High school students choosing a college are often looking for a school big enough to offer their desired major and extracurriculars, but small enough where they feel like a person, not a number.

That’s a niche Baylor fills in higher ed — a caring community regularly recognized for students’ academic and social experience and opportunities, all built on a foundation of Christian faith. That sort of support and care is a big reason why a recent national survey of parents named Baylor the No. 2 most-trusted major university in the country.

Baylor University’s Dunn Center for Christian Music Studies in the Baylor School of Music has been awarded a four-year $1 million grant from Lilly Endowment Inc. as part of its Strengthening Ministries with Youth Initiative. 

A record 16 Baylor University students and recent alumni have been selected for Fulbright U.S. Student Grants from the U.S. government’s flagship international educational exchange program that offers students grants to pursue graduate study, conduct research or teach English abroad.

After a three-year hiatus after the pandemic, the Baylor Community Garden is back and thriving through the collaborative efforts of more than 700 students, faculty and staff, the garden has blossomed into a “site of transdisciplinary environmental discovery, creativity and community health."

More than 2,000 Baylor students are the first in their family to attend college. Baylor’s “First in Line” program exists to help these Bears navigate all aspects of college — from academics to student life to finances and beyond.

Word of First in Line’s successes is getting out; the program was recently honored by NASPA, an international student affairs organization, with a 2024 Excellence Award for first-generation student success.

Stephen Sloan, Ph.D., professor of history and the director of the Institute for Oral History at Baylor University, was honored as the 2024 Cornelia Marschall Smith Professor of the Year at the annual Academic Honors Convocation on April 19. 

It only makes sense that a university whose motto reads “Pro Ecclesia, Pro Texana” — “for the Church, for Texas” — would build programs designed specifically to serve the Church, both close to home and around the world.

And that’s exactly what you’ll find, all across Baylor’s campus — efforts designed specifically to build up and support pastors, congregations, theologians, and other parts of the body of Christ. Here’s just a sampling:

Last fall, Baylor was named among TIME magazine’s top 40 colleges for future leaders. In their research, the publication’s editors studied the resumes of 2,000 U.S. leaders to see where they got their start — with Baylor standing out among the nation’s best.

That’s certainly true in the field of education, where countless Baylor alumni are serving as principals, deans, superintendents, etc. In the world of higher ed, almost 40 Baylor Bears are the top executives at colleges and universities around the world; here’s a quick rundown of those currently serving as presidents and chancellors:

Alagu Subramanian, B.A. ’23, a University Scholar with concentrations in biology, medical humanities and business administration, is Baylor University's fourth consecutive Churchill Scholar, an unprecedented achievement for the prestigious and highly selective scholarship in science, mathematics and engineering.

Baylor University mourns the death of beloved alumna and unofficial Independence historian Lanella Spinks Gray, B.A. ’54, of Houston on April 6. Gray, who was known as ‘Miss Baylor,’ became well known among Baylor’s students while serving as host to Baylor Line Camp groups visiting the University’s original campus site in Independence, Texas.

Sarah Kienle, Ph.D., assistant professor of biology at Baylor University, has received the prestigious Career Development Award from the National Science Foundation’s Faculty Early Career Development (CAREER) Program in support of early-career faculty who have the potential to serve as academic role models in research and education and to lead advances in the mission of their department or organization.

Twelve Baylor University professors have been honored with Outstanding Faculty Awards for teaching, scholarship and contributions to the academic community for the 2023-2024 academic year.

Spring in Central Texas can be a beautiful season with abundant wildflowers, outdoor sporting events and bright blue skies – but it also can bring an increase in severe weather, including thunderstorms with lightning, hail, strong winds, heavy rains and heightened tornado risks.

The demand for a Baylor education has never been higher. We saw that last fall, when the university received more than 56,000 applications for Fall 2024 — and we saw it again Saturday, when more than 6,000 prospective students and family members were on campus for Premiere.

During Eclipse Over Texas on Monday, 50+ representatives of Baylor’s Department of Physics were on hand at McLane Stadium to assist and educate those in attendance. We asked a couple of them — Dr. Lorin Swint Matthews (BS ’94, PhD ’98) and Dr. Barbara Castainheria Endl — to help us understand what we saw during the eclipse.

Baylor University today announced a $1.5 million gift from the family of George Heilmeier through the Heilmeier-Jarvie Family Foundation, of Plano, Texas, establishing The George Heilmeier Chair in Electrical and Computer Engineering to attract, retain and support innovative research and teaching within the School of Engineering and Computer Science.

