| Baylor University | |
|---|---|
| Motto | Pro Ecclesia, Pro Texana (Latin for "For Church, For Texas") |
| Established | 1845 |
| Type | Private |
| Religious affiliation | Baptist General Convention of Texas |
| Endowment | $1.004 billion (May 31, 2011)[1] |
| President | Judge Kenneth Winston Starr |
| Provost | Dr. Elizabeth Davis |
| Academic staff | 859[2] |
| Students | 15,029[2] |
| Undergraduates | 12,428[2] |
| Postgraduates | 2,620[2] |
| Location | Waco, Texas, United States |
| Campus | Urban, 800 acres (3 km²) |
| Sports | Baylor Bears |
| Colors | Green and Gold |
| Nickname | Bears |
| Mascot | Judge Joy & Judge Lady [Both Live Bears] |
| Affiliations | Big 12, ASAIHL |
| Website | baylor.edu |
Baylor University is a private, Christian university located in Waco, Texas. Founded in 1845, Baylor is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools. Baylor is the oldest University in the state of Texas, and one of the first educational institutions west of the Mississippi, founded in 1845. The University is located in Waco, Texas with its main 800 plus acre campus located to the east of downtown and I-35. The University is ranked in the top 75 of American Colleges and Universities.
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In 1841, 35 delegates to the Union Baptist Association meeting voted to adopt the suggestion of Reverend William Milton Tryon and R.E.B. Baylor to establish a Baptist University in Texas. Baylor, a Texas district judge and onetime U.S. Congressman and soldier from Alabama, became the school's namesake.
In the fall of 1844, the Texas Baptist Education Society petitioned the Congress of the Republic of Texas to charter a Baptist university. Republic President Anson Jones signed the Act of Congress on February 1, 1845, officially establishing Baylor University. The founders built the original university campus in Independence, Texas. Reverend James Huckins, who had been the first Southern Baptist missionary to Texas, was Baylor's first full-time fund-raiser. He is considered the third founding father of the university. Although these three men are credited as being the founders of the university, many others worked to see the first university established in Texas and thus they were awarded Baylor's Founders Medal.[3] The famous Texas revolutionary war leader and hero Sam Houston gave the first $5,000 donation to start the University. In 1854, Houston was also baptized by the Rev. Rufus Columbus Burleson, future Baylor President, in the Brazos River.[4]
In 1851, Baylor's second president Rufus Columbus Burleson decided to separate the students by gender, making the Baylor Female College an independent and separate institution. Baylor University became an all-male institution. During this time Baylor thrived as the only university west of the Mississippi offering instruction in both the law, mathematics, and medicine. Many of the early leaders of the Republic of Texas, such as Sam Houston, would send their children to Baylor to be educated. Some of those early students were, Temple Lea Houston, son of President Sam Houston, a famous western gun-fighter and attorney. Along with Lawrence Sullivan "Sul" Ross famous Confederate General and later President of Texas A&M University.
During the American Civil War, the Baylor president was George Washington Baines, maternal great-grandfather of the future U.S. President, Lyndon Baines Johnson. Baines was also later a trustee of Mary Hardin-Baylor. Baines would fight hard to keep the university operating during the terrible struggles of the civil war while the male students were enrolled in the Confederate Army serving Texas in various military campaigns throughout the War . After the war and during the late nineteenth century, the city of Independence began suffering a slow decline, due primarily because of the rise of neighboring cities serviced by the Santa Fe Railroad. Because of the fact that Independence lacked a railroad line, University fathers decided to begin searching for other more viable locations to build a new campus.
Beginning in 1885, Baylor University moved to Waco, Texas, a growing town on the railroad line. It merged with a local college Waco University, where Baylor's former second president, Rufus Burleson, was serving at the time as the local college president. That same year, the Baylor Female College decided to also move to a new location and chose the city of Belton, Texas to be its new home. It later became known as the University of Mary Hardin-Baylor. A Baylor College Park still exists in Independence in memory of the college's history there. Around 1887, Baylor University began readmitting women and became coeducational again.
In 1900, three physicians founded the "University of Dallas Medical Department", in Dallas, although a university by that name did not exist. In 1903, Baylor University acquired the medical school, which became known as the Baylor College of Medicine, while remaining in Dallas.
