Honoring some familiar Baylor faces retiring this year
Every spring, the Baylor Family bids happy retirement to professors and staff who have dedicated their professional lives to the university and its students. It’s always a bittersweet mix — sadness in seeing them go, happiness for a well-deserved next step — but we wish them all well in the next phase of their lives.
Here, we honor some of the longest-serving and most recognizable professors who are retiring this year — men and women whose faces will be missed, but whose impact will not be forgotten:
From business professor to associate dean to Baylor’s first vice provost for artificial intelligence & institutional research, Dr. Gary Carini has done a little bit of everything in his 35 years at Baylor. He has published his work in top-tier journals, taught global strategic management courses in Baylor’s EMBA programs, and received numerous teaching awards throughout his career. (Carini will take a sabbatical in 2026-27 and then retire.)
Over the last 40+ years, Tom Featherston (BBA ’71, JD ’72) has taught virtually every graduate of Baylor Law School. A Texas icon of estate planning, trusts, and marital property law, Featherston — a third-generation Baylor Bear — returned to his alma mater after 10 years practicing law in Houston to train the next generation of students.
Herzlichen dank, Dr. Ann McGlashan! Since 1990, McGlashan has taught German at Baylor on faculty in the Department of Modern Languages and Cultures. But her service hasn’t stopped there; she has also served as affiliate faculty in the Baylor Interdisciplinary Core (BIC) and in the Baylor Faculty Senate, including a stint as chair.
Billie Peterson-Lugo came to Baylor in 1983 as a reference librarian, but over the years followed her interests into library technology. As associate dean for library collections, systems, and digital services, Peterson-Lugo shared her expertise via an industry newsletter every quarter for more than 30 years.
Dr. Linda Plank (BSN ’77) returned to her alma mater in 2009 after more than three decades at Baylor University Medical Center as a registered nurse, nursing administrator, and eventually as vice president for medical-surgical nursing. Since 2021, she has served as dean of the Louise Herrington School of Nursing, helping grow the school’s enrollment and its stature into a top-50 national program.
Lori Wrzesinski (MS ’96) joined Baylor’s faculty in 1993 to teach American Sign Language, and has played a key role in the growth of Baylor’s ASL offerings, including the establishment of a minor in ASL. Wrzesinski has also long practiced as an interpreter in various environments, is a certified member of the Registry of Interpreters for the Deaf, and serves as an evaluator for candidates seeking interpreting certification in the state of Texas.
Dr. Joe Yelderman (BS ’74, MS ’76) returned to his alma mater after earning his doctorate from Wisconsin in 1983 — and never left. For 43 years, he has taught hydrogeology and water management in Baylor’s Department of Geosciences, serving as department chair since 2021. In 2020, he was also honored as a Baylor Centennial Professor for his research on the impact of drought on Central Texas groundwater.
These aren’t the only Baylor faculty retiring this spring… Others with 25+ years of experience at Baylor include: Dr. Lyn Prater (nursing, 38 years); Elizabeth Miller (BA ’82, JD ’85) (law school, 35 years); Carol Schuetz (BSED ’93, MS ’05) (libraries, 32 years); Juli Rosenbaum (BA ’80, MA ’85) (business, 29 years); Deborah Williamson (BM ’85) (music, 26 years); and Dr. Dwight Russell (physics, 25 years).
Sic ’em, Baylor retirees!