When Dr. Beth Lanning (BSED ’89, MSED ’91) first came to Baylor as a student, she wanted to become a large animal veterinarian. It seemed a natural fit for someone who grew up training and showing horses, but after some time in that course of study, she realized she didn’t want to be a veterinarian. So, she switched to engineering, then pre-health. It was a circuitous path that led her to her current role in Baylor’s Department of Public Health, where she combines aspects of all of these streams in her work.

Today, Lanning serves as professor and associate chair of public health, and the two-time Baylor grad has built a reputation as a leading researcher into the impact of human-animal interventions for children with autism, adults with PTSD, and more.

Baylor University and the Waco community will have the opportunity to hear from Emmy Award-winning filmmaker, literary scholar and author Dr. Henry Louis Gates Jr. during this year’s Beall-Russell Lecture in the Humanities at 3:30 p.m. Wednesday, April 17, at Waco Hall, 624 Speight Ave. 

A total solar eclipse AND an annual campus-wide celebration? Diadeloso (the “Day of the Bear”) has been a Baylor tradition for almost a century now — but never like this.

Guided by their faculty mentors and supported by the Office of Engaged Learning, Baylor University undergraduates are off to a record-breaking pace for attaining some of the most prestigious and highly competitive fellowships and awards at the national and international level.

Baylor sports fans who have driven around Waco recently have likely noticed some familiar names on signs outside buildings under construction, lots for sale, or other new developments heralding business growth in Waco.

Raynor Campbell (BSEd ’10), Clay Fuller (BBA ’15) and Gregg Glime (BBA ’10) all spent time in green and gold on the baseball diamond or gridiron. When it came time to pursue their next phases of life, each of them chose to call Waco home, and each found their niche in real estate. Today, all three are partners with Waco’s Cromwell Commercial Group and play a meaningful role in commercial development and new business growth in their adopted hometown.

With Waco, Texas in the path of totality for the 2024 solar eclipse, Baylor University researchers have a first-hand opportunity to study the effects that people might feel as they witness this once-in-a-lifetime experience. 

This week is Graduate Student Appreciation Week, a chance to celebrate the 5,500+ graduate students who pursue their calling at Baylor. Although they comprise nearly a quarter of BU’s overall enrollment, their contributions can fly under the radar — but not to those with whom they serve.

More than 1,450 students will volunteer at over 50 sites around Waco during Baylor University’s biannual Steppin’ Out community service event from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday, April 6. A beloved Baylor tradition, Steppin’ Out is a student-led day of community service specifically dedicated to helping Waco residents. 

In the spring of 1945, a group of Baylor students prayed for spiritual renewal for 90 straight days. Their prayers led to a movement that helped inspire ministries on campus and around the world, from the Journeyman mission program to the Passion Conferences.

Last week, hundreds of Baylor students again gathered in Jesus’ name for FM72, a 72-hour on-campus prayer and worship event coordinated by Baylor’s Office of Spiritual Life in conjunction with local churches and campus ministries.

Rebecca Jones-Antwi, Ph.D., assistant professor in the Department of Public Health in Baylor University’s Robbins College of Health and Human Sciences, has received a three-year Career Development Award from the American Heart Association for her project, “Stuck in the Middle: The Intersectionality of Multiracial Adults and Cardiovascular Health.” 

This April, Baylor University is joining universities and communities around the country to increase public awareness and prevention education about sexual assault and interpersonal violence during Sexual Assault Awareness Month (SAAM).

Countless women have come through the halls of Baylor before going on to do amazing things. Here’s a look at some Baylor Bears who have made big impacts in education — at Baylor and beyond:

With strong demand from prospective students, including record-shattering applications for Fall 2024, Baylor University has introduced a waitlist for the incoming fall class. Applicants have been contacted to add their name to the waitlist and will be notified if space becomes available. 

Baylor women’s basketball is headed back to the Sweet 16, thanks to a pair of big NCAA tournament wins this weekend in Blacksburg, Virginia. Head coach Nicki Collen’s squad dominated Vanderbilt on Friday, 80-63, then beat Virginia Tech in front of a feisty home crowd, 75-72, on Sunday night.

Baylor University has announced the naming of the Hankamer School of Business’s Curb Sales Strategy in Sports and Entertainment (S3E) program – formerly known as the Sports Strategy and Sales program – honoring leading music and entertainment executive Mike Curb of Nashville, Tennessee. 

Baylor University's First in Line program  has been selected as the 2024 NASPA Excellence Award Bronze Honoree for First-generation Student Success. The Excellence Awards annually recognize members who are transforming higher education through outstanding programs and innovative services. 

Baylor University’s 2024 senior class has selected Lotte Bostick, J.D., CPA, assistant clinical professor in the Department of Accounting and Business Law at Baylor University’s Hankamer School of Business, as the 2024 Collins Outstanding Professor. 

