News

Earlier this spring, the Baylor Board of Regents approved a budget increase of $22.75 million for the renovation of the Honors Residential College (HRC) bringing the total project budget to $57.75 million. The project, which is slated to begin in May, fulfills key commitments of Illuminate Forward to improve students’ residential campus experience and to improve the Honors College.

Alan Jacobs, Ph.D., a longtime Baylor Honors College faculty member, literary critic and author, has been appointed as The Jim and Sharon Harrod Endowed Chair of Christian Thought. In this position, Jacobs will build on decades of past scholarship to promote deep study of the relationship between faith and knowledge, while fostering rich avenues for transformational learning among Baylor’s students within the Honors College. The Harrod Chair also will further ensure Baylor is a national leader in dialogue concerning the intersection of faith and learning in higher education.

WACO, Texas (March 3, 2023) – Baylor University today dedicated the Mary Jo Robbins Clinic for Autism Research and Practice during an event honoring the clinic’s namesake, Mary Jo Robbins, and her husband, William K. “Bill” Robbins, of Houston, who made the lead gift in her honor. The event recognized the Robbinses, a couple who has spent their lifetimes championing excellence in health care.

WACO, Texas (Feb. 24, 2023) – Baylor University today announced a $3.7 million gift from Jay and Jenny Allison of Frisco, Texas, to support the Give Light Capital Fund, as well as scholarships benefiting Baylor Law and the George W. Truett Theological Seminary. Baylor will recognize the couple’s philanthropic support through the naming of the Jay and Jenny Allison Development Center within the Paul and Alejandra Foster Pavilion.

WACO, Texas (Feb. 23, 2023) – Baylor University today announced a gift of approximately $6 million from the estate of Harold W. Dunn of Ballwin, Missouri, supporting the School of Music’s Center for Christian Music Studies. Dunn, an alumnus and retired elementary school music teacher, gave the entirety of his estate to the University, making the largest gift in the School of Music’s 100-year history.

DALLAS and WACO, Texas – Leaders from the Baptist General Convention of Texas (BGCT) and Baylor University have jointly reviewed the relationship agreement between the two organizations and deemed no changes are necessary. The special agreement, initially agreed upon on November 4, 2011, calls for a joint review by the BGCT and Baylor every 10 years. The most recent review was delayed two years as both organizations managed through the COVID-19 pandemic.

WACO, Texas (Feb. 10, 2023) – The U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs today named Baylor University a Fulbright Top Producing Institution for U.S. Students. This recognition is given to the U.S. colleges and universities that received the highest number of applicants selected for the 2022-23 Fulbright U.S. Student Program.

WACO, Texas (Feb. 9, 2023) – Baylor University today announced William E. (Ed) Crenshaw, B.B.A. ’73, of Lakeland, Florida, as the recipient of the 2023 Baylor University Founders Medal.

WACO, Texas (Feb. 2, 2023) – Baylor University announced today the appointment of Hannah Stolze, Ph.D., as the inaugural William E. Crenshaw Endowed Chair in Supply Chain Management in the Department of Management in Baylor’s nationally ranked Hankamer School of Business.

WACO, Texas (Jan. 19, 2023) - Jessica Akers, Ph.D., assistant professor of educational psychology in the Baylor University School of Education, has received a $893,409 grant from the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board to develop an innovative treatment model for children with autism and their siblings.

WACO, Texas (Jan. 12, 2023) – Baylor University today announced the recipients of the 2023 Baylor Alumni Awards, which honor individuals who embody the distinctive mission of the University and their remarkable achievements. A celebration honoring the impact of Baylor alumni around the world and recognizing this year’s recipients will be held on campus Feb. 24, 2023.

WACO, Texas (Jan. 11, 2023) – The National Security Agency (NSA) and Department of Homeland Security (DHS) have designated Baylor University as a National Center of Academic Excellence in Cyber Defense (CAE-CD), a program that addresses the critical shortage of professionals with cybersecurity skills and highlights the importance of higher education as a solution to defending America’s cyberspace.

WACO, Texas (Jan. 10, 2023) – Baylor University senior Arvind Muruganantham, a cell and molecular biology major on the pre-med track from Fremont, California, is among 16 recipients of the prestigious and highly selective Churchill Scholarship in science, mathematics and engineering, announced today by the Winston Churchill Foundation of the United States.

