTC). One day soon they will be defenders of the nation.

Peggy Wehmeyer, the first national religion correspondent for a major television news network, will be presented with the 2002 Baylor University Communications Award during the annual President's Media Luncheon at noon Tuesday, Aug. 27, in Barfield Drawing Room in the Bill Daniel Student Center.

Dr. Greg Garrett, associate professor of English at Baylor University, has signed a two-book contract with Kensington Books, publisher of Garrett's recent novel Free Bird. Garrett's next book, Cycling, will appear in September 2003. His third book, tentatively titled Sanctuary, will appear in 2004.

Approximately a thousand Baylor University freshmen will take part in "First Step," a mass community service project, from 9:15 a.m. to noon Saturday, Aug. 24.

Baylor University's traditional Welcome Week is under way now through Aug. 25 for Baylor freshmen and transfer students. Highlights of the five-day event include seminars to introduce students to Baylor and its traditions, social meetings, a concert featuring Audio Adrenaline and a mass community service project.

Dr. Donald D. Schmeltekopf, provost and vice president for academic affairs at Baylor University since 1991, announced during the fall faculty meeting his plans to retire from the post effective May 2003.

Baylor President Robert B. Sloan Jr. today announced the appointment of Baylor faculty and administrators who will serve on the provost search committee.

No university has a more organized - and more helpful - move-in day than Baylor University, as more than 2,600 new freshmen moved their belongings into residence halls at the beginning of Welcome Week Aug. 21.

Baylor University lost one of its devoted and longtime professors with the passing of Lucille Williams Brigham, associate professor of math for more than 40 years.

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Baylor University's traditional Welcome Week gets under way Aug. 21-25 for Baylor freshmen and transfer students, highlighted by the early Wednesday morning move-in to residence halls, concerts and meetings, and a mass community service project. Fall classes for all students begin Monday, Aug. 26.

President George W. Bush closed his President's Economic Forum Aug. 13 at Baylor University with high praise for the university's hosting of the event.

When George Lassetter walked the stage of Waco Hall to receive his Baylor diploma in 1954, he was given special recognition for being the first person ever to graduate from the University with credits earned entirely through night classes. Through determination and sacrifice, the high school dropout and World War II veteran realized his lifelong dream of a college education.

President George W. Bush held his economic forum Aug. 13 at Baylor University, bringing together government policy makers, business leaders, workers, economists, ethicists and others to discuss the fundamentals of the economy and the President's agenda to increase economic growth for the future.

Baylor University President Robert B. Sloan Jr. was one of the participants in the 'Education and Workers' panel session of the President's Economic Forum, held Aug. 13 at Baylor Law School.

As the panel sessions of the Aug. 13 President's Economic Forum concluded at Baylor Law School, President George W. Bush, Vice President Dick Cheney, cabinet members and forum participants gathered for a nationally televised plenary session in Jones Concert Hall. Baylor President Robert B. Sloan Jr., seated next to President Bush and Vice President Cheney, moderated the event before more than a thousand invited guests and members of the media.

With White House staffers comparing the planning of the President's Economic Forum to organizing a G-8 Summit, Baylor University pulled off an extraordinary feat Aug. 13, hosting President George W. Bush, Vice President Dick Cheney, members of the President's Cabinet, high-profile business leaders and others for a nationally televised discussion of key economic issues.

With a little more than a week's notice to prepare for the President's Economic Forum, hundreds of Baylor University personnel and volunteers joined forces with White House staff to accomplish the flawless meeting Aug. 13, the success of which did not go unnoticed by government officials.

The panel meetings and final wrap-up session of the President's Economic Forum Aug. 13 at Baylor University were watched by millions all over the world through the efforts of more than 400 print, radio and television reporters, who filed their stories from a working newsroom set up in Baylor's 156,000-square-foot McLane Student Life Center.

Baylor University's McLane Student Life Center is undergoing a transformation this weekend as the university prepares to host hundreds of media who will be on campus Aug. 13 to cover the President's Economic Forum.
President George W. Bush, Vice President Dick Cheney, several Cabinet secretaries, business leaders and others will be at Baylor discussing the fundamentals of the economy and the President's agenda to increase economic growth for the future.

Dr. Corey Carbonara, professor of communication studies at Baylor University, has been appointed to a task group for the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), an international regulatory agency that is part of the United Nations. Carbonara is the only U.S. representative from a university to serve on the task force, which will create international standardization on the production, distribution and exhibition of digital cinema.

