Baylor University is a

private Private or privates may refer to: Music * " In Private", by Dusty Springfield from the 1990 album ''Reputation'' * Private (band), a Denmark-based band * "Private" (Ryōko Hirosue song), from the 1999 album ''Private'', written and also recorde ...

Baptist Baptists form a major branch of Protestantism distinguished by baptizing professing Christian believers only (believer's baptism), and doing so by complete immersion. Baptist churches also generally subscribe to the doctrines of soul compete ...

Christian Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρι ...

research university A research university or a research-intensive university is a university that is committed to research as a central part of its mission. They are the most important sites at which knowledge production occurs, along with "intergenerational kno ...

Waco, Texas Waco ( ) is the county seat of McLennan County, Texas, United States. It is situated along the Brazos River and I-35, halfway between Dallas and Austin. The city had a 2020 population of 138,486, making it the 22nd-most populous city in the ...

. Baylor was chartered in 1845 by the last

Congress A congress is a formal meeting of the representatives of different countries, constituent states, organizations, trade unions, political parties, or other groups. The term originated in Late Middle English to denote an encounter (meeting of a ...

of the

Republic of Texas The Republic of Texas ( es, República de Tejas) was a sovereign state in North America that existed from March 2, 1836, to February 19, 1846, that bordered Mexico, the Republic of the Rio Grande in 1840 (another breakaway republic from Mex ...

. Baylor is the oldest continuously operating university in

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...

and one of the first educational institutions west of the

Mississippi River The Mississippi River is the second-longest river and chief river of the second-largest drainage system in North America, second only to the Hudson Bay drainage system. From its traditional source of Lake Itasca in northern Minnesota, it f ...

in the United States. Located on the banks of the

Brazos River The Brazos River ( , ), called the ''Río de los Brazos de Dios'' (translated as "The River of the Arms of God") by early Spanish explorers, is the 11th-longest river in the United States at from its headwater source at the head of Blackwater Dr ...

next to

I-35 Interstate 35 (I-35) is a major Interstate Highway in the central United States. As with most primary Interstates that end in a five, it is a major cross-country, north–south route. It stretches from Laredo, Texas, near the Mexican border ...

, between the

Dallas–Fort Worth Metroplex The Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, officially designated Dallas–Fort Worth–Arlington by the U.S. Office of Management and Budget, is a conurbated metropolitan statistical area in the U.S. state of Texas encompassing 11 counties and anchore ...

and

Austin Austin is the capital city of the U.S. state of Texas, as well as the seat and largest city of Travis County, with portions extending into Hays and Williamson counties. Incorporated on December 27, 1839, it is the 11th-most-populous city ...

, the university's campus is the largest Baptist university in the world. As of fall, 2021, Baylor had a total enrollment of 20,626 (undergraduate 15,191, graduate 5,435). It is classified among "R1: Doctoral Universities – Very High Research Activity". The university grants

undergraduate Undergraduate education is education conducted after secondary education and before postgraduate education. It typically includes all postsecondary programs up to the level of a bachelor's degree. For example, in the United States, an entry-lev ...

and

graduate degree Postgraduate or graduate education refers to academic or professional degrees, certificates, diplomas, or other qualifications pursued by post-secondary students who have earned an undergraduate (bachelor's) degree. The organization and struc ...

s, including

doctoral A doctorate (from Latin ''docere'', "to teach"), doctor's degree (from Latin ''doctor'', "teacher"), or doctoral degree is an academic degree awarded by universities and some other educational institutions, derived from the ancient formalism ''li ...

and

professional degree A professional degree, formerly known in the US as a first professional degree, is a degree that prepares someone to work in a particular profession, practice, or industry sector often meeting the academic requirements for licensure or accreditatio ...

s. Baylor University's athletic teams, known as the

Bears Bears are carnivoran mammals of the family Ursidae. They are classified as caniforms, or doglike carnivorans. Although only eight species of bears are extant, they are widespread, appearing in a wide variety of habitats throughout the North ...

, participate in 19 intercollegiate sports. The university is a member of the

Big 12 Conference The Big 12 Conference is a college athletic conference headquartered in Irving, Texas, USA. It consists of ten full-member universities. It is a member of Division I of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) for all sports. Its ...

in the

NCAA Division I NCAA Division I (D-I) is the highest level of College athletics, intercollegiate athletics sanctioned by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) in the United States, which accepts players globally. D-I schools include the major ...

History

In 1841, 35 delegates to the Union

Association meeting voted to adopt the suggestion of the Rev. William Milton Tryon and R. E. B. Baylor to establish a Baptist university in Texas, then an independent republic. Baylor, a Texas district

judge A judge is a person who presides over court proceedings, either alone or as a part of a panel of judges. A judge hears all the witnesses and any other evidence presented by the barristers or solicitors of the case, assesses the credibility an ...

and onetime

U.S. Congressman The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they ...

and soldier from

Alabama (We dare defend our rights) , anthem = "Alabama (state song), Alabama" , image_map = Alabama in United States.svg , seat = Montgomery, Alabama, Montgomery , LargestCity = Huntsville, Alabama, Huntsville , LargestCounty = Baldwin County, Al ...

, became the school's namesake. Some at first wished to name the new university "San Jacinto" to recognize the victory which enabled the Texans to become an independent nation, then before the final vote of the Congress, the petitioners requested the university be named in honor of Baylor.

In fall 1844, the Texas Baptist Education Society petitioned the Congress of the

to charter a Baptist university. Republic President

Anson Jones Anson Jones (January 20, 1798 – January 09, 1858) was a doctor, businessman, member of Congress, and the fourth and last President of the Republic of Texas. Early life Jones was born on January 20, 1798, in Great Barrington, Massachus ...

signed the Act of Congress on February 1, 1845, officially establishing Baylor University. The founders built the original university campus in

Independence, Texas ---> Independence is an unincorporated area, unincorporated community in Washington County, Texas, United States. Located twelve miles northeast of Brenham, it was founded in 1835 in Austin's colony of Anglo-Americans. It became a Baptist reli ...

. The Rev.

James Huckins Huckins James (April 8, 1807 — August 6, 1863) was an American ordained Baptist minister, the first Southern Baptist missionary of Texas, an educator, and a church organizer. Background James was an orphan who was born in Dorchester, New Hamp ...

