When Baylor was chartered in 1845, it was one of the first coeducational colleges or universities west of the Mississippi River — about 10 years before any public institution of higher learning would introduce mixed-gender learning, and a full 75 years before American women were guaranteed the right to vote. Since that groundbreaking beginning, countless women have come through […]
Recognizing that the future would demand “better equipped men and women in the different fields of business,” Baylor President Samuel Palmer Brooks asked the Board in the early 1920s to approve the creation of a business school at Baylor University. In 1923, the School of Commerce and Business Administration — today, the Hankamer School of […]
Three trivia questions for you: 1) What is Baylor’s oldest current athletic facility? 2) What was the first featured event in that facility? 3) Who was Baylor’s first opponent in that facility? Chances are good you answered the first question correctly; that would be the Ferrell Center, which opened 35 years ago this fall. The […]
Other Native American students attended Baylor before Margery Lancaster Walker, including Oscar Pete (Chehalis tribe) in 1936 and Dan Tilden (Cherokee) in 1939. But Walker, who graduated with a degree in music education from BU in 1952, is believed to have been Baylor’s first Native American graduate. Born in 1933 in Albuquerque, N.M., Margery knew […]
This year’s Baylor-Texas football game will mark the 113th time the two teams have squared off on the gridiron — one of the 25 most-played rivalries in college football history. For most of that time — since 1916 — the two teams have been conference rivals, first in the Southwest Conference (1915-96) and then in […]
It’s hard to believe, but the upcoming Baylor football season will be the 10th at McLane Stadium. How time flies! The epicenter of Bear Country every home football Saturday, McLane Stadium has aged gracefully, if it’s aged at all. It’s still tied with an incoming conference rival (Houston’s TDECU Stadium) as the newest Power 5 football […]
A newly renovated Collins Hall will welcome Baylor’s Class of 2027 this fall — but where did the residence hall get its name? Collins is one of at least a dozen Baylor buildings named for women — specifically, it was named in honor of Ruth Woodall Collins, whose family’s generosity to Baylor is still felt […]
Baylor’s Texas Collection started in 1923 as a passion project of Dr. Kenneth Hazen Aynesworth, a Baylor graduate and prominent Waco physician (and future UT regent). As it celebrates its 100th birthday this year, the Texas Collection is now one of the largest Texana collections in the world, filled with materials documenting the history, heritage […]
Fueled by the post-war boom, 1947 was a busy year at Baylor. Kokernot Hall was completed, portions of the Union Building (now known as the SUB or Bill Daniel Student Center) opened, the Graduate School was established and began awarding degrees, and President Harry Truman visited campus to receive an honorary degree. It was also […]
In July 2021, Baylor announced it was seeking an artist to create statues of Rev. Robert Gilbert (BA ’67) and Barbara Walker (BA ’67), the university’s first Black graduates, honoring the pair for what they endured to open doors for countless other students who would follow in their footsteps. Less than two years later, Baylor […]
