By Rory Dulock | Staff Writer
Baylor was ranked among the top 10 in the Morning Consult’s, a business intelligence company, 2023 Most Trusted Universities report. Universities such as Yale, Princeton and Johns Hopkins University were also included in the report.
In this year’s research, trust was used as a metric of academic reputation — especially among parents, students, employers and key stakeholders, the report said.
Dean and Sarah Chrestman, Baylor alumni and parents of a 2023 Baylor graduate, said they both trusted the university with their student’s education because of the morals and values it prioritizes.
“I feel that [Baylor] holds true to the strong morals and values that we believe in,” Sarah Chrestman said.
Another reason why the Chrestmans said they trusted Baylor is because of the university’s commitment to its Christian traditions.
“There are very few universities left that are strong academically while maintaining their Christian foundation, and Baylor has stuck to that,” Dean Chrestman said. “Baylor has maintained its Christian heritage, even through a period of time where other universities are not doing that.”
Dr. Richard Edwards, professor of communication, has worked at Baylor for 34 years and said Livingstone’s studies were a major milestone for the university.
“As many internal surveys have disclosed, Baylor is a great place to work,” Edwards said. “I can speak especially for the Department of Communication — a very collegial atmosphere, outstanding faculty, a lot of trust among faculty members … The atmosphere among the faculty here at Baylor is amazing.”
The student body has also noticed many of Baylor’s efforts. Pflugerville sophomore and student senator Landon Self said Morning Consult’s report is important for Baylor’s reputation because it demonstrates how the university has strived to improve campus safety, academics and the establishment of a healthy learning environment.
“I think under the leadership of [President] Linda Livingstone, there’s been a lot of things that have been done,” Self said. “One was to improve campus safety, and there have been many ways [Baylor] has done that. And also being ranked as an R1 institution I think academically proves that [Baylor] is definitely worthy of peoples’ trust.”
Tyler sophomore Joshua Coe said he trusts Baylor because of how involved the faculty is with the student body. He said professors care about their studies and are always available to help and maintain an active relationship with their students.
“I think that [the report] means a lot to the university’s reputation, and it really goes to show what the university stands for and what it has stood for among students,” Coe said. “I think that trustworthiness is evident among [the students], and it’s great that is starting to become more evident to the people around.”
The data behind Morning Consult’s report came from a survey conducted in April that used a sample of 11,010 adults. The university rankings were determined by calculating the net trust — the share of respondents who said they trust the university to do the right thing “a lot” and “some” minus the share who said “not much” and “not at all.”
Morning Consult’s 2023 Most Trusted Brands report was released in May, ranking Baylor No. 9 among universities in the United States and marking Baylor’s second year in a row to make the top 10.
