Arts & Sciences Centennial

October 2, 2019
A&S Centennial
The College of Arts & Sciences — the largest academic unit of Baylor University with 475 full-time faculty and more than 6,600 students — is celebrating its centennial this year.

The fields of study contained within the 25 departments in the current College, including English, foreign languages, religion, political science, the fine arts, history, mathematics and the sciences, made up the large majority of Baylor University’s curriculum in its earliest years.

On March 21, 1919, the Baylor Board of Trustees decided to formalize a more modern academic structure for the University by creating six academic units — the College of Arts & Sciences, the College of Fine Arts, the College of Medicine, the College of Pharmacy, the College of Dentistry and the School of Education.

Under this new alignment, the College of Fine Arts housed the disciplines of music, public speaking and expression. The remaining disciplines not included within the schools of medicine, dentistry, pharmacy or education were placed in the College of Arts & Sciences. In 1921 Baylor trustees dissolved the College of Fine Arts and created the School of Music and Fine Arts, with courses in public speaking and expression transferred to the College of Arts & Sciences.

The College of Arts & Sciences has seen many academic milestones in its 100 years. It granted Baylor’s first doctorate degree — in chemistry — in 1954, and two Arts & Sciences professors — Robert Reid in history and Ann Miller in English — were the first Baylor faculty members to be given the designation of Master Teacher by the University in 1982.

The majority of distinguished teaching awards presented at Baylor each year, including the Collins Outstanding Professor Award and the Cornelia Marschall Smith Professor of the Year Award, have been won by Arts & Sciences faculty. And students receiving Arts & Sciences degrees have been the majority of Baylor recipients of prestigious international scholarships such as the Marshall, Truman and Fulbright.

The College of Arts & Sciences has produced a diverse and talented group of alumni over the past century that has excelled in fields including religion and Christian ministry, law and social justice, healthcare, business, education, arts and entertainment, politics and scientific discovery. Baylor Arts & Sciences graduates also include two Texas governors — Price Daniel and Ann Richards — and three Baylor presidents — Judge Abner McCall, Dr. Herbert H. Reynolds and Dr. Robert B. Sloan Jr.