Celebrating stories across campus through 300 episodes of Baylor Connections

There’s no shortage of great stories that emanate from the Baylor campus. All across the university, the people who make Baylor what it is are doing big things in virtually every arena — from classrooms and labs to student life, athletics and more. And for nearly six years now, many of them have provided first-person accounts of those stories on the Baylor Connections radio program and podcast.

The weekly program recently shared its 300th episode. A program that lasts that long naturally has welcomed scores of guests, all the way up to President Linda Livingstone (who appears multiple times a year to share updates). To celebrate the big 3-0-0, we’re sharing just a few of our favorite recent Connections guests and topics:

* Alumni of the Year conversations with Major General Joel Carey (BA ’92), a U.S. Air Force leader based in Europe, and Richa Sirohi (BS ’18), an engineer in NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, taking listeners inside their work and what motivates the ways they serve.

* A major research project to reduce air pollution in Waco with engineering professor Lulin Jiang and Waco’s chief sustainability officer, Charles Dowdell. Jiang earned a competitive grant to develop a program that will convert waste into energy and reduce environmental pollution at the Waco landfill.

* Baylor’s development of a new strategic plan with Provost Nancy Brickhouse (BA ’82) and Chief of Staff Tiffany Hogue (BA ’95). Dr. Brickhouse and Hogue answer common questions about the planning process that will lead to what follows the highly successful Illuminate era at Baylor.

* Black gospel music and the future of the Black Gospel Music Preservation Project with Dr. Stephen Newby, Baylor’s inaugural Lev H. Prichard III Chair in the Study of Black Worship. He discusses new approaches to preserving the music and why this role at Baylor is a “dream job.”

* Behind the scenes with Baylor basketball with Michael Motta and Luke Simons, the directors of operations for Baylor’s women’s and men’s programs, respectively. They share what it takes to serve two top-10 programs and what it’s like working with Nicki Collen and Scott Drew.

Hosted by Derek Smith (MA ’05), the voice of McLane Stadium, Baylor women’s basketball and Baylor baseball, Baylor Connections airs each Friday at 11 a.m. on KWBU-FM and is streamed as a podcast on iTunes and Google Play. Listeners can subscribe at baylor.edu/connections.

Sic ’em, Baylor Connections!