Spring 2024 Newsletter

Dear RPAP members,

Baylor University is moving through a busy Spring semester, and as we move into March, I am grateful for the opportunity to connect with you and share some of the wonderful things happening on Baylor’s campus. Below is this Spring’s edition of our Retired Professors and Administrators Program newsletter, sharing some wonderful updates on the Give Light campaign and leadership within our schools and colleges.

Thank you for your support and continued involvement in the Baylor Family!

Sincerely,

Toby Barnett
Associate Vice President for Advancement and Campaign Director

Baylor University’s Give Light Campaign galvanized transformational support from the Baylor Family. That support translated into impact across all aspects of the University — from support for scholarships that will open doors for generations of Baylor Bears to capital projects that have changed the face of Baylor’s campus.

As we conclude the Give Light campaign this spring, we are grateful to the dedicated members of our Baylor Family who have served through campaign events, on boards and in consultation with University leadership. We are grateful, especially, to members of Baylor’s Board of Regents, our National Campaign Steering Committee members, academic unit boards of advisors and the countless others who have joined together through their giving to create a bright future for Baylor University.

Honoring Great Teachers

Baylor University fosters a proud history and rich reputation of compelling teaching and mentoring. Several legendary professors and Master Teachers can be counted among the ranks of our Retired Professors and Administrators Program membership. Baylor announced in January the naming of Jay L. Banner, Ph.D., as the 2024 recipient of The Robert Foster Cherry Award for Great Teaching. Banner is the F. M. Bullard Professor in the Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences in the Jackson School of Geosciences at the University of Texas at Austin.

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Changes Around Campus

In February, Baylor University broke ground in Founders Mall on the Memorial to Enslaved Persons, which will be installed this Spring. The groundbreaking coincided with Black History Month, and the planned memorial pays tribute to the enslaved men and women who were instrumental in building Baylor’s original campus in Independence, Texas. The limestone wall and water feature will also include landscaping updates and grounds enhancements.

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A Call to Lead

In December, Baylor University Provost Nancy Brickhouse, Ph.D., announced the appointment of Kevin Sanders, D.M.A., as dean of the Baylor University School of Music. Sanders, who is currently director of the Rudi E. Scheidt School of Music at the University of Memphis, will begin at Baylor in July. He assumes this role after the retirement of Dean Gary Mortenson, D.M.A., who led the School for nine years.

"I am honored and humbled to have the opportunity to contribute to the Baylor School of Music’s continued success as its next dean," Sanders said. "The School's reputation and prestige is 100 years strong, which continues to grow thanks to the remarkably talented faculty, staff, students, alumni and supporters who make this a dynamic place. I am excited to work together on new priorities and ambitions, to strengthen ties to the campus, community and creative industry, and to design the next generation of innovative programming to enhance the School’s profile and success."

Sanders is the eighth dean appointed at Baylor University since 2020, following a series of retirements and departures among many long-held deanships within Baylor’s 11 schools and colleges. Baylor University’s deans hold a rich tradition of commitment to their faculty, as well as a clear vision for the growth and advancement of their academic units. These new administrators, a mix of long-tenured faculty and those new to Baylor, will foster this same tradition among a new generation of faculty and students.

"Baylor has a history of hiring excellent deans to lead our colleges and schools. There are probably no decisions we make that are more important than hiring decisions. The recently hired deans are key to sustaining Baylor’s research trajectory, its commitment to transformational undergraduate education, and, of course, its distinctive Christian mission. I am particularly pleased with the way these deans are also helping to cultivate a community that supports one another in the spirit of Christian friendship." - Baylor Provost Nancy Brickhouse, Ph.D.

During the Fall 2023 semester, Jeremy Counseller, J.D., a member of Baylor Law School’s faculty since 2003, also was selected as dean of Baylor Law, a position he will assume July 1, 2024. He succeeds Dean Emeritus Brad Toben, who returned to the Baylor Law faculty at the end of the 2022-2023 academic year after a 31-year tenure as dean of Baylor Law.

The following outstanding faculty leaders have been named to lead academic units at Baylor since 2020:

For any additional questions or information regarding the event, please contact Lynn Buckley at (254) 710-8371 or RPAP@baylor.edu.