Baylor University will confer nearly 600 degrees during summer commencement exercises at 10 a.m. Saturday, Aug. 10, at the Ferrell Center.

President George W. Bush will hold an economic forum Aug. 13 at Baylor University, bringing together government policy makers, business leaders, workers, economists, ethicists and others to discuss the fundamentals of the economy and the President's agenda to increase economic growth for the future.

The Gov. Bill and Vara Daniel Historic Village will sponsor a cool event from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 3. "Udderly Delightful" dairy day will let village visitors collect old-fashioned recipes for cool dairy treats, such as custard and ice cream.

More than 180 worship leaders, music ministers, children's choir directors and keyboard ministers will take part in the joint church music conference - "Alleluia! Many Voices, One Song" - July 29-31 at Baylor University.

Dr. Merry McBryde-Foster, an assistant professor at Baylor University's Louise Herrington School of Nursing, uses an unorthodox approach to meet some needs of her patients - she is a professional clown, which she sees as an enhancement to medicine.

Child Magazine and the Association of Children's Museums has named Baylor University's Ollie Mae Moen Discovery Center as the 29th best children's museum in the United States. The only Texas children's museum to rank ahead of the Discovery Center was the Children's Museum of Houston, which was ranked second in the nation. Fort Worth's Museum of Science and History, the only other Texas museum listed in the top 50, was ranked 44th.

For more than 60 years, Baylor University has invited high school students to participate in its formidable debate program - one of the oldest and most successful in the nation - so it wasn't surprising to find some of the nation's top young debaters spending part of their summer researching and discussing the day's hottest issues during the Baylor Debaters' Workshop.

Andrew Weber, a 1996 magna cum laude graduate of Baylor Law School, has been named the new clerk of the Texas Supreme Court. Weber has served the court since 1999 as Justice Priscilla Owen's staff attorney.

You might say that Baylor biologist Robert D. Doyle, who is playing a leading role in maintaining Waco's wetlands, is fulfilling his destiny. The associate professor of biology first learned the value of preserving natural habitats as a child, growing up in the Amazon River basin.

Professor William D. Underwood, director of Baylor Law School's acclaimed Practice Court program, will give the keynote address at commencement ceremonies Saturday, Aug. 3, for 41 law school graduates.

Baylor University's Gov. Bill and Vara Daniel Historic Village will present The Broken Commandment or Stolen Gold in Junction City, a rousing melodrama, at 7 p.m. Friday, July 26.

In February 2002, Baylor's Board of Regents approved the first major components of Baylor 2012, the institution's 10-year vision, which includes several major construction projects on campus, and in spite of summer rain storms, these projects remain on schedule.
Check back often to the Baylor Public Relations web site for construction updates.

After a successful debut year, the Baylor Gold Rush is back, with a new look for the brightly colored spirit shirts that transformed Baylor athletic events in 2001-2002.

One of the top evangelical theologians, scholars and authors in North America, Dr. Stanley J. Grenz, will join the faculty of Baylor University's George W. Truett Theological Seminary this fall as Distinguished Professor of Theology, as announced today by Dr. Donald D. Schmeltekopf, provost and vice president for academic affairs.

Baylor University has been named one of the nation's most interesting colleges by a new Kaplan/Newsweek publication, The Unofficial, Unbiased Insider's Guide to the 320 Most Interesting Colleges, by Trent Anderson and Seppy Basili.

Another FastTrac program designed to sharpen the business skills of entrepreneurs is scheduled to get underway during the first week of September at Baylor University's Hankamer School of Business.

He has a security clearance, uses passwords and a building access code and is unable to reveal much about his work, but Baylor sociology and anthropology chair Charles Tolbert is not moonlighting as a spy for the CIA.

Hundreds of kids at church camps throughout Texas are jumping for joy this summer when they see a colorful van pull into the parking lot. The Baylor University Recreation Team has arrived and is ready to play.

In a few weeks, Dr. Mairi Rennie will be retiring to her 18th century stone-built cottage in the English countryside, reflecting on her role as director of Baylor's renowned Armstrong Browning Library (ABL) for the past six years.

OXiGENE Inc., a pharmaceutical firm in Watertown, Mass., announced this week (July 8) that Oxi-6197, an anti-cancer compound developed by Baylor University chemistry professor Kevin Pinney, has been selected for pre-clinical effectiveness and pharmacology studies by the National Cancer Institute.