, the first Southern Baptist

missionary A missionary is a member of a Religious denomination, religious group which is sent into an area in order to promote its faith or provide services to people, such as education, literacy, social justice, health care, and economic development.Tho ...

to Texas, was Baylor's first full-time fundraiser. He is considered the third founding father of the university. Although these three men are credited as being the founders of the university, many others worked to see the first university established in Texas and thus they were awarded Baylor's Founders Medal. The noted Texas revolutionary war leader and hero

Sam Houston Samuel Houston (, ; March 2, 1793 – July 26, 1863) was an American general and statesman who played an important role in the Texas Revolution. He served as the first and third president of the Republic of Texas and was one of the first two i ...

gave the first $5,000 donation to start the university. In 1854, Houston was also baptized by the Rev.

Rufus Columbus Burleson Rufus Columbus Burleson (August 7, 1823 – May 14, 1901) was the president of Baylor University in Waco, Texas, from 1851 to 1861 and again from 1886 to 1897. Biography Burleson was born near Decatur in northern Alabama. In 1840, he moved to Na ...

, future Baylor president, in the Brazos River. During the 1846 school year Baylor leaders would begin including chapel as part of the Baylor educational experience. The tradition continues today and has been a part of the life of students for over 160 years. In 1849, R. E. B. Baylor and Abner S. Lipscomb of the Texas Supreme Court began teaching classes in the "science of law," making Baylor the first in Texas and the second university west of the Mississippi to teach law. During this time Stephen Decatur Rowe would earn the first degree awarded by Baylor. He would be followed by the first female graduate, Mary Kavanaugh Gentry, in 1855. In 1851, Baylor's second president, Rufus Columbus Burleson, decided to separate the students by sex, making the Baylor Female College an independent and separate institution. Baylor University became an all-male institution. During this time, Baylor thrived as the only university west of the Mississippi offering instruction in law, mathematics, and medicine. At the time a Baylor education cost around $8–$15 per term for tuition. And many of the early leaders of the Republic of Texas, such as Sam Houston, would later send their children to Baylor to be educated. Some of those early students were

Temple Lea Houston Temple Lea Houston (August 12, 1860 – August 15, 1905) was an American attorney and politician who served from 1885 to 1889 in the Texas State Senate. He was the last-born child of Margaret Lea Houston and Sam Houston, the first elected presi ...

, son of President

, a famous western gun-fighter and attorney; and Lawrence Sullivan "Sul" Ross famous Confederate general and later President of

Texas A&M University Texas A&M University (Texas A&M, A&M, or TAMU) is a public, land-grant, research university in College Station, Texas. It was founded in 1876 and became the flagship institution of the Texas A&M University System in 1948. As of late 2021, T ...

For the first half of the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states th ...

, the Baylor president was

George Washington Baines George Washington Baines (December 29, 1809 – December 28, 1882) was an American frontier politician, editor, teacher, and Baptist preacher in Texas; he was also president and co-founder of Baylor University. Background Baines was born near ...

, maternal great-grandfather of the future

U.S. President The president of the United States (POTUS) is the head of state and head of government of the United States of America. The president directs the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States ...

Lyndon B. Johnson Lyndon Baines Johnson (; August 27, 1908January 22, 1973), often referred to by his initials LBJ, was an American politician who served as the 36th president of the United States from 1963 to 1969. He had previously served as the 37th vice ...

. He worked vigorously to sustain the university during the Civil War, when male students left their studies to enlist in the

Confederate Army The Confederate States Army, also called the Confederate Army or the Southern Army, was the military land force of the Confederate States of America (commonly referred to as the Confederacy) during the American Civil War (1861–1865), fighting ...

. Following the war, the city of Independence slowly declined, primarily caused by the rise of neighboring cities being serviced by the

Santa Fe Railroad The Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway , often referred to as the Santa Fe or AT&SF, was one of the larger railroads in the United States. The railroad was chartered in February 1859 to serve the cities of Atchison and Topeka, Kansas, and S ...

. Because Independence lacked a railroad line, university fathers began searching for a location to build a new campus. Beginning in 1885, Baylor University moved to

, a growing town on the railroad line. It merged with a local college called Waco University. At the time, Burleson, Baylor's second president, was serving as the local college's president. That same year, the Baylor Female College also was moved to a new location,

Belton, Texas Belton is a city in the U.S. state of Texas on the Interstate 35 in Texas, Interstate 35 corridor between Austin, Texas, Austin and Waco, Texas, Waco. Belton is the county seat of Bell County, Texas, Bell County and is the fifth largest city in t ...

. It later became known as the

University of Mary Hardin-Baylor A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States, the ...

. A Baylor College Park still exists in Independence in memory of the college's history there. Around 1887, Baylor University began readmitting women and became

coeducational Mixed-sex education, also known as mixed-gender education, co-education, or coeducation (abbreviated to co-ed or coed), is a system of education where males and females are educated together. Whereas single-sex education was more common up to t ...

again. In 1900, three

physicians A physician (American English), medical practitioner (Commonwealth English), medical doctor, or simply doctor, is a health professional who practices medicine, which is concerned with promoting, maintaining or restoring health through th ...

founded the University of Dallas Medical Department in

Dallas Dallas () is the List of municipalities in Texas, third largest city in Texas and the largest city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of metropolitan statistical areas, fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States at 7.5 ...

, although a university by that name did not exist. In 1903, Baylor University acquired the medical school, which became known as the

Baylor College of Medicine Baylor College of Medicine (BCM) is a medical school and research center in Houston, Texas, within the Texas Medical Center, the world's largest medical center. BCM is composed of four academic components: the School of Medicine, the Graduate Sc ...

, while remaining in Dallas. In 1943, Dallas civic leaders offered to build larger facilities for the university in a new medical center if the College of Medicine would surrender its denominational alliances with the Baptist state convention. The Baylor administration refused the offer and, with funding from the M. D. Anderson Foundation and others, moved the College of Medicine to

Houston Houston (; ) is the most populous city in Texas, the most populous city in the Southern United States, the fourth-most populous city in the United States, and the sixth-most populous city in North America, with a population of 2,304,580 in ...

