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Happy New Year, Baylor Family! I hope you had a wonderful (and restful) Christmas break and are ready for all 2025 has in store for Baylor University. 

Each December, Christianity Today announces the winners of its annual book awards, books CT deems “most likely to shape evangelical life, thought, and culture.” This year’s winners included a slew of Baylor alumni — especially in the “Culture, Poetry and the Arts” category.

Christianity Today recognized four books in this area — a winner, an award of merit, and two finalists — and three of the four honorees were written by a group of five Baylor English doctoral graduates.

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

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

Many student-athletes spend four (or more) years at Baylor; others are here for a shorter time — just a year, or occasionally even less.

Baylor Athletics wants to make sure that, while each student-athlete is at BU, they hear the Gospel and have the opportunity to grow in their faith. It’s a central part of Athletics’ goal and motto of “preparing champions for life.”

Here are just a few of the ways Baylor Athletics works to ensure every student-athlete’s time on campus is a time of spiritual growth:

Another year has flown by… As the calendar turns, let’s take one last look back at 2024, through the lens of our favorite photos from Baylor’s official Instagram account.

Here are our top 10 Baylor Instagram photos of 2024:

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

“Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign: Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a Son, and shall call His name Immanuel.”

Isaiah 7:14 (ESV) 

Baylor’s campus is always beautiful — but it shines brightest at Christmas.

From Christmas on 5th’s classic archway, to the KOT Christmas tree, to the trees and garland that decorate practically every building this time of year — Baylor’s campus in December is a true winter wonderland of Christmas beauty.

This past weekend, Baylor welcomed more than 450 student competitors to the Mark and Paula Hurd Welcome Center for the fall Texas Esports League Finals, an interscholastic video gaming competition.

The event featured competition between almost 100 teams, battling it out in such games as Fortnite, Rocket League, Super Smash Bros, chess and more. Top middle and high school student teams from across Texas had been battling for 10 weeks to reach the finals, with a select few coming away as Texas State Champions.

Baylor University offices and most facilities will be closed during the Christmas and New Year’s holidays from Monday, Dec. 23, to Sunday, Jan. 5, 2025. The University will reopen Monday, Jan. 6, 2025. The first day of classes for the spring semester will begin Tuesday, Jan. 21, 2025.

Each year, the NFL recognizes one player with its Walter Payton Man of the Year award — honoring those who excel not only on the field, but also in the community by demonstrating “a steadfast commitment to creating a positive impact beyond the game.” It’s a big enough deal that winners get to wear a special patch on their uniforms for the rest of their careers.

This year, the league’s 32 nominees for the award (one per team) include not one, but two Baylor Bears: Andrew Billings (Chicago Bears) and Jalen Pitre (Houston Texans).

A new study led by Lingjiang Lora Tu, Ph.D., from Baylor University’s Hankamer School of Business examines the psychological factors driving parental investment in education, highlighting how a parent’s self-view – whether they see themselves as independent or connected to others – shapes their spending patterns.

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

It’s hard to believe the fall semester is coming to an end, and this will be our last Presidential Perspective of 2024! What an exciting, memorable semester it has been, and I cannot wait to see what the New Year has in store for Baylor in 2025.

In 1995, John Morris (BA ’80) succeeded the legendary Frank Fallon (’53) handling radio play-by-play duties for BU football and other sports. Fallon had been the “Voice of the Bears” for more than 40 years, from 1953-95; Morris has now filled that same role for almost 30 years, calling everything from RG3’s Heisman run to the 2021 Baylor men’s basketball national title.

The two broadcasters now have something else in common. This month, Morris joined Fallon as a recipient of the NFF Chris Schenkel Award, awarded by the National Football Foundation to individuals for long, distinguished careers broadcasting college football with direct ties to a specific university or platform.

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

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

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

The most wonderful time of the year is officially here!

Thursday night, Baylor kicked off the Christmas season with the beloved tradition Christmas on 5th Street. From pictures with Santa to musical performances to photo opps and, of course, the live nativity, the heart of campus was filled with Baylor students, faculty/staff, their families — and plenty of Christmas spirit.

Christmas is really the most wonderful time of the year at Baylor University. The unity and warmth of the holiday begins for me with the Baylor Family collectively reflecting on the coming of Christ in our traditional Preparing Our Hearts Advent series. 

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

From Line Camp to Welcome Week to the Baylor Line and the on-campus living experience, Baylor goes above and beyond to help new students feel like they are truly a part of the Baylor Family.