The Baylor University-sponsored 1947 Ford convertible completed its 2,500-mile journey as a participant in the 2002 Great Race, which started June 15 in San Antonio and ended Saturday, June 22, in Anaheim, Calif.
Michael Black, coordinator of chapter development at the Baylor Alumni Association, accompanied the Baylor car during the rally-race and looks back on another memorable Great Race.

Say hello to the newest member of the Baylor family, a bear cub named Judge Sue Sloan, in honor of the wife of President Robert B. Sloan Jr. See the first photos of the first lady's namesake here.

It might be just a coincidence that Baylor bear trainer Adam Ylitalo is a chemistry major. The Longview senior spends quite a bit of his time these days mixing bottles of formula for Baylor's new bear mascot, Lady.

A Baylor University-sponsored 1947 Ford convertible was among 100 rare antique vehicles competing in The 2002 Great Race, which started June 15 in San Antonio and ended Saturday, June 22, in Anaheim, Calif.
Michael Black, coordinator of chapter development at the Baylor Alumni Association, accompanied the Baylor car during the 2,500-mile rally-race and filed his final progress report as the Great Race came to an end.

Russian delegates of the Open World program will visit Baylor University's J.M. Dawson Institute of Church-State Studies for a program on religious freedom and church-state issues Wednesday through Saturday, June 26-29.

Baylor's University for Young People, a summer enrichment opportunity for area youth sponsored by the Center for Community Learning and Enrichment, tested student-designed bridges in June as the culmination of the "Better, Stronger Bridges" class.

A Baylor University-sponsored 1947 Ford convertible is among 100 rare antique vehicles competing in The 2002 Great Race, which started June 15 in San Antonio and ends Saturday, June 22, in Anaheim, Calif.
Michael Black, coordinator of chapter development at the Baylor Alumni Association, is accompanying the Baylor car during the 2,500-mile rally-race and will send regular progress reports to Baylor Public Relations web site. Read his daily updates here.

Additional slots are open for Baylor University's Summer Math Camp for students entering first through fourth grades.

More than 20 kindergarten through ninth grade math teachers from Midway and Robinson ISDs and First Woodway Christian School are taking part this week in the Baylor University Eisenhower Project -- "Problem Solving for the 21st Century 2002-2003" -- a 17-month-long training project funded by the Texas Higher Education Board Eisenhower Funds.

A Baylor University-sponsored 1947 Ford convertible is among 100 rare antique vehicles competing in The 2002 Great Race, which started June 15 in San Antonio and ends Saturday, June 22, in Anaheim, Calif.
Michael Black, coordinator of chapter development at the Baylor Alumni Association, is accompanying the Baylor car during the 2,500-mile rally-race and will send regular progress reports to Baylor Public Relations web site. Read his daily updates here.

Marjorie Scardino, a 1969 Baylor graduate, has been named Britain's most powerful woman by the UK magazine Management Today.

A Baylor University-sponsored 1947 Ford convertible is among 100 rare antique vehicles competing in The 2002 Great Race, which started June 15 in San Antonio and ends Saturday, June 22, in Anaheim, Calif.
Michael Black, coordinator of chapter development at the Baylor Alumni Association, is accompanying the Baylor car during the 2,500-mile rally-race and will send regular progress reports to Baylor Public Relations web site. Read his daily updates here.

Crews began taking down the university-owned Baylor Landing Apartments this week in preparation for the construction of a new office and parking facility.

The sale of the Edgefield Baptist Church property to Baylor University was finalized today.
In addition, church trustees voted to make a contribution in the amount of $400,000 to endowed scholarship funds for students in Baylor's George W. Truett Theological Seminary and for ministerial students in the department of religion.

A Baylor University-sponsored 1947 Ford convertible is among 100 rare antique vehicles competing in The 2002 Great Race, which started June 15 in San Antonio and ends Saturday, June 22, in Anaheim, Calif.
Michael Black, coordinator of chapter development at the Baylor Alumni Association, is accompanying the Baylor car during the 2,500-mile rally-race and will send regular progress reports to Baylor Public Relations web site. Read his daily updates here.

A Baylor University-sponsored 1947 Ford convertible is among 100 rare antique vehicles competing in The 2002 Great Race, which started June 15 in San Antonio and ends Saturday, June 22, in Anaheim, Calif.
Michael Black, coordinator of chapter development at the Baylor Alumni Association, is accompanying the Baylor car during the 2,500-mile rally-race and will send regular progress reports to Baylor Public Relations web site. Read his daily updates here.

