President's Note

Veterans Day was particularly poignant for me this week with the recent tragedy at Fort Hood. It is an annual reminder of the ultimate sacrifice that so many have made to ensure our freedoms. Members of the U.S. Armed Forces serve and defend our nation at home and abroad.

Please take the time to pray for the families, friends, and comrades of those killed and wounded last week at Fort Hood. Please also pray for soldiers, seamen, marines and airmen. Pray especially for safety for our troops, healing for the wounded, and comfort for the grieving.

School of Education reaccreditation

I am pleased to share that the preliminary results of the NCATE accreditation review for the School of Education is very encouraging. An outside accreditation team spent five days reviewing the school for a wide list of quality standards, including: student performance in pre-defined professional knowledge, skills and dispositions, program assessment system, field experiences/internships, diversity of students field experiences, faculty and preparation for working in ethnically diverse professional settings, faculty qualifications and development, and governance/resources.

NCATE is the National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education. The preliminary report is that Baylor not only meets all standards of accountability, but that a number of areas will also merit commendation. Dean Jon M. Engelhardt and his faculty and staff are to be congratulated.

Regents set tuition for 2010-11

The Board of Regents has set tuition and fees for the 2010-11 academic year. Tuition for undergraduates in 2010-11 will increase by 6.5 percent to $26,966 for 12 hours or more. Tuition for graduate students in 2010-11 will increase by 6.54 percent. Tuition for Truett Seminary students will increase by 6.31 percent and Baylor Law School students by 6.51 percent. The general student fee will increase 6.49 percent to $2,758, and room and board rates for undergraduates will increase by 6.01 and 2.73 percent respectively.

It is important to note that Baylor's tuition remains one of the lowest of any major private university in the Southwest, making Baylor one of the most affordable institutions in the nation. Baylor's tuition and required fees are lower than other comprehensive private institutions in Texas, including Rice, SMU, TCU, Trinity, Southwestern and Austin College and less than the non-resident cost at the University of Texas at Austin. Baylor's cost also remains well below those of most private universities outside of Texas, such as Duke, Tulane, Notre Dame, Vanderbilt, Wake Forest and Pepperdine.

The tuition increase provides for critical new faculty and staff positions and allows the university to continue to attract and retain high quality faculty and staff. This includes funding for the annual raise pool to make Baylor competitive in the marketplace for faculty and staff. It also allows for increased financial aid for those students least able to afford college.

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Fulton's book receives award

Congratulations to Joe Fulton, professor of English, who was named the winner of the 2010 Landry Award for the best book on Southern Studies published by LSU Press. The award is for Joe's new book, "The Reconstruction of Mark Twain," which is to be released soon.

The Landry Award is a prestigious honor given annually since 1968. Its winners rank among the very best scholars in Southern History and Southern Literary Studies.

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Tennis building named for Mark and Paula Hurd

You may have heard that we recently announced the naming of the Hurd Tennis Building within the Baylor Tennis Center. The Hurd Tennis Building honors the generosity of Mark V. and Paula R. Hurd's support of Baylor's national championship tennis program and facilities.

The Hurds' philanthropy provides for renovations that will bring the Hurd Tennis Building to a premier level. From upgrading the locker rooms and coaches' offices to updating the lobby with trophy cases and graphics depicting Baylor student-athletes in action, the Hurd Tennis Building will be a facility reflecting Baylor Tennis' championship level of competition.

Mark, a 1979 graduate, was a superb tennis athlete when he was a Baylor student, so it's fitting that he continues to serve as an inspiration to our tennis program. Mark has made us all proud as he capably leads Hewlett-Packard and he and Paula make us proud yet again as they continue their generous support of Baylor's tennis student-athletes.

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Model Organization of American States team takes most awards

Baylor students earned 10 of the 15 awards presented in Model Organization of American States competition recently at St. Mary's University in San Antonio. That is twice the number of awards earned by the other 18 universities combined. What an amazing accomplishment.

Our Baylor team actually competed as two delegations representing two different countries. A number of national leadership roles within the organization are filled by Baylor students, including three consecutive years with a Baylor student elected president. Congratulations to the students and their dedicated faculty sponsor, Joan Supplee in the Department of History.

Baylor new clips

I am frequently impressed with the number of times Baylor accomplishments and experts are mentioned in the media, whether in Texas or across the nation. Many of our faculty members are called upon to share their knowledge and insights into the news of the day. We also have alumni and students who make the news, and their connection to Baylor is often noted.

Links to many of these articles are regularly collected in a single Web page. Anyone spending a little time on this site will be impressed with the remarkable talent we have here at Baylor.

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Athletics Update

This Saturday is the final home football game to be played in Waco this season. After the terrific come-from-behind victory over Missouri last weekend, our Baylor student-athletes can certainly use a loud, boisterous, gold-clad crowd of fans cheering them on against the Longhorns. Game time is 11 a.m. at Floyd Casey Stadium.

Men's Basketball vs. Norfolk State
Friday, 7 p.m., Ferrell Center

Men's Basketball vs. Hartford
Sunday, 1:30 p.m., Ferrell Center