. In 1969, the Baylor College of Medicine became technically independent from Baylor University. The two institutions still maintain strong links and Baylor still elects around 25 percent of the medical school's regents. They also share academic links and combine in research efforts. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, Baylor was one of 131 colleges and universities nationally that took part in the

V-12 Navy College Training Program The V-12 Navy College Training Program was designed to supplement the force of commissioned officers in the United States Navy during World War II. Between July 1, 1943, and June 30, 1946, more than 125,000 participants were enrolled in 131 colleg ...

which offered students a path to a Navy commission. The university first admitted black students in 1964. The first black graduate was Robert Gilbert, of Waco. A ban on various forms of sexual conduct including "homosexual acts" was in place until 2015, however, the university has since modified its Code of Conduct. As of 2021 the university prohibits

LGBT ' is an initialism that stands for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender. In use since the 1990s, the initialism, as well as some of its common variants, functions as an umbrella term for sexuality and gender identity. The LGBT term is a ...

student groups and is opposed to

gay marriage Same-sex marriage, also known as gay marriage, is the marriage of two people of the same sex or gender. marriage between same-sex couples is legally performed and recognized in 33 countries, with the most recent being Mexico, constituting ...

. In 1991, Baylor began appointing the majority of its board, granting it partial independence from the

Baptist General Convention of Texas The Baptist General Convention of Texas (BGCT) is the oldest surviving Baptist convention in the state of Texas. It is affiliated with the Southern Baptist Convention and the Baptist World Alliance. In 2009, the BGCT began to also go by the name ...

. In 2021, Baylor released an independent historical report acknowledging past slave ownership and support for the Confederacy by R. E. B. Baylor and two founders. These facts were not previously acknowledged by the university.

Presidents

During its more than 170 years of history, Baylor has had 15 presidents (recent interim presidents are noted): *1846–1851 –

Henry Lee Graves Henry Lee Graves (February 22, 1813 – November 4, 1881) was the president of Baylor University from 1846 to 1851. Biography Henry Lee Graves, son of Thomas Graves, was born in Yanceyville, North Carolina in 1813. He married Rebecca Williams Grave ...

*1851–1861 –

*1861–1863 –

*1864–1885 –

William Carey Crane William Carey Crane (March 17, 1816 – February 27, 1885) was an American Baptist minister, an educator, and the president of Baylor University from 1864 to 1885.Samuel Boykin, ''History of the Baptist Denomination in Georgia - Vol. 2 of 2'', The ...

*1885–1886 – Reddin Andrews *1886–1897 –

*1899–1902 –

Oscar Henry Cooper Oscar Henry Cooper (November 22, 1852 – August 22, 1932) was the President of Baylor University from 1899 to 1902, and of Simmons College, now known as Hardin-Simmons University from 1902 to 1909. Biography Oscar Henry Cooper, often referre ...

*1902–1931 –

Samuel Palmer Brooks Samuel Palmer Brooks (December 4, 1863 – May 4, 1931) was the President of Baylor University from 1902 to 1931.Pat Morris Neff Pat Morris Neff (November 26, 1871 – January 20, 1952) was an American politician, educator and administrator, and the 28th Governor of Texas from 1921 to 1925, ninth President of Baylor University from 1932 to 1947, and twenty-fifth presid ...

*1948–1961 –

William R. White William White may refer to: Politics *William White (MP for Lymington) (died 1594), MP for Lymington (UK Parliament constituency), Lymington *William White (MP for Clitheroe) (1606–1661), MP for Clitheroe in 1660 *William White (Secretary of Sta ...

*1961–1981 –

Abner Vernon McCall Abner Vernon McCall (June 8, 1915 – June 11, 1995) was a justice of the Supreme Court of Texas in 1956, Dean of Baylor Law School from 1948 to 1959, and the tenth president of Baylor University from 1961 to 1981. Biography McCall was born ...

*1981–1995 –

Herbert H. Reynolds Herbert Hal Reynolds (March 20, 1930 – May 25, 2007) was an American academic administrator who worked as the president of Baylor University from 1981 to 1995. Early life and education Reynolds was born March 20, 1930, in Frankston, Texas. ...

*1995–2005 –

Robert B. Sloan Robert Bryan Sloan Jr. (born 1949) is an American academic and theologian. He has been the president of Houston Baptist University since 2006. Education and background Sloan was born in Coleman, Texas, and grew up in Abilene, Texas. He earned hi ...

Jr. *2005–2006 –

William D. Underwood William D. Underwood has been the eighteenth President of Mercer University since 2006. He was the interim President of Baylor University from 2005 to 2006. Biography Underwood graduated from Oklahoma Baptist University and received a J.D. from ...

, interim president *2006–2008 –

John M. Lilley John Mark Lilley (born March 24, 1939) served as the 14th president of the University of Nevada, Reno from 2001 to 2005 and 13th president of Baylor University from 2006 to 2008.

*2008–2010 –

David E. Garland David E. Garland (born September 24, 1947) served as the interim president of Baylor University in Waco, Texas. His term began in June 2016 amid the Baylor sexual assault scandal and resignation of former president Ken Starr. Garland's term concl ...

, interim president *2010–2016 –

Ken Starr Kenneth Winston Starr (July 21, 1946 – September 13, 2022) was an American lawyer and judge who authored the Starr Report, which led to the impeachment of Bill Clinton. He headed an investigation of members of the Clinton administration, kno ...

*2016–2017 –

, interim president *June 1, 2017–present – Linda Livingstone (Note: While Rufus C. Burleson served as Baylor's president twice, he is counted only once in the presidential count. This makes Reddin Andrews the fifth president and Oscar Henry Cooper the sixth president. Additionally, interim presidents are not counted.)

Academics

Rankings

In the 2021 "Best Colleges" rankings by '' U.S. News & World Report'', Baylor was ranked tied for 76th best "national university" in the U.S., tied at 31st for "Best Undergraduate Teaching", tied at 25th for "Most Innovative". Baylor University is accredited by the

Southern Association of Colleges and Schools The Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACS) is an educational accreditor recognized by the United States Department of Education and the Council for Higher Education Accreditation. This agency accredits over 13,000 public and priv ...

