The Latest from Baylor
For world-class concerts and entertainment, Baylor University and the City of Waco are establishing the Paul and Alejandra Foster Pavilion and Waco, Texas, as the premiere mid-market experience.
From Baylor's Truett Seminary to ministry in various locations around the globe and now serving as a civilian director of religious education for the Army, Aluma Syeeda Echols follows her calling with faith at the center of her work.
Alumna Dr. Jade Connor Eruchalu, B.S. ’17, is making an impact on the world through geriatric memory care.
Residence halls at Baylor provide a foundation for student success in and out of the classroom through a caring community.
For someone who feels a personal mission to make the world a better place for children, there may be few better fits than Feed the Children, a global nonprofit which seeks to end childhood hunger. All of this made a significant opportunity at the organization just right for Emily Callahan (BA ’00), a Baylor alumna and longtime non-profit leader whose personal mission dovetailed with the organization she now leads.
Baylor University’s success for highly competitive fellowships and awards continues to skyrocket as a record 23 Baylor students and recent alumni have been selected for 2025-2026 Fulbright U.S. Student Grants.
Congratulations, Class of 2025 — you did it!
This weekend, more than 4,000 Bears — the largest class in Baylor history — celebrated earning their degrees, the culmination of the Baylor experience. Thousands of their friends and family filled the Ferrell Center for each ceremony, and countless more watched online and joined in the celebration via social media to honor BU’s newest graduates.
Featured in this Issue
For world-class concerts and entertainment, Baylor University and the City of Waco are establishing the Paul and Alejandra Foster Pavilion and Waco, Texas, as the premiere mid-market experience.
Residence halls at Baylor provide a foundation for student success in and out of the classroom through a caring community.
The annual Alumni Awards honor graduates who advance Baylor’s mission in their careers and lives.
Undergraduate certificate programs offer students a flexible pathway to gain specialized skills and increase the value of their degree.
Soon, hundreds of students will embark on Baylor summer missions trips, spanning the globe to serve others and share the love of Christ. Becky Kennedy, Assistant Dean for Spiritual Life and Missions and Associate Chaplain in Baylor Spiritual Life, shares the impact of discipline-specific mission trips that form students as they serve.
For Baylor students, career success begins when they set foot on campus, with the help of the Baylor University Career Center. Baylor’s placement rate of 91 percent is one of the best in the nation, and its approach is student-centered, walking alongside students and helping them define success. Michael Estepp, newly appointed Assistant Vice Provost in the Career Center, showcases the approach that helps students successfully pursue their calling.
Archaeologist and anthropologist Julie Hoggarth heads to Belize this week to continue her nationally recognized research on ancient Maya cultures, uncovering what their experiences can teach us today. Hoggarth was recently recognized as a prestigious American Association for the Advancement of Science Fellow, and she takes listeners inside the findings that yield new insights from her digs.
Baylor Proud
Baylor Proud BlogFrom Denney Willie to Davis Wendzel, no fewer than 48 Baylor Bears have reached baseball’s highest level over the last century-plus. Willie debuted in 1911, Wendzel in 2024, and there’s been a host of Baylor greats to reach Major League Baseball in between, including All-Stars, a Rookie of the Year, and a Hall of Famer.
So, who are the best Baylor alumni to reach the big leagues? That’s a question we first aimed to answer six years ago. Since then, five more Bears have reached the big leagues, and we’ve seen players stake their claim for a new spot (or a higher spot) on the list. So, we humbly present our new-for-2025 list of the nine best Bears in Major League history:
Baylor is welcoming not one, but two new deans this summer, following the retirement of longtime Graduate School Dean Larry Lyon (BA ’71) and the hiring of Hankamer School of Business Dean Sandeep Mazumder as president of Berry College.
One frequent criticism of higher education is that its findings often remain locked in the “ivory tower,” rather than being shared with the “real world.”
Dr. Thomas Hibbs is the counterpoint to that — a longtime dean (and even university president) who has consistently applied his knowledge to current events and popular culture and used mass media to share those insights.
For the fifth straight year, a Baylor Bear was taken in the first round of the NBA draft — and this one went higher than any Bear before him.
With the No. 3 overall pick in the 2025 NBA Draft, the Philadelphia 76ers selected Baylor’s VJ Edgecombe — making the Big 12 Freshman of the Year the highest draft pick in Baylor basketball history. The previous mark was held by Ekpe Udoh, who was selected at No. 6 by the Warriors in 2010.
Dr. Leigh Greathouse is one of Baylor’s many cancer researchers, specifically focused on the relationship between diet, microorganisms and cancer. Her efforts are driven in part by her own experience fighting cancer while still in her 20s.
Her work is also driven by her faith. Earlier this year, she posted on social media about what it’s like to be a Christian working in science today:
Baylor Media Releases
More News Releases
Ahead of the 23rd Baptist World Congress in Brisbane, Australia, July 7-12, the Baptist World Alliance and Baylor University announced the establishment of a Baptist World Alliance Program to be housed at Baylor’s Truett Seminary.

Among the many draws to Baylor University is the chance to learn from elite faculty members at a Christian Research 1 university.

A Baylor-led study analyzed the whiskers of leopard seals to challenge assumptions about the feeding behavior of these apex predators.

International prize recognizes CERN collaborators, including four Baylor physicists, for groundbreaking discoveries at the Large Hadron Collider in Geneva, Switzerland.

Charles M. Ramsey, Ph.D., B.A. ’97, M.A. ’00, associate University Chaplain and director of campus ministries and church connections, has been selected as University Chaplain and Dean of Spiritual Life, effective June 9.

Baylor University, The Congregational Collective and Harvard Medical School partner to innovate equipping congregations to become community hubs for mental health engagement.

The first-wave findings of the Global Flourishing Study have attracted coverage from across the globe, including major media outlets ranging from The New York Times to National Geographic.

Supply chain expert Adé Oyedijo, Ph.D., explains the three primary ways tariffs are affecting the global supply chain and how tariffs can be used to promote ethical supply chain practices.

Baylor University’s success for highly competitive fellowships and awards continues to skyrocket as a record 23 Baylor students and recent alumni have been selected for 2025-2026 Fulbright U.S. Student Grants.

David M. Szymanski, Ph.D., will join Baylor University on May 27 as The William E. Crenshaw Endowed Dean of the nationally ranked Hankamer School of Business.

Harmon and Lea Kong's gift to Baylor establishes the Kong Family Endowed Presidential Fund for Student Care and the Kong Family Endowed Fund for Faculty Development.

Michael E. Young, Ph.D., professor of psychological sciences and graduate program director at Kansas State, has been selected as Vice Provost and Dean of the Graduate School.