By Abigail Gan | Staff Writer
The Mark and Paula Hurd Welcome Center, which soft-launched on Aug. 1, has a variety of features to foster a place of connection for prospective students, current students and alumni, according to Interim Vice President for Advancement Toby Barnett.
“The hope is even as a prospective student or a returning alumni that you connect with some of our shared values, shared aspirations and that you leave not only with that kind of experience but you kind of reflect on, ‘Hey, I could be that type of a person. I could have a big impact on the world either through sports or … discipline, music, a variety of different things,’” Barnett said.
The opening came two years and two months after construction began and three years after it initially broke ground in February 2020.
Ross VanDyke, assistant vice president of enrollment management, marketing and recruitment, said the exclusion of “admissions” or “alumni” from the title of the building is intentional. He said the building is meant to be a place for everyone in the community.
“This is going to be a complete game-changer as it relates to events on campus for the campus community,” Van Dyke said. “We are planning to be able to host large-scale events here for admissions, premiere Invitation to Excellence. We’ll have alumni gatherings, athletics banquets. You name it, we’ll be able to use it here.”
VanDyke said the ballroom in the Welcome Center will hopefully bring in the community, as the ballroom is now the largest hosting space on campus and includes a large catering kitchen.
“I think if you’re a graduate in the 1950s, you would have associated Barfield Drawing Room as the place that kind of was the community life and university life,” Barnett said. “I believe that the ballroom here will be a place where clubs and organizations can reserve it and host events.”
As visitors walk through the Welcome Center, they will see many donor names on different parts of the building. Barnett said the donors behind the building each have special stories.
“We’re really proud to be able to associate with people who want to make a difference in the life of the institution,” Barnett said. “[It’s] a lot of fun to be able to walk through spaces that have their names on it and to ultimately be able to use this type of an asset and resource to welcome alumni back to campus as well as to welcome students who are considering Baylor for the first time.”
Salt Lake City junior Taylor Little has been a tour guide since her freshman year at Baylor. As a tour guide, she said the Welcome Center has been like a second home to her.
“It’s just a place where all of us tour guides have really bonded and been able to work together,” Little said. “There’s so many fond memories that are spent there and so much bonding, whether that’s from training to be a tour guide or just working the hours that we do.”
Little said the Welcome Center is such a special part of the admissions process and tours and will provide a bigger and better space for them to continue to excel at what they do.
“It will just show the prestige that Baylor has to offer,” Little said. “It will just give prospective students the full Baylor experience when they walk into those rooms. They’ll see the big windows and the hype video, and this will really be able to convey how special Baylor is and really put us on the map even more than we already are. I’ll be able to learn even more skills working in this new and improved space, and I think it will really just show the step up that Baylor has been needing.”
The Baylor community doesn’t have to wait until September to check it out. The Welcome Center is now open from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday. On Sept. 17, its schedule will shift to be open seven days a week.
Waco junior Hannah Chu visited the Welcome Center with her family friends from the Philippines. She said she brought them to tour Baylor and they were excited the Welcome Center was open so they could experience it together for the first time.
“It was great getting to see them so excited about Baylor and sharing that special moment with them,” Chu said. “I think it just has this welcoming atmosphere.”
Barnett said the Welcome Center is partnering with Student Life to host a grand opening event on Sept. 8. There will be a large dedication event in the ballroom.
“We will be kind of celebrating the donors not only to this building, but several of the other projects,” Barnett said.
Jason Cook, vice president for marketing and communications, said the Welcome Center will also be partnering with Pi Beta Phi sorority for Howdy at the Hurd, which will include food trucks, festivities and line dancing, as well as a concert with singer Bailey Zimmerman.
