Bear Briefs

Baylor English Professor and Poet Receives One of New Zealand’s Leading National Literary Awards

Baylor University English professor and accomplished poet, Chloe Honum, will focus her craft full-time as the recipient of the 2019 Grimshaw Sargeson Fellowship, New Zealand’s most prestigious writing fellowship that offers the opportunity to research and write full time through a residence, stipend and tenure at the Sargeson Centre in Auckland.

“It will allow me to research and work on a manuscript of poems for four months at the Sargeson Centre, in the heart of Auckland City. I grew up in Auckland, and to be returning with the purpose of writing a Sargeson Fellow is beyond thrilling,” said Honum.

Honum joined the Baylor English faculty in 2016, sharing her passion for language, written, spoken or read, with her colleagues and students.

Record Seven Baylor Students Selected for Prestigious Fulbrights

Seven recipients were selected to receive Fulbright U.S. Student Program awards, including awards for international graduate study and as English Teaching Assistants in classrooms across the globe. Seven recipients in a single year is a record for Baylor. Senior University Scholars Emma Weatherford and Jamie Wheeler will begin graduate studies in the United Kingdom, and four seniors and an alumna, Lauren Barnes, Kaitlyn Gibbens, Catherine Haseman, Clay Parham and Abby Miller, will serve internationally in Taiwan, Germany, Israel and Colombia as English Teaching Assistants.

The Fulbright U.S. Student Program is sponsored by the U.S. government, aimed at increasing mutual understanding between people of the United States and people of other countries. The program provides students and young professionals opportunities for international graduate study, advanced research and teaching in all fields of study in more than 140 countries globally.

School of Education Faculty Member Serves as President of School Science and Mathematics Association

Dr. Suzanne Nesmith, science educator, associate professor and associate dean in the Baylor University School of Education, is serving as president of the School Science and Mathematics Association (SSMA), a multi-disciplinary organization founded in 1901. Her two-year term as president runs until the fall of 2020. SSMA brings together researchers and teachers to promote research, scholarship and practice to improve school science and mathematics and to advance the integration of school science and mathematics. She also is part of a multi-university cohort that has been awarded a National Science Foundation (NSF) Grant to explore educational materials and infrastructure for teaching concepts in rational molecular design.

Baylor Environmental Health Science Professor Wins International Environmental Award

Dr. Bryan W. Brooks, Distinguished Professor of Environmental Science and Biomedical Studies in Baylor’s College of Arts & Sciences, received international recognition for his contributions and scholarly research on environmental sustainability.

Recipharm, a contract development and manufacturing organization in the pharmaceutical industry, named Brooks as its 2018 International Environmental Award recipient. The International Environmental Award recognizes the best environmental practice or innovation within the pharmacy and healthcare industries or academia.

Brooks' transdisciplinary research includes understanding and managing human activities and environmental stressors across levels of biological organization, particularly in rapidly urbanizing regions.

Rising Star Faculty Member Earns $626,000 Career Development Award from NIH

Dr. Kelly R. Ylitalo, assistant professor in the department of public health in Baylor University’s Robbins College of Health and Human Sciences, was awarded a prestigious career development grant from the National Institute of Health to study the link between physical activity and healthy aging. The grant provides more than $626,000 over a five-year project period span.

During her PhD program at the University of Michigan, Ylitalo worked on the Study of Women’s Health Across the Nation – a 20-year, longitudinal study that tracks changes in health over time. Yitalo is partnering with the Waco Family Health Center, as well as the Center’s network of 15 satellite healthcare clinics throughout McLennan County that provide care to vulnerable populations in the McLennan County area. She plans to develop her first pilot interventions in consultation with a cohort of 60 women who are patients of the clinics.

New Certificate in Global Engagement Helps Prepare Students for Leadership, Service in 21st-Century Global Society

Baylor University’s Center for Global Engagement now offers the Certificate in Global Engagement that immerses students in global culture to help them become academically and cross-culturally prepared to adapt and succeed in a diverse and multicultural world. The program is part of Baylor’s Quality Enhancement Plan (QEP), “Global Baylor: Addressing Challenges to Human Flourishing,” an initiative led by Dr. Jeffrey Hamilton, designed to enrich the undergraduate academic experience. Baylor’s goal is to promote internationalization across campus in support of the University’s mission to educate men and women for worldwide leadership and service.

There are 65 students enrolled in the program, where students develop essential skills and knowledge that better prepare them to serve and succeed through global engagement.