WACO, Texas (Jan. 9, 2023) Silicic volcanoes on the Moon, specifically the mysterious Gruithuisen Domes, are a lunar geologic mystery that still perplexes scientists more than half a century after they were discovered. Based on early telescopic and spacecraft observations, these extinct volcanoes have long been suspected to be silicic in composition, in some ways similar to terrestrial strato volcanoes like Mount St. Helens in Washington state.

WACO, Texas (Nov. 4, 2022) – At its regular quarterly meeting, the Baylor University Board of Regents focused its discussion on Baylor’s position in the higher education marketplace, highlighted by strong financial reports about upgraded bond ratings and positive investment returns amid continued strong demand for a Baylor experience and education.

WACO, Texas (Oct. 17, 2022) – An interdisciplinary team of Baylor University researchers in psychology, religion and bioethics will explore how to tackle the complex problems of human flourishing by training theologians to incorporate the methods and insights of the psychological sciences into their work through a $2.5 million grant from the John Templeton Foundation.

WACO, Texas (Oct. 3, 2022) – The Baylor University Black Alumni Alliance honored the past while celebrating the bright future ahead for outstanding Baylor students and alumni during its inaugural Achievement Awards Ceremony Sept. 30 in Barfield Drawing Room, one of the highlights of the BBAA’s Reunion Weekend. The evening benefited the Dr. Vivienne Malone-Mayes Scholarship Endowment.

WACO, Texas (Sept. 1, 2022) – The U.S. Department of Education has renewed Baylor University’s five-year grant for the Ronald E. McNair Postbaccalaureate Achievement Program, which is designed to provide high-achieving college students from diverse backgrounds effective preparation for doctoral studies.

WACO, Texas (Dec. 9, 2021) – Baylor University today announced a gift of $1.5 million from the Deerbrook Charitable Trust of Chevy Chase, Maryland, and Harris and Anne Clark of Dallas to establish the Louise Herrington School of Nursing’s (LHSON) first endowed faculty position.

WACO, Texas (Nov. 18, 2021) – Baylor University today announced the first chair established through the Baylor Illuminate Chair Matching Program, which supports the Give Light Campaign’s goals to increase endowed faculty positions. An anonymous gift of $1.5 million established the first chair through the program, The William J. Abraham Endowed Chair, to support George W. Truett Theological Seminary’s Wesley House of Studies. An additional gift of $1 million to establish a scholarship was made by Jeff (BBA ’86) and Debbie (BS ’87) Wooley of Woodway to support the program’s students.

WACO, Texas (Nov. 13, 2021) – Baylor University today announced the naming of the Paul and Alejandra Foster Pavilion in honor of Paul (BBA ’79) and Alejandra Foster, of El Paso, Texas. The naming is in recognition of Paul and Alejandra’s gift of $100 million in 2019 to the Give Light Campaign, which launched the public fundraising campaign for the Basketball Pavilion, home to Baylor’s National Championship basketball teams.

WACO, Texas (Nov. 11, 2021) – Baylor University today announced the naming of the Mary Jo Robbins Clinic for Autism Research and Practice in honor of Mary Jo Robbins of Houston. The announcement is in recognition of the support and continued efforts of William K. “Bill” and Mary Jo Robbins, a couple who has spent their lifetimes championing excellence in health care.

WACO, Texas (Nov. 5, 2021) – During its regular fall meeting, the Baylor University Board of Regents affirmed the framework for the next five years of Illuminate, the University’s strategic plan, including hiring 100 new faculty to accelerate the University toward Research 1 status as the preeminent Christian research university.

WACO, Texas (Oct. 29, 2021) – Social and biomedical scientists at Harvard University and Baylor University have joined forces to launch the $43.4 million, five-year “Global Flourishing Study” (GFS), the largest initiative of its kind to investigate the factors that influence human flourishing throughout the world. It also represents largest funded research project in the University’s history.

WACO, Texas (Oct. 21, 2021) – Baylor University today announced a $2 million gift from Baylor alumnus Matthew B. Lindner (B.A. ’12) of Cincinnati, Ohio, to support the Department of Film and Digital Media (FDM). The Lindner Endowment for Film and Digital Media will support the Baylor in L.A. program, a residential learning opportunity in Los Angeles for FDM students – currently in early planning stages – that will provide internship and experiential learning opportunities for program participants.