Graduate rankings

Several Baylor graduate programs, including its law school, Hankamer School of Business and programs in the sciences and education are nationally ranked. According to the National Research Council (NRC), among those programs, Baylor's Graduate program in English was ranked first for Student Support and Outcomes by the National Research Council, and Baylor's Doctoral program in Sociology was ranked third nationally, based on criteria such as the percentage of students receiving full financial support, PhD completion percentage, median time to completion of degrees, and job placement rate.

Institutional organization

The university is divided into twelve degree-granting academic units. Three of the units are designated as

colleges A college (Latin: ''collegium'') is an educational institution or a constituent part of one. A college may be a degree-awarding tertiary educational institution, a part of a collegiate or federal university, an institution offerin ...

, while eight others are designated as schools and one is a seminary. They are: *College of Arts & Sciences *Diana R. Garland School of Social Work *

George W. Truett Theological Seminary George W. Truett Theological Seminary is a Baptist theological seminary in Waco, Texas. The seminary, named after Southern Baptist preacher George Washington Truett, was founded in 1993 as part of Baylor University and is affiliated with the Bapt ...

*Graduate School *Hankamer School of Business *Honors College *

Law School A law school (also known as a law centre or college of law) is an institution specializing in legal education, usually involved as part of a process for becoming a lawyer within a given jurisdiction. Law degrees Argentina In Argentina, ...

*Louise Herrington School of Nursing *Robbins College of Health and Human Sciences *School of Education *School of Engineering & Computer Science *School of Music

Student life

More than 16,000 students study at Baylor University, representing all 50 states, the District of Columbia and approximately 89 foreign countries. The university clubs and organizations provide each student with an opportunity to become engaged with an organization that shares his or her interests. Baylor University has a total undergraduate enrollment of 13,859, with a gender distribution of 42 percent male students and 58 percent female students. At Baylor, 36 percent of students live in college-owned, -operated, or -affiliated housing and 64 percent of students live off campus.

Clubs and organizations

Greek organizations

Approximately 14 percent of undergraduate men are members of fraternities, and 21 percent of undergraduate women are members of a sorority. There are four councils at Baylor. Most of the university's fraternities began as local fraternities, before affiliating with their national organizations in the late 1970s. All-University Sing

Non-IFC fraternities, social clubs, & non-NPC sororities NPHC Fraternities and Sororities

LGBT organizations

For many years,

student organizations received no official recognition at Baylor University. The university had stated that the subject of sexual orientation was "too complex" for a student group to handle. However, in April of 2022, Baylor chartered an official LGBT organization called Prism that follows the University's "Statement on Human Sexuality."

Student activities

Every semester, students participate in various intramural sports. Students build teams within campus organizations, sororities/fraternities, residence halls, and personal friend groups. As of Fall 2022, Baylor offers these intramural sports: Baylor SLC Pool

Golden Wave Band

The Baylor University Golden Wave Band (BUGWB) is the halftime entertainment for Baylor football. The 340-member band attends every home football game and sometimes travels to away games. The band's name dates back to 1928 when, while on tour in West Texas, observers noted that the band members' gold uniforms looked like a giant "golden wave" sweeping over the landscape. Baylorsign brotherspg

Noble NoZe Brotherhood

The Noble NoZe Brotherhood, an unofficial fraternal organization, was founded in 1924 to study the art of bridge construction in association with the BBA (Baylor Bridge Association). The brotherhood provides the university with unusual public pranks and satirical writings in its newspaper, ''The Rope''. Members hide their identities to keep their actions anonymous.

Military programs

Baylor University has a strong history of military service dating back to before the Civil War and currently offers both Army and Air Force

ROTC The Reserve Officers' Training Corps (ROTC ( or )) is a group of college- and university-based officer-training programs for training commissioned officers of the United States Armed Forces. Overview While ROTC graduate officers serve in all ...

for students. Baylor graduates have served in every major military engagement in Texas history. Formal military instruction began on campus in 1888. Baylor AFROTC

Baylor has had several famous military graduates such as Andrew Jackson Lummus, Jr., who fought and died at the

Battle of Iwo Jima The Battle of Iwo Jima (19 February – 26 March 1945) was a major battle in which the United States Marine Corps (USMC) and United States Navy (USN) landed on and eventually captured the island of Iwo Jima from the Imperial Japanese Army (IJ ...

during World War II and received the Medal of Honor for his service. John Riley Kane also received the Medal of Honor for his service after flying 43 combat missions for a total of 250 combat hours in Europe, Africa and the Middle East. Kane's daring operations caused German intelligence reports to dub him "Killer Kane." In July 1948, the Air Force and Baylor University partnered in the creation of Air Force ROTC Detachment 810 - one of the first detachments ever created. In 2008, Detachment 810 was awarded the Air Force ROTC Right Of Line Award as the No. 1 large detachment in the nation. The unit was additionally awarded the High Flight Award, recognizing it as one of the top four detachments in America. It has been named best in the AFROTC Southwest Region for 1996, 2003 and 2008. Baylor runs several postgraduate and professional health sciences programs in partnership with the Army Medical Department headquartered in

San Antonio ("Cradle of Freedom") , image_map = , mapsize = 220px , map_caption = Interactive map of San Antonio , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = United States , subdivision_type1= U.S. state, State , subdivision_name1 = Texas , s ...

. Programs offered include the

Doctor of Physical Therapy A Doctor of Physical Therapy or Doctor of Physiotherapy (DPT) degree is a qualifying degree in physical therapy. In the United States, it is considered a graduate-level first professional degree or doctorate degree for professional practice. In the ...

, MHA, United States Army Graduate Program in Nursing Anesthesia (USAGPAN), and MHA/

MBA A Master of Business Administration (MBA; also Master's in Business Administration) is a postgraduate degree focused on business administration. The core courses in an MBA program cover various areas of business administration such as accounti ...

(joint program).

Research and endowment

In 2005, the university was invited to join the

Collider Detector at Fermilab The Collider Detector at Fermilab (CDF) experimental collaboration studies high energy particle collisions from the Tevatron, the world's former highest-energy particle accelerator. The goal is to discover the identity and properties of the partic ...

(CDF) collaboration at the

Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory (Fermilab), located just outside Batavia, Illinois, near Chicago, is a United States Department of Energy national laboratory specializing in high-energy particle physics. Since 2007, Fermilab has been operat ...

