Baylor earns best-ever U.S. News ranking

In new rankings released this week, Baylor came in at No. 71 out of more than 250 national universities -- the school's highest ranking ever.

Baylor is the second-highest ranked school in the Big 12, behind only Texas -- and Baylor has cut the gap between us and the Longhorns almost in half since 2009 (from 33 spots to 18). The gap between Baylor and Texas A&M has closed even further, from 19 spots five years ago to just three spots today.

Baylor received even better reviews from high school guidance counselors surveyed by U.S. News. Asked which universities provide the best undergraduate education, the counselors put Baylor at No. 45 in the nation.

And if you're looking for a school with big-time academics and athletics? Baylor is ranked 36th by U.S. News among the 128 universities that play Division I FBS (formerly Division I-A) football -- 11th among schools currently ranked in the AP Top 25.

Sic 'em, Bears!

Announcing the winners of our #BaylorEverywhere contest!

This summer, we asked you to show us how you found #BaylorEverywhere by using the hashtag with your Tweets and Instagram photos. In addition to sharing some of those on Twitter and Instagram, we also pulled together our favorites into a Facebook gallery where Bears could vote on their favorites through likes, comments and shares.

A clear top five emerged from the process; below, based on your responses, are the top examples of how you truly can find #BaylorEverywhere:

1. Chelsea Bryant: "Surprise of the day: finding a Baylor poncho in Mexico. #bayloreverywhere #mybaylorsummer #sicem"

2. Collin Plotts: "Found a little bit of Baylor in Barcelona #bayloreverywhere"

3. Brenna Dawson: "#BaylorEverywhere at our wedding in June! #BUfootball #McLaneStadium #SicEm"

4. Kelly Stieglitz: "Today at our World Population Day event in one of Mombasa's urban slums I found this boy in a Baylor Bears sweatshirt! His mom must've thought I was totally crazy to get so excited and ask for a picture with her baby, but I couldn't help myself. Gotta love globalization... Sic Em Kenya!"

5. Melissa Adair: "Newborn session sneak peek ... Play ball! #kelseyraephotography #sicembradyFollow"

The winners above will receive a Baylor prize pack. Thanks to everyone who shared their photos; keep using the hashtag to let everyone know how you find #BaylorEverywhere!

Sic 'em, Bears!

What national voices are saying about Baylor's McLane Stadium

Just about every major sports media outlet had at least one writer at McLane Stadium this weekend for the debut of Baylor football's new home, and every single one of them came away raving about both the facility and head coach Art Briles' program. Here's a sampling:

"When they'd applied the last coat of paint and polished the windows one final time and then when they'd turned on the lights and filled every seat with more than 40,000 fans wearing Baylor University gold and screaming their lungs out, they'd succeeded in doing something amazing. They'd created one of the most beautiful settings in college football, and in doing so, had elevated a program that had already emerged as one of the best in the country." -- Sports on Earth

"While the Longhorns break in a new coach, while the Johnny Manziel era passes at Texas A&M, while Texas Tech tries to recreate Mike Leach's success, Baylor is here, now, relevant." -- CBS Sports

"This is what happens when you won't go away... You suck it up in true Texas can-do style, and force them to see you for what you can be... This is what happens when you don't take no for an answer." -- Sporting News

"Sunday was the celebration of a new day in Baylor history, but it was also the realization of a new day in the state of Texas. The once down-trodden Bears are the state's top program, and it's going to take a lot to dethrone a program that's waited a long time to grasp the crown." -- FOX Sports

"Few college football cathedrals can match McLane. Fans can arrive by boat and tailgate on the Brazos river before entering one of the most innovative venues in the nation... They don't have to dream anymore on BU's campus. All the pieces are in place to cement a spot among the nation's best, year in and year out." -- ESPN

These are unbelievable times, Baylor family. Enjoy them.

Sic 'em, Baylor football!

Honors roll in for Baylor's first mechanical engineering Ph.D. student

Baylor alumna and doctoral candidate Sarah Stair's interest in science, math and engineering began innocently enough, as she built Lego towers and entered egg drop contests as a child. These days, her work is a little more advanced -- and it's bringing quite a bit of attention to both her and Baylor.

Stair, BS '12, MS '14, was the first student ever accepted into Baylor's new Ph.D. program in Mechanical Engineering. This summer, she spent two months at Sandia National Laboratories -- a major U.S. Department of Energy research and development center -- as part of a highly sought-after internship. And if all that weren't enough, last month she was awarded an incredibly competitive NSF Graduate Fellowship grant, given to outstanding graduate students in science, technology, engineering and math. Previous NSF fellowship recipients include a number of Nobel Prize winners, not to mention the U.S. Secretary of Energy, Steven Chu, and Google founder Sergey Brin.

Stair's current focus, both at Sandia and at Baylor, is the development of non-destructive testing techniques for carbon fiber carbon materials, specifically focused on ultrasound research for the aerospace and transportation industries.

Watch Stair describe her work:



Much of Stair's research takes place just north of campus, in the Baylor Research and Innovation Collaborative (BRIC). Her NSF fellowship award will support her for three years, with a $32,000 annual stipend, $12,000 education allowance and access to the XSEDE Supercomputer to extend the capabilities of her research.

Sic 'em, Sarah!

'Baylor Bound' program offers more straightforward path for transfers

Baylor administrators take seriously the problems caused by the rising cost of higher education. President Ken Starr has been outspoken in noting that this cannot continue unchecked and unstoppable in working to raise more than $120 million for scholarships since his arrival. At the same time, Baylor Regents are steadily reducing tuition hikes; this past year's raise was the smallest in over a decade.

In yet another move aimed at providing access to a Baylor education for as many qualified students as possible, university leaders earlier this year announced plans to partner with 10 community colleges within the next five years, creating formal processes that allow students to more easily transfer to Baylor.

The first three such programs -- known as "Baylor Bound" -- have now been announced. A partnership with McLennan Community College here in Waco began last fall, while similar programs will begin at Tyler Junior College and Blinn College in the fall of 2015.

Students at any of the three schools can join the program before enrolling at the community college or while enrolled as a full-time student; Baylor's admissions office will review applications, as it does for traditional undergraduate students. The idea is that students will generally take one year of core credit hours at MCC, Tyler or Blinn before seamlessly transferring to Baylor for their remaining three years. Participants can choose from 65 different majors that lead to BBA, BA, BSW and BS degrees.

Advisors from Baylor and the student's school of origin will work together to help students select courses that satisfy the program's requirements and to educate students on scholarship opportunities available at Baylor.

Sic 'em, Baylor Bound students!

		A thousand different looks at McLane Stadium The opening of Baylor's McLane Stadium was a once-in-a-generation (maybe once-in-a-lifetime) event, so it's no surprise that every angle of the day was covered in a myriad of ways. Here’s a round-up of the best photos and videos from the day we could find.
		Baylor sophomore a finalist in national anthem competition Baylor sophomore Lindsay Webber's 20th birthday is coming up. It's Sept. 22 -- the same day Webber could be announced as the grand-prize winner of FMC Agricultural Solutions' "Stand and Be Heard Anthem Singing Contest." Click here to hear her sing and help her win.
		One-third of Texas 'Protect Our Kids' Commission appointees come from Baylor Sadly, Texas leads the nation in the number of children who die each year from abuse or neglect. While that number has dropped in recent years, there is clearly more progress to be made. Toward that end, in June, the Texas Legislature created a special workgroup composed of six experts in the field who will study and suggest...

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