News

Baylor’s Model United Nations team earned the highest team award at the 2025 National Model UN competition in New York City.

A Baylor professor introduced an international audience at the Volta Foundation Battery Forum to advanced techniques that could drive future breakthroughs in energy storage science, leading to better and safer batteries.

The Baylor Model Organization of American States team represented the Republic of Costa Rica at the 2025 Washington, DC MOAS Summit, discussing issues including religious freedom, rising sea levels and migrant populations.

A new study in Nature Human Behavior by neuroscientists at Baylor University and the University of Texas at Austin Dell Medical School reveals that digital technologies actually are associated with reduced cognitive decline versus the assumed correlation to dementia. 

Students of modern languages in the Baylor University College of Arts & Sciences are gaining an empathetic understanding of other cultures.

Baylor undergraduate STEM researchers have kicked off the spring major fellowships and awards season by earning a record four Goldwater Scholarships, the preeminent undergraduate award that supports outstanding undergraduates interested in pursuing STEM research careers.

Baylor Arts & Sciences alumni are mentoring the next generation of health professionals to help prepare them for success.

The Baylor Arts & Sciences Teaching Innovation Program is recognizing and encouraging faculty members who can think outside the box.

In our second survey of the buildings on the Baylor University campus partially or totally occupied by the College of Arts & Sciences, we look at Tidwell Bible Building, Morrison Constitution Hall and the Castellaw Communications Center.

Baylor's undergraduate moot court team argued issues involving human rights, immigration and national sovereignty during a recent competition with other university students in San Antonio.

A&S student ambassadors play an important role in recruiting new students and helping them succeed at Baylor.

The Baylor debate team of Lorilei Lassen and Omar Darwish advanced to the Sweet 16 round at the 2025 Cross Examination Debate Association National Tournament.

Noted Maya archeologist Julie A. Hoggarth, Ph.D., associate professor of anthropology at Baylor University, has been elected to the rank of AAAS Fellow by the Council of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS).

Baylor Arts & Sciences faculty are successfully integrating AI tools into the curriculum in a variety of ways.

The new five-year strategic plan of Baylor's College of Arts & Sciences, A&Spire in Deeds, is designed to help the University meet the goals outlined in its current strategic plan, Baylor in Deeds.

Recipients of the Vardaman Awards, named in tribute to Professor Elizabeth Vardaman, are Baylor faculty members who go above and beyond in mentoring undergraduate students.

More than two dozen faculty members in the College of Arts & Sciences have been granted tenure or received promotions in rank for the 2024-2025 academic year.

Earning recognition as a Master Teacher at Baylor is a rare honor — the highest a BU professor can receive for his/her teaching. In January, President Linda Livingstone announced the lifetime designation for four Baylor professors, increasing the roll of Master Teachers to 33 since the honor was first bestowed more than 40 years ago.

Among the newest honorees is Dr. Andrew Hogue (MA ’05, PhD ’09), a two-time Baylor graduate who returned to join the faculty of his alma mater in 2011. Over the last 15 years, he has taught various political science courses, led what is now Baylor’s Philanthropy & Public Service Program, served as associate dean of the College of Arts and Sciences, and led Baylor’s Office of Engaged Learning.

Baylor cancer therapeutics researcher Daniel Romo, Ph.D., is one of 24 innovators named to the fifth cohort of Texas Medical Center Innovation’s 2025 Accelerator for Cancer Therapeutics for his work on a new therapeutic for the treatment of pancreatic cancer.

For the 21st year in a row, members of the Baylor University debate squad have qualified to compete in the nation’s top debate tournament, while a Baylor debate team has also won a recent national competition.

This spring, students in Dr.  Ricardo Álvarez-Pimentel's class are hitting the archives to uncover the remarkable stories of Waco's Hispanic community.

Baylor University will celebrate Women’s History Month (WHM) with a series of events throughout March for the Baylor and Waco community to learn more about women’s historic and modern-day contributions.

A team of interdisciplinary researchers at Baylor University and three other U.S. universities are set to begin a longitudinal study on what can be learned about patience for parents of adolescents who experience adversity.

Three Baylor University filmmakers -- two recent graduates and a current graduate student –– have won awards at the 2025 BEA Festival of Media Arts. In the annual contest, the original films created by the Baylor winners competed with works by their peers from more than 300 colleges and universities. 