Eyes across the nation are taking notice — the most notable being U.S. News, which once again this year ranked Baylor in the top 10 nationally for “first-year experience.”

How do you determine a researcher’s impact? Measures of impact can be hard to quantify, but Stanford University has annually undertaken a method of doing so based on citations. This year, no fewer than 43 current or retired Baylor faculty appeared on this list.

Citations occur when, after a faculty member publishes his or her own researchers, other researchers around the world see that work as meaningful and cite it in their own work. Not surprisingly, Baylor researchers fare well by this standard. Stanford’s database has become a desirable destination for faculty, as it represents the top 2% of the most cited researchers in 22 disciplines — the best of the best.

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

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

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

Thanks to another stellar season for Baylor Volleyball, there are more matches yet to be played at the Ferrell Center this season (and hopefully more to come beyond that).

Head coach Ryan McGuyre’s Bears earned their ninth straight NCAA Tournament berth Sunday night, and will begin their postseason journey at home. As the No. 15 overall seed, Baylor will host the first and second rounds starting Thursday at the Ferrell Center. The Bears will play Wofford in the first round Thursday evening at 7 p.m.; the winner of that match will play the winner of South Carolina vs. No. 23 Dayton on Friday (7 p.m.).

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

One thing we’re thankful for this week? Baylor football’s resurgence this year under head coach Dave Aranda. The Bears head into the final week of the season riding a five-game winning streak — the program’s longest since 2019, when BU finished 13th nationally after a Sugar Bowl appearance — and headed toward their third bowl game in Aranda’s five seasons.

Baylor closes out the 2024 regular season at home Saturday against a surging Kansas team (11 a.m., ESPN2). Here are 10 reasons you should be at McLane to see it:

It’s that time of year again, when the entire Baylor campus slows down to give students, faculty and staff some much-needed time with family — and much-needed time to thank God for all the ways He has blessed us this year.

From academics to alumni to athletics, we’ve got so much to be thankful for at Baylor over the past year:

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

Greetings from Baylor University! With students pulling on warmer clothes and the leaves on trees changing color (as best they can in Central Texas), we find ourselves rapidly approaching the Thanksgiving holiday. 

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

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

Anyone who uses a cell phone relies on the spectrum for communication. Dr. Charles Baylis, professor of electrical and computer engineering at Baylor, calls the spectrum the “real estate” of wireless transmission.

Overcrowding is one of the many challenges that present opportunities for experts like Baylis, who has established himself as a nationally sought-after researcher in the field. Leading organizations like the National Science Foundation have supported his work, and more recently, it’s been the United States government coming to him and his team.

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

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

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

Lots of things can derail a student away at college for the first time: family problems, loneliness, academic struggles, financial issues, etc. Nationwide, only about 75% of students who start college as freshmen each fall even make it back for their sophomore year.

At Baylor, however, more than 90% of freshmen return each fall to continue towards their degrees — and that percentage is trending up. Such a high retention rate is thanks in part to the tremendous effort Baylor puts into welcoming and supporting students as they make the transition to college life.

For the third time in six years, a Baylor Bear is the national student-teacher of the year.

That same Bear is also the Texas student-teacher of the year — the sixth time in nine years a Baylor grad has been so honored.

This year’s double honoree is Ashlyn Bergethon (BSED ’24), now an Algebra I and Honors Algebra II teacher at Robinson High School just outside Waco — the same school where she did her student teaching.

Baylor’s Baptist roots go all the way back to the University’s founding in 1845 when we were chartered by the Republic of Texas through the efforts of Baptist pioneers. For nearly two centuries Baylor and Texas Baptists have labored together for God’s glory. Our relationship was on full display earlier this week as the Baptist General Convention of Texas held its annual meeting right here in Waco.

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

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

What kind of impact are Baylor researchers making on the world? The burgeoning number of honors and grants awarded to BU faculty and students indicates that Baylor’s impact as a Christian research university is growing.

Here are just a few recent examples:

When Steven Follis (BBA ’10, MSIS ’11) saw the devastation brought to communities throughout Appalachia after Hurricane Helene, he knew he had to do something. North Carolina was home, and the need was great.

Follis, a product manager at Intel who’s also a certified pilot, wanted to help. He saw an opportunity when he discovered Operation Airdrop, a Texas-based nonprofit formed after Hurricane Harvey to mobilize pilots who can deploy needed supplies to cut-off communities.
 

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

Baylor researchers have expertise in a wide variety of areas. Students at three area public schools got to learn that firsthand last week, when BU faculty and students visited with elementary, middle and high school-aged scientists to highlight National STEM Day through hands-on learning activities.