In 1943, Dallas civic leaders wanted to build larger facilities for the university in a new medical center, but only if the College of Medicine would surrender its denominational alliances with the Baptist state convention. The Baylor administration refused the offer. With funding from the M. D. Anderson Foundation and others, Baylor moved the College of Medicine to Houston.
During World War II, Baylor was one of 131 colleges and universities nationally that took part in the V-12 Navy College Training Program which offered students a path to a Navy commission.[5]
After passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the university was desegregated.[6] In 1969, the Baylor College of Medicine became technically independent from Baylor University. They still maintain close ties.
Baylor University and the Baylor College of Medicine have an agreement that provides for some Baylor undergraduates to be accepted to Baylor College of Medicine. Talks are underway to strengthen the affiliation between the two institutions, although a formal merger is under consideration.[7]
In the late twentieth century, the Southern Baptist Convention had a major controversy between conservative Baptists and liberal/moderate Baptists. Conservative Baptists achieved control of the organization and replaced officials of many agencies. Similar actions took place in many state conventions as well.
Concerned about potential effects on its governance, in 1991 Baylor University gained authorization by the Texas legislature to change the terms of its charter. It established a governance less directly dependent upon the Baptist General Convention of Texas, which administration was feared to follow suit with the Southern Baptist Convention. The state convention continues to elect one-quarter of the members of Baylor's Board of Regents.
| University rankings (overall) | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| Forbes[8] | 83 |
| U.S. News & World Report[9] | 75 |
| Washington Monthly[10] | 80 |
In 2011, U.S. News & World Report ranked the university 75th [11] out of 262 national universities.[12] Baylor is now one of two private universities that participates in the Big 12 Conference (along with the recent addition of TCU for the 2012 season).
Baylor's 2009-2010 acceptance rate was 48%.[13] According to The Princeton Review, Baylor was ranked a Best Western College.[14] In addition, The Princeton Review ranked Baylor 2nd for marketing programs. Recently Baylor received one of the largest collegiate donations in American history when an anonymous donor gifted $200 million dollars to the university. There have also been other donations that are well above the million dollar mark.
The university first received school accreditation in 1914 when it became an accredited member of the Commission on Colleges of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools.[15] The Baylor College of Medicine received accreditation from Southern Association of Colleges and Schools in 1970.[16]
Several Baylor graduate programs, including its Law School, Hankamer School of Business and programs in the sciences and education are nationally ranked.[17]
The university is divided into eleven degree-granting academic units. Two of the units are designated as colleges, while eight others are designated as schools. They are:
Additionally, the George W. Truett Theological Seminary is a unit of the university.
During its more than 160 years of history, Baylor has had 14 presidents, whose leadership has shaped the growth of the institution (Interim presidents are noted):
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(Note: While Rufus C. Burleson served as Baylor's President twice, he is counted only once in the presidential count. This makes Reddin Andrews the fifth president and Oscar Henry Cooper the sixth president. Additionally, the interim presidents are not counted in the presidential count.)
For the fall 2011 semester, Baylor University had 12,438 undergraduate and 2,261 graduate and professional students in 151 baccalaureate programs, 76 masters, 30 doctoral, and 2 Educational Specialist programs, for a total of around 15,000 students. Baylor also has 201 students in Baylor/U.S. Army affiliated graduate degree programs. Baylor enrollment includes students from all 50 states, the District of Columbia, and approximately 85 foreign countries. Baylor is among the 10% of US colleges and universities to have a Phi Beta Kappa chapter.[18]
| Name of Hall[19] | Year built | Room capacity |
|---|---|---|
| Traditional residential halls | ||
| Collins (female) | 1957 | 600 |
| Kokernot (semi co-ed) | 1954 | 230 |
| Martin (male) | 1954 | 320 |
| North Russell (female) | 1962 | 481 |
| Penland (male) | 1960 | 538 |
| South Russell (female) | 1967 | 286 |
| Suite-style residential halls | ||
| Alexander (male) | 1956 | 141 |
| Allen (male) | 1952 | 189 |
| Brooks College (semi co-ed) | 2006 | 370 |
| Dawson (female) | 1954 | 130 |
| Memorial (female) | 1961 | 201 |
| Apartment-style residential halls | ||
| The Arbors (semi co-ed) | 1981 | 222 |
| Brooks Flats (semi co-ed) | 2006 | 346 |
| Fairmont (semi co-ed) | 1984 | 45 |
| Gables (semi co-ed) | 1987 | 28 |
| North Village (semi co-ed) | 2004 | 598 |
| Total | 4,725 students | |
Baylor offers several choices for on-campus living. As part of Vision 2012, Baylor strives to have at least 50% of students living on campus.[20] Due to the rapid growth of the university, Baylor cannot keep up with the construction projects needed to accommodate the entire student body .