Research by first-year biology students has the potential to advance the scientific understanding of bacteriophages and their role in combating antibiotic-resistant infections.

John L. Wood, Ph.D., has been designated as University Distinguished Professor, the highest honor bestowed on Baylor faculty. 

Heidi J. Hornik, Ph.D., has been selected as the 2025 Cornelia Marschall Smith Professor of the Year for her superlative contribution to the learning environment at Baylor.

Baylor Professors Kevin D. Dougherty, Andrew P. Hogue, Wiff Rudd and  J. Lenore Wright receive the lifetime designation of Master Teacher, the highest honor granted to Baylor faculty for sustained excellence in teaching.

James "Sarge" Huggins is using his decades of experience to teach Baylor students how to analyze crime scenes and assemble the forensics evidence needed to help prosecute criminals.

Baylor's AFROTC, Detachment 810 has been ranked as the No. 1 Medium Detachment in the country, outperforming 49 other detachments nationwide to claim the top honor. 

The newly renamed Department of Physics and Astronomy reflects a growing interest in space-related teaching and research among Baylor students and faculty.

Children and families who deal with chronic health challenges — and the psychological challenges that can come with them — have a friend in Dr. Christine Limbers, a Baylor professor whose influential research in these areas has impacted her field as a whole.

Limbers, an associate professor of psychology at BU since 2010, leads Baylor’s Pediatric Psychology Lab. The main focus of the lab is in its name, but Limbers and her fellow researchers go deeper in areas like obesity, chronic health issues, and psychological treatments to support the mental health needs of children and teenagers who need them.

Each December, Christianity Today announces the winners of its annual book awards, books CT deems “most likely to shape evangelical life, thought, and culture.” This year’s winners included a slew of Baylor alumni — especially in the “Culture, Poetry and the Arts” category.

Christianity Today recognized four books in this area — a winner, an award of merit, and two finalists — and three of the four honorees were written by a group of five Baylor English doctoral graduates.

Baylor University senior Isabella Zárate, an international studies and environmental studies double major from Katy, Texas, has been awarded the highly competitive Charles B. Rangel Graduate Fellowship, funded by the U.S. Department of State and administered by Howard University.

In this installment of Creative Spaces, a look at distinctive offices in the Baylor University College of Arts & Sciences, we visit the memorabilia-filled office of Dr. Julie Sweet, professor of history.

On November 13, the Baylor Mathematics Department hosted a reception to award the first Lance Littlejohn Scholarship for Graduate Research in Mathematics. The scholarship has been generously endowed by Jim and Lisa Meyerhoff to honor Dr. Lance Littlejohn for his remarkable service as the Chair of the Mathematics Department.

Baylor University’s student chapter of the Society for Advancement of Chicanos/Hispanics & Native Americans in Science (SACNAS) has been honored by the national organization with an Outstanding Chapter award in the category of Celebrating Culture. Students and faculty representing SACNAS at Baylor received the award Oct. 31 while attending the National Diversity in STEM (NDiSTEM) conference in Phoenix.

Jo-Ann Tsang, Ph.D., associate professor of psychology at Baylor University, talks about gratitude as more than a seasonal sentiment on Baylor Connections.

Baylor students played important roles as the University hosted the 2024 Eugene Scassa Mock Organization of American States Program's 28th Summit of the Americas. The Baylor OAS team represented Panama and debated resolutions to manage transnational migration, provide access to drinking water and keep corruption out of elections.    

At a recent international competition in Washington, D.C., Baylor's Model United Nations team was named an Outstanding Delegation for its work representing the Republic of Korea. Team members grappled with topics including global peace, sustainable development and human rights.

Baylor students can gain skills and new perspectives through on-the-job experience. Internships give students the chance to test out an industry or profession to see if it’s a good fit for them, and can give them ideas about the kind of jobs they might or might not want to pursue.

In our first survey of the buildings on the Baylor University campus which fully or partially house programs within the College of Arts & Sciences, we look at Old Main, Burleson Hall and the Carroll Science Building.

The Baylor Summer Fellows program helps students promote the public good.

Meet this year’s Outstanding Graduate Student Award honorees for excellence in research, teaching and dissertation.

Dr. Ginger Hanchey, director of literature and creative writing and senior lecturer in English and Director of the Core in the College of Arts & Sciences, says Baylor’s English department is making the courses it offers better suited to both student interests and today’s fast-changing world. 