Countless women have come through the halls of Baylor before going on to do amazing things. Here’s a look at some Baylor Bears who have made names for themselves in the arts — locally, nationally and internationally:

For the ninth time in the last 10 postseasons, both the Baylor men’s and women’s basketball teams are going dancing!

It never takes long in any conversation about “great Baylor teachers” for the name “Ann Miller” to surface.

As a two-time Baylor graduate (BA ’49, MA ’51), a Baylor English professor for more than 40 years, and part of Baylor’s first class of Master Teachers, Miller was Baylor through and through.

Think about the community you call home. Does its setup encourage you (and those around you) to be active? Is there a track or walking path for adults, or a playscape for kids? Can you ride your bike to work or the store? Is the area walkable?

Dr. Renée Umstattd Meyer (BSED ’00) has built a nationally recognized research career thinking about questions like these, and has put that research to work helping communities across the country better support the health of their residents.

Yang Li, Ph.D., assistant professor of environmental science at Baylor University, has won a competitive NASA Early Career Investigator Program in Earth Science award that supports outstanding scientific research and career development of scientists and engineers at the early stage of their professional careers. 

On the heels of record-shattering applications for Fall 2024, Baylor University is answering the high demand for a Baylor education by welcoming prospective students to the return of an in-person Premiere on Saturday, April 13.

Countless women have come through the halls of Baylor before going on to do amazing things. Here’s a look at some Baylor Bears who have made lasting changes in the world of politics and law — at the local, state and national level:

U.S. News recently recognized Baylor’s learning communities among the top 10 in the nation — just behind schools like Yale, Michigan and Princeton, and ahead of, well, just about everyone else. (The honor ranked Baylor No. 1 in the Big 12, No. 1 among large private universities, No. 2 in Texas and No. 2 among Christian universities.)

When Baylor was chartered in 1845, it was one of the first coeducational colleges or universities west of the Mississippi River — about 10 years before any public institution of higher learning would introduce mixed-gender learning, and a full 75 years before American women were guaranteed the right to vote.

Each year, the Collegiate Day of Prayer unites college campuses all over the country in a day of prayer for revival and awakening, concluding with an evening service of prayer and worship on a college campus that is broadcast around the world. This year, Baylor University served as central host site for the Collegiate Day of Prayer service.

Dorina, Marius and Irina Mitrea complete “epic journey” with five-volume research monograph that lays foundations for a new genre of mathematics.

Anyone who has traveled has probably experienced jet lag – that exhausted feeling that comes after long travel and trips. With the spring and summer travel seasons ahead, travelers can prevent some of the effects of jet lag through planning and preparation, says Baylor University sleep expert Michael Scullin, Ph.D..

After countless hours of planning, practicing and performing, All University Sing 2024 is in the books. Over the last two weeks, hundreds of Baylor students put their hard work on display performing for thousands of Baylor students, alumni and friends in Waco Hall (plus a streaming audience online for Saturday’s finale).

Gathering on Baylor University’s historic Founders Mall alongside members of the University and Waco communities, the Baylor Board of Regents concluded its regular quarterly meeting today with a ceremonial groundbreaking of the Memorial to Enslaved Persons, one of the recommendations in the final report from the University’s Commission on Historic Campus Representations.

Baylor University partnered with schools in three Waco-area districts to celebrate National Engineers Week through hands-on engineering experiences with Baylor faculty and students. 

When he came to Baylor from the Philippines in the 1990s, Peter Gape (MA ’91, MA ’94) knew broadly that he wanted to serve internationally. But his time in Waco helped focus that desire, and sparked a calling that led him to leadership in one of the globe’s largest international service organizations — World Vision.

Baylor University international trade researcher Lourenco Paz, Ph.D., associate professor of economics at Baylor’s Hankamer School of Business, has received the Fulbright U.S. Scholar Award to Hungary, a prestigious and competitive fellowship of the Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs.

If you read The Wall Street Journal last week, you likely saw not one, but two stories on the performance of Baylor’s endowment — one on how Baylor’s returns are beating even the Ivy League’s, and a second one on how Baylor’s culture has made this possible. (The first even ran on the front page of last Thursday’s print edition!)

When the College Football Playoff Selection Committee gets together this fall to pick the teams for the sport’s first-ever 12-team playoff, there will be two Baylor Bears in the room where it happens — one past, one present.

The past Bear is former interim head coach Jim Grobe, who was named to the committee in 2022. But the current Bear is the one who has fans in the green and gold fired up: Baylor Director of Athletics Mack Rhoades.

