By Sarah Gallaher | Staff Writer
Baylor designed the faculty-in-residence and resident chaplain programs to help students grow in their faith. However, some faculty and chaplains said the programs have helped them as much as they have helped students.
Brent Phillips, applied trombone faculty, has served as the faculty-in-residence for University House since 2020. He said his desire to become a faculty-in-residence began during his undergraduate years.
“I went to Rice University, and we had a faculty-in-residence that was there,” Phillips said. “That was the first time that I’d ever been around a teacher or faculty member that was genuinely interested in what I was doing. That’s why I am a faculty-in-residence today. I wanted to have that same impact.”
Although the faculty-in-residence program started in 1856 and has roots that go back to Baylor’s original campus in Independence, the resident chaplain program began more recently, in 2001. Truett Seminary welcomed its first class of students in 1994 Resident chaplains, who foster spirituality in residence halls, are current students of Truett Seminary.
Isaiah Baba, a fourth-year seminary student, began his second year as a resident chaplain in August. According to Baba, he serves the men of Martin Hall by establishing himself as a “known presence” among students by spending time with them on a regular basis.
“The whole idea about [the] resident chaplain program here at Baylor really is having people in the hall that will be like a pastoral presence,” Baba said. “College can be hard, you know, and there are many things that would happen in this college experience that sometimes we just need someone to talk to.”
However, students are not the only ones who benefit from these programs. Many faculty-in-residence and resident chaplains believe that working in these positions benefits their faith as well.
“Personally, my faith has grown so much since I’ve become a resident chaplain,” Baba said. “Just the ability to listen and to listen well — that’s a skill that you develop. It does change you too, in many good ways.”
Phillips shared a similar sentiment about the impact of his experience.
“As the students grow closer together, as they grow closer to God in their relationship, it renews my faith,” Phillips said.
Although the faculty-in-residence and resident chaplains exist to build community and faith among residents, they still support students who do not identify as Christians.
“We try to be very intentional,” Baba said. “We don’t try to push our faith on residents. We are hoping to have conversations that are about faith.”
According to Phillips, faculty-in-residence “co-labor” with resident chaplains to plan events. These sometimes revolve around faith but often exist solely to build community among students.
However, he said these roles can still help introduce students to Christianity and religious principles.
“I have a lot of students on campus that maybe aren’t Christian per se, so we’ll talk about faith, and I’ll introduce them to Christian biblical principles of faith,” Phillips said. “We welcome all faiths, but Baylor is a Christian institution, so we’re introducing them to what a Christian faith looks like and what that means.”
Through service events, like making cards for veterans and spiritual events, like weekly Bible studies, many students grow closer to God with the help of faculty-in-residence and resident chaplains.
Since these programs exist inside residence halls, it is easier for first-year students to get connected to local churches and begin their walk of faith in adulthood.
Baba said that during his two years as a resident chaplain, he has seen transformational moments among students.
“You can see students being more open to conversations about faith, being more intentional about it, spending time in the Word, going to church, all that,” Baba said. “We do see a lot of students grow in their faith.”
