Baylor in the News – Jan. 24-30, 2021

January 31, 2021
Media Contact: Baylor University Media and Public Relations, 254-710-1961
Follow us on Twitter: @BaylorUMedia

WACO, Texas (Jan. 31, 2021) – Baylor University researchers and faculty experts were featured in national and local media stories as they shared their thoughts and expertise on worsening mental health of college students during the pandemic, affordable car insurance, women leaders in public relations, breaking down racial myths and how Baylor's pioneering medical humanities program shapes medical practitioners who treat patients as a whole person as they care for them.

Jan. 24, 2021

Houston Chronicle: Pandemic stress a strain on college campuses
Randal Boldt, Psy.D., senior associate director of the Baylor University Counseling Center, is quoted in this article about the difficulties of the COVID-19 pandemic on college students but why some are delaying seeking counseling services.

Jan. 25, 2021

Baylor Proud: Baylor anthropology chair’s background has made him a local leader on COVID-19 issues
Michael Muehlenbein, Ph.D., professor of anthropology, is an expert in infectious diseases (including COVID-19) and designer of Baylor’s testing protocol for the disease and co-deader of a survey project to understand the local behavior of the global virus.

IDEA Fit: Physically Active Working Moms Cope Better
A training program may help mothers cope better with parenting stress and boost their quality of life during lockdowns requiring them to work from home, according to a study by Christine A. Limbers, Ph.D., associate professor of psychology and neuroscience; Christina McCollum, graduate student and teaching assistant; and Emma Greenwood, doctoral candidate of clinical psychology.

KWKT-TV: Experts say isolation is affecting our mental health
VIDEO: Van Davis, assistant director of wellness at Baylor, and Holly Oxhandler, Ph.D., associate dean for research and faculty development at the Diana R. Garland School of Social Work, were interviewed for this story about the toll COVID-19 is taking on mental health and how people can cope.

Jan. 26, 2021

Baptist News Global: ‘God Bless White America’: Why we need to overturn white racial mythologies
Greg Garrett, Ph.D., professor of English, writes about the importance and challenge of tearing down racial mythologies.

Jan. 27, 2021

Money Geek: Expert advice on cheap car insurance in Texas
Franklin Potts, Ph.D., associate professor of finance, insurance and real estate, gives advice on affordable car insurance.

Agility/PR Solutions: Trends and challenges revealed in new book about women and leadership in public relations
Marlene S. Neill, Ph.D., associate professor of journalism, public relations and new media, discusses the challenges faced by women leaders in public relations, the topic of a new book she co-authored.

Baylor Lariat: Effects of Baylor’s new COVID lab and research facility
Baylor University, in partnership with My Labs Direct, has opened a “state-of-the-art” COVID-19 testing lab in hopes of getting test results back to students, faculty and staff faster. The opening of the lab also was covered by Lariat TV News.

Baptist Standard: Around the State: Baylor opens on-site lab for weekly COVID tests
Baylor University enacted weekly COVID-19 testing requirements for students and opened its own on-site testing lab and research facility in partnership with My Labs Direct, a certified and accredited diagnostic lab that offers an extensive menu of FDA-approved tests.

The Baptist Standard: Falling Seed: Psalms are ancient resource for a novel time: Part 1
Rebecca Poe Hays, Ph.D., assistant professor of Christian Scriptures at Truett Seminary, writes about how the Psalms can help heal the pandemic’s harm to the mental and behavioral health of more than a quarter of adults ages 18 to 24.

The Daily Beast: These Preachers Say God Promised a Second Trump Term: Now What?
J. Gordon Melton, Ph.D., Distinguished Professor of American Religious History in Baylor’s Institute for Studies of Religion, is quoted in this opinion piece about predictions about President Trump’s political future.

Jan. 28, 2021

KWKT-TV: Baylor nursing students and faculty to help administer vaccine in Waco
VIDEO: Around 120 senior-level, second-semester nursing students and assigned faculty with Baylor University’s Louise Herrington School of Nursing have volunteered to help administer the COVID-19 Moderna vaccine at the Waco-McLennan County Public Health District vaccination clinic.

KENS-TV (San Antonio): How to get FREE college tuition for one semester
VIDEO: Baylor University is giving high school seniors a chance to show off their basketball skills for for a shot at winning free tuition for one semester.

Phys.org: Management without morals can lead to employees' unethical behavior, study finds
An organization that projects an ethical face but whose managers fail to respond to internal ethical situations sends mixed messages, which can lead to a lack of employees' moral courage and an increase in unethical behavior, according to a study by Matthew Quade, Ph.D., associate professor of management in Hankamer School of Business.

Jan. 29, 2021

Baylor Connections: Lauren Barron, M.D.
AUDIO: Baylor’s pioneering Medical Humanities program shapes medical practitioners who treat patients as a whole person as they care for them. Last fall, the DeBakey Medical Foundation made a significant investment in Baylor Medical Humanities that will grow the department and formed a chair position. In this Baylor Connections, Dr. Lauren Barren, the inaugural DeBakey Chair of Medical Humanities, shares how the program partners the humanities with science education to holistically prepare those going into the medical field.

News Nation: Back to campus: Baylor requiring 100% weekly testing
VIDEO: It’s back to school for many college students and every campus has taken a different response to the pandemic. At Baylor University in Waco, Texas, school leaders said they are taking one of the more aggressive approaches to COVID-19 that they’ve seen — with mandatory weekly testing and consequences for missing them.

Laboratory Equipment: Ancient Indigenous New Mexican Community Knew How To Sustainably Coexist with Wildfire
Baylor scientists were part of an interdisciplinary team who published a study in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences documenting centuries of fire management by Native American farmers.

Jan. 30, 2021

Waco Tribune-Herald: Baylor nursing students, Hillcrest workers add to volunteers making Waco vaccination hub possible
Baylor Scott & White Hillcrest workers and Baylor University nursing students have joined the volunteer force making a COVID-19 vaccine hub at the Waco Convention Center possible.

Christianity Today: Beth Allison Barr: How and Where I Write
Q&A with Beth Allison Barr, Ph.D., associate dean of graduate studies and associate professor of history, about how and where she writes, including her most recent book, “The Making of Biblical Womanhood: How the Subjugation of Women Became Gospel Truth.”

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.