News Briefs
4/4 Time: Trumpets Win Nationals
For the fourth time in eight years, a team of Baylor Trumpets earned first place in the National Trumpet Competition in Colorado.
Ten Baylor soloists performed in the undergraduate solo division; they were among 38 competitors chosen from 157 applicants. Baylor’s Green ensemble received top honors in the Large Ensemble Division.
Baylor trumpeters gave a combined 16 solo and ensemble performances, accompanied by Alex Parker, senior lecturer in jazz studies, Mark Schubert, MM ’11, lecturer in trumpet, and Wiff Rudd, BMEd ’77, professor of trumpet. Among those who performed solo, junior Sally Tepper won second place, and graduate student Clare Hogan won third.
“Mark Schubert and I are so pleased with the dedication all our students demonstrated in their preparation for this competition,” Rudd said. “The musicality we witnessed in a total of 16 Baylor solo and ensemble performances at the National Trumpet Competition was spectacular.”
School of Education, Midway ISD partnership receives national award
The nearly decade-long Professional Development School (PDS) partnership between Baylor School of Education (SOE) and nearby Midway Independent School District (MISD) was one of three nationally to receive the Exemplary Professional Development School Achievement Award from the National Association for Professional Development Schools (NAPDS) in March.
The award recognizes collaborations that “shape educator leadership and practice.” Noting the strength and benefits of the Baylor-Midway partnership, the NAPDS selection committee described the arrangement as “an excellent example of a strong school-university partnership.”
MISD’s first campus in the Baylor PDS program was Midway High School, followed by its middle school and Spring Valley Elementary. Six Waco ISD campuses also are part of SOE’s PDS program, in which Baylor teacher candidates begin field work during their freshman year rather than a one-semester internship before graduation. Benefits extend to the experienced classroom teachers who mentor the candidates and in turn pick up updated techniques and technology from the candidates. School students receive more one-on-one time with instructors.
Law School Tops Texas Bar Pass Rate
Results of the February 2017 Texas Bar exam have Baylor Law once again at No. 1 with an 88.89 percent pass rate. Of the 27 Baylor Law students who took the February 2017 exam, 24 passed—the highest percentage among the nine Texas law schools. The state’s first-time taker passage rate was 68.75 percent. SMU Dedman School of Law ranked No. 2 with a pass rate of 78.57 percent.
Army-Baylor Graduate Program Teams Excel
The Army-Baylor graduate program in health and business administration sent teams to multiple competitions where they won several awards, overall and individually.
At the 2017 American College of Healthcare Executives (ACHE) Congress, the Army-Baylor MHA-MBA Program received the 2016 Higher Education Network Award for highest engagement of a graduate program with ACHE, and the team earned second place in the graduate division of the Richard J. Stull Essay Competition. Lt. Col. Forest Kim, PhD, program director for health and business administration, received an Army Regent Award for Career Achievement while Col. Tanya Peacock and Lt. Col. Jason Richter were recognized with Joint Federal Sector Excellence in Healthcare Leadership Awards.
At the Clarion National Case Competition, Army-Baylor MHA-MBA students achieved second place in 2017. An Army-Baylor team received third place in 2016.
One of the MHA-MBA program student teams competing in the Free Trade Alliance San Antonio International Business Plan Competition won first place in the graduate division. Another team was commended and recognized with one of the top three presentation scores.
Symphony Orchestra Wins American Prize for Third Consecutive Year
For the third year in a row, the Baylor Symphony Orchestra has won the American Prize in orchestral performance in the college and university division. Stephen Heyde, professor of orchestral studies and conductor-in-residence at Baylor, said the three-year run is an unprecedented honor, the credit for which goes to orchestra students.
“I love my students and I love the effort and integrity with which they approach this whole process,” Heyde said. “We’re not trying to win American Prizes. All we’re trying to do is play and make our music as good as it can be to glorify God.”
Along with national recognition, winners of the American Prize receive cash and professional adjudication.
ExxonMobil Foundation Presents Matching Gifts
ExxonMobil Foundation’s 2016 Educational Matching Gift Program presented $369,500 to Baylor at an April celebration that included university representatives and more than 80 Baylor alumni, parents and friends who were a part of the ExxonMobil team.
The gift was made possible through the generosity of alumni, parents and friends of Baylor who work throughout the ExxonMobil organization.
In 2016-2017, ExxonMobil employees, retirees, directors and surviving spouses contributed $128,936 to Baylor. This amount was matched at a 3:1 ratio by the ExxonMobil Foundation, resulting in the gift from the Foundation and a total of $498,437 given to Baylor over the past fiscal year.
ExxonMobil’s program is one of the most generous in the country. The 2016 gift increases the ExxonMobil Foundation’s giving to a cumulative amount of more than $8.7 million at Baylor.
More than 7,500 companies offer matching gift programs to their employees. Find out more about matching gifts to Baylor at www.matchinggifts.com/baylor.