Baylor 2012 « Baylor Proud

Points of Pride — Baylor 2012

Oct

2009

Visiting fan commends Baylor fans’ hospitality

Posted by The Baylor Proud Team in Alumni, Athletics, Baylor 2012

Baylor tailgating One of the imperatives of Baylor’s Vision 2012 is “Winning with Integrity.” Naturally, the emphasis there is on Baylor’s student-athletes — that they would not only succeed athletically, but also in the classroom and in life. But a corollary of that is how Baylor alumni and other fans carry themselves, as well, particularly around athletic venues. I was pleased to read this letter to the editor that ran in last week’s Waco Tribune-Herald from a Connecticut resident who came down for the Baylor-UConn football game.

“At the age of 78, my wife and I have lived long enough to say that our recent visit to Waco will be a standout memory for our remaining years. We arrived Sept. 19 to attend the University of Connecticut vs. Baylor University football game. This was not only our first visit to Waco but our first visit to Texas. Unfortunately, the only prior knowledge we had of Waco was the news coverage of the David Koresh cult, but we arrived with open minds and soon found ourselves being welcomed wherever we went. …

“We arrived at the football stadium to find tailgating in full swing with smoke billowing from huge trailers hauling double grills. I had never seen one of these grills, and here was a field full of them. My wife and I walked around — in UConn shirts — and nearly every group around a grill extended an invitation for us to join them for a meal and beverage. Not one derogatory remark was passed.

“We were overwhelmed by the kindness extended to us, especially the Bears fans. We have never been the recipients of so much genuine hospitality. In a world of so much negativity, to be treated as we were is such a stark contrast that we felt we had to write and extend our thanks and gratitude to the people of Waco and especially those Bear fans. Bless you all.

– V. Wright, Waterford, Conn.”

Sic ’em, Baylor fans, for representing our University so well!

Aug

2009

Tennis teams match on-court excellence with academic success

Posted by The Baylor Proud Team in Academics, Athletics, Baylor 2012, Honors

Sure, you’ve heard all about Baylor’s incredibly successful men’s and women’s tennis teams. How each squad won the Big 12 regular season title for the fifth straight year. How both teams again won the Big 12 Tournament. How they both advanced to the NCAA Quarterfinals this spring. And how they each finished among the top 10 in the country for the third time in four years.

But add one more feat to the list: both Matt Knoll’s men and Joey Scrivano’s women were named All-Academic Teams by the Intercollegiate Tennis Association. To be eligible for the honor, the team GPA must be 3.20 or higher; during the spring, the women recorded a 3.40 GPA, and the men a 3.46, all-time highs for each program.

So to recap, we have a pair of year-in, year-out top-10 squads, including one with a national championship in its recent history, AND they excel in the classroom, too? Sounds like the definition of “Winning with Integrity” to me.

Sic ’em, Baylor tennis!

Jul

2009

Prominent alums, supporters meet with Regents to talk Baylor

Posted by The Baylor Proud Team in Alumni, Baylor 2012, Photo Galleries

Baylor alumnus Drayton McLane, chairman of the McLane Group and owner of the Houston Astros, led a group of heavy hitters who visited Baylor this week during the annual summer retreat for the University’s Regents. Academic and business leaders, key supporters and others joined the Regents to hear reports about Baylor’s progress and to contribute to discussions about the University’s future.

Board members convened two groups. Wednesday afternoon, regents met with a panel of current and former board members from several different universities. The four panelists — McLane, former chair of Baylor’s Board; James Huffines, chairman of PlainsCapital Bank and current chair of the University of Texas System Board of Regents; Phil Norwood, president and CEO of Faison Enterprises and immediate past chair of Washington and Lee University’s Board of Regents; and David Laney, formerly chair of Amtrak’s Board of Directors and a former member of Stanford University’s Board of Regents — spoke to Baylor’s Regents about a variety of “best practices” they’ve encountered and implemented while serving as a member of a university board.

A special feature of the three-day meeting was a dinner for Regents and welcomed guests hosted by Waco residents and Baylor supporters Nell and Jim Hawkins at their home Wednesday evening. A number of prominent Baylor alumni joined Regents to learn more about University initiatives and progress. Among those in attendance were Jay Allison, president and CEO of Comstock Resources Inc., and Jenny Allison, past-president of the Baylor Women’s Council of Dallas; Ken Carlile, co-chairman of Carlile Companies, his brother Steve Carlile, chairman/CEO of Home and Garden Party, and Penny Carlile, president of Home and Garden Party; Paul Foster, president/owner of Western Refining Co.; Bob Perry, chairman of the board for Perry Homes Ltd.; Walter Umphrey, senior managing partner of the Provost & Umphrey Law Firm; and John Eddie Williams, founding partner and attorney for Williams Kherkher. (Click here for a photo gallery from the week’s events.)