Advisors in College of Arts & Sciences Advisement (CASA) make it their mission to help students get to where they want to go in life.

Four aviation sciences majors at Baylor will be representing the University at a pair of prestigious national aviation conferences in the spring of 2025.

Baylor alumna Kristen Mittelman is using state-of-the art DNA technology she helped develop to assist law enforcement in catching criminals and identifying missing persons.

Baylor alumna Claire St. Amant is using her nationwide crime reporting experience to teach students and publish her first book.

Fellow designation honors Dr. Gesztesy’s distinguished contributions to the mathematical sciences.

Ivan Korendovych, Ph.D., the inaugural James. R. Schofield Endowed Chair in Biochemistry at Baylor University, has been recognized by the American Chemical Society as the preceptor for this year’s Nobel Laureate Signature Award for Graduate Education in Chemistry, a national ACS award that recognizes an outstanding graduate student and instructor in chemistry.

Alyssa Mills, a Ph.D. candidate in geosciences at Baylor University and a graduate affiliate of NASA's Europa Clipper mission science team, is using machine learning to map the seafloor of Europa. 

Baylor study finds differing perceptions in PR professionals' expectations versus performance and prompts changes to PR accreditation and certification exams.

In Texas politics, there have been few more influential figures than Baylor’s own Bob Bullock (JD ’58), a longtime elected official and Baylor law graduate. So it stands to reason that the professorship named for him in Baylor’s Department of Political Science would be held by a professor with his own recognized expertise on the influence of politics and public policy on citizens.

Dr. Patrick Flavin came to Baylor in 2010 and now serves as the Bob Bullock Professor of Political Science at Baylor. Over the last 15 years, a wide array of academic journals and popular media outlets have come to Flavin for insights on his key areas of research: political inequality, politics and quality of life, political behavior, and more.

Baylor University’s Corey P. Carbonara, Ph.D., professor of film and digital media, Master Teacher and an innovator in advancing new frontiers in media production technology, has been selected to receive the 2024 Presidential Proclamation from the Society of Motion Picture and Television Engineers (SMPTE).

Microbiome researcher Aaron Wright, Ph.D., has earned a $5.6 million National Institutes of Health (NIH) Director’s Transformative Research Award that could lead to personalized treatments for gut microbiome diseases like IBS, Crohn’s, Ulcerative Colitis and more. 

New research from Baylor University reveals that coyotes, like domestic dogs, have the ability to produce the famous "puppy dog eyes" expression, challenging the hypothesis that this facial feature evolved exclusively in dogs as a result of domestication.

The Hispanic Association of Colleges and Universities has announced that Felipe Hinojosa, Ph.D., professor of history at Baylor University and The John and Nancy Jackson Endowed Chair for Baylor in Latin America, is among the 45 fellows who will make up the sixth cohort of its Leadership Academy/La Academia de Liderazgo.

Did you know that one of the oldest continuously published collegiate literary magazines in the country is run by Baylor undergraduate students? The Phoenix is annually edited, published, and produced by Baylor undergrads from its home in Carroll Science, and has been running since the 1950s.

The Phoenix “represents a unique opportunity for Baylor students both to have their creative work published and to gain experience producing, all on their own, a significant literary review,” says Baylor English professor Arna Hemenway, one of the magazine’s faculty advisors.

Dr. Kimberly Kellison, Associate Dean of the College of Arts & Sciences and Associate Professor of History at Baylor University, has been awarded the 2023 Guittard Book Award for Historical Scholarship for her book, Forging a Christian Order: South Carolina Baptists, Race, and Slavery, 1696-1860. 

Baylor's 10th annual Boundary Breaking Women’s Panel to take place from 3:30 to 4:30 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 19, on the fifth floor of the Cashion Academic Center. The event features 10 Baylor faculty and staff members in campus leadership roles of leadership to highlighting showcase 10 women boundary-breakers.

This fall, Baylor University is joining universities and communities around the country to increase public awareness and prevention education about sexual assault and interpersonal violence as the Equity, Civil Rights, & Title IX Office brings awareness to The Red Zone.