As of 2010, the university offers seven dormitories for incoming freshmen, and eleven dormitories in all. In addition to the dormitories, Baylor owns and operates four co-ed apartment complexes on the campus that are available for upperclassmen .
Baylor University has a strong history of military service and currently offers Army and Air Force ROTC for students.
Baylor students have fought in every major military action ever undertaken by the United States, including both WWI and WWII, along with the Vietnam War and the current campaigns in Iraq and Afghanistan. Baylor students also served as soldiers in the Texas revolution and during the Civil War as part of the Confederate armies.
Baylor has had several famous military graduates such as Andrew Jackson Lummus, Jr. (October 22, 1915–March 8, 1945) who was a two-sport athlete at Baylor University, a professional football player with the New York Giants, and an officer in the United States Marine Corps. He fought, and died, at the Battle of Iwo Jima during World War II and received the Medal of Honor for his service.
John Riley Kane, also a Baylor man received the medal of honor for his service as well. He flew 43 combat missions for a total of 250 combat hours in Europe, Africa and the Middle East. Kane commanded the 98th Bombardment Group, a B-24 Liberator unit nicknamed the "Pyramiders", and his daring operations caused German intelligence reports to dub him "Killer Kane".
In July 1948, the Air Force and Baylor University partnered in the creation of Air Force ROTC Detachment 810 - one of the first detachments ever created.
In 2008, Detachment 810 was awarded the Air Force ROTC Right Of Line Award as the #1 large detachment in the nation. In addition the unit was awarded the High Flight Award recognizing it as one of the top four detachments in America, and the best in the AFROTC Southwest Region for 1996, 2003, and 2008.
A sizable segment of students participate in Greek life at Baylor. Approximately 14% of undergraduate men and 17% of undergraduate women are members of a fraternity or sorority. There are four councils at Baylor. Many of the Greek organizations are very old but were only local clubs until 1976, when Baylor allowed national affiliations. Kappa Alpha Theta, which began as the DAPs, was the first national sorority to be colonized on Baylor's campus in 1976. Most of the national fraternities on campus had existed previously as local fraternities for many years before affiliating with their National organizations. These local fraternities or secret societies had various names and had different regalia and traditions. These groups took names such as: Taurus, Circle K, Tryon Coterie, Raiders, and PAE. Beginning in the late 1970s and early 1980s these locals began to affiliate with national fraternities. Fraternities and sororities are very active all year with various service events, mixers, football tailgates, formals, out of town weekends, and All University Sing. Fraternities and sororities also usually team up with one another in the fall to build large extensive parade floats for the oldest homecoming parade in the nation at Baylor University; the practice was started in 1907.
No Longer Active but Previous Chapters at Baylor:
No Longer Active but Previous Chapter at Baylor:
Unlike most universities which allow "Greek systems", Baylor does not permit fraternities to have their own residences or fraternity houses.
In 2005, the University was invited to join the Collider Detector at Fermilab (CDF) collaboration at the Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory in Batavia, Illinois.[21] The project is one of the world's largest experimental physics collaborations.