Dr. Stephen Newby describes the opportunity to serve as the inaugural Lev H. Prichard III Chair in the Study of Black Worship as his “dream job,” and you don’t have to look very far down his path to Baylor to see why.

Caleb D. Martin, Ph.D., associate professor of chemistry and biochemistry at Baylor University and a leading researcher in synthestic boron chemistry, has received a prestigious Humboldt Research Fellowship from the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation. 

Bears have been playing in the NBA since the Association’s early days shortly after World War II, and there’s been a Baylor alum on an NBA roster every year since the 1979-80 season — but there’s never been more than there are this season.

The U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs has recognized Baylor University as a Fulbright Top Producing Institution for students selected for the Fulbright U.S. Student Program.

WACO, Texas (Feb. 12, 2024) – More than 250 U.S. cities have made pledges to transition to 100% renewable energy sources by the year 2050. However, in a new study published in the journal Environmental Research: Infrastructure and Sustainability, Baylor University researchers found that, despite efforts, the target date to move to fully sustainable energy sources is unrealistic. 

With construction set to begin this summer on the Memorial to Enslaved Persons, Baylor University held a symbolic ceremony today on Founders Mall to transfer custody of its Centennial Time Capsule from the Class of 1945 to The Texas Collection at Baylor.

Coming off the program’s first 40-win season since 2017 — the last time the Bears reached the Women’s College World Series — and returning all but one player from the 2023 roster, the Baylor softball team has big plans for the 2024 campaign, with eyes on a return to Oklahoma City to compete for a national championship.

Applications for Baylor University have shattered all-time records, as more than 56,000 prospective students have applied to the University for Fall 2024.

As a passionate advocate for the music of early 20th century Black composer Florence Price, Michael Clark, D.M.A., lecturer of piano at Baylor University’s School of Music, makes his solo album debut with Waltzes and Character Pieces of Florence Price, representing the first recording of Price’s complete waltzes.

Baylor fans have come to count on seeing BU among the top 25 each year, with Bears competing with the nation’s most prestigious programs for national recognition.

That applies to athletics (like our currently No. 13-ranked men’s basketball and No. 18-ranked women’s basketball programs), and to academics — like the Baylor entrepreneurship program, which once again ranks among the best in the nation according to multiple sources:

Baylor professors use whale earwax to pioneer a technique for studying whales and ocean contaminants

Every two years, Baylor’s Robert Foster Cherry Award for Great Teaching brings one of the nation’s best professors not already here at Baylor to Waco for a semester, allowing BU students to benefit from his or her excellence in the classroom. First awarded in 1991, the honor remains our country’s largest national award presented by a college or university for exceptional teaching, and carries with it an exceptional monetary reward for both the professor and his or her school.

Construction of the Paul L. Foster Campus for Business and Innovation has begun on Bagby Avenue.

WACO, Texas (Feb. 2, 2023) – Although time is a set duration of hours, minutes and seconds, the perception of time can vary dramatically based on the individual and especially during times of high stress and uncertainty such as disasters, recessions and most recently the COVID-19 lockdown. 

Baylor has announced philosopher and public intellectual Dr. John Haldane as The J. Newton Rayzor, Sr., Distinguished Professor in Philosophy at Baylor University.

For more than 65 years, Collins Residence Hall has been the beginning of Baylor stories for thousands of women — a tradition that continues today.

After closing throughout 2022-23 for a yearlong renovation, Collins reopened last fall to welcome a new class of Bears. There’s plenty that’s new, from plumbing to security — even a new main entrance on 7th Street, pointing towards campus. But there’s plenty of the old, as well — from the memorable 8th Street steps (preserved as a back entrance) to the memories of former Collins residents that are literally embedded in the walls.

January is now busier than ever on the Baylor campus, as we quickly jump from students’ return for the spring semester to celebrating not one, not two, but THREE birthdays — those of our beloved live bears!

For Christians in the Middle East, 2014 has been a catastrophe. The most wrenching stories have come from Iraq, where the nascent Islamic State (ISIS or ISIL in news reports) has savagely persecuted ancient Christian communities, including Assyrians, Chaldeans, and Syrian Orthodox.

In Iraq, Preemptive Love Coalition cofounder and Truett alum Jeremy Courtney seeks to save lives, change hearts, and speak for the persecuted across faiths.

 WACO, Texas (Jan. 23, 2024) – Baylor University today named Jay L. Banner, Ph.D., F. M. Bullard Professor in the Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences in the Jackson School of Geosciences at the University of Texas at Austin, as the 2024 recipient of the Robert Foster Cherry Award for Great Teaching.

