By Madison Hunt | Staff Writer
The Baylor Board of Regents during its regular fall meeting detailed a progress report on the university’s Baylor in Deeds strategic plan. They emphasized the plan’s high-impact Bold Pursuits and Extend the Line initiatives, approved a new master’s program and gave remarks on the Memorial of Enslaved Persons dedication ceremony Friday.
“The regents are making tremendous progress towards affordability for our students, faculty and staff,” President Linda Livingstone said. “Scholarship money matters a lot, but graduating in four years is one of the best ways to help with affordability as well.”
The board discussed updates on the $250 million Extend the Line scholarship initiative, which highlights the 10 evaluation metrics outlined in Baylor in Deeds, like affordability and value, through 2030. This year also received a precedent number of its four-year graduation rate, which jumped 6.2 points to a high of 77.3% this year.
Board of Regents Chair William “Bill” Mearse said in the meeting the board also participated in an interactive exercise led by the Bridgebuilding Fellows. This exercise helped the board to better understand how Baylor approaches civil discourse and its importance as an imperative woven into the Baylor strategic plan.
“This is not an easy time for higher education,” Mearse said. “It’s a time of pressures and uncertainties. [Our board] is having to manage a lot of factors. Higher education will continue to be in the crosshairs, but we believe Baylor can be a light among colleges and universities that is well-positioned for these days of uncertainty.”
Pairing with the scholarship initiative, Baylor’s traditional research initiatives such as Bold Pursuits have potential to cement the university’s place as a prominent Christian research university. Two research projects, Dr. Byron Johnson’s Institute for Global Human Flourishing and Dr. Eric Carter’s Baylor Center for Disability and Flourishing, focus on individuals as a leading voice on disability, faith and flourishing.
“Dr. Johnson and Dr. Carter are both examples of the type of faculty who come to Baylor to conduct research with heart and passion as we all strive to elevate Baylor and transform the world,” Livingstone said.
Academically, the board approved a hybrid Master’s of Arts and Architecture degree within Baylor’s Department of Human Sciences and Design in the Robbins College of Health and Human Sciences. Per the official news release, it’s designed for applicants with undergraduate preparation in architecture or from a CIDA-accredited interior design program and qualifies graduates for architectural licensure.
“It leverages Waco’s growing design community that’s been inspired in part by the Magnolia effect led by Baylor alums Chip and Joanna Gaines,” Livingstone said. “Additionally, it addresses a projected gap in the workforce that we would like to meet. We want all of our degree programs to meet the needs in the workforce.”
Before the board meeting, regents gathered at Founders’ Mall to dedicate the Memorial to Enslaved Persons. A result of the 2021 Commission on Historic Campus Representations and set up by the board at the time, the mall now features a cascading water feature constructed of the same limestone used to build the original campus in Independence.
Regent Member Dr. Michael McFarland spoke at the dedication ceremony on behalf of the commission, along with other university leaders.
“It’s more than stone and steel; it’s a testament to truth, courage and reconciliation,” McFarland said. “It stands as a call to all of us to remember honestly, to live humbly and to lead courageously.”