In 2006, the Carnegie Foundation upgraded the university's classification to "Research University" status with "High Research Activity," opening the door to many new research opportunities.[22]
In October 2009, a group of state, county and city governments and organizations and higher educational institutions in Central Texas announced the creation of the Central Texas Technology and Research Park, and the park's first project, the Baylor Research and Innovation Collaborative (BRIC) to be housed in the former General Tire facility on South Loop Drive in Waco. Funding for the effort comes from the state of Texas and from Baylor University. Clifton Robinson (a member of the Baylor Board of Regents and who's company owns the Waco Tribune-Herald) donated the facility to Baylor University to support the research collaborative.[23][24]
Several former and present faculty at Baylor are involved in the intelligent design debate, most notably philosopher William Dembski, now at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, Christian philosopher Francis Beckwith, and electrical engineer Robert J. Marks II.[25][26]
The university's endowment passed $1 billion in 2007 and reached $1,055,478,000 on December 31, 2007.[27] Despite the economic crisis of 2008, Baylor spokesperson Lori Fogleman reported that Baylor's endowment grew 5.1% in the fiscal year ending June 30, 2008; the National Association of College and University Business Officials estimated that during that same period, the median return for the top 25% of college endowments decreased by 2.2%. Fogleman cited the university's long-term investments and diversified holdings as the cause of the endowment's recent success. As of December 2008, the Baylor endowment totaled less than $1 billion, down from a May high of $1.06 billion.[28][29] A consulting firm hired by the university expressed concern that the disagreements within the Baylor community could hinder the endowment from continuing its four-year streak of increased endowment donation totals and its 2012 goal of a $2 billion endowment, though the current economy may also prevent both.[30]
On March 4, 2010 "An anonymous longtime Baylor donor. . . set up an estate provision that will benefit the school to the tune of an estimated $200 million dollars. The gift will bolster Baylor's research on the issues of aging in multiple disciplines at the school".[31] Citing the most recent data reported by the Chronicle of Higher Education, Baylor officials say the $200 million donation is the second-largest gift to a Texas college or university and ranks among the top 20 private gifts to higher education institutions in the country.[32]
On September 15, 2010, Honorable Kenneth Starr stated he had no interest in sitting on the United States Supreme Court, well known for the successful prosecution and impeachment of former United States President Bill Clinton, Judge Kenneth Starr, now President of Baylor University, announced "How Extraordinary the Stories: The President's Scholarship Initiative".[33] The goal of the project is to raise $100 million for student scholarship endowment by the end of May 2013 as an immediate goal in lessening the financial burden on current and future Baylor students.[34] Judge Starr and his wife, Alice, donated $100,000 of their money to project.[35] More than 80% of Baylor University students receive financial assistance, but there is a need to do more.[36] Judge Starr is grateful that Baylor has grown and prospered, but in recent years tuition levels have continued to rise significantly, “As a moral imperative, we must address the fundamental question of the rapidly escalating cost of higher education,” he said.[37] The hope is that this ambitious program will engage the alumni family to contribute to President’s Scholarship Initiative.
Baylor's men's sports teams are nicknamed the Bears, and the women's teams are nicknamed the Lady Bears. Student athletes participate in the NCAA's Division I.
Baylor was a charter member of the Southwest Conference and remained a member until its dissolution in 1996. Baylor is now a member of the Big 12 Conference along with former SWC members Texas, Texas A&M, and Texas Tech. Baylor has 42 Big XII conference titles, primarily in men's and women's tennis (31 total). These 42 titles place Baylor in sixth place among Big XII member schools, behind Texas, Nebraska, Oklahoma, Texas A&M, and Oklahoma State.
Baylor has won two NCAA titles. In 2004, the men's tennis team defeated UCLA in the championship match. In 2005, the Baylor Lady Bears basketball team beat Michigan State in the championship game.
Baylor was the only private school in the current incarnation of what is now known as the Big 12 Conference, which as the Big Eight Conference had several private schools as members. However, in 1928, the private schools were kicked out of the conference, and no private school joined until 1996, when Baylor was added. Baylor will be joined by Texas Christian University as a private school in the Big 12 starting in 2012. TCU was also a member of the Southwest Conference before 1996.
On December 10, 2011, Robert Griffin III was awarded the Heisman Trophy - an award given to the nation's best collegiate football player. Griffin III played quarterback for the university's football team.
Baylor University claims (along with the University of Missouri) to be the originator of the tradition of "Homecoming".
The Baylor homecoming event was launched in November of 1907 as a way to connect the alumni and current students. The event included concerts, speeches, receptions, class reunions, pep rallies, and a parade. All those events are still held and the parade now has developed into the largest in the world and includes many highly expensive floats made by the schools fraternities and sororities along with other groups.
During World War II more than 4,000 Baylor men and women served in the United States Armed Forces. Over 125 of those made the supreme sacrifice and died during the War. The death rate was over double that of other schoools at the time. Since 1946 a red granite lamp post has been erected in each of the fallens honor to stand as a guard by day and illuminate the paths of campus by night. Every since a new lamp post has been added for each Baylor alumni or student who has fallen in service to the country. The lamp posts are all of the same design and contain bronze plaques detailing the life and manner of death of the individual service member.
