News

For the past several years, Baylor alumna Whitney Reynolds (BA ’07) has made it her mission to highlight do-gooders through her talk show, The Whitney Reynolds Show, seen primarily in the Chicago area. Now, the show is going national, thanks to a syndication deal that includes PBS stations in Los Angeles, Denver, Minneapolis and Washington, D.C. […]

WACO, Texas (Jan. 19, 2021) — Variation in consumption of market-acquired foods outside of the traditional diet — but not in total number of calories burned daily — is reliably related to indigenous Amazonian children’s body fat, according to a study led by Baylor University that offers insight into the global obesity epidemic.

WACO, Texas (Jan. 7, 2021) – Baylor University researchers Rebecca Sheesley, Ph.D., and Sascha Usenko, Ph.D., associate professors of environmental science, have been awarded an $890,000 grant by the Department of Energy Atmospheric System Research (ASR) to examine the impact of urban pollution on thunderstorm activity as part of the TRACER-MAP project.

As President Livingstone shared in a previous message to the Baylor community, the University is requiring a negative COVID-19 test of all students before returning to campus for the Spring 2021 semester, which is scheduled to begin on Tuesday, Jan. 19, 2021.

All faculty and staff who will be working on-campus upon their return from the Christmas and New Year holiday break will be required to complete a COVID-19 test through our on-campus testing provider, MyLabsDirect (MLD).

WACO, Texas (Dec. 9, 2020) – A mysterious small marine reptile dating from 150 million years ago has been identified as a new species that may have been capable of diving very deeply. The well-preserved specimen was found in a Late Jurassic deep marine deposit along the English Channel coastline in Dorset, England.

WACO, Texas (Sept. 25, 2020) — Baylor University’s Institute for Air Science has partnered with Women in Aviation International (WAI), a nonprofit organization that provides networking, mentoring and scholarships to women and men pursuing careers in aviation or aerospace, to sponsor the 6th Annual Girls in Aviation Day (GIAD) event virtually on Saturday, Sept. 26.

WACO, Texas (Sept. 22, 2020) — Baylor University’s Corey P. Carbonara, Ph.D., professor in the department of film and digital media, has been chosen to receive the Society of Motion Picture and Television Engineers (SMPTE) 2020 Excellence in Education Medal.

WACO, Texas (Sept. 8, 2020) — The department of religion in Baylor University’s College of Arts & Sciences has announced the establishment of the Robert L. Gilbert Scholar in Religion Graduate Stipend, named in honor of Baylor’s first African American graduate.

WACO, Texas (Sept. 7, 2020) – Baylor University Libraries has been awarded a $300,000 grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) to support the research of two Browning scholars at Baylor's renowned Armstrong Browning Library.

WACO, Texas (Aug. 31, 2020) — People who did not have a large heart rate response to a stress task surprised researchers later — after the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic — when they showed more symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder related to the crisis than others who also did the stress task and COVID-19 stress ratings.

WACO, Texas (Aug. 13, 2020) - A leading international research organization which funds outstanding early-career researchers and provides opportunities for mentorship and collaboration has named a Baylor University anthropology professor to its prestigious global scholar program.

WACO, Texas (Aug. 12, 2020) – Beverly Roberts Gaventa, Ph.D., Distinguished Professor of New Testament Interpretation in the department of religion at Baylor University, has been awarded the prestigious Burkitt Medal for Biblical Studies by The British Academy. She is one of only a few Americans to receive this award, established nearly a century ago.

WACO, Texas (Aug. 6, 2020) – Marlene S. Neill, Ph.D., associate professor and graduate program director of Baylor University’s department of journalism, public relations and new media, has been named a member in the Public Relations Society of America (PRSA) College of Fellows.

WACO, Texas (July 31, 2020) – Texas researchers from the University of Houston, Baylor University and Texas A&M University have discovered evidence for why the earth cooled dramatically 13,000 years ago, dropping temperatures by about 3 degrees Centigrade.

WACO, Texas (July 24, 2020) — A mountain people in Uganda — branded as selfish and loveless by an anthropologist half a century ago — really is not, according to a study led by a Baylor University anthropologist.

