Meet the Experts
The expertise of Baylor faculty and representatives who are actively shaping and advancing their discipline is sought after by their peers, media and Congress as well as by University students in academic settings.
It’s almost routine to find Baylor people quoted or their research cited in any number of media outlets, from The New York Times and The Washington Post to NBC’s Today, CNN and NPR.
Here are four of the many University representatives called upon for insight and understanding on today’s topics.
Hunger
JEREMY EVERETT, MDiv ’01, is the founder and executive director of Baylor’s Texas Hunger Initiative (THI), an organization that began in a small campus office in 2009. Its humble roots belied a bold mission—fighting food insecurity across the state. Now, some 25 states have consulted with THI to develop strategies and implement similar programs. In 2014, Everett was one of 10 leaders named to the National Commission on Hunger to assist Congress in the fight against food insecurity. NBC News, the Huffington Post and newspapers across Texas are among the media outlets that have called on him for insight.
Work-Life Balance
EMILY HUNTER, associate professor of management and entrepreneurship for Baylor’s Hankamer School of Business, has helped shape ideas about work-life balance, work and the family, and better work breaks. Her recent research with Cindy Wu, also a Hankamer management associate professor, showed that people who take “better breaks”—which include taking a few minutes to do a task or activity you enjoy—lead to better health and job satisfaction, and frequent short breaks are better than longer breaks. The Washington Post, Esquire, Entrepreneur and Business News Daily, are a few of the media outlets that have covered her work.
Presidential Rhetoric
MARTIN MEDHURST, Baylor Distinguished Professor of Rhetoric, is one of the nation’s foremost experts on presidential rhetoric—a topic that continues to be a subject of fascination and analysis, particularly in election cycles. Medhurst, also a professor of political science, has written or edited 13 books and contributed more than 100 journal pieces on the subject. CBS Evening News, Yahoo!, Wired and more have called on him for analysis of political debates and to discuss historical perspectives on how presidents communicate.
Historical Climate Change
DAN PEPPE, associate professor and graduate program director in Baylor’s College of Arts and Sciences’ Department of Geosciences, is recognized as an authority on historical climate change. He focuses on how plant and animal communities respond to changes in climate throughout the earth’s history. In 2016, Peppe and his team discovered a wildebeest-like creature while digging near the Kenya/Uganda border that provided insight into convergent evolution. The Christian Science Monitor, Nature.com and United Press International are among the outlets that have covered his work.
To view a list of some of the Baylor professors and representatives called upon for acumen and expertise when news breaks, visit the University’s Expert Directory at baylor.edu/mediacommunications.