The Baylor Libraries Author Series will highlight Baylor faculty authors Dr. João Chaves and Dr. Mikeal Parsons and their publication, “Remembering Antônia Teixeira: A Story of Missions, Violence, and Institutional Hypocrisy” (Eerdmans, 2023). This author series session will take place on Tuesday, September 24, at 3:00 p.m. in the Schumacher Flex Commons on the main floor of Moody Memorial Library, as well as online via Zoom Webinar. Dr. Beth Allison Barr, the James Vardaman Endowed Professor of History at Baylor, will interview the authors.

Ten Baylor University faculty members have been selected by Provost Nancy Brickhouse, Ph.D., to serve as 2024-2025 Baylor Fellows for their excellence in teaching and desire to advance Baylor’s commitment to transformational education.

Peter J. Hotez, M.D, Ph.D., an internationally recognized leader in tropical medicine and vaccine development who serves as University Professor of Biology at Baylor University, has recently received two prestigious national awards for his research and contributions to science and global health.

Earlier this year, Pamela Tremont (BA ’90, MA ’92) was sworn in as the United States ambassador to Zimbabwe — the culmination of a road to foreign service that began at Baylor three decades ago.

At Baylor, Tremont earned her bachelor’s in political science and her master’s in international relations, during which time she was also a part of Baylor Ambassadors, the Foreign Affairs Association, and the Golden Key International Honor Society. Upon graduating from Baylor, she embarked on a career that has included stops at U.S. embassies in Turkey, the United Kingdom, Zambia, Cyprus, Ukraine, and Sweden, most recently as deputy chief of mission in Stockholm.

Through her research at Baylor University with Dr. Peter James, Allie North had the opportunity to present at the Lunar and Planetary Science Conference (LPSC) in March 2024. Allie's poster presentation was about the work she has done over the Gruithuisen Domes, which are volcanic constructs on the moon. Allie was recently notified that she received the Stephen E. Dwornik Planetary Geosciences Best Undergraduate Poster Presentation Award. 

The John and Nancy Jackson Endowed Chair in Latin America & Professor of History, Dr. Felipe Hinojosa, looks to add to this year's Hispanic Heritage Month events by bringing in esteemed guest faculty for three lectures. 

Come enjoy the James Vardaman Lecture featuring Dr. Carolyn Muessig on Thursday, August 29, 2024 in the Armstrong Browning Library from 3:30 - 5:00 pm. 

FirstGen Forward, formerly the Center for First-generation Student Success, has announced Baylor University as one of 14 higher education institutions selected to its inaugural class of FirstGen Forward Network Champions.

A new Baylor certificate program trains students in the rapidly growing field of health communication.

Baylor’s newest MFA degree aims to produce Oscar-worthy filmmakers.

As students head back to class, they may feel challenged by the adjustment of waking up early to make it to class on time. This is especially true of adolescents, whose natural sleep pattern tends to be late to bed and late to wake, said Michael K. Scullin, Ph.D., director of Baylor University’s Sleep Neuroscience and Cognition Laboratory and associate professor of psychology and neuroscience. 

Baylor's BRIGHTS Center seeks to help people reach their potential.

Longtime Baylor English professor Coretta Pittman is heading up the effort in Baylor's College of Arts & Sciences to advance diversity and belonging.

Researchers document groundbreaking insights into the reproductive behaviors of a mysterious apex predator.

Baylor Arts & Sciences alumnus and Baptist minister Steven Reece has spent almost two decades helping to restore historic Jewish cemeteries in Poland.

Dr. Francis Beckwith, professor of philosophy in the Baylor University College of Arts & Sciences, has received a 2024 Freedom and Opportunity Academic Prize from the Heritage Foundation.

Baylor’s Ministry Guidance Program helps students discover and fulfill their Christian calling.

Twenty-seven years after their graduation from Baylor University, the Hansen Quadruplets of San Antonio talk about their families and careers and recall some fond memories of Waco.

Dr. Julie Sweet discusses why - and how - she makes history come alive on the Baylor Connections podcast.

After 40 years as one of the faces of San Antonio’s KSAT, Jessie Degollado (BA ’72) is stepping out of the spotlight.

Degollado was one of a host of KSAT veterans to retire July 1, ending an era in San Antonio. Whether reporting on issues affecting San Antonio, South Texas or both sides of the Rio Grande, Degollado used her journalistic nose, her knowledge of Hispanic culture and language, and just plain hard work to keep the people of San Antonio informed for four decades.