WACO, Texas (Sept. 1, 2021) – Baylor University is mourning beloved Baylor Family member Jane Meyer, of Waco, who passed away Aug. 21. Honored as a Baylor Founder for her support of the University, Meyer’s strong Christian faith informed her philanthropy, and as president of the Paul and Jane Meyer Family Foundation, she built upon a legacy of generosity toward Baylor’s students through giving to scholarships, faculty funding and facilities.

Baylor University Libraries has surpassed $10 million in gifts and pledges of support, exceeding its initial fundraising goal set at the beginning of the Give Light Campaign. Nearly 900 alumni, parents, staff, faculty and others have given to Baylor Libraries as part of Give Light.

WACO, Texas (July 22, 2021) – Baylor University today announced the hiring of Alan X. Wang, Ph.D. as the inaugural holder of The Mearse Chair in Biological and Biomedical Engineering, becoming the first faculty hire to an endowed chair position funded through the Baylor Academic Challenge.

WACO, Texas (July 13, 2021) - Baylor University today announced that alumni, parents, faculty, staff, students and friends combined to provide more than $161 million in given and pledged philanthropic support during the University’s recently completed fiscal year (June 1, 2020, to May 31, 2021). The Baylor Family’s philanthropy supports the Give Light Campaign, Baylor’s comprehensive fundraising campaign aimed at resourcing efforts to become the preeminent Christian research university.

From its classic buildings to lush greenery, Baylor’s campus has long been known for its beauty. But the best can always get better — and a new tree planting initiative is doing just that for campus. Back in April, a Baylor Student Government bill allocated more than $30,000 for the planting of 26 trees in new […]

WACO, Texas (May 13, 2021) – Baylor University today announced a leadership gift to the Baylor Basketball Pavilion from Paula Hurd, marking progress on the Pavilion and surpassing the $1 billion milestone for the Give Light Campaign, the most the University has ever raised during one campaign effort.

WACO, Texas (April 15, 2021) – Baylor University today announced an estate gift from John and Eula Mae Baugh, creating an endowed chair in physics. The Eula Mae and John Baugh Chair in Physics, which will receive matching funds through the Baylor Academic Challenge, will provide faculty funding within the department of physics and focus on innovative research and teaching in the area of materials science.

WACO, Texas (April 1, 2021) – Following a nationwide search, Baylor University Provost Nancy Brickhouse, Ph.D., announced today that Sandeep Mazumder, Ph.D., professor and chair of the Department of Economics at Wake Forest University, has been selected as The William E. Crenshaw Endowed Dean of Baylor's nationally ranked Hankamer School of Business. His appointment is effective July 1.

WACO, Texas (March 9, 2021) – Baylor University today announced a $1.5 million gift from the Prichard Family Foundation and Ella Wall Prichard, B.A. '63, of Corpus Christi, to establish an endowed faculty position that will further the research and work of the nationally renowned Black Gospel Music Restoration Project, as well as scholarship in the areas of Black worship, preaching and studies.

WACO, Texas (March 5, 2021) – After winter storms postponed committee meetings during February's quarterly meeting, the Baylor University Board of Regents reconvened committee meetings virtually this week with the full Board taking subsequent action to approve construction of an Autism Center and appointment of a new Student Regent. In addition, the Board announced the slate of Alumni-elected Regent candidates for the upcoming election this spring.

Generosity is part of the culture at Baylor University. Students, alumni, faculty, staff, parents and friends of the University give generously of their finances and their time out of a deep belief in our Christian mission.

For Valentine’s Day, this year (or as soon as you can near Valentine's Day), we ask you to send handwritten letters of thanks to essential workers you know.

WACO, Texas (Feb. 11, 2021) – Baylor University announced today that fundraising for the Trailblazer Scholars Program has surpassed $2 million since the program’s creation in July 2020, pairing with the University’s commitment of $5 million to establish the program.

WACO, Texas (Feb. 1, 2021) – Baylor University today announced Sue Mayborn of Temple, Texas, as the recipient of the 2021 Baylor University Founders Medal.

