Newsbriefs

Last summer Steppin' Out, Baylor's biannual day of community service, was recognized with the Ruthe Jackson Youth Leadership Award for contributions toward restoring the state of Texas. Steppin' Out, one of the largest university service programs in the nation with more than 2,500 participants, earned first place in the university division for its work transforming homes in the Waco area through painting, cleaning and landscaping. 
Construction crews razed the Vara Martin Daniel Fountain Plaza after engineering studies determined there were significant structural and safety problems. Baylor plans to replace the old fountain with a new water feature that will continue to honor Vara Martin Daniel. 
The first two classes of graduates of the neonatal master's degree program at Baylor's Louise Herrington School of Nursing achieved a 100 percent pass rate on the Neonatal Nurse Practitioner Certification Examination in 2002 and 2003. The two-year graduate program, one of only two neonatal nurse practitioner programs in Texas, began in 2000.
Dr. Larry Vanlandingham, the University's only professor of percussion, retired from the School of Music in August after 41 years of teaching. He was head of the instrumental division of the School of Music for two decades.
In July, Baylor law student Paul Bailiff was named top advocate by justices of the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals at the Moot Court Tournament, sponsored by the Texas Young Lawyers Association. The contest, held during the Texas State Bar Convention in Houston, also earned a third-best brief award for the Baylor team, a fifth-best advocate award for Bailiff's teammate, Jessica Russell, and a second-place team award in the championship round.