NewsBriefs
Nursing school gala raises more than $1.5 million
Baylor University's Louise Herrington School of Nursing hosted its fourth annual "Going for the Gold Gala" on Feb. 28 at the Hilton Anatole in Dallas. The gala raised more than $1.5 million to support Baylor nursing scholarships and other needs.
Former Baylor and NFL standouts Robert Griffin III, BA '10, Mike Singletary, BBA '83, and Neal Jeffrey, BBA '75, were joined at the gala by NFL Hall of Famer Tim Brown, whose son graduated from Baylor in December and is now a nurse at Children's Medical Center Dallas. Deb Carson, BBA '88, a national sports anchor for Fox Sports Radio, emceed the event, at which a crowd of more than 900 guests heard each star speak of the importance of having quality nurses.
Since 2012, the galas have raised more than $3.2 million for student scholarships and other priorities of the school.
Regents approve new doctoral degree
In February, Baylor University's Board of Regents voted to approve a new EdD in K-12 Educational Leadership, an innovative doctoral program that will prepare highly qualified practitioners to lead and transform pre-collegiate education in public, Christian and private educational systems and related agencies. Specifically, it will focus on incorporating Baylor's historic Christian commitment as it prepares future educational leaders to frame and address complex problems of practice, such as team-building and management, decision-making, relational and servant leadership, as well as how to approach data analysis, finance, policy analysis, management and legal questions from a Christian perspective.
Few doctoral leadership programs offer advanced graduate education from a Christian perspective, especially professional practice doctoral program in educational leadership, said Dr. Jon D. Engelhardt, dean of Baylor's School of Education.
"Baylor is well positioned to provide preparation for future educational leaders grounded in Christian principles," Engelhardt said. "The EdD in K-12 Educational Leadership supports Pro Futuris' tenet of transformational education by preparing future leaders for K-12 education, who will act out of the tenets of their faith and pursue equity and social justice in educational organizations."
As an institutional member of the Carnegie Project for the Education Doctorate (CPED), a consortium of 55 major universities, Baylor faculty have been involved in the national dialogue on redesigning the professional practice doctorate in education.
The School of Education expects to begin the new EdD program in June.
Student awarded EPA Fellowship
Sarah Guberman, a senior studying environmental science at Baylor, has been awarded a fellowship through the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) Greater Research Opportunities (GRO) Fellowship Program.
"EPA's GRO Fellowship Program supports undergraduate students interested in the environmental science fields their junior and senior years while offering an internship at an EPA facility between those two years," said the National Center for Environmental Research Communications in a statement.
The fellowship includes up to $50,000 in scholarship money and an internship stipend. Only one other Baylor student has been awarded the EPA’s GRO fellowship.
A native of The Woodlands, Texas, Guberman has been working in the lab of Dr. Cole Matson, assistant professor of environmental science, for over a year.
Student media tallies 73 national awards
Baylor student writers, editors, designers, photographers and broadcast video journalists from the Baylor Lariat, Round Up, Focus, baylorlariat.com and LTVN have been applauded as some of the best in the nation, winning 183 in-state and national awards in the last academic year.
"Five years ago we had three national awards. This year our students earned 73 national awards. What this indicates is that Baylor students are achieving professional standards of excellence across the full spectrum of media and publishing skills--writing, photography, design, multimedia and video," said Paul Carr, Baylor director of student publications.
The Baylor Lariat was ranked a Top 10 National College Newspaper by the Associated Collegiate Press for 2013 and 2014. In addition, baylorlariat.com was reviewed both as a 2014 Top 5 College Newspaper Website by College Media Association and Columbia Scholastic Press Association as well as a 2013 and 2014 Top 10 National College Newspaper Website by the Associated Collegiate Press and Editor & Publisher Magazine.
The Round Up Yearbook earned the honor of being named a Top 5 National College Yearbook by the Associated Collegiate Press for the second year in a row.
Student-athletes receive Big 12 academic honors
More Baylor student-athletes were honored with the Big 12’s highest academic honor this year than any other conference school. In March, the Big 12 announced the 57 winners of the Dr. Gerald Lage Award, 14 of whom were Baylor Bears--twice as many as any other institution.
To be eligible for the accolade, student-athletes must have lettered at least once while maintaining residence at their institution for at least one academic year. The honoree should have 100 hours of earned credit with a cumulative GPA of 3.80 at the time of the nomination.
Baylor Honorees:
- Greg Bostick, Sr., Track, Accounting
- Sarah Guhl, Sr., Cross Country & Track, Health Science Studies: Physical Therapy
- Danielle Hardman, Sr., Acrobatics & Tumbling, Health Science Studies: Pre-Med
- Erin Hegarty, Sr., Track, Health Science Studies: Pre-Med/Dental, Minor: Spanish
- Jenna Henrich, Sr., Cross Country & Track, Health Science Studies: Physical Therapy
- Natalie Huggins, Sr., Soccer, Biology
- Alexis Humenik, Sr., Equestrian, Psychology
- Robin Landrith, Jr., Softball, Linguistics
- Elizabeth Miller, Sr., Equestrian, Nursing
- Hope Ogden, Sr., Volleyball, Accounting
- Kate Riddle, Sr., Equestrian, Business/Journalism
- Kyle Scanlan, Jr., Cross Country & Track, Economics & Distribution Management
- Bree Schrader, Sr., Cross Country & Track, Exercise Physiology
- Kelsey Taylor, Sr., Acrobatics & Tumbling, Exercise Physiology