Pro Futuris Enters Second Phase with Illuminate Academic Strategic Plan

In mid-February, Baylor President Linda A. Livingstone, Ph.D. shared with the Baylor Board of Regents an update on the academic strategic plan — called Illuminate — which will represent the second phase of the University’s Pro Futuris vision over the next five years.

“The plan’s name is based on Matthew 5:14-16, which calls upon us to be a light in the world and to share our light with others,” Dr. Livingstone said. “It also refers to language taken from Pro Futuris, in which the word ‘illuminate’ occurs eight times.”

President Livingstone continued sharing the plan with the campus community as part of the ongoing Baylor Conversation Series through on-campus forums on March 27 and April 6.

Many Points of Light

The Illuminate academic strategic plan has come together over the past several months through a University-wide process that included the robust engagement of deans and department chairs and the involvement of faculty from Baylor’s 12 colleges and schools. The plan will be presented to the Board of Regents at its May meeting.

“Pro Futuris signifies a growing academic enterprise dedicated to the search for new knowledge, not simply for the sake of knowledge but for the love of all truth illuminated by our Christian faith,” President Livingstone said. “There is much more work to be done between now and May on the Illuminate plan, but our goal remains constant: to bring light to the world as a preeminent Christian research university, building on Baylor’s historic strengths and strategically investing in key areas of research.”

Areas of Focus

Illuminate will serve as a roadmap for a University that is moving toward an increase in its academic distinction and growth in research across disciplines that explores new opportunities, opens new ways of thinking and finds new solutions to big challenges facing our world, while enriching engagement with students inside and outside the classroom through teaching and mentorship.

Illuminate contains four pillars that build on the aspirations in Pro Futuris that Baylor will be a community recognized for:

• Transformative educational experiences for undergraduates;
• Excellence in teaching and mentoring
• Deep faith formation in the Christian and Baptist tradition; and
• Research and scholarship marked by quality, impact and visibility.

In continued development are the plan’s multidisciplinary signature academic initiatives, which focus on key challenges facing society today.

In addition to the recent on-campus gatherings, Baylor’s leadership is sharing the plan with alumni and friends at events in cities around the country during the spring and summer.

“We need Christian universities doing research that influences our world,” President Livingstone said. “We’ve built a wonderfully strong undergraduate learning experience, and this gives us a chance to launch off of that — to have students and professors working together to look for difficult problems, be willing to take those on and bring solutions that matter and that will make a difference in people’s lives. We’re excited to share more about this plan and to hear more from the Baylor Family in the weeks ahead.”