The Department of Mathematics at Baylor University will host a workshop on Abstract Elementary Classes (AEC) July 25-27, in honor of the 70th birthday of renowned mathematician Rami Grossberg, Ph.D., of Carnegie Mellon University. 

Baylor University planetary geophysicist Peter B. James, Ph.D., assistant professor and founder of the Planetary Research Group at Baylor, has been recognized by NASA with the 2023 Planetary Science Early Career Award (ECA). 

Three faculty members and three doctoral students from the Baylor University College of Arts & Sciences have received 2024 grant awards from Louisville Institute.

The Air Force ranks include more than 61,000 officers; only 108 of those have reached the rank of brigadier general. In December, Baylor graduate Randall Cason Jr. (BS ’95) joined that esteemed group — and he chose to return to his alma mater to mark the occasion.

Garritt J. Tucker, Ph.D., The Eula Mae and John Baugh Chair in Physics, is part of a multi-institution, interdisciplinary effort to discover new materials and create innovative pathways for advancing materials performance under extreme conditions. The $12.5 million research team was funded through the Department of Energy (DOE) for the next five years.

Baylor University faculty members Julie Hoggarth, Ph.D., associate professor of anthropology, and Jeffrey C. Petersen, Ph.D., professor of sport management, have been selected to receive the 2024 Centennial Professor Awards for summer research projects on the impact of drought on the Mayan collapse and the expansion of administrative staff within collegiate sports, respectively. 

The Baylor Model Organization of American States team represented the Republic of Chile at the Washington, D.C. MOAS Summit in April 2024.

Three Baylor undergraduates went to Niigata, Japan, in March 2024 to participate in the Niigata Animation Camp, described as “a cutting-edge development program tailored for aspiring young directors, staff and students in the realm of international animation.” 

For the first time in team history, Baylor Model United Nations teamed up with another program, Japan Model United Nations, to participate as a joint delegation at the National Model United Nations New York Conference.

WACO, Texas (April 19, 2024) – Three Baylor University faculty members -- Dr. Ericka S. Dunbar, Dr. Rebecca Flavin and Dr. Jennifer L. Hargrave -- are recipients of the 2023-2024 Core Curriculum Virtues Recognition Award from the College of Arts & Sciences. 

Baylor University mourns the death of beloved alumna and unofficial Independence historian Lanella Spinks Gray, B.A. ’54, of Houston on April 6. Gray, who was known as ‘Miss Baylor,’ became well known among Baylor’s students while serving as host to Baylor Line Camp groups visiting the University’s original campus site in Independence, Texas.

Sarah Kienle, Ph.D., assistant professor of biology at Baylor University, has received the prestigious Career Development Award from the National Science Foundation’s Faculty Early Career Development (CAREER) Program in support of early-career faculty who have the potential to serve as academic role models in research and education and to lead advances in the mission of their department or organization.

Twelve Baylor University professors have been honored with Outstanding Faculty Awards for teaching, scholarship and contributions to the academic community for the 2023-2024 academic year.

DIGNITY FOR DEEPLY FORGETFUL PEOPLE
How Caregivers Can Meet the Challenges of Alzheimer's Disease
By Stephen G. Post

Thursday, April 18, 2024

5:00 PM

Baylor Sciences Building Room D110

 

During Eclipse Over Texas on Monday, 50+ representatives of Baylor’s Department of Physics were on hand at McLane Stadium to assist and educate those in attendance. We asked a couple of them — Dr. Lorin Swint Matthews (BS ’94, PhD ’98) and Dr. Barbara Castainheria Endl — to help us understand what we saw during the eclipse.

Baylor University and the Waco community will have the opportunity to hear from Emmy Award-winning filmmaker, literary scholar and author Dr. Henry Louis Gates Jr. during this year’s Beall-Russell Lecture in the Humanities at 3:30 p.m. Wednesday, April 17, at Waco Hall, 624 Speight Ave. 

Guided by their faculty mentors and supported by the Office of Engaged Learning, Baylor University undergraduates are off to a record-breaking pace for attaining some of the most prestigious and highly competitive fellowships and awards at the national and international level.

With Waco, Texas in the path of totality for the 2024 solar eclipse, Baylor University researchers have a first-hand opportunity to study the effects that people might feel as they witness this once-in-a-lifetime experience.