Honoring the Past, Envisioning the Future
On Founders Day, February 1, a new “must see” attraction made its debut on the Baylor campus — the “Founding to Future: Bright Lights of Baylor University” exhibit at the Mayborn Museum Complex.
Created to coincide with Baylor’s 175th anniversary, the exhibit provides visitors with a tour through the University’s rich history, featuring artifacts belonging to founder Judge R.E.B. Baylor, as well as inviting them to envision and participate in the institution’s future.
“Although this exhibit opened on Founders Day to commemorate Baylor’s 175th anniversary, it will also be open to the public and continue to tell the Baylor story for a number of years into the future,” said Trey Crumpton, exhibits development manager for the Mayborn Museum Complex. “In that sense, it can be thought of as a permanent, yet flexible exhibit.”
The exhibit takes visitors through an experience structured around five focus areas: Founding in Independence, Tradition, Innovation, Arts & Athletics, and Christian Mission. The exhibit also features an interactive, visitor-controlled digital timeline of important moments in the Baylor story.
Mayborn staff worked with a team of faculty, staff and students across the University to include representative stories and to loan objects for the exhibit,” he said. “Our exhibit creators hope this project will encourage more people to share their stories, old and new, and to consider donating Baylor history artifacts to the campus museums.”
Crumpton noted that generous support from a variety of sources made this collaboration possible. Energized by a lead gift from Hughes Dillard, other donors included Brazos Higher Education Foundation in honor of Murray and Greta Watson, Jim Foulks, The Harry and Anna Jeanes Discovery Center Endowed Fund, Sue Mayborn Building Fund and many campus advisors and community partners.
“Our main goals for the exhibit are to provide a long-term and solid connection within our building to Baylor University in general, perhaps to even become a regular stop on campus tours for prospective students,” said Charlie Walter, director of the Mayborn Museum Complex and adjunct lecturer in museum studies. “In addition, we want to showcase the Mayborn collection of Baylor history objects and to encourage the building up of that collection and support for the whole museum.”