As a Baylor graduate, I’m deeply appreciative that such busy, influential leaders are motivated enough by their love for our university that they took time out of their schedules to come to Waco to help my alma mater. That individuals such as these would choose to support the University speaks volumes of the special affinity people have for this place and the unique role that Baylor has in the world of higher education.

Sic ’em, Baylor heavy hitters!

May

2009

Baseball’s Miller earns program’s 7th Academic All-America honor

Posted by The Baylor Proud Team in Academics, Athletics, Baylor 2012, Honors

Exactly a week after receiving All-Big 12 honors from the league’s coaches, Baylor junior Aaron Miller became the seventh student-athlete in Baylor baseball history to earn Academic All-America honors, following in the footsteps of pitcher Pat Combs (1988), first baseman Charley Carter (1998), pitcher Jason Jennings (1998-99), outfielder Jon Topolski (1998-99), first baseman Ross Bennett (2003) and catcher Zach Dillon (2006). All but Combs were so honored during head coach Steve Smith’s 15 seasons at the helm of the Bears.

Miller, a management and entrepreneurship major, has been the epitome of “Winning with Integrity,” excelling not only in the classroom but also at the plate and even on the mound this season. As the Bears’ right fielder, Miller is batting .328 with 12 home runs and 47 RBI in 53 games; he also has compiled a 3-3 record on the mound, with 59 strikeouts in 47.2 innings. The junior also earned his sixth selection to the Big 12 Commissioner’s Honor Roll, one of a school-record 223 student-athletes to be so honored this spring.

The Academic All-America announcement also came just one day after the Bears learned they would be making their 10th NCAA appearance in 12 years, heading to Louisiana for the Baton Rouge Regional. Baylor will face 21st-ranked Minnesota Friday at 6 p.m. CT; host LSU, the national No. 3 seed, and SWAC champion Southern round out the regional field.

Sic ’em, Aaron and Baylor baseball!

Apr

2009

Math professor recognized for teaching excellence by state association

Posted by The Baylor Proud Team in Academics, Baylor 2012, Honors

Dr. John Davis Another month, another award for a Baylor professor… This weekend, math professor Dr. John M. Davis will receive the Distinguished Teaching Award from the Texas Section of the Mathematical Association of America at the group’s annual meeting.

I love what Davis has to say about the University: “I came to Baylor because of the emphasis Baylor places on research and teaching. Excellence in one area does not preclude excellence in the other. … Baylor is a special place in terms of the students I come in contact with, as well as the faculty who are genuinely interested and engaged in being successful teachers. … My goal each day, and each semester, is to bring something new and better to the classroom than I did the last time I taught the material.” Really, that’s the heart of Baylor’s Vision 2012.

Sic ’em, Dr. Davis!

Feb

2009

School of Music takes Baylor to Belgium for two weeks of performances

Posted by The Baylor Proud Team in Academics, Baylor 2012

Baylor in Belgium Over the next two weeks, 24 professors from Baylor’s School of Music will invade Belgium, presenting 21 concerts and recitals, 78 master classes and workshops, 12 scholarly lectures and presentations, and seven governmental relations events. The scope of “Baylor in Belgium: An American Music Festival” is unprecedented among American universities, as Baylor representatives will appear in 16 different cities, including appearances in all of Belgium’s major music conservatories and in a host of music academies for high-school age students.

During the trip, the annual International Contemporary Music Festival will showcase the musical compositions of Baylor faculty composer Dr. Scott McAllister. Another professor (and alumnus), Dr. Loyd Hawthorne, will conduct the Belgium National Radio Choir in two concerts, while other Baylor faculty members will conduct and perform in major public concerts in Brussels and Antwerp.

The goal of all this? Besides the obvious “flinging our green and gold afar” and sharing the Baylor name internationally, the School of Music aims to establish relationships with music colleagues in Europe while offering our own faculty new experiences, which in turn will make them better teachers for students back home in Waco. Both of those purposes help fulfill the goal of emphasizing global education detailed in Baylor’s Vision 2012, as today’s students increasingly enter a world in which they must be comfortable thinking not only regionally or nationally, but globally.

Sic ’em in Belgium, Baylor School of Music!

Feb

2009

Heart of service at the core of Baylor’s mission

Posted by The Baylor Proud Team in Baylor 2012, Student life

Earlier this week, Baylor was named to the 2008 President’s Higher Education Community Service Honor Roll, which “recognizes colleges and universities nationwide that support innovative and effective community service.”

Teaching students the importance of service has always been at Baylor’s core, as seen in both the University’s longstanding mission statement and the more recent Vision 2012. Whether overseas or right here in Waco, Baylor students learn the need to follow Christ’s example in serving one another.

