News Briefs

Dedication at Independence
On March 25, Baylor will co-host a dedication of Baylor Park on Windmill Hill in Independence, Texas -- original site of Baylor University from 1845 to 1886. The ceremony will highlight the recent installation of walking paths and landscaping improvements in the four acres of land that Baylor owns there, a project made possible by Harold Cunningham, BBA '56, regent and former vice president for special projects at Baylor.
Joining Baylor in hosting the event will be The Texas Collection at Baylor and The Texas Baptist Collection, Baptist General Convention of Texas.
Baylor President John M. Lilley will attend the dedication, which will include performances by students in the School of Music and self-guided driving and walking tours. All alumni and friends of Baylor are invited. 
For more information, call (254) 710-1268 or e-mail Kathy_Hinton@baylor.edu.
New joint degree
The Board of Regents approved a new joint degree program Oct. 28 between the Army-Baylor graduate program in healthcare administration at Fort Sam Houston and the Hankamer School of Business. The master of healthcare administration/master of business administration degree (MHA/MBA) will give graduate students an opportunity to gain additional skills, including those provided in an MBA program, to operate effectively and more efficiently in a military healthcare environment.
Meyers endow Truett chair
The Paul and Jane Meyer Family Foundation has honored William M. "Bill" Hinson, a 1953 Baylor alumnus and longtime pastor who now serves as vice chair and CEO of the Haggai Institute, with a permanently endowed chair at Baylor's George W. Truett Theological Seminary. The Meyers established The William M. Hinson Chair in Christian Scriptures with a $1.5 million gift. Truett Dean Paul Powell appointed David E. Garland, Truett's associate dean for academic affairs and an acclaimed New Testament scholar, as the first chairholder. 
Baylor and Mexico collaborate
In a new program instituted by their government, representatives from Mexico announced the start of a project/database called System for the Identification of Remains and Localization of Individuals (SIRLI). The database contains information from missing-persons reports and photos filed by families, as well as fingerprints and signatures taken from Mexican consular, military and voter registries. Baylor will provide assistance with identification through DNA analysis. 
This is a significant step in furthering the efforts of Lori Baker, Baylor forensic scientist, who has been working for several years to help identify the remains of immigrants who died crossing the border into the United States. 
"The SIRLI database works similarly to the one we have here, except that they have infinitely more people working on it through the consulate offices, which should make it much more successful," Baker said.
Truett alumnus wins Fulbright 
Russell Browder, MDiv '05, received a Fulbright Award to study in Spain this year. For his project, he will examine how Spanish companies can extend responsibility to and foster economic development of marginalized social and ethnic groups. He will take classes and conduct research in the International MBA program at Instituto de Empresa in Madrid,
Spain, through December 2006. 
In memory
The Baylor community lost several individuals in recent months who greatly impacted the life of the University. For complete obituaries, please visit www.baylor.edu/pr:
Carl G. Vaught, Distinguished Professor of Philosophy
Charles Gus Glasscock Jr., former Baylor trustee and longtime benefactor
William Logue, Distinguished Baylor Alumnus, avid sports fan
Kyle Lake, alumnus and pastor of University Baptist Church