Batavia, Illinois Batavia () is a city mainly in Kane County and partly in DuPage County in the U.S. state of Illinois. Located in the Chicago metropolitan area, it was founded in 1833 and is the oldest city in Kane County. Per the 2020 census, the population w ...

. The project is one of the world's largest experimental

physics Physics is the natural science that studies matter, its fundamental constituents, its motion and behavior through space and time, and the related entities of energy and force. "Physical science is that department of knowledge which r ...

collaborations. The following year, the university was classified as "Research University" with "High Research Activity". In 2021, the university was classified among "R1: Doctoral universities with very high research activity". Baylor BSB 2

In October 2009, a group of state, county and city governments and organizations and higher educational institutions in

Central Texas Central Texas is a region in the U.S. state of Texas surrounding Austin and roughly bordered by San Saba to Bryan and San Marcos to Hillsboro. Central Texas overlaps with and includes part of the Texas Hill Country and corresponds to a ph ...

announced the creation of the Central Texas Technology and Research Park, and the park's first project, the

Baylor Research and Innovation Collaborative The Baylor Research and Innovation Collaborative is a science research facility. It is the first, and cornerstone, facility of a 21-acre discovery complex that is expected to evolve into the Central Texas Technology and Research Park. Originally a ...

(BRIC) to be housed in the former

General Tire Continental Tire the Americas, LLC, d.b.a. General Tire, is an American manufacturer of tires for motor vehicles. Founded in 1915 in Akron, Ohio by William Francis O'Neil, Winfred E. Fouse, Charles J. Jahant, Robert Iredell, & H.B. Pushee as ...

facility on South Loop Drive in Waco. Funding for the effort came from the state of Texas and Baylor University. Clifton Robinson (a member of Baylor's Board of Regents) donated the facility to the university to support the research collaborative. Old Main, Baylor University

Several former and present members of faculty at Baylor are or were prominent proponents of

intelligent design Intelligent design (ID) is a pseudoscientific argument for the existence of God, presented by its proponents as "an evidence-based scientific theory about life's origins". Numbers 2006, p. 373; " Dcaptured headlines for its bold attempt to ...

, most notably philosopher

William Dembski William Albert Dembski (born July 18, 1960) is an American mathematician, philosopher and theologian. He was a proponent of intelligent design (ID) pseudoscience, specifically the concept of specified complexity, and was a senior fellow of the ...

, now at

Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary The Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary is a Baptist theological institute in Fort Worth, Texas. It is affiliated with the Southern Baptist Convention. It was established in 1908 and is one of the largest seminaries in the world. It i ...

, Christian philosopher Francis Beckwith and electrical engineer

Robert J. Marks II Robert Jackson Marks II (born August 25, 1950) is an American electrical engineering, electrical engineer, computer scientist and Distinguished Professor at Baylor University. His contributions include the Zhao-Atlas-Marks (ZAM) time-frequency dis ...

. The university's

endowment Endowment most often refers to: *A term for human penis size It may also refer to: Finance *Financial endowment, pertaining to funds or property donated to institutions or individuals (e.g., college endowment) *Endowment mortgage, a mortgage to b ...

passed $1 billion in 2007 and reached $1,055,478,000 on December 31, 2007. Even with the

economic crisis of 2008 The Great Recession was a period of marked general decline, i.e. a recession, observed in national economies globally that occurred from late 2007 into 2009. The scale and timing of the recession varied from country to country (see map). At t ...

, Baylor spokesperson Lori Fogleman reported that Baylor's endowment grew 5.1 percent in the fiscal year ending June 30, 2008; the National Association of College and University Business Officials estimated that during that same period, the median return for the top 25 percent of college endowments decreased by 2.2 percent. Fogleman cited the university's long-term investments and diversified holdings as the cause of the endowment's success. Despite a hired consulting firm's concerns that the troubled economy and disagreements within the Baylor community could hinder continued growth, the university's endowment exceeded $1.1 billion . On March 4, 2010, "An anonymous longtime Baylor donor ... set up an estate provision that will benefit the school to the tune of an estimated $200 million. The gift will bolster Baylor's research on the issues of aging in multiple disciplines at the school." Citing the most recent data reported by the Chronicle of Higher Education, Baylor officials say the $200 million donation is the second-largest gift to a Texas college or university and ranks among the top 20 private gifts to higher education institutions in the country.

Athletics

Baylor student athletes participate in

as part of the

. As of the 2021–22 school year, all teams are nicknamed "Bears". Women's teams had historically been known as "Lady Bears", but by the end of the 2010s almost all of these teams had dropped "Lady", with the last three holdouts of basketball, soccer, and volleyball following suit in fall 2021. In the 2011–2012 season, Baylor broke the NCAA record for most combined wins in the four major collegiate sports: baseball, football, and men's and women's basketball. The university has won NCAA titles in 2004, 2005, 2012, 2019, and 2021. The men's tennis team defeated UCLA in the 2004 championship match to garner the Baylor's first title. One year later, the Baylor Lady Bears basketball team beat Michigan State in the championship game and was subsequently named as the only women's team to be nominated for a 2005 "Best Team" ESPY. In 2012, the Baylor Lady Bears basketball team beat the Notre Dame Fighting Irish in the NCAA National Championship; the first college basketball team to ever finish with a perfect 40–0 record. The Bears men's basketball team won the 2021 NCAA National Championship after beating the Gonzaga Bulldogs 86–70. It is the university's first men's national championship. The Baylor men's basketball team advanced to the Elite Eight of the NCAA 'March Madness' Championship tournament in 2010, 2012, and 2021. Under the direction of head coach

Scott Drew Scott Homer Drew (born October 23, 1970) is an American college basketball coach who is the head coach of the Baylor Bears, a position he has held since 2003. Drew began his coaching career as an assistant for Valparaiso under his father Home ...

, Baylor achieved a record of 121-55 (.688) between the 2008–2012 seasons and reached post-season play in four of those years. Four former Baylor basketball players were drafted in the first or second round of the NBA draft in the 2011 and 2012 seasons: *

Ekpe Udoh Ekpedeme Friday "Ekpe" Udoh ( ; born May 20, 1987) is a Nigerian-American professional basketball player for Shimane Susanoo Magic of the Japanese B.League. He played college basketball for the Michigan Wolverines and the Baylor Bears. In the 201 ...

