News Briefs

Interior design program accredited
Baylor's interior design program in the Department of Family and Consumer Sciences received accreditation from the Foundation for Interior Design Education and Research -- a nationally recognized assessment organization -- in July. FIDER officials visited campus in the spring to evaluate the program against its 12 standards of quality in curriculum and education, facilities, faculty, administration and assessment. Auditors were especially pleased with the quality and professionalism of students' work and their design communication skills.
In Texas, and in 23 other states, interior design practitioners must be registered. Baylor's program prepares students for the National Council for Interior Design and Qualification exam leading to certification and preparation for licensure.

Interim University chaplain named
Byron Weathersbee, co-founder and president of Legacy Family Ministries, was named interim University chaplain in August. Weathersbee, BSE '85, will provide leadership for Baylor's twice-weekly chapel services, University Ministries, Baptist Student Ministries and pastoral care to the University community. He earned a master's degree in religious education from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary and his doctorate of education in leadership from The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary. He was licensed to the ministry in 1983 and ordained two years later. He has been a part-time lecturer in Baylor's Department of Health, Human Performance and Recreation for the past five years.

Hookin' the big one
Jonathan D. Hook, MBA '81, chief investment officer for Baylor, was named Endowment Officer of the Year in the June issue of Foundation and Endowment Money Management magazine. The magazine cited Hook for "producing stellar returns and steering the university to aggressively increase its alternatives exposure." Baylor's investment return rate of 25.2 percent for fiscal year 2004 was tops in the nation, outperforming the endowments of more than 700 U.S. universities.

Former BGCT leader at Truett
Joel C. Gregory, Texas Baptist pastor, former president of the Baptist General Convention of Texas (1988-89) and publisher and founder of Gregory Ministries, has been appointed professor of preaching at Baylor's George W. Truett Theological Seminary for academic year 2005-06. Gregory, BA '70, PhD '83, received his master of divinity degree from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, where he taught preaching from 1982-85. He then served as pastor of Travis Avenue Baptist Church, the largest Baptist congregation in Fort Worth. In 1990, he was called to pastor First Baptist in Dallas.

Official fall enrollment stats
Describing it as an "incredible year" with records set in several categories, James Steen, BA '93, assistant vice president of admission and enrollment services, rolled out official 12th class day numbers on Sept. 7. Baylor had 3,168 freshmen, up 13.8 percent from the fall 2004 number of 2,785 with 422 transfers. The previous fall record was 2,938 in 1998. The fall class had a mean SAT score of 1196, a school record high and a six-point jump over last year's average. The freshman minority percentage is at 30.6 percent, up from a record 30.3 percent last year. Male students in the freshman class increased from 39.6 percent last year to 41 percent this year.
Total graduate and undergraduate enrollment for fall 2004 is 12,877, which includes 391 in George W. Truett Theological Seminary and 424 in Baylor Law School. This number does not include the Academy of Health Science in San Antonio, a Baylor-affiliated program that operates on a different academic calendar. Total undergraduate students for fall is 11,580 and graduate students is 1,297.

McConnico new PC professor
Austin lawyer Steve McConnico, JD '76, has been named Practice Court professor for the 2005 fall quarter at Baylor Law School. He has tried cases all across Texas and has been lead attorney in cases in Nevada, North Carolina, Florida, Illinois and California. He is board certified in personal injury law and in civil trial law. He is a name partner at the Austin law firm of Scott, Douglass and McConnico and served as editor-in-chief of the Baylor Law Review. Texas Monthly has selected him as one of Texas' "Super 100" lawyers.

Gifts provide scholarships
Gifts announced in early August from Brazos Higher Education Service Corp. Inc. of Waco will provide for the establishment of a scholarship fund in the corporation's name in the Baylor School of Law and another in the Hankamer School of Business. Both will be awarded by the schools' respective deans to full-time students based on merit and need.

Academic units combined
The anthropology division, which has been part of the Department of Sociology and Anthropology, the forensic science program, which has been embedded in the anthropology program, and the Institute of Archaeology have been combined into the Department of Anthropology, Forensic Science and Archaeology. The change took effect Aug. 1. 
In 1976, Baylor began offering anthropology as a separate major. Before then, it was a track within the sociology department. The Institute of Archaeology also was formed in 1976. In 1999, Baylor began the forensic science major.

In Memory
Daniel E. Wivagg, 61, professor of biology and director of undergraduate studies, died Aug. 10. He had taught at Baylor since 1979. Born in Worcester, Mass., Wivagg received his bachelor's degree in zoology from the University of Massachusetts and his doctorate in botany from the University of Texas at Austin. Before coming to Baylor, he taught at Loyola University. He published numerous articles on biology education, five biology textbooks and several peer-reviewed articles on biology research topics. He had been associate editor of American Biology Teacher magazine since 1985.