Amos L. Mazzant of Sherman has been honored as the 2002 Baylor University Young Lawyer of the Year. Mazzant received the award at the annual reception of the Baylor Law Alumni Association, held recently in Dallas during the Texas State Bar Convention.

A Baylor University-sponsored car will be among more than 100 rare antique vehicles that are competing in The 2002 Great Race, a 2,500-mile rally-race that began Saturday, June 15, in San Antonio and ends June 22 in Anaheim, Calif.
Michael Black, coordinator of chapter development at the Baylor Alumni Association, is accompanying the Baylor car and will send regular progress reports to the Baylor Public Relations web site.

Baylor University School of Music will present its annual Summer Piano Institute and Piano Teacher Workshop from June 16-22 in Roxy Grove Hall.

Baylor University again is ranked among the nation's top 100 colleges and universities awarding degrees to Hispanics in the latest rankings published May 6 by The Hispanic Outlook in Higher Education magazine.

Many musicians pursue the carillon as a leisurely pastime, but 2002 Baylor University graduate Joseph Daniel will be one of the few worldwide who will make the majestic bronze bell instrument his life's work.
See and hear him play at http://www.baylortv.com/ .

Dr. Levi W. Price Jr., pastor of El Paso's First Baptist Church for the past 17 years, and Dr. W. Dennis Tucker Jr., assistant professor of biblical studies and theology at Ouachita Baptist University, will join the faculty of Baylor University's George W. Truett Theological Seminary this summer.

The premier issue of Baylor Magazine, a bimonthly publication of the university, is on its way to close to 100,000 mailboxes, signaling the beginning of a major new initiative to improve communications with all of Baylor's constituencies. The magazine also is available online at www.baylormag.com.

Hundreds of incoming Baylor University freshmen and transfer students will be on campus in June and July for summer orientation, a two-day event designed to help new students learn more about Baylor, meet with advisers to plan their college experience and register for first semester classes.

High school and middle school teachers of advanced placement and pre-AP courses can receive training in their various disciplines at Baylor University's Advanced Placement Institute June 17-21.

Children are invited to "Build Their Own Village" from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday, June 1, at Baylor University's Gov. Bill and Vara Daniel Historic Village. During the event, participants will build a model historic village out of blocks, paper, play dough and craft sticks and can watch the construction of the Mayborn Museum Complex next door.

Robert B. Jones, senior lecturer in management and entrepreneur-in-residence at Baylor University, has been named by the senior class as the recipient of the Collins Outstanding Professor Award.

The groundbreaking on the Baylor Sciences Building May 17 included a faculty perspective on the university's 10-year vision and the impact the sciences building will have on Baylor. Read the remarks below from Dr. Marianna A. Busch, professor and chair of chemistry and biochemistry, who has been on the Baylor faculty since 1977.

Dr. Ben Pierce, professor of biology and associate dean for sciences at Baylor, oversaw the academic planning for the Baylor Sciences Building, working closely with the chairs of the six science departments. Read Pierce's remarks below from the May 17 groundbreaking ceremony.

Three scenes from an upcoming PBS documentary on the Wright brothers will be filmed from 1 to 7:30 p.m. Thursday, May 23, at Baylor University's Gov. Bill and Vara Daniel Historic Village. To be used in "Kitty Hawk: The Wright Brothers' Journey of Invention," the scenes will depict Orville Wright constructing a kite during his childhood.

Baylor University regents approved a $291.7 million budget for 2002-03, elected two new members to the board and selected a new chair and vice chairs to lead the governing body during the board's May 17 meeting.

Baylor University broke ground May 17 on the largest building project ever in the university's 157-year history -- the $103 million Baylor Sciences Building -- a multidisciplinary sciences facility that will give Baylor an unprecedented environment for equipping students as leaders in solving future scientific challenges.
Video from the groundbreaking is available now at http://www.baylortv.com/ .

Several groups of Baylor administrators, regents, faculty, staff and students took part in the May 17 ceremonial groundbreaking on what will be the largest academic center on the Baylor campus, the $103 million Baylor Sciences Building. Link below to photos from the groundbreaking ceremony.

The Baylor Alumni Association will present the Price Daniel Distinguished Public Service Award to Judge William S. Sessions, a Baylor graduate and former director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, during the 2:30 p.m. commencement ceremony Saturday, May 18, in the Ferrell Center.

