Class of ’21: New faculty join growing Baylor Family
The Baylor Family is growing, and it’s not just incoming students seeing their numbers increase. This year, the university has welcomed more than 50 new faculty members and research staff. Professors and postdocs are joining Baylor from such prestigious institutions as the University of Virginia, Brown University, NYU School of Law and Wake Forest — all coming to Waco to take the next steps in their academic careers at a burgeoning Christian research university.
Meet five members of the “Class of ’21:”
* Dr. Michael Gallagher, assistant professor of statistical science — Gallagher serves as a postdoctoral researcher at the National Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada. When he completes his time there, he’ll join the Baylor faculty in January and provide expertise in data sciences and machine learning.
* Dr. Kari Guffey, clinical associate professor of nursing — With 25 years of experience at Cook Children’s Hospital in Fort Worth, Guffey has served in one of the world’s leading hospitals and joins the Baylor faculty full-time this year. An expert in pediatric care, she’s also drawn by both Baylor’s mission and missions; she has served on mission trips in Latin America and will join Baylor’s missions committee in addition to teaching.
* Dr. Henry Han, the McCollum Family Chair in Data Sciences — Han is a renowned data scientist whose work focuses on challenges in artificial intelligence, biomedicine, cybersecurity and more. He joins the Baylor faculty from Fordham University, and in his role as an endowed chair, he’ll provide interdisciplinary leadership to Baylor’s data sciences efforts — one of the five signature academic initiatives of Illuminate.
* Rachel Kincaid, JD, assistant professor of law — Kincaid spent the last four years as a prosecutor in the U.S. Department of Justice, and prior to that, she served in the Civil Rights Division, Criminal Section of the Department of Justice. In that role, she prosecuted hate crimes, among other types of cases. At Baylor Law School, she’ll teach criminal law and criminal procedure while continuing to focus scholarship on criminal law reform and civil rights.
* Dr. Samuel Kye, assistant professor of sociology — Kye’s work has been shared in a variety of news outlets, from NPR to The Guardian, for his localized focus on global problems. His work examines inequality through the lens of American neighborhoods, looking at how communities change and segregate, and then expands to provide insights on education, health and more.
These are just five examples from a highly regarded incoming group of chairs, professors, lecturers, postdoctoral researchers and more. Growing the Baylor faculty and research staff is a key part of Illuminate, and the university is making significant strides in these areas in ways that will advance knowledge and enhance student learning.
“The people here at Baylor are incredible; there’s an incredible environment here of interdisciplinary research and excellence in teaching,” says Han. “When I looked at my position, saw Baylor’s mission and pursuit of R1, and met the people with whom I’d be working and collaborating, I said, ‘Wow, that’s the one. That’s where I want to be.’”
Sic ’em, new Baylor faculty!