In recent years, Baylor has brought some of its outstanding faculty and their students to local schools for National STEM Day to make science come alive and encourage kids to think about college and careers in the STEM fields. It’s a mission that aligns with the day itself, which celebrates discovery and innovation that sparks interest in future science careers.

Baylor’s push to elevate research and teaching, coupled with an ever-expanding offering of classes, programs and majors, has drawn dozens of elite faculty members to become a part of a distinct Christian research university.

This fall, more than 100 new faculty members joined the university (!!). It’s impossible to give them all their due, but here are four members of BU’s “Class of 2024” who highlight the excellence of the faculty who are choosing Baylor:

On Tuesday, November 19, 2024, at Noon in the Schumacher Flex Commons of Moody Library and via Zoom Webinar, the Baylor Libraries host the next session of the Readers Meet the Author series presented by the Office of the President and the Office of the Provost. The conversation will highlight Dr. Kimberly R. Kellison’s latest book, “Forging a Christian Order: South Carolina Baptists, Race, and Slavery, 1696-1860.” A reception with light refreshments and book signing will follow the conversation.

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

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

Meet this year’s Outstanding Graduate Student Award honorees for excellence in research, teaching and dissertation.

Earlier this week the University launched A Season of Thanksgiving, a month-long initiative that invites the Baylor Family into an intentional time to give thanks for the blessings God has given us. As a people of faith, our words and acts of thanksgiving reflect God’s love for us and his grace freely given to us. I am excited that we are putting our faith into action in this way.

Scholars and researchers from all over the world know precisely where to go when they want to study all facets of Texas history: Baylor’s Texas Collection. Part of the Baylor University Libraries, the Texas Collection holds one of the largest Texana collections in the world, as well as volumes of information on the Southwest, Mexico, westward expansion and beyond.

In 2022, West Texas native Jeff Pirtle jumped at the chance to make a career move, leaving Hollywood for the Baylor Libraries as director of the Texas Collection, University Archives and W. R. Poage Legislative Library. It was a perfect match… and perfect timing, too, as Baylor’s vaunted special library began preparations for its 100th anniversary in 2023. Pirtle just happened to have experience celebrating centennials for two top brands you don’t often associate with museums: JCPenney and NBCUniversal.

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

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

We have been preparing for our nation’s general election for quite some time, allowing our to remind us of our mission and values as a Christian research university. 

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

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

The list of schools to make U.S. News’ top 30 for both undergraduate teaching and undergraduate research is a short (and impressive one), filled with schools like Duke, Michigan, Princeton, Stanford, Yale — and Baylor.

For the third year in a row, U.S. News‘ rankings placed Baylor among this prestigious short list, as BU was ranked No. 26 nationally for undergraduate teaching and No. 23 for undergraduate research/creative projects. No other Texas school made the top 30 in both categories; Baylor is also the only school with an explicit, primary identity as a Christian university to make both lists.

Every Saturday at McLane is like a Baylor Family reunion — but Homecoming weekend is THE annual family reunion, the one you don’t want to miss.

Thousands of Bears made their way home to Waco this past weekend for a practically perfect Baylor Homecoming 2024. For those who couldn’t make it — or for those who want to relive it — we bring you a look back at the weekend:

A new partnership with Waco Tours is set to enrich the Campus Tour experience by showcasing the vibrant city of Waco for prospective students and their families.

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

What an awesome time the First Gent and I had welcoming our students to “Dinner with the Livingstones” on Tuesday evening at Allbritton House! It was certainly a fantastic kickoff to Homecoming Week 2024.

The Keston Center for Religion, Politics, and Society presents its fall lecture, a panel conversation, “Baylor in Deeds—Interfaith and Intra-Faith Harmony: Strengthening Leadership for Women Globally through Sports,” on Tuesday, October 29, 2024. A reception catered by Saffron will begin at 2:30 p.m. and the conversation will begin at 3:30 p.m. The event will take place in the Armstrong Browning Library & Museum and online via Zoom Webinar.

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

Several parking lots and roads on and around the Baylor University campus in Waco will be closed Tuesday and Friday-Saturday because of Baylor Homecoming-related activities. Baylor University Shuttle (BUS) services also will be modified.

For over a century, Baylor has hosted its annual Homecoming. Alumni from all over the world return to Waco for the weekend — for the bonfire, Pigskin, the parade, the football game, and to celebrate and reunite with those who also bleed green and gold.

At the same time, Waco locals are also prepping for the country’s oldest homecoming celebration. Many are Baylor graduates, but many others (despite connections to other schools) have adopted Baylor as their hometown team.