The Faculty Senate established a goal in support of The Store, Baylor's on-campus food pantry that helps fight food insecurity amongst its student body. The goal, first set at $5,000, was met and exceeded, as was the next goal of $10,000. The new goal is to raise $15,000 for this oft-overlooked challenge of a student's life, which affects up to 15-20% or more of all college students.

WACO, Texas (Jan. 21, 2021) – Baylor University announced today that it has opened its own on-site COVID-19 testing lab and research facility in partnership with My Labs Direct (MLD), a CLIA-certified, COLA-accredited diagnostic lab that offers an extensive menu of FDA-approved tests.

WACO, Texas (December 1, 2020) – The Baylor University Collaborative on Hunger and Poverty (BCHP), in conjunction with the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) and key public and private organizations, announced that it served more than 38.7 million meals between March and August to more than 270,000 children impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic as part of the Emergency Meals-To-You (eMTY) program.

WACO, Texas (Nov. 28, 2020) - Baylor University today celebrated the installation of two bronze statues honoring the institution's two Medal of Honor recipients, U.S. Army Corps Col. John Riley Kane (BA 1928) and U.S. Marine Corps 1st Lt. Andrew Jackson "Jack" Lummus Jr.

WACO, Texas (Oct. 29, 2020) – Baylor University today announced a $2 million gift commitment from The DeBakey Medical Foundation of Houston that will create The Michael E. DeBakey, M.D., Selma DeBakey and Lois DeBakey Chair for Medical Humanities. In celebration of the announcement, Lauren Barron, M.D., has been announced as the inaugural chairholder.

WACO, Texas (Oct. 15, 2020) – Baylor University today announced a $30 million gift commitment from Dan and Jenni Hord of Midland, Texas. The Hords, both Baylor alumni, are passionate about student success, and through the Hord Scholarship Challenge, they are encouraging the collective Baylor Family to match their giving to Baylor by supporting merit-based scholarships to help deserving students bridge the gap between merit- and need-based financial aid and unmet financial need.

WACO, Texas (September 30, 2020) – Baylor University today announced the naming of the deanship at the Hankamer School of Business to honor William E. (Ed) and Denise Crenshaw of Lakeland, Florida, for their support of the Give Light Campaign and the University’s Hankamer School of Business. The William E. Crenshaw Endowed Dean within the Hankamer School of Business was funded through a portion of the recently announced $5 million gift from the Crenshaws. The new fund will provide endowment support for the initiatives, programs and projects essential to the School’s dean in executing their vision for Baylor Business and the mission of the School.

WACO, Texas (Sept. 3, 2020) – Baylor University today announced a $5 million gift from William E. (Ed) and Denise Crenshaw of Lakeland, Florida, in support of the Give Light Campaign and the University's Hankamer School of Business. A portion of the gift qualifies for the Baylor Academic Challenge program, creating two endowed faculty positions within the Hankamer School of Business that will receive dollar-for-dollar matching funds as well as support for the School’s dean. The gift also will establish an endowed scholarship fund within Baylor’s Student Foundation.

WACO, Texas (June 14, 2020) – Baylor University is mourning beloved benefactor and Baylor parent, Barbara “Babs” Nell Baugh, of San Antonio, who passed away today after a long, courageous battle with Parkinson’s disease. She was 78. As president of the Eula Mae and John Baugh Foundation, Baugh was a champion for higher education informed by Christian values, and her generous support of Baylor’s faculty, staff and students leaves an indelible mark on the institution.

The events of the past few weeks have filled me with great sorrow over the senseless and inexcusable killing of George Floyd and in remembrance of the terrible deaths of Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor and too many other black men, women and children. We have once again seen our country’s deep divide over race, justice and inequality come to light.

WACO, Texas (May 21, 2020) – Baylor University today announced a $75,000 gift from the H-E-B Tournament of Champions Charitable Trust that will provide staffing support for the Baylor University Collaborative on Hunger and Poverty, helping fund the Emergency Meals-to-You effort over the next six months.

WACO, Texas (May 4, 2020) – Twelve Baylor University professors have been honored with Outstanding Faculty Awards for teaching, scholarship and contributions to the academic community for the 2019-2020 academic year.