I could share countless other examples (and we often have), but here’s a new one I just heard about. About a year ago, we covered the ONE Campaign’s efforts at Baylor and nationwide towards raising awareness of extreme poverty. In December, the Baylor chapter raised funds to support Malaria No More, a non-profit group that aims to end deaths from malaria. Above and beyond that, the Baylor group also worked with faculty to incorporate Malaria No More’s message into curriculum in classes across campus. Professors in departments as diverse as engineering, social work, Spanish, journalism and biology all pitched in to help spread the word about the over one million people who die worldwide each year from the disease.

Sic ’em, ONE Campaign supporters and all Bears who serve!

Oct

2008

More students than ever applying for international Fulbright Program

Posted by The Baylor Proud Team in Academics, Baylor 2012, Student life

Since the launch of Baylor’s Vision 2012, the University has placed extra emphasis on global education. An important part of that has been helping students apply to the Fulbright Program, a federal international educational exchange program which gives scholarships to help students study abroad.

Earlier this week, a record 20 Baylor students submitted their applications for the Fulbright Program; the proposals come from a variety of subject areas, ranging from music and journalism to international studies, from business to modern foreign languages.

Applications have gone forward for Fulbrights to Austria, France, Germany, Spain, Ireland, Nepal, Armenia, Colombia, Argentina, Chile, Mexico, Paraguay, Brazil and Taiwan. About 80 faculty members supported these students’ bids by providing letters of recommendation, completing language assessments, reviewing student proposals and interviewing applicants.

The application process is intense, and not something to be taken lightly. The program has been administered through the dean’s office in the College of Arts and Sciences for the past three years; since the College began a concerted effort to promote the program more widely on campus, Baylor has had 10 Fulbright winners. Not only do the individual students benefit from the effort, but Baylor’s strong academic reputation is strengthened.

Sic ’em, potential Fulbright scholars!

Sep

2008

Students help those in need during summer of service

Posted by The Baylor Proud Team in Alumni, Baylor 2012, Student life

Nick Deere in Rwanda How did you spend your summer? For many Baylor students, the answer to that question is “helping others.”

* Over 160 students visited AIDS clinics, installed hydro-electric generators, tutored children and shared the Gospel on Baylor-sponsored mission trips across the globe this summer. Baylor Magazine compiled this powerful series of journal entries and reflections on the trip from some of the students who went.

* More recently, students and faculty from Baylor’s Louise Herrington School of Nursing spent a week in Mexico this summer, providing free health services to nearly 1,000 patients in need. The team provided general and women’s health care, plus eye and dental assistance and even free medications.

* In a related note, nursing school graduate Rose Nanyonga was profiled by a leading Ugandan media outlet. Nanyonga overcame an incredible series of obstacles growing up in Uganda and earned her master’s from Baylor in 2005. She has since returned to her homeland and is director of clinical operations at the International Hospital Kampala there.

An important part of Baylor 2012 and the school’s mission is “to educate men and women for worldwide leadership and service.” What an excellent way for this to be put into practice!

Sic ’em, Baylor students with servant hearts!

Jun

2008

Another look at this fall’s freshman class

Posted by The Baylor Proud Team in Academics, Baylor 2012, Student life

Baylor Bound Incoming freshmen and their parents are all over campus this month for orientation. A couple of months ago, we gave you a sneak peak at some of the students who will make up this fall’s incoming freshman class. Here are a few more faces you’ll see on campus in August when the class of 2012 arrives at Baylor.

* Stephenville (Texas) High School salutatorian Brandon Ratliff is one of a number of National Merit Scholars entering Baylor this fall. Baylor annually ranks among the nation’s leaders in attracting National Merit Scholars; last year’s class ranked 26th nationally. The Stephenville Empire-Tribune profiled Ratliff here.

* In a few years, you may be hearing the work of Deer Park (Texas) High School co-valedictorian Derek Schnitzer in movies and on TV. Another National Merit Scholar, Schnitzer plans to study music composition with the goal of writing TV and film scores after graduation. The Deer Park Progress ran this Q&A with Schnitzer.

* Kansas City, Mo., student Patricia Salgado says she and her twin sister, Leah, have never been apart for more than a few days. That will change this fall when Patricia comes to Baylor while her sister heads to Cornell. Both graduated with honors; Patricia will study pre-med here. The Kansas City Star featured the twins in this article.

* Further south, Monterrey, Mexico, native Monica Gonzalez-Ruggeberg was the valedictorian of IDEA Academy and College Preparatory high school in South Texas. Before moving to the Valley her freshman year, she said the only colleges she knew of were Harvard and Texas; then she visited Baylor. “I have a great vibe from the school,” she says. Read about her and other Valley graduates in this article from The Monitor.

Such students certainly seem to fit the Vision 2012 goal of attracting a top-tier student body.

Sic ’em, incoming freshmen!

Points of Pride — Baylor 2012

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