(first round) *

Perry Jones III Perry James Jones III (born September 24, 1991) is an American professional basketball player for the TaiwanBeer HeroBears of the T1 League. He played college basketball for Baylor. High school career He was the #7 player in the ESPNU 100, the ...

Quincy Acy Quincy Jyrome Acy (born October 6, 1990) is an American former professional basketball player who last played for Olympiacos of the Greek Basket League and the EuroLeague. He currently works as a player development coach for the Texas Legends o ...

(second round) * Quincy Miller (second round)

Year of the Bear

The Year of the Bear is the name given to the 2011–2012 year in Baylor Athletics. During this year, the Baylor Bears football team defeated Big 12 rival Oklahoma (No. 5 AP) for the first time ever, as well as future bitter Big 12 rival TCU (No. 14 AP), ending the season at 10-3 ranked at No. 12 (No. 13 AP). Junior quarterback

Robert Griffin III Robert Lee Griffin III (born February 12, 1990), nicknamed RG3 and RGIII, is an American football quarterback who is a free agent. He played college football at Baylor, where he won the Heisman Trophy as a senior, and was selected second overa ...

gained recognition throughout the year and was awarded both the 2011 Heisman Trophy and National Player of the Year honors. Meanwhile, the men's basketball team started with 17 straight wins en route to a 30–8 season (the best in school history), a berth in the NCAA Elite Eight (its second in three seasons) and a No. 10 final ranking. The women's basketball team won the program's second national title, becoming the first basketball program – men's or women's – to finish 40–0. Center

Brittney Griner Brittney Yevette Griner (; born October 18, 1990) is an American professional basketball player for the Phoenix Mercury of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). She is a two-time Olympic gold medalist with the U.S. women's natio ...

was named the National Player of the Year, while Coach Kim Mulkey was awarded National Coach of the Year. The baseball team won 49 games (one shy of its all-time best), including a Big 12-record 18-game conference winning streak and school-record 24-game winning streak. Although ranked at No. 1 for two weeks (a program first), the baseball team finished in the NCAA Super Regionals and a No. 9 ranking. Baylor's four major programs (football, men's and women's basketball, and baseball) finished with an NCAA record 129 wins during the year (and an overall record of 129-28 for a winning percentage of .822) and Baylor was the only school to have all four programs ranked at the end of their respective seasons. The football and (men's and women's) basketball programs also set NCAA records with a combined 80 wins between them, including a stretch from November 1, 2011, to January 16, 2012, when the three programs had 40 consecutive wins between them. Outside of the four major programs, Baylor was one of only two schools that had all 19 of its sponsored sports advance to the post season.

McLane Stadium

Following the 'Year of the Bear,' it was announced in July 2012 that a new $260 million football stadium to be called "

McLane Stadium McLane Stadium is an American football stadium in Waco, Texas owned and operated by Baylor University. Originally named "Baylor Stadium", the facility's name was changed to "McLane Stadium" in December 2013 to honor Baylor alumnus and business ma ...

" would be constructed on the university's campus. Opened in fall 2014, the stadium holds 45,000 spectators and is situated on of land adjacent to the Brazos River. The stadium was planned by architecture firm Populous, known for its design of Yankee Stadium in New York and Houston's Minute Maid Park. A partnership between Austin Commercial-Flintco LLC oversaw the project as its contractor. From 1936 to 1949, the Baylor Bears home football games were played at Waco/Municipal Stadium. In 1950, the team moved to the newly constructed

Floyd Casey Stadium Floyd Casey Stadium was a stadium in Waco, Texas. The stadium was used for 64 seasons before being replaced by McLane Stadium in 2014. It was primarily used for football, and was the home field of the Baylor Bears. The stadium, located about ...

(originally named Baylor Stadium), located four miles from campus with a

seating capacity Seating capacity is the number of people who can be seated in a specific space, in terms of both the physical space available, and limitations set by law. Seating capacity can be used in the description of anything ranging from an automobile that ...

of up to 50,000 spectators. The stadium has been renovated several times, most notably in 1998 and 2005.

Mascots

Baylor's mascot is the

American black bear The American black bear (''Ursus americanus''), also called simply a black bear or sometimes a baribal, is a medium-sized bear endemic to North America. It is the continent's smallest and most widely distributed bear species. American black bear ...

. The university had two live bears on campus named Joy and Lady, each bearing the title of Judge in honor of the first live mascot. Joy passed away on July 18, 2022; the university has made plans to receive two rescue American black bear cubs in 2023 to continue Baylor’s tradition of having live bear mascots reside on campus. The school's costumed mascots are Bruiser and Marigold. Although Baylor began intercollegiate athletic competition in the 1890s, students did not elect the university's mascot until 1914. The other two dozen nominees included the bald eagle and the bookworm. Three years later, the 107th Engineers, a U.S. Army troop stationed in Waco, gave Baylor its first live bear. The 107th Engineers had found the bear while traveling by train to Waco. After the troop left, the Baylor University Chamber of Commerce began caring for the animal. The organization still cares for the university's live bears. One of the most famous Baylor mascots was "Big Joe" or "College Joe" in the 1930s. The bear (originally named Buckshot) was the pet of local businessman Herbert E. Mayr and was known to perform circus tricks and drink from a bottle at Mayr's business. The bear was housed at The Cotton Palace Zoo after it became too large to keep as a pet and destroyed the backseat of Mayr's car. Due to the expense of food, Mayr transferred responsibility for the bear to Waco attorney Woodie Zachery. It was later adopted by W.W. Boyd and soon began its 11 years as Baylor's mascot "College Joe." Following its death, the bear was stuffed and given a special display at the university. The university's costumed mascot, Bruiser, was introduced at the beginning of the 1981–1982 basketball season. The mascot appears at football and basketball events, along with university pep rallies and community events. Bruiser also travels with the basketball team to games for the Big 12 Basketball Tournament, NIT and NCAA Tournaments.

