News

It’s hard to believe that the first month of the spring semester has come and gone. We are blessed to have 16,550 students studying with us at Baylor this spring, which includes 13,290 undergraduates and 3,260 graduate and professional students.

Tomorrow is a special day in the life of Baylor as we celebrate Founders Day and the 174th anniversary of the University.

As we near the end of January, I’m wondering how many of you have kept your New Year’s Resolutions?

“Life’s most persistent and urgent question is: ‘What are you doing for others?’”

Those are powerful words from the late Civil Rights leader Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., whose life and legacy of service we will celebrate beginning tomorrow through next week.

I am excited for the start of the spring semester on Monday, as 2019 already is shaping up to be noteworthy for Baylor.

I am already looking forward to our sleepy campus coming alive with students for the arrival of the spring semester on Jan. 14. Here’s to a great 2019!

My prayer for the Baylor Family this Christmas season is that you will behold the Light of the World that shines upon and within you by faith. This is a gift of grace to celebrate and share at Christmas and always.

It’s always sad to peek out my office window and see the stillness of campus, signaling that another semester has come and gone. But I always look forward to Commencement, and this Friday and Saturday we will confer approximately 970 degrees, welcoming a class of new alumni into the Baylor Family.

It’s Finals Week, so I promise not to take too much of your time with today’s Presidential Perspective!

It’s hard to believe that the fall semester is rapidly coming to a close. Tonight you have an opportunity to experience a special and memorable Baylor tradition – Christmas on 5th Street.

I enjoyed having the opportunity to visit with many of you last night at one of Baylor’s special traditions – our All-University Thanksgiving. We truly have so much to be thankful for as a community of faith here at Baylor.

Our campus continues to be aglow from last week’s launch of Give Light, The Campaign for Baylor.

Next week is shaping up to be both exciting and historic in the life of Baylor University.

This week reminds me of a popular nursery rhyme: "Rain, rain, go away. Come again another day …"

I am excited to report that interest among prospective students in attending Baylor continues to be incredibly strong. In fact, Saturday’s Fall Premiere event is “sold out” and is expected to be one of the largest Premiere days ever at Baylor.

Greetings from 30,000 feet somewhere between San Diego and Nashville! We are making a couple of stops this week with the Baylor Conversation Series as we visit with alumni, parents of current and prospective students, and friends about Baylor’s progress and Illuminate, our academic strategic plan.

I am looking forward to opening up our campus for Family Weekend this Friday and Saturday. This is such a special time now that the fall semester is in full swing and we have an opportunity to showcase several student performances, athletic competitions and the Waco community.

Our campus community kicked off National Hispanic Heritage Month yesterday with a luncheon and special guest speaker. Suzette Quintanilla Arriaga, the sister of the late singer Selena, shared her family’s story and reminded those in attendance of the importance of celebrating one another’s cultures.

Yesterday we hosted our annual Fall Staff Forum over the lunch hour at the Ferrell Center, where I provided an update on Illuminate, our University’s strategic plan, and we also learned a few tips on how to receive feedback from others.

Baylor holds an unwavering commitment to fostering and nurturing the diversity of our students, faculty and staff. More than that, we celebrate our diversity, which lies at the core of our mission to transform lives and serve others.

Today I am up in Dallas for the dedication of an amazing, completely renovated building that will serve as the new academic home of Baylor’s Louise Herrington School of Nursing.

What a great start to the fall semester! It was so good to see our returning students and welcome our new freshmen, transfer students and graduate students to campus. So many smiling faces!

I cannot believe the fall semester is here! It is great to see our beautiful campus come back to life with the hope and excitement that a new semester brings. And to the Class of 2022, we are so excited to have you as part of the Baylor Family.

“Our glowing possibility comes to life in the hands of a craftsman who knows what He is doing, who made beauty and brightness with handpicked glass, a unique plan and His own breath. In our Creator’s hands, we burn brightly in a dark world.”

This is my prayer for all of you – that our lights will shine brightly this fall semester for the glory of our Creator.

It has certainly been a busy, productive summer as the University community has continued building out our Illuminate Academic Strategic Plan, while also preparing for the upcoming fall semester. Baylor is definitely moving forward in a big way.

We are fortunate to have such a remarkable natural science and cultural history museum that engages our community and inspires learning through rich collections, vibrant programs and hands-on experiences.

We are experiencing nearly record-breaking temperatures in Waco, so I hope you are staying cool wherever you may be this summer!

Pastors from several denominations, religions and races throughout Waco and Central Texas joined me yesterday in the Powell Chapel at our Truett Seminary to gather in prayer for area students, families, teachers and faculty in preparation for the rapidly approaching fall semester.

