J. Larry Lyon: Senior Vice Provost, Professor of Sociology

Outside of work, what do you spend the most time thinking about and why?

Until recently, I'm not sure what occupied my thoughts beyond my work. The challenges of graduate education were never far from the top of my mind, as my wife pointed out on more than one occasion. Other issues would come and go from my consciousness, but none stayed in residence long, and few returned with any regularity. I suppose I could have spent more time pondering the nature of God or the meaning of life, but my theology always has been a rather simple version that is, I suspect, common with a lot of us Baptists. I once thought more about sports than I do now. My mind may have reached a frustration threshold based on years of pulling for Houston's professional teams and Baylor's college teams. Thinking about family, of course, is a common response to this question, but my family has not really demanded much attention since both girls, to my great pride and continued amazement, grew into successful adults. All of that changed when my first grandchild, Ashley Elizabeth Irvine, entered the world on Oct. 30, 2002. Now, as she rapidly grows and uniquely develops, my thoughts increasingly turn to her. Freed from the almost overwhelming responsibility I felt as a father, I can revel in the unfettered pleasure of watching and helping Ashley explore a new world. I have become as boring as Preston Dyer, Tillman Rodabough, Mike Mansfield and all my other "senior" Baylor colleagues who incessantly share photos and stories of their grandchildren. I understand them better now. They are sharing that which commands a remarkably significant part of their hearts and minds.