Regents Approve New Faculty Rank, Okay Facility Designs
Baylor University's Board of Regents recently approved a new faculty rank of senior lecturer, endorsed architectural designs for the new Discovery Center and tennis complexes, and adopted a resolution authorizing the university to proceed with planning and fund-raising for expansion and renovation of science facilities.
Baylor faculty who hold the rank of lecturer will now be eligible for senior lecturer status upon the completion of seven consecutive years of full-time service. The appointment will be contingent upon successful completion of a seventh-year review. Baylor currently has approximately 140 full-time lecturers who are appointed on an annual basis.
The new Discovery Center will be constructed on a site north of University Parks Drive between the Hughes-Dillard Alumni Center and the Streich Tennis Courts. The 61,000-square-foot building will house the John K. Strecker Museum, currently located in the basement of Sid Richardson Science Building, and the Ollie Mae Moen Children's Museum, which is housed in the former Waco High School building in downtown Waco. Approximately half of the $7.5 million needed to complete the first phase of the Discovery Center has been committed.
The tennis complex, which will be located in the Jim and Julie Turner Riverfront Athletic Park along University Parks Drive, includes six indoor and six outdoor courts. The 64,000-square-foot indoor facility will also have coaches' offices, locker rooms for men's and women's varsity tennis, a pro shop, lounge area and a training facility. The exterior is designed to complement the facades on the new baseball and softball stadiums that are currently under construction adjacent to the tennis complex site. The six lighted outdoor courts will be connected by a series of walkways that will tie in to the existing Streich Tennis Courts.
In recognition of the urgent need for updated and expanded science facilities, the regents gave administrators the go-ahead to pursue renovation plans for Marrs McLean and Sid Richardson Science Buildings and construction of a new science building. Baylor has retained the Detroit architectural firm of Harley-Ellington Design, which has designed science facilities at colleges and universities throughout the country, to assist a planning committee composed of faculty and administrators. Regents were told that enrollment in Baylor's biosciences programs alone has increased more than 25 percent over the last five years.
In other action, the regents approved the elimination of 11 graduate programs and authorized two new academic programs in the Hankamer School of Business.
Graduate programs designated for elimination include the M.A. in anthropology; M.S. in environmental chemistry; M.A. in environmental physics; M.S. in environmental physics; M.A. in sociology with a specialization in environmental studies; M.A. in sociology with a specialization in gerontology; M.A. in Christian theology; M.A. in economics; M.S. in environmental economics; M.A. in educational administration; and the M.M. in string pedagogy.
A recent review process underscored the need to reduce programs because of low enrollments, redundancy, and/or to allow departments to focus on strengthening other graduate offerings.
Beginning no later than next fall, the business school will offer a joint bachelor of business administration/master of accountancy program and a joint master of business administration/master of science in information systems degree. The BBA/MACC program will have 158 semester hours, which compares favorably to joint bachelor's and master's accounting programs at competitive universities. Without the joint program, students would have to take 170 semester hours to obtain both a BBA and MACC. The joint MBA/MS-IS degree will allow students to gain the best of both degrees -- a broad understanding of the business environment from the MBA courses and the depth of technical knowledge found in the MS-IS courses.