WACO, Texas (Jan. 17, 2024) – Baylor University today officially announced the launch of the Spectrum Management with Adaptive and Reconfigurable Technology Hub (SMART Hub), a Department of Defense Spectrum Innovation Center to conduct multifaceted spectrum research to meet national defense needs.

Dr. Linda Livingstone returns to the university as its 15th president, prepared and ready to lead all facets of Baylor's mission-driven enterprise.

Kevin Renois, BBA ’16, became aware of Baylor in high school in his native Port au Prince, Haiti, through a teacher, Katie Wilhoit Kilpatrick, BA ’08.

Baylor graduates make an impact in virtually any field you can think of; this year’s Baylor Alumni Award winners are no different, with recipients leading the charge in areas ranging from financial stewardship to fighting hunger and poverty to chaplaincy.

For many people experiencing change in their lives, the verses found in Ecclesiastes 3:1-8 provide welcome wisdom and the promise of God’s enduring presence throughout the varying circumstances we may encounter over the years.

WACO, Texas (Jan. 11, 2024) – Baylor University today announced Tommy Bowman, B.B.A. ’71, of Waco as the recipient of the 2024 Baylor University Founders Medal. Bowman holds a special place in Baylor’s history as the University’s first Black scholarship student-athlete, though he also is known for his extensive service and leadership, as well as his membership on Baylor’s Board of Regents from 2001-2010.

WACO, Texas (Jan. 11, 2024) – Baylor University is mourning the death of Roger E. Kirk, Ph.D., Emeritus Distinguished Professor of Psychology and Statistics and the University’s longest tenured faculty member at 61 years. Dr. Kirk died Saturday, Dec. 30, 2023.

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 recent being U.S. News, which this year ranked Baylor in the top five nationally for “first-year experience.”

WACO, Texas (Jan. 10, 2024) – Featured on the cover of this week’s prestigious journal Science Advances, a first-of-its-kind tactile learning device developed by Baylor University chemistry professors to make science accessible to students with blindness or low vision has opened the possibility of the transfer of any scientific data or images for sighted students into functional, thorough formats for students with blindness.

WACO, Texas (Jan. 9, 2024) – Every year, Americans join together on Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day of Service – this year on Monday, Jan. 15 – to serve their neighborhoods and communities and through week-long events celebrating the life and legacy of the late civil rights leader. NOTE: Sub-freezing temperatures and dangerous wind chills have canceled some events or altered dates/locations. Monday's community and Truett MLK Day events have been canceled due to the weather.

May 25, 2017, marked the 230th anniversary of the opening of the Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia. The text of the unamended Constitution is notably secular, save for references like the “Year of our Lord” 1787. But the lack of religion in the document does not mean the topic went unmentioned.

Before finding his current passion, Omari Head (MDiv ’12) interned for the Seattle Seahawks as an athletic trainer, then worked in student life, earned his master’s of divinity from Truett Seminary, and served as a college pastor and worship leader at a local church. But entrepreneurship was always in his blood — and now he shares his joy right here in Waco through a series of local favorites.

Alumni of the Year: Awarded to graduates who have demonstrated remarkable achievement in the previous year

Baylor Legacy Award: Presented to individuals who demonstrate extraordinary service and philanthropy to Baylor or to causes that fit our mission as a Christian university

Another year has flown on by… As the calendar turns, let’s take one last look back at 2023, through the lens of our favorite photos from Baylor’s official Instagram account.

Here are our top 10 Baylor Instagram photos of 2023:

Baylor’s new Paul and Alejandra Foster Pavilion made its debut this week, hosting a pair of facility-opening wins as the No. 18-ranked Baylor men defeated Cornell and the No. 6 Baylor women blew past No. 23 TCU.

But the play on the court was secondary to the awe and wonder felt by Baylor fans who filled the arena for both games, and by the coaches and players experiencing the new gameday atmosphere.

Smartphone addiction is in the same category as other technology addictions such as computers and gaming, which are all part of a larger family of behavioral addictions.

Baylor University’s 179-year history is filled with tentpole moments that inspire the Baylor Family to carry forward our mission: to go out into the world in Christian leadership and service.

David Wills has a passion for generosity and eternity. When describing the relationship between the two, Wills recalled words of a Baptist hymn: “The world is not my home, I’m just a-passing through.”

Jessica Beachum has a talent for seeing both the beauty and the need of the world — and meeting it with generosity and openness.

Few people have affected so many individuals in as many corners of the city of Waco as Jimmy and Janet Dorrell.

Bonton Farms is more than an urban farm; it is a place where communities are formed and enhanced. Gabe Madison did not expect to find herself in the heart of this community undergoing transformation ignited by hope.