From The Director

Last fall, we received a letter from an alumnus regarding our cover story introducing head football coach Art Briles (see here). The author of the letter talked about how much he had enjoyed meeting Briles and hearing him speak at an event in Dallas. But what really spurred the alumnus to write was how impressed he was with Baylor's new sports chaplain, Wes Yeary, who delivered the invocation at the event. 

Soon after we read the letter, Yeary's name came up again in our offices, this time in connection with an exciting new collaboration between George W. Truett Theological Seminary and Baylor Athletics designed to train sports chaplains for service at the collegiate and professional level or in sports-related ministries across the nation. 

Once the funds are in place and the program is launched, it will provide an exciting and unique opportunity for Baylor to be the place for top-notch sports chaplaincy training in the nation. For this issue, one of our writers took a look at Yeary's work and the training program's possibilities; read more in "Faith on the field of play." 

At its core, Baylor Athletics desires to build character and Christian commitment among the University's 400 student-athletes. Yeary's hiring was part of Baylor's emphasis on competing with integrity in all our sports. 

It was a different kind of competition that drove the development of Honors programs at universities across the country in the 1950s and '60s, as the United States' "space race" with the Soviets led to the formation of specific programs designed to cultivate the brightest minds of the day. Baylor's Honors Program began in 1959; 50 years later, it is at the heart of the University's Honors College, which now includes nearly 1,400 students in a variety of programs and majors, all drawn by the opportunity for rigorous academic exercise. "An honorable pursuit" explains how this integrated program benefits Baylor and attracts top students from around the world.

This issue's cover story features a group of psychology and neuroscience professors who have come together to combat one of the most pervasive and destructive forces in our world today: addiction. The Baylor Addiction Research Consortium endeavors to take research efforts beyond the laboratory tomake an immediate impact in the lives of those affected by addiction. By interacting with local hospitals, recovery centers and schools, these "freedom fighters" are educating and influencing those suffering and seeking help, as well as those who are most vulnerable: young people.

Having great teachers in the classroom has always been a part of the Baylor tradition, and in the same way, training great teachers for the classroom continues to be the goal of Baylor's School of Education. With a unique and intentional four-year program that places students into classrooms as early as their freshman year, Baylor's School of Ed is working hard to meet the challenges facing education today by providing the best teacher education anywhere.

In the end, this issue tackles education across a number of fields--from athletics to academics, in the laboratory and in local schools. Isn't that what a university should be about?