David Garland: Founders Day Greetings from Baylor University

Dear Baylor Family,

Today marks an important and meaningful tradition in the life of Baylor University. This is the day we celebrate the birthday of our University -- Baylor Founders Day. The Republic of Texas chartered Baylor University to serve as a shining light of higher education in a frontier land on this day 172 years ago. Daily life was harder then and persons with educational training were few in number. We honor the lives and dreams of our three principal founders -- Judge R.E.B. Baylor, William M. Tryon and James Huckins.

One of the ways we celebrate Founders Day is by presenting the Founders Medal, one of the University's most prestigious awards, to individuals among us who extend the legacy of our founders in advancing Baylor's mission. This year, we presented the Founders Medal to Waco resident Jane Meyer. Jane and her late husband, Paul J. Meyer, have provided more than 125 Baylor students with scholarships, built the Paul and Jane Meyer Conference Center at the Paul L. Foster Campus for Business and Innovation, funded an endowed professorship at Baylor's Truett Seminary and graciously named the Paul J. Meyer Arena at the Ferrell Center. By establishing scholarship and endowed funds, the Meyer family has created a lasting impact for generations to come.

Realizing the Vision

The year before Baylor was founded, Rev. Huckins reported that the Texas Baptist Education Society of the Union Baptist Association had organized and set a goal of establishing "a Baptist university in Texas upon a plan so broad that the requirements of existing conditions would be fully met, and that would be susceptible of enlargement and development to meet the demands of all ages to come."

This noble idea became a reality when Baylor was founded. What does it mean for us, today, to enlarge and develop Baylor for the demands of all ages to come?

Here are some recent examples drawn from several areas of our operations of how we are striving to answer that question:

• Baylor continues to add and strengthen degree programs, both undergraduate and graduate, in our efforts to expand and enhance the academic offerings and professional possibilities for our students. These include the interdisciplinary Science Research Fellows (SRF) major, approved by regents last October and slated to begin this fall, which will allow undergraduates to earn a Bachelor of Science with increased opportunities for hands-on research guided by faculty mentors. The major is expected to attract high-achieving students interested in scientific research in the areas of biology, chemistry, biochemistry, psychology, neuroscience, environmental science, anthropology, geosciences and physics.
• Made possible by a generous gift of $2.5 million from Bob and Laura Beauchamp of Houston, we are creating the Beauchamp Addiction Recovery Center (BARC). The multi-faceted program will dramatically enhance our efforts to foster the holistic well-being of students by working to prevent alcohol and substance use disorders and providing support to students who are in recovery from compulsive behavior and addiction.
• Our ongoing efforts to remain financially accessible to men and women from all backgrounds was recently recognized by Kiplinger's Personal Finance, which included Baylor in its list of the 100 best values among private universities, weighing affordability alongside academic quality.
• Baylor students enjoy a great breadth of extracurricular programs that help build bonds while also developing leadership skills and expanding their horizons. The Model United Nations team is exemplary in this regard and is remarkable in its achievements. The team of undergraduates competed in the American Model United Nations Conference in Chicago at the end of the fall semester, resulting in three members being honored as Outstanding Delegates. More recently, in January the Baylor team was named an Outstanding Delegation at the Texas Model United Nations Conference in Austin.
• Baylor is deepening its commitment to developing and supporting social innovation programs that serve the broken world around us. To highlight one such effort, Baylor's Texas Hunger Initiative (THI) addresses the dilemma that more than 4.5 million Texans are at risk of hunger each day. THI is coordinating efforts on all levels -- local, state and federal -- to find comprehensive, sustainable solutions to food insecurity so that all Texans have access to healthy meals every day.

Advancing Together

Treasuring Baylor's long and storied history is important to us as we move forward. Just a few days ago, the City of Round Rock helped the University keep our heritage alive in our hearts and minds by honoring the memory of the Immortal Ten.

On January 22, the 90th anniversary of the tragic accident that claimed the lives of 10 Baylor students in 1927, Round Rock's mayor and city council members hosted a ceremony to dedicate the newly named "Immortal Ten Bridge," located on Mays Street in downtown Round Rock over the railroad tracks where the bus-train collision occurred. Baylor representatives, yell leaders and even our mascot Bruiser were there to commemorate the occasion. The city updated the bridge, originally built in 1935, with green and gold striping, green light poles and plaques to honor the students who were killed in the collision. We thank the citizens and leadership of Round Rock for their generous gesture of support.

On this Founders Day, we have many people and communities to thank for the remarkably robust health Baylor enjoys. Just as our history empowers our plans for the future, so do you -- our invaluable alumni and friends -- invigorate us to do our best on a daily basis to help our almost 17,000 students grow and succeed in all aspects of their lives.

Because of your philanthropic support over many years, Baylor has a strong financial foundation today. Because of your passionate engagement with Baylor, we are experiencing a powerful wave of positive momentum. Because of our caring faculty and staff and the transformative education Baylor offers, more prospective students than ever are interested in attending the University.

A Prayer for Baylor

This spring, we are asking the Baylor Family to make "1845" - translated from international time to 6:45 p.m. - a significant moment of prayer each day for the University and its mission beginning today, Founders Day, through Easter Sunday, April 16. University Chaplain Burt Burleson has crafted as an example a beautiful prayer for Baylor.

Today is called Founders Day, but it could just as fittingly be known as "Believers Day," for believing is the animating force in becoming. Our founders believed Baylor University was possible. Generations of students and an ever-widening circle of alumni and friends have believed in Baylor's mission and promise. All of this believing has enabled Baylor to become one of the finest universities in America. Lifted up and carried forward by a great body of Baylor believers, much more is still possible for us to achieve.

Thank you for your love of Baylor University.

Sincerely,

David E. Garland
Interim President