Traditions

Baylor has many traditions that have developed since the university was founded. Some take the form of annual celebrations, while others are symbolized in memorials. The Baylor Chamber of Commerce is the oldest student organization on the campus that is responsible for most of the school's traditions. Theline

Baylor Line

The

Baylor Line The Baylor Bears football team represents Baylor University in Division I FBS college football. They are a member of the Big 12 Conference. After 64 seasons at the off-campus Baylor Stadium, renamed Floyd Casey Stadium in 1989, the Bears opened ...

is a tradition for new students that began in 1970. Freshmen embrace the spirit of Baylor by wearing special football jerseys and rushing the field before home football games. Each "Line Jersey" has a nickname chosen by the student and his or her intended year of graduation on the back. From its inception until 1994, only male students were allowed to run the Line. Before the football game on Saturday, October 28, 2017, alumnae who were not allowed to run in the Line were invited to join the Freshmen in the run.

Mass Meeting

The Thursday night of Homecoming Week, new Baylor students (Freshmen and Transfers) attend a mass meeting in Waco Hall where they learn about the Immortal Ten, the ten student athletes who died in a bus-train accident in

Round Rock, Texas Round Rock is a city in the U.S. state of Texas, in Williamson County (with a small part in Travis County), which is a part of the Greater Austin metropolitan area. Its population is 119,468 as of the 2020 census. The city straddles the Bal ...

, on January 22, 1927. After the Mass Meeting, the freshmen class build a bonfire on Fountain Mall which often includes burning vigils of the homecoming football opponent's mascot created by the various on campus houses.

Homecoming

The nation's first homecoming celebrations originated at Baylor in November 1909. Not long after, the idea was adopted by the

University of Illinois The University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (U of I, Illinois, University of Illinois, or UIUC) is a public land-grant research university in Illinois in the twin cities of Champaign and Urbana. It is the flagship institution of the University ...

in 1910, the

University of Missouri The University of Missouri (Mizzou, MU, or Missouri) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Columbia, Missouri. It is Missouri's largest university and the flagship of the four-campus Universit ...

in 1911, and at universities throughout the U.S. in the years that followed. The Baylor Homecoming event began as a way to reconnect alumni with current students but has now grown to include a football game, bonfire, concerts, speeches, receptions, class reunions, pep rallies, and the nation's oldest and longest collegiate parade. Immortal 10

Immortal Ten

On January 22, 1927, a bus carrying the Baylor basketball team collided with the

Sunshine Special The ''Sunshine Special'' was inaugurated by the St. Louis, Iron Mountain and Southern Railway, (later the Missouri Pacific Railroad), on December 5, 1915, to provide a premium level of passenger train service between St. Louis, Little Rock, an ...

train in

Round Rock Round Rock is a city in the U.S. state of Texas, in Williamson County, Texas, Williamson County (with a small part in Travis County, Texas, Travis County), which is a part of the Greater Austin metropolitan area. Its population is 119,468 as of ...

, Texas. Ten members of the traveling party were killed and many others were injured in the accident. The story of the Immortal Ten is told each year at Freshman Mass Meeting, where the names of the ten are called out. In 1996, the senior class provided initial funding to create an Immortal Ten statue on campus. Fundraising and planning for the statue continued over the ensuing years. Finally, on June 22, 2007, the statue sculpted by Bruce R. Greene was unveiled. The Immortal Ten memorial was officially dedicated during Homecoming on November 2, 2007, in Traditions Square.

Alma mater

Baylor's alma mater is "That Good Ol' Baylor Line." In 1906, a student penned humorous words to the tune of "

In the Good Old Summer Time "In the Good Old Summer Time" is an American Tin Pan Alley song first published in 1902 with music by George Evans and lyrics by Ren Shields. Background Shields and Evans were at first unsuccessful in trying to sell the song to one of New York ...

" and they became generally accepted among the student body as the school

fight song A fight song is a rousing short song associated with a sports team. The term is most common in the United States and Canada. In Australia, Mexico, and New Zealand these songs are called the team anthem, team song, or games song. First associated ...

. However, in 1931, Enid Eastland Markham, wife of music professor Robert Markham, felt the words were neither dignified enough nor representative of the total university, so she decided to write new lyrics, which were soon sanctioned as the official school song. The "Good Ol' Summer Time" tune was later arranged to fit Mrs. Markham's "Baylor Line" through the work of Jack Goode, Donald I. Moore and Charles F. Brown.

Controversies

In the 1890s,

William Cowper Brann William Cowper Brann (January 4, 1855 – April 1, 1898) was an American journalist known as Brann the Iconoclast and famous for the articulate savagery of his writing. Early life The son of Presbyterian minister Noble J. Brann, he was born in ...

published the highly successful ''Iconoclast'' newspaper in Waco. One of his targets was Baylor University. Brann revealed Baylor officials had been importing South American children recruited by missionaries and making house-servants out of them. Brann was shot in the back by Tom Davis, a Baylor supporter. Brann then wheeled, drew his pistol, and killed Davis. Brann was helped home by his friends, and died there of his wounds.

2010s sexual assault scandal

In 2015 the Baylor Board of Regents hired law firm

Pepper Hamilton Troutman Pepper Hamilton Sanders LLP, known as Troutman Pepper, is an American law firm with more than 1,200 attorneys located in 23 U.S. cities. In terms of revenue it placed 47th on The American Lawyer's 2022 AmLaw 100 rankings of U.S. law fi ...

to perform an external review of Baylor's handling of sexual assaults. The report, summarized by the board in a public "Findings of Facts" document, stated that Baylor failed to implement

Title IX Title IX is the most commonly used name for the federal civil rights law in the United States that was enacted as part (Title IX) of the Education Amendments of 1972. It prohibits sex-based discrimination in any school or any other educat ...

in a timely and effective manner, that Baylor administrators actively discouraged reporting of sexual assaults, and that the athletic department failed to address sexual assaults. In response to the report, the Board of Regents fired

as president of the university but retained him as Chancellor and as a law school professor; he resigned as Chancellor shortly thereafter and resigned as law professor in August 2016. The school also fired head football coach

Art Briles Arthur Ray Briles (born December 3, 1955) is an American football coach who is currently the head coach for the Guelfi Firenze in the Italian Football League. Briles was the head coach of the Houston Cougars from 2002 to 2007 and the Baylor Be ...