WACO, Texas (July 15, 2020) – Baylor University and the Allbritton Art Institute have announced the appointment of Nathan T. Elkins, Ph.D., FSA, as director of the Allbritton Art Institute.

WACO, Texas (July 14, 2020) – Baylor University today announced the establishment of the Trailblazer Scholars Program, a scholarship program designed to recognize the importance of fostering diversity and mutual respect at Baylor University. Launching the program with $5 million in scholarship support, the University will actively engage alumni and donors to support growth in the program, with a goal of providing a cohort of 80 or more students scholarship support through Trailblazer Scholarships.

Baylor University today announced the cancellation of in-person graduation ceremonies honoring August 2020 graduates Aug. 14-15 due to a surge in cases and hospitalizations related to COVID-19 across Texas and the nation. In its place, the University will host a virtual ceremony on Saturday, Aug. 15, to honor its May and August graduates.

WACO, Texas (July 9, 2020) – Liela Romero, Ph.D., a highly regarded rising cancer researcher and 2011 Baylor University alumnus, has joined the Baylor faculty with the support of a $2 million grant from the Cancer Prevention and Research Institute of Texas (CPRIT).

WACO, Texas (July 8, 2020) – Psychiatric inpatients with major depressive disorders who increased in the virtue of patience during hospitalization also showed fewer symptoms of depression, according to a Baylor University study.

WACO, Texas (June 26, 2020) – As both “an opportunity and an obligation to pursue racial healing as an expression of the Christian faith and adherence to Biblical principles of justice and love,” the Baylor University Board of Regents has unanimously passed a Resolution on Racial Healing and Justice that openly acknowledges the University’s historical connections to slavery and the Confederacy. The Board’s acknowledgement initiates a process on racial conciliation across the University and calls on the Board and the University to “pursue opportunities to inclusively explore and engage in significant conversations about this aspect of the institution’s past.”

Thank you for your resilience and support during the past few months as Baylor University joined higher education institutions and communities around the world in responding to the COVID-19 pandemic. With the spring semester behind us and our online Summer of Discovery academic sessions in full swing, we now turn our eyes to the fall.

WACO, Texas (June 25, 2020) – Baylor University’s drive toward Research 1 (R1) status received a major boost this spring as four faculty members earned prestigious CAREER development awards from the National Science Foundation (NSF). The grants represent the largest number of CAREER awards earned by Baylor faculty in a single semester and nearly doubled the University’s total number of active CAREER awards to nine.

WACO, Texas (June 22, 2020) – People felt less gratitude when they read about receiving a favor along with many other individuals, as opposed to a favor that was only given to themselves, according to a Baylor University psychology study.

WACO, Texas (June 19, 2020) – As the protests following the death of George Floyd began to roil the country, it was only a few days before the demonstrators began to sing an array of freedom songs and protest spirituals, as well as a few new adaptations, including Bill Withers’ “Lean on Me.”

WACO, Texas (June 15, 2020) – A new treatment for stress which combines mindfulness with hypnotherapy has shown positive results in a Baylor University pilot study.

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.

WACO, Texas (May 29, 2020) – As private rocket company SpaceX readies for the scheduled launch to the International Space Station on Saturday or Sunday — the first space crew launch from America in nearly a decade — Baylor University planetary geophysicist Peter James, Ph.D., says that private companies not only have lowered the cost of space exploration but also may speed it along.

WACO, Texas (May 19, 2020) – A Russian paleontologist visiting the Natural History Museum in London desperately wanted a good look at the skeleton of an extinct aquatic reptile, but its glass case was too far up the wall. So he attached his digital camera to a fishing rod and — with several clicks — snagged a big one, scientifically speaking.

WACO, Texas (May 18, 2020) – Chemical compounds found in many consumer products could be major contributors to the onset of lipid-related diseases, such as obesity, in humans, according to a Baylor University study.

WACO, Texas (May 13, 2020) – Baylor University students from across the disciplines capped off a record-setting 2019-2020 academic year by receiving some of the most prestigious – and competitive – scholarships, fellowships and internships at the national and international levels.

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.