I hope everyone had a great Fourth of July holiday yesterday! As many of you know, the First Gent is a history buff, and we’ve learned that two Baylor faculty members have done quite a bit of research on Benjamin Franklin, one of our Founding Fathers. Did you know that Franklin was a businessman, entrepreneur, inventor, journalist, author, printer, editor, politician, postmaster, statesman and ambassador, in addition to being a signer of the Declaration of Independence?

The Livingstone Family is already looking forward to the July 4 holiday next Wednesday and celebrating the freedoms we enjoy here in our great country. We should never take these for granted. I hope you will join us at Touchdown Alley on the banks of the Brazos River for the City of Waco’s annual Fourth on the Brazos Celebration. We thoroughly enjoyed last year’s event with all the music, food and fireworks, as well as the opportunity to engage with the Baylor Family and other community members.

As we near the midpoint of the summer break, I am longing for many things … the hustle and bustle of our students on campus, the engagement and interactions with faculty, the start of football season and a Dr Pepper Float!

It’s exciting to see members of #BU22, our incoming class of freshmen, visiting the Baylor campus along with their families and friends throughout the summer. More than 1,200 students have already taken their first steps in joining the Baylor Family, including registering for classes, learning about and celebrating Baylor’s rich legacy and traditions, and even Running the Line at McLane Stadium.

I continue to be blessed each day to serve as Baylor’s President. Among the many highlights is being able to travel across the country to visit with alumni, current and prospective students, parents and friends of the University.

Greetings from New York City, where our School of Music student performers take center stage tonight at historic Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall. I am excited to be in the audience as they share their musical talents on such a grand stage and spotlight our great University.

Well, it’s officially summertime on the Baylor campus! The hustle and bustle marking the end of the spring semester has transitioned into sparse pedestrian and vehicle traffic and, of course, near 100-degree temperatures.

Congratulations to the Baylor Class of 2018! The end of the spring semester is always an exciting time, especially for the nearly 3,000 graduates who will participate in our three Commencement ceremonies at the Ferrell Center on Friday and Saturday.

Greetings from 30,000 feet in the air somewhere between Denver and Atlanta! We have taken our Baylor Conversation Series across the country this week, as we’re visiting with alumni, parents, friends and prospective students about the great things happening at Baylor and sharing an overview of Illuminate, our academic strategic plan.

"But if we walk in the light, as He is the light, we have fellowship with one another." – 1 John 1:7

I must admit that I was a little sore yesterday after participating in the Baylor Fun Run to kickoff Diadeloso on Tuesday. Yes, the First Gent and I finished the race(!) and then enjoyed a “day off” with all of you as we prepare for the end of the spring semester.

As I mentioned in last Thursday’s email, we had a team of administrators from institutions across the country on campus this week as part of our SACSCOC Decennial Reaffirmation, which is a key component of our accreditation renewal process. This week’s visit was very successful.

Approximately 9,000 prospective students and parents have registered to experience Baylor Premiere on Saturday. This year’s version of our spring “open house” is shaping up to be the largest in University history, as high school juniors and seniors will have an opportunity to explore campus, experience college life and interact with many of our incredible faculty and staff. Let’s remind our Premiere attendees that Baylor is a place “Where Lights Shine Bright!”

"He is not here: He is risen, just as He said." (Matthew 28:6A) This is a powerful verse of meditation for this Easter season, as it boldly proclaims the victory that we have as Christians in our Risen Savior, Jesus Christ. Amen!

My heart continues to be touched by the many stories of how your “Lights Shine Bright” not only across our campus, but throughout our community and beyond.

As the grass and trees turn green and the temperatures begin to warm, I am always reminded that spring is a time for renewal.

The Baylor campus sure is still and quiet with all of our students on Spring Break this week! But I know our faculty and staff who remained in Waco to prepare for the remainder of the semester are enjoying the wonderful spring weather.

I look forward to heading to Fort Worth for tonight's installment of the Baylor Conversation Series - our first outside of Waco. Board Chairman Joel T. Allison and I will provide an update on the state of the university, while also answering questions from the Baylor Family in the Metroplex.

While we were deeply grieved to learn that the Rev. Billy Graham had passed away yesterday, we rejoice that he has been called home as a good and faithful servant of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

Earlier today, I shared the initial framework of Baylor's Academic Strategic Plan - Illuminate - with the Board of Regents, along with members of the President's Council and our Deans. This is an important initiative as we accelerate our quest toward preeminence as a Christian research university and strategically chart our path over the next five years and beyond.

February is Black History Month and our students and leadership across campus have a terrific line-up of events planned throughout the month.

I am sending today's email from Grapevine, Texas, as I attend the 2018 International Forum of the Council for Christian Colleges & Universities (CCCU), which includes more than 180 Christian institutions around the world. Although Baylor may be one of the largest CCCU universities, we all share in the mission of advancing Christ-centered higher education and transforming lives by integrating scholarship, service and Biblical truth.