The Baylor Line is a tradition which started in 1970 at Baylor University. It is made entirely of freshmen and is at the heart of building Baylor spirit and tradition for new students. Freshmen wear a football jersey with the number of their proposed graduation year and a nickname on the back.
All University Sing is an annual spring semester variety show featuring clubs and organizations on campus. In 1958, Pigskin Revue was added as a Homecoming event that featured the best acts from the previous spring's competition. Up until 1963 the event was primarily groups singing in the style of a choir on a riser. Since then the event has grown to the include high energy Broadway style song and dance numbers. In 2003, Baylor celebrated 50 Years of Sing with commemorative books, DVDs and reunions.
Baylor's alma mater is That Good Old Baylor Line. In 1906 a student penned humorous words to the tune of "In the Good Old Summer Time" and they became generally accepted among the student body as the school fight song. However, in 1931, Enid Eastland Markham, wife of music professor Robert Markham, feeling the words were not dignified enough nor representative of the total University, wrote new lyrics which were presented in chapel in November and soon sanctioned as the official school song. The Good Old Summer Time tune was later arranged to fit Mrs. Markham's "Baylor Line" through the work of Jack Goode, Donald I. Moore and Charles F. Brown.
Every spring since 1934, Baylor takes a Thursday off from classes for a spring holiday which since 1966 has been known as Diadeloso (Spanish for Day of the Bear). The Baylor University Chamber of Commerce organizes the event which consists of entertainment of all types. Events on campus include: tug-o-war, free food, dog shows and concerts. The day is also a time of large parties off campus usually hosted by many of the college fraternities and sororities. The day is one of the largest gatherings of students in the state of Texas with upwards of 15,000 students participating on or off campus.
The Baylor University Golden Wave Band (BUGWB) is the current halftime entertainment for Baylor football. The band attends every home football game at Floyd Casey Stadium. The band at Baylor was the first in the state of Texas and received its name in 1928 after a tour through West Texas. Observers noted that the band, with its gold uniforms, looked like a giant "golden wave" sweeping over the landscape.
In January 1927 a bus carrying the Baylor basketball team collided with the Sunshine Special train in Round Rock, Texas. Ten members of the traveling party were killed and many others were injured in the accident. Each year at homecoming the story of the Immortal Ten is told again to the new freshman class at the Freshman Mass Meeting. The names of the ten are called out. In 1996, the senior class provided initial funding to create and place an Immortal Ten statue on campus. Fund raising and discussions about where to place the statues continued off and on over the ensuing years. Finally, on June 22, 2007, the statues were unveiled. The Immortal Ten memorial was officially dedicated during the 2007 Baylor Homecoming on November 2 in Traditions Square.[38][39][40][41][42]
The school mascot is the American black bear. Baylor University houses two live American black bears on campus. They are named Judge Joy Reynolds and Judge Sue Sloan, affectionately referred to as "Joy" and "Lady", respectively.[43] In the fall of 2005, the university finished renovation and construction of the Bill and Eva Williams Bear Habitat, a $1 million facility which includes a thirteen-foot (four-metre) waterfall, three pools, two dens, grass, and eye-level viewing. The facility is a United States Department of Agriculture- licensed Class C Zoo. It was formally dedicated on October 28, 2005.[44]
The NoZe Brotherhood, an unofficial fraternal organization founded in 1924, provides the university with unusual public pranks and satirical writings in its newspaper, The Rope.
During the War of 1812, Cyrus Baylor, brother of R.E.B. Baylor, was cited for his bravery with the presentation of a gold sword by President Jackson. In 1957 it was given to the university. In 1974, Baylor president Abner V. McCall suggested that the sword be used to form the focal point of a ceremonial "symbol of authority". A timber from one of Old Main's towers was used to construct a base and center pole. Walking canes of former Baylor President Rufus C. Burleson and General Sam Houston, who had been baptized by Burleson and had been a supporter of the university, were linked to the sword to form the Mace. It is used at all university commencement exercises and at other special ceremonies.
There are over 120,000 living Baylor alumni.
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