Baylor Moves Forward

In this time of transition, we are carrying the message that Baylor is continuing to move forward to accomplish our 2012 goals and aspirations. Baylor is making tremendous progress and we do not have the time or the inclination to slow down. Faculty and staff can continue to have a positive impact on our public image by carrying this same message, as I know you are doing now.

Baylor Alum Honored for Exemplary Leadership in Church Music

The impact Baylor has on the world starts with the blend of faith and scholarship that has been part of this institution since its founding by Baptist pioneers even while Texas was still a republic. As faculty and staff at Baylor, you impact positively the character of the world tomorrow through your labors in the lives of the students we serve today. Our students serve as the ambassadors to the future.

Those who have served previously as faculty and staff had the same impact on Baylor students. One example is a student who graduated in 1954 and who went on to change church music as we know it. From his start in Waco with Word Records, Billy Ray Hearn has had no equal in contemporary Christian music. In fact, he has been called the "father" of contemporary Christian music.

Last month, Billy Ray was honored with the 2008 Award for Exemplary Leadership in Church Music, given by Baylor's Center for Christian Music Studies during the Alleluia! Church Music Conference held at Baylor.

The award recognizes a Baylor graduate who has contributed uniquely and significantly to some aspect of the broad scope of church music ministry. There is a link below to a great article with additional background on Billy Ray. Many of you know him from his many contacts with Baylor including serving nine years as a Baylor Regent. He was also honored by being named a distinguished alumnus.
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Summer Camps

Summer camps at Baylor provide an opportunity for a variety of guests, including thousands of young people, to experience our beautiful campus and university culture. This summer, Baylor has hosted 68 different camps in such diverse areas as athletics, choir and orchestra, Boy Scouts, Christian leadership, Renaissance Scholars (honors/engineering), cheerleading, debate, church education, and our own Baylor Line Camps for incoming students.

Baylor Line Camps Grow

It has been our intention to significantly increase the percentage of students who participate in our Summer Baylor Line camps for incoming students. We consider this an important program for welcoming students into the Baylor family and for enhancing freshman retention as young people begin to develop relationships with fellow students even before they move onto our campus. We are making very good progress towards reaching our goal. This summer is our seventh year of offering Line Camp and a record number of nearly 40% of our incoming students chose to participate. Our students tell us that these July camps give them an opportunity to learn about traditions, to become quickly bonded to Baylor, and to establish friendships that help ease the transition to University life when studen ts return to campus in August. My own Granddaughter attended the Line camp last summer and has been a Baylor promoter ever since.

I'm told by staff in the New Student Programs office that there were at least one-hundred people involved in creating this experience for our new students, including current undergraduate and graduate students, as well as staff from Student Life, Athletics, food services, Brooks Residential Village, Campus Recreation and Spiritual Life among others. We are all extremely proud of our faculty, staff and students who demonstrate their love and dedication to Baylor by their willingness to help in these camps.

We also had outstanding support from our friends at First Baptist Church in Independence as we bused students for six different camps down to learn about the founding of Baylor. It is a marvelous way to integrate our new students into the good old Baylor Line through this visit to old Baylor.

Baylor's Air Force ROTC Turns 60

Last week marked the 60th anniversary of Air Force ROTC Detachment 810's presence at Baylor. The United States Air Force has commissioned 1,301 second lieutenants through our program, which has received recognition many times over the years. I appreciate the large number of outstanding Baylor students who participate in the ROTC, and go on to serve our nation.