Baylor Sets Sights on R1 and T1 Status

At the annual Fall Faculty Meeting, Baylor University officially announced its concerted campaign to pursue Research 1/Tier 1 (R1/T1) recognition in support of Illuminate, the University’s strategic plan, placing the University among the nation’s top research universities and working toward status as the world’s preeminent Christian research university.

With its foundational Christian mission and a historic reputation for excellence in academics, growth in research is a vital next step for Baylor University, said President Linda A. Livingstone, Ph.D.

“Baylor University’s vision affirms that the world needs a preeminent research university that is unambiguously Christian, and we are uniquely positioned to achieve this goal by building on Baylor’s historic strengths and strategically investing in new areas of research and service,” said President Livingstone. “Through top-tier research, scholarship and external funding support, R1 universities bring their voice to bear in addressing our world’s most meaningful challenges. As Baylor achieves preeminence as a Christian research university, it enables researchers from throughout the University to infuse the quest for solutions, at the highest levels, with Baylor’s distinct voice and Christian mission.”

Baylor’s Illuminate strategic plan provides the path forward over the next decade, solidifying the University’s commitment to becoming a top national research institution.

“By strengthening scholarship, deepening learning and enhancing teaching, these initiatives will support our commitment to excellence in undergraduate education and growth in graduate education,” President Livingstone said. “Collaboration is vital to finding solutions to the immense challenges facing our world. Baylor’s Illuminate initiatives are developed around areas where existing collaboration is yielding results and where continued work and additional investment will elevate the University’s R1/T1 quest.”

Today, 130 American college and universities are classified by the Carnegie Classification of Institutions of Higher Education as R1, which are doctoral-granting institutions with the “highest research activity.” Baylor is among the 131 schools currently classified as R2 — doctoral institutions with “higher research activity.”

Provost Nancy Brickhouse, Ph.D. — entering her first full academic calendar year since becoming Baylor’s chief academic officer in May — offered hopeful progress on efforts surrounding Illuminate.

Specific touch points highlighted by the provost included graduating 58 research doctorates this summer, the most for any graduation in Baylor’s history, and enrollment growth in the University’s graduate and professional online degree programs, which nearly quadrupled in a little more than a year.

“I believe we’re capable of achieving this goal in striving to fulfill Baylor’s full potential and in keeping with our historically distinctive mission,” Brickhouse said. “It will take years of unwavering, strategic effort as a University and community of alumni and friends to achieve. Recognition for faculty research and Baylor’s collective scholarly and creative enterprise will be the key to our success.”

A particular focus this year will be securing eight new endowed faculty chairs as part of the Baylor Academic Challenge program. A product of an anonymous $100 million gift in support of the Give Light campaign, the Academic Challenge maximizes Baylor’s investments by matching dollar-for-dollar to encourage more significant giving among other donors, leading to additional endowed faculty positions and generating additional funding to sustain and grow teaching and research in key areas.

“Growing in our capacity and impact as a research institution strengthens our presence as God’s hands in the world. The research our faculty, staff and students are undertaking is being pursued in order to make a difference in the world — to reflect Christ’s compassion for our fellow human beings and his desire for our welfare and personal flourishing,” Brickhouse said. “We have found that distinguished scholars from top universities around the country who believe in Baylor’s Christian mission are very eager to come to Baylor, where they can teach and continue their research at a faith-based university.”

Baylor has initiated a nationwide marketing and public relations campaign in support of the University’s R1/T1 pursuit. The campaign features prominent Baylor faculty, whose research fighting disease, investigating environmental challenges, pioneering new technologies and advancing human flourishing, is bringing light and developing solutions to some of the world’s most pressing challenges and supports the key University initiatives outlined in Illuminate.

More information on Baylor research can be found at www.baylor.edu/research.