WACO, Texas (May 5, 2020) – David Moseman, Ph.D., senior lecturer in religion at Baylor University, has been selected as the 2020 Collins Outstanding Professor, an honor voted on annually by the senior class.

WACO, Texas (May 1, 2020) – As Baylor University shifted classes online to promote social distancing, Anne Jeffrey, Ph.D., assistant professor of philosophy, shifted her “Contemporary Moral Problems: Bioethics” class to engage her students in real world challenges prompted by the response to the virus.

WACO, Texas (April 27, 2020) – After gathering input from across student support offices, all academic units and the Office of the Provost, Baylor University has made the decision to become a test-optional institution for the 2021 application cycle for incoming freshman students.

WACO, Texas (April 27, 2020) – Most treatment providers for individuals with alcohol use disorders are well versed in either the 12-Step Alcoholics Anonymous program or in a different treatment such as cognitive behavioral therapy — but the two approaches can mesh well, according to a Baylor University researcher.

WACO, Texas (April 27, 2020) – When COVID-19 concerns led to the difficult but necessary decision to move all courses online, Baylor faculty found themselves having to quickly adapt to a remote-class format. With a few weeks left in the semester, Lenore Wright, director of the Academy for Teaching and Learning and associate professor in the Honors College, urges faculty to continue to utilize available resources.

WACO, Texas (April 17, 2020) – With travel and activity restrictions changing summer plans for many students, Baylor University today announced its 2020 Summer of Discovery, an innovative collection of discounted summer course bundles for current students, incoming freshmen and rising high school seniors in an online environment to help them advance toward their academic goals.

WACO, Texas (April 16, 2020) – Baylor University faculty members Lisa Shaver, Ph.D., and Joe C. Yelderman Jr., Ph.D., have been selected to receive 2020 Centennial Professor Awards for their respective research projects on women’s rhetoric and the impact of drought on groundwater in the Central Texas region.

WACO, Texas (April 9, 2020) – Baylor University biology majors Andrew J. Munoz and Emily Schultz have been awarded Goldwater Scholarships, which encourage outstanding students to pursue careers in STEM fields.

WACO, Texas (April 7, 2020) – As COVID-19 has caused churches across the world to restrict in-person gatherings and completely change the way worship is approached, many are grappling with what Christian faith looks like right now.

WACO, Texas (April 7, 2020) – College students who listened to classical music by Beethoven and Chopin during a computer-interactive lecture on microeconomics — and heard the music again that night — did better on a test the next day than did peers who were in the same lecture, but instead slept that evening with white noise in the background.

WACO, Texas (April 2, 2020) – The CDC reports that 7.1% of children ages 3-17 have been diagnosed with an anxiety disorder. In this time of COVID-19, social distancing and a 24/7 news cycle that is often centered on sickness and death, are there steps these children and their parents can take to mitigate the effects of anxiety?

WACO, Texas (March 31, 2020) – Baylor University President Linda A. Livingstone, Ph.D., announced today that the designation of Master Teacher – the highest honor granted to Baylor faculty members for sustained excellence in teaching – has been conferred on Professor Robert F. Darden III, Dr. Anne-Marie Schultz and Dr. Charles A. Weaver III.

WACO, Texas (March 27, 2020) – Time at home is increasing as shelter in place orders and working from home become the norm for many people during the COVID-19 pandemic. During this season of uncertainty, many turn to books, movies and other pieces of pop culture to pass the time.

WACO, Texas (March 25, 2020) – Baylor University graduate and professional programs were among those nationally ranked in the 2021 U.S. News & World Report Best Graduate Schools rankings, released March 17.

WACO, Texas (March 24, 2020) – Three new species of toothed pterosaurs — flying reptiles of the Cretaceous period, some 100 million years ago — have been identified in Africa by an international team of scientists led by Baylor University.

We are doing our best to keep you informed during this rapidly evolving situation involving the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic as we prioritize the health and safety of our campus community, the ongoing continuity of our academic mission and the continuity of business operations.

WACO, Texas (March 6, 2020) — Baylor University’s department of environmental science will host the ninth annual Young Environmental Scientists (YES) Meeting, a conference designed to provide a platform for environmental science students to share their research and receive free professional training in their field.