Hundreds of Baylor University spring graduates will take part in several commencement events on Friday, May 17, ranging from the traditional Ring Out and Passing of the Key ceremonies to a concert presented by a graduating senior who plans to make the carillon his life's work.

Baylor University will hold a ceremonial groundbreaking on the largest building project ever in the university's 157-year history -- the $103 million Baylor Sciences Building -- at 2:30 p.m. Friday, May 17, on the intramural fields adjacent to the McLane Student Life Center on the Baylor campus.

Baylor University Air Force ROTC will commission 11 graduating students as 2nd Lieutenants in the United States Air Force at 6:30 p.m. Saturday, May 18, in Barfield Drawing Room at the Bill Daniel Student Center. Guest speaker for the commissioning service will be retired Lt. Gen. Phil Ford, general manager of the Brazos River Authority.

Dr. Michael Beaty, professor of philosophy and director of the Institute for Faith and Learning at Baylor University, has been appointed vice provost for faculty development by Provost Donald D. Schmeltekopf, effective June 1.

Baylor University will confer degrees on approximately 1,700 graduates during spring commencement exercises Saturday, May 18, in the Ferrell Center.

Baylor University's George W. Truett Theological Seminary will honor the Class of 2002 -- the seminary's sixth graduating class -- during a baccalaureate service at 6 p.m. Friday, May 17, in the seminary's Paul W. Powell Chapel.

The Baylor Alumni Association will present the George W. Truett Distinguished Church Service Award to Milton C. Cunningham, an alumnus, pastor, missionary and longtime friend of Baylor University, during the 9:30 a.m. commencement ceremony Saturday, May 18, in the Ferrell Center.

Baylor University's Louise Herrington School of Nursing honored retiring dean Phyllis Karns at a reception in Dallas May 3.

Baylor University's Moody Memorial Library will close at 5 p.m. Friday, May 17, and remain closed for construction until 7:30 a.m. Monday, May 27.

The renowned Air Force Band of the West will perform at 7 p.m. Thursday, May 16, in the Jones Concert Hall at the Glennis McCrary Music Building on the Baylor University campus. Sponsored by Baylor Air Force ROTC and Connally High School AFROTC, the concert will honor the United States Air Force and Col. James T. Connally, a pilot and native Wacoan who was killed in 1945 in Japan. James Connally Air Force Base, now TSTC, was named in his honor.

During the 50 years physics professor Robert Packard has taught at Baylor, he has often thought the college students in his classes were getting younger and younger. But even Packard must have said "Good grief" to himself on May 3 when he looked out on the crowd gathered for his Physics 1405 lecture and saw 3-year-old Annika Larson and her baby brother, Niklas, beaming back at him from the front row.

More than ten thousand miles separate the Louise Herrington School of Nursing from the Baptist hospital in Bangalore, India.
But through modern technology -- and on-site medical missions -- Baylor University student nurses and Bangalore nursing faculty will learn more about offering care to the most impoverished citizens of the tropical Indian city, said Nursing Dean Phyllis Karns.

"Bear the Burden," a campaign led by Buckner Children and Family Services to collect stuffed teddy bears for abused and neglected children throughout Texas, received a big boost from some real bears May 3.

Fashion design students at Baylor University will show their latest clothing designs at a style show at 4 p.m. Saturday, May 4, in Barfield Drawing Room at the Bill Daniel Student Center. The garments to be modeled were designed by the students for the Dallas Fashion Group's International Career Day and Competition, held April 12 at the Dallas Apparel Mart.

Students at Baylor Law School have again led the state of Texas in the passing percentage of the Texas Bar Exam.

A well-respected scholar on Islam will lecture Thursday, May 2, at Miller Chapel in the Tidwell Bible Building on the Baylor University campus. Dr. Nelly van Doorn-Harder, assistant professor of theology at Valparaiso University, will speak on "Christians and Muslims: Giving People Faces" at 3:30 p.m. The lecture, which is sponsored by Baylor's religion department, is free and open to the public.

Undergraduate students who are pursuing a major in museum studies at Baylor University will spend their summer gaining valuable work experience in at some of the most prestigious museums in the United States, including the Smithsonian Institution and the Guggenheim Museum.

A new Baylor University School of Music scholarship established in honor of Ken Howard, former choral director and coordinator of fine arts in the Waco Independent School District, will be presented at a gala concert, featuring the Baylor Concert Choir, at 8 p.m. Tuesday, May 7, at Seventh and James Baptist Church.