In 1909, Baylor hosted the first collegiate homecoming celebration in the nation. This week, we again renew that tradition, as the Baylor Family returns to campus to “catch that Baylor spirit again,” as President Samuel Palmer Brooks famously wrote more than a century ago.

At Homecoming, Baylor rolls out the red carpet to welcome you — alumni and friends — home. It’s the biggest Baylor Family reunion of the year — all about seeing old friends, recalling fond memories, sharing those stories with the next generation, and celebrating together as one.

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

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

Homecoming is next week, and I could not be more excited to celebrate with our students and, most importantly, welcome our Baylor alumni back home. 

This year’s inductees into the Broadcasting & Cable Hall of Fame include a host of famous names from iconic organizations, such as Good Morning America host George Stephanopoulos, ESPN analyst Dick Vitale, and leaders from NBCUniversal, Disney, Fox and Comcast.

Among them is a Baylor graduate: Valari Dobson Staab (MBA ’84), a broadcast innovator whose influence stretches over 40 years, from local television stations to regional sports networks across the nation.

For 70 years now, virtually every Baylor undergraduate student has taken religion and history courses in Tidwell Bible Building. So many students and alumni have fond memories of the building — but how much do you know about its history?

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

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

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

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

Thousands of Baylor alumni descend upon Waco each fall for Homecoming. Some have returned every year since graduation; others are setting foot on the Baylor campus for the first time in five, 10, even 20 years or longer. Regardless of how long it’s been since you’ve visited Baylor, there’s likely something new you haven’t seen or done before — and at the same time, plenty of old favorites to revisit and traditions to enjoy.

Presenting: 99 things to see and do during #BaylorHomecoming:

In Texas politics, there have been few more influential figures than Baylor’s own Bob Bullock (JD ’58), a longtime elected official and Baylor law graduate. So it stands to reason that the professorship named for him in Baylor’s Department of Political Science would be held by a professor with his own recognized expertise on the influence of politics and public policy on citizens.

Dr. Patrick Flavin came to Baylor in 2010 and now serves as the Bob Bullock Professor of Political Science at Baylor. Over the last 15 years, a wide array of academic journals and popular media outlets have come to Flavin for insights on his key areas of research: political inequality, politics and quality of life, political behavior, and more.

The Office of the Provost and the School of Engineering and Computer Science at Baylor University proudly present AI Week from October 14-16, 2024.

I woke up again this morning to see the tragic devastation of another hurricane making landfall in the southeast. Like with Hurricane Helene, our Care Team Services is reaching out to Baylor students from Florida, checking in to see how they are doing, letting them know we are praying for them, their families and hometowns and that we are here to walk alongside them in any way we can. 

It’s been quite a year for Forrest Frank (BBA ’17):

• Hit No. 1 on iTunes worldwide chart (for all genres)
• Five of iTunes’ top 100 Christian songs for 2024
• Chosen as the soundtrack for Baylor’s 2024-25 commercial (our favorite honor, obviously)

Now, the Baylor grad has been recognized yet again, having won the 2024 Dove Award for New Artist of the Year!

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

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

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

An internship in Washington, D.C., offers incredible experience for students seeking careers in a wide variety of fields — but exponentially so during an election year.

The Baylor in Washington program has students in just such a position — earning college credits while interning with U.S. senators and representatives, government offices, think tanks, law firms, lobbyists, and other power players in our nation’s capital.

Between tests, Homecoming preparations and the overall busyness of the semester, it sounds like many students are looking forward to a short week and a much-needed fall break next week. 

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

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

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

Looking for a great undergraduate experience? You can’t do much better than Baylor.

Once again, BU is among the nation’s top-10 undergraduate experiences, according to U.S. News’ 2025 “Best Colleges” rankings.

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

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

The fall semester is off to a great start, and our official fall enrollment certainly bears that out. As we welcomed an overall student body of 20,626 students, including a high-achieving and diverse freshman class, we also celebrated this number – 90.9% – Baylor’s highest-ever one-year retention rate for first-time freshmen. 

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

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

Did you know that one of the oldest continuously published collegiate literary magazines in the country is run by Baylor undergraduate students? The Phoenix is annually edited, published, and produced by Baylor undergrads from its home in Carroll Science, and has been running since the 1950s.

The Phoenix “represents a unique opportunity for Baylor students both to have their creative work published and to gain experience producing, all on their own, a significant literary review,” says Baylor English professor Arna Hemenway, one of the magazine’s faculty advisors.