Baylor in the News – Nov. 8-14, 2020

November 15, 2020

Media Contact: Baylor University Media and Public Relations, 254-710-1961
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WACO, Texas (Nov. 15, 2020) – Baylor University researchers and faculty experts were featured in national and local media stories as they shared their thoughts and expertise on health care issues, viral marketing and grocery supply chains, the growth of multiracial churches, a reprise of freedom songs and protest spirituals and World War II heroes Doris Miller and Audie Murphy.

Nov. 9, 2020

Waco Tribune-Herald: Waco doctor, professor stresses the human in medical humanities
The way Dr. Lauren Barron tells the story, a literary encounter shaped her medical career in valuing the life stories of patients. Now as head of Baylor’s medical humanities program and holder of a prestigious new endowed chair, she turns her energies to shaping future doctors and health care workers to become listeners of those stories.

Marketplace: Four Seasons Total Landscaping is cashing in on Trump team’s news conference
Lorynn Divita, Ph.D., associate professor of apparel merchandising, is quoted in this article about how a small landscaping business has capitalized on the attention after hosting a news conference for President Trump's legal team.

Nov. 10, 2020

KWKT-TV: Veterans Voices: The Life & Times of Audie Murphy
VIDEO: David Smith, Ph.D., lecturer in military history, is interviewed in this story about World War II hero Audie Murphy. Smith is the author of "The Price of Valor: The Life of Audie Murphy, America's Most Decorated Hero of World War II."

Nov. 11, 2020

National Geographic: 2020 has tested our humanity. Where do we go from here?
William Hoy, D.Min., clinical professor of medical humanities, is quoted about how COVID-19 has turned death into the loneliest journey of the shared human experience in this article spotlighting COVID's impact on society’s inequities and most vulnerable people.

EurekAlert: Multiracial congregations in US have nearly tripled, Baylor University study finds
New research led by Baylor sociologist Kevin Dougherty, Ph.D., and colleagues from Duke and the University of Illinois at Chicago found that racially diverse congregations have more than tripled in the United States over the past 20 years, but the study does not conclude that diverse congregations necessarily promote racial justice.

Newswise: Explaining the religious vote for Trump
New research by Baylor, LSU and Clark sociologists indicate it wasn't Christian nationalism that drove churchgoers' Trump vote in 2016. Rather, surprisingly, Christian nationalism was important among non-churchgoers.

Waco Tribune-Herald: Young urbanites yearn for connections in Baylor's livestreamed ‘Ordinary Days’
Baylor Theatre's production of the Adam Gwon musical “Ordinary Days” features four characters searching for connection, a universal feeling of an ordinary longing that made it an appropriate choice for a fall theater season, if not a year, distanced by COVID-19, said director Lauren Weber, lecturer in musical theater voice.

Nov. 12, 2020

Vision Christian Radio: Christian University Partners With Ministry to Combat Child Poverty
A new partnership has been established between Compassion International and Baylor University. By combining the educational expertise of Baylor with the heart and mission of Compassion, its hoped that more children living in abject poverty can have their lives changed.

The Texas Standard: A Navy Supercarrier Will Bear The Name Of A Black Sailor From Texas
AUDIO: History professor Michael Parrish, Ph.D., coauthor of “Doris Miller: Pearl Harbor and the Birth of the Civil Rights Movement,” was interviewed on the Texas Standard about Waco native and Navy cook Doris Miller, who experienced racism from the Naval officers he worked for but saved the lives of his fellow sailors at Pearl Harbor and repelled a Japanese attack using a machine gun he hadn’t been trained to use.

ABC7 Los Angeles: As COVID cases rise, no need to stockpile supplies, expert says
VIDEO: Pedro Reyes, Ph.D., associate professor of operations and supply chain management, is quoted in this story about signs of panic buying once again – but how grocery stores are responding – as COVID-19 cases continue to surge.

Baptist News Global: ‘Freedom songs’ make a reprise during this year of protests
Journalism professor Robert Darden, founder and director of Baylor's Black Gospel Music Restoration Project, is quoted in this article about “freedom songs” or “protest spirituals” as part of demonstrations over the murder of George Floyd and previously in the #MeToo, Civil Rights and labor movements.

Associated Press: Vatican’s McCarrick report forces debate on power and abuse
David Pooler, Ph.D., associate professor of social work and an expert in clergy sexual abuse of adults, is quoted in this article about now the Vatican will address current and future clergy who abuse their power to sexually abuse adults.

Religion News Service: Study: Multiracial churches growing, but racial unity may be elusive
New research led by Baylor sociologist Kevin Dougherty, Ph.D., and colleagues from Duke and the University of Illinois at Chicago found that racially diverse congregations have more than tripled in the United States over the past 20 years, but the study does not conclude that diverse congregations necessarily promote racial justice. This article also ran in The Washington Post.

Nov. 13, 2020

Baylor Connections: Leigh Greathouse
AUDIO: As a 24-year old, Leigh Greathouse, Ph.D., a leading researcher into the relationship between diet, the microbiome, disease and health, developed a rare form of cancer, an experience that would shape her path into the study of diet and disease.

Nov. 14, 2020

Christian Post: Declining birth rates linked to secularization, growing hostility toward religion
History professor Philip Jenkins, Ph.D., co-director of Program on Historical Studies of Religion at Baylor's Institute for Studies of Religion, is quoted in this article about how declining fertility rates have a significant correlation with increased secularization.

ABOUT BAYLOR MEDIA & PUBLIC RELATIONS

Baylor's Office of Media and Public Relations (M&PR) supports the University's Illuminate strategic plan as a top Christian research university by proactively placing high-profile stories about faculty research and expert opinions, innovative teaching, major awards and recognition, and community involvement. The Baylor M&PR team develops faculty experts to effectively communicate the impact of their research or, as subject-matter experts, speak into national trends and conversations with media outlets, Hot Topics and on the Baylor Connections podcast. Our faculty expert directory is available on the M&PR website at www.baylor.edu/news/experts.

ABOUT BAYLOR UNIVERSITY

Baylor University is a private Christian University and a nationally ranked research institution. The University provides a vibrant campus community for more than 19,000 students by blending interdisciplinary research with an international reputation for educational excellence and a faculty commitment to teaching and scholarship. Chartered in 1845 by the Republic of Texas through the efforts of Baptist pioneers, Baylor is the oldest continually operating University in Texas. Located in Waco, Baylor welcomes students from all 50 states and more than 90 countries to study a broad range of degrees among its 12 nationally recognized academic divisions.