NewsBriefs

Robbins Institute granted membership into Business School Alliance for Health Management

Baylor's Robbins Institute for Health Policy and Leadership, housed in the Hankamer School of Business, has been granted membership into the Business School Alliance for Health Management (BAHM).

BAHM is a collaborative nonprofit organization, composed of business schools committed to the belief that management education, applied to the challenges of healthcare delivery and healthcare innovation, plays a special role in creating new and important solutions.

Membership is open to healthcare management programs at top business schools that have shown a commitment to research and teaching (led by research-based faculty), as well as service in the health sector.

"Given the dynamic nature and complexity of our nation's healthcare system, the Robbins Institute's programs are designed to ensure our graduates possess business and management skills along with a dedication to the community in which they serve," said Thomas Haines, MHA, associate director of the Robbins Institute for Health Policy and Leadership. "Our focus is aligned precisely with that of BAHM's, and we are excited to join other alliance members in creating new and innovative solutions to the challenges our graduates will face."

The Robbins Institute oversees and administers the following programs:

• Master of Business Administration in Healthcare
• Executive MBA-Healthcare (in Dallas and Austin)
• PhD in Health Services Research
• Case Competition in Healthcare Management

The Robbins Institute was founded in 2011 to engage an interdisciplinary group of scholars in a variety of intellectual activities, including teaching, external programming and health services research. Its programs are built around four pillars: academic excellence, intellectual activity, servant leadership and meaningful engagement.

"The Institute is committed to providing quality academic training, while expanding a commitment to health services research on issues that directly impact the lives of millions of people worldwide," Haines said.

Currently, the BAHM alliance includes fewer than 20 institutions. Other member institutions include Harvard Business School, Boston University's Questrom School of Business, Yale School of Management, Vanderbilt University's Owen School of Business, University of Toronto's Rotman School of Management, and Northwestern University's Kellogg School of Management.

Baylor Builds Partnerships with Xavier University of Louisiana, South Texas College

Baylor University and Xavier University of Louisiana have announced the creation of a domestic exchange program that will expand educational and cultural opportunities for students at both universities.

The purpose of the student exchange program is to coordinate efforts to introduce students to new environments that create an awareness of different institutional and cultural perspectives. The Baylor/Xavier University Exchange Program is the first domestic student exchange program for Baylor and will begin spring 2017. Xavier has a similar program already in place with New York University.

Baylor Interim President David E. Garland, PhD, and Xavier President C. Reynold Verret, PhD, signed the partnership agreement Oct. 20.

"We are excited about the opportunities that the Baylor/Xavier University Exchange Program will provide for our students. The Baylor/Xavier exchange extends the transformational education offered at Baylor by introducing students to compelling scholarship from new faculty, inspiring informed engagement within one of the world's most exciting cities (New Orleans) and stimulating cross-cultural exchange with students who wish to learn about each partner institution," Garland said. "We look forward to welcoming Xavier University students into the Baylor Family."

"Such a student exchange enlarges opportunity for Xavier and Baylor students to study and learn in a new and different environment at no additional cost, and also to learn from each other. It also makes available courses that may not be offered at the home institution," Verret said.

"Moreover, for our students, it allows them to explore post-graduate programs offered at partner institutions. It expands horizons," he added.

Baylor University and South Texas College announced the creation of a formal Baylor Bound transfer agreement that will help students transfer more easily between the two institutions and continue to expand educational opportunities for young people all across Texas.

Baylor's Garland and South Texas College President Shirley A. Reed, EdD, signed the partnership agreement Oct. 24. This is the 10th Baylor Bound partnerships outlined as a goal under the Pro Futuris strategic vision. The Baylor Bound program will serve highly motivated students from South Texas College who, upon meeting the program's criteria, will transfer to Baylor to complete their baccalaureate degrees.

"As we celebrate our 10th Baylor Bound agreement and reaching this institutional milestone, we are deeply grateful for the opportunity to partner with high-quality institutions such as South Texas College. It is through these strong Baylor Bound collaborations that we are able to expand educational opportunities for students in Texas," Garland said.

Entrepreneurship program ranked in top 5 for 8th straight year

For the eighth straight year, Baylor entrepreneurship is ranked among The Princeton Review and Entrepreneur's top-five undergraduate entrepreneurship programs; this year the program is ranked No. 5 in the nation.

Baylor is set apart by innovative programs such as Accelerated Ventures (a two-semester experience that enables students to create real companies with real products and services while raising real money), the Institute for Family Business (which studies and promotes family owned companies) and i5 (an interdisciplinary program that introduces students to the burgeoning market in China).

Over the last five years, BU entrepreneurship graduates have started almost 300 companies and collectively raised some $30 million in funding. Every undergraduate professor in the program has started, bought and/or run his or her own business, and more than 150 other individuals work with students through a mentoring program.

Learn more at baylor.edu/business/entrepreneurship.

Professor chosen as one of 50 most influential living philosophers

Baylor philosophy professor John Haldane, PhD, was selected as one of the 50 most influential living philosophers by TheBestSchools.org, a resource for college and online education.

"The 50 Most Influential Living Philosophers" features contemporary philosophers who may not be household names but whose thinking, writing and teaching influence the world today.

The list includes philosophers who would not be known outside the field, Haldane said, as well as others who work within professional academic philosophy and public intellectuals who reflect and speak to interests beyond philosophy itself.

"I would say that I fall into these latter categories and that inclusion in the list is recognition of that broader identity," Haldane said.

In the description of Haldane's work on TheBestSchools.org, the list focuses on Haldane's study of Thomas Aquinas. Haldane coined the term "Analytical Thomism" to describe the philosophical movement focused on merging the ideas of contemporary philosophy with the thinking of Saint Thomas Aquinas, who lived in Italy during the 13th century.

At Baylor, Haldane is The J. Newton Rayzor Sr. Distinguished Professor of Philosophy. Haldane is also a professor of philosophy at the University of St. Andrews in Scotland, chairman of the Royal Institute of Philosophy and a papal advisor to the Vatican.

He has taught and published in aesthetics; moral, social and political philosophy; philosophy of education; philosophy of mind; metaphysics; philosophy of religion and the history of philosophy.

Haldane's inclusion in this list of influential living philosophers follows another recent honor.

After spending the spring semester in Sydney, Australia, the University of Notre Dame Australia awarded him an honorary Doctor of Laws degree.

"Professor Haldane is recognized by his peers as amongst the most distinguished philosophical voices in academic life today," UNDA Vice Chancellor Celia Hammond said in her citation