Notable alumni, faculty and staff

With more than 180,000 living alumni, Baylor is represented by notable individuals in an array of public and professional spheres. Graduates acclaimed for their work in the arts include

Pulitzer Prize The Pulitzer Prize () is an award for achievements in newspaper, magazine, online journalism, literature, and musical composition within the United States. It was established in 1917 by provisions in the will of Joseph Pulitzer, who had made h ...

-winning composer

Steven Stucky Steven Edward Stucky (November 7, 1949 − February 14, 2016) was a Pulitzer Prize-winning American composer. Life and career Stucky was born in Hutchinson, Kansas. At age 9, he moved with his family to Abilene, Texas, where, as a teenager, he ...

GMA Dove Award A Dove Award is an accolade by the Gospel Music Association (GMA) of the United States to recognize outstanding achievement in the Christian music industry. The awards are presented annually. Formerly held in Nashville, Tennessee, the Dove Awards ...

-winning composer

Bruce Greer Bruce Greer (born October 2, 1961 in Longview, Texas) is an American pianist, singer and composer. Biographical information Greer recalls arranging hymns for choir and piano by age twelve. By the time he was in high school, his compositions were ...

Grammy Award The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by many as the most pres ...

-winning Christian recording artist

Phil Driscoll Phil Driscoll (born November 9, 1947) is a trumpeter, singer, composer, and producer. He performs in varying music genres and styles which include rock and roll, rhythm and blues, and patriotic music, and is best known for his work in Christian ...

, Christian recording artist

David Crowder David Wallace Crowder (born November 29, 1971), known professionally by his mononymous stage name Crowder since 2012, is an American contemporary Christian music singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist and author. He was the lead singer in ...

, Grammy-winning

Gaither Vocal Band The Gaither Vocal Band is an American southern gospel vocal group, named after its founder and leader Bill Gaither. On March 1, 2017, it was announced that the Gaither Vocal Band lineup consisted of Reggie Smith, Wes Hampton, Adam Crabb, Todd ...

tenor David Phelps, screenwriter and director

John Lee Hancock John Lee Hancock Jr. (born December 15, 1956) is an American filmmaker. He directed the sports drama films ''The Rookie (2002 film), The Rookie'' (2002) and ''The Blind Side (film), The Blind Side'' (2009), and the historical drama films ''Savin ...

(with works including '' The Blind Side'', nominated for the 2009

Academy Award for Best Picture The Academy Award for Best Picture is one of the Academy Awards presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) since the awards debuted in 1929. This award goes to the producers of the film and is the only category ...

), screenwriter

Derek Haas Derek Haas (born June 30, 1970) is an American writer and producer. Life and career Derek Haas attended Baylor University in Waco, Texas, where he earned both his Bachelor of Arts, B.A. and Master of Arts, M.A. in English Literature. He lives ...

(with works including '' 3:10 to Yuma'' and '' Wanted'', both nominated for multiple

Academy Award The Academy Awards, better known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international film industry. The awards are regarded by many as the most prestigious, significant awards in the entertainment ind ...

s),

Emmy Award The Emmy Awards, or Emmys, are an extensive range of awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international television industry. A number of annual Emmy Award ceremonies are held throughout the calendar year, each with the ...

-nominated director Kevin Reynolds, Emmy-winning actress

Angela Kinsey Angela Faye Kinsey (born June 25, 1971) is an American actress. She played Angela Martin in the sitcom ''The Office'' (2005–2013) and appeared in the sitcoms '' Your Family or Mine'' (2015) and ''Haters Back Off'' (2016–2017). Since ''The ...

(the character of

Angela Martin Angela Noelle Schrute (née Martin; formerly Lipton) is a fictional character in the U.S. version of the television sitcom ''The Office,'' portrayed by actress Angela Kinsey. The character is based on Sheila from the original version of ''The O ...

in NBC's ''The Office''), Emmy-nominated actress

Allison Tolman Allison Cara Tolman is an American actress. She is best known for her role as Molly Solverson in the first season of the FX television series '' Fargo'', earning Emmy and Golden Globe nominations. Early life and education Tolman has two older ...

Tony Award The Antoinette Perry Award for Excellence in Broadway Theatre, more commonly known as the Tony Award, recognizes excellence in live Broadway theatre. The awards are presented by the American Theatre Wing and The Broadway League at an annual cer ...

-nominated actress Elizabeth A. Davis, actress

Carole Cook Mildred Frances Cook (born January 14, 1924), professionally known as Carole Cook is an American actress. known for appearances on ''The Lucy Show'' and ''Here's Lucy'' Life and career She was born Mildred Frances Cook on January 14, 1924, in ...

(a protégé of

Lucille Ball Lucille Désirée Ball (August 6, 1911 – April 26, 1989) was an American actress, comedienne and producer. She was nominated for 13 Primetime Emmy Awards, winning five times, and was the recipient of several other accolades, such as the Golden ...

), ventriloquist

Jeff Dunham Jeffrey Douglas Dunham (born April 18, 1962) is an American ventriloquist, stand-up comedian and actor who has also appeared on numerous television shows, including ''Late Show with David Letterman'', ''Comedy Central Presents'', ''The Tonigh ...

, and '' The Silence of the Lambs'' writer

Thomas Harris William Thomas Harris III (born 1940/1941) is an American writer, best known for a series of suspense novels about his most famous character, Hannibal Lecter. The majority of his works have been adapted into films and television, the most notab ...

. Also alumni of the university are Chip and Joanna Gaines, who graduated in 1998 and 2001 respectively. They are the stars of the former HGTV show, '' Fixer Upper'' and are frequently involved in the Baylor community. In 2020, they left HGTV after being offered an opportunity to develop and star in their own network - Magnolia Network - which began airing in 2021 as part of the Discovery Family of Networks. Alumni known for leadership in the private and public sectors include ''

People Magazine ''People'' is an American weekly magazine that specializes in celebrity news and human-interest stories. It is published by Dotdash Meredith, a subsidiary of IAC (company), IAC. With a readership of 46.6 million adults in 2009, ''People ...

'' co-founder Hal C. Wingo,

The Weather Channel The Weather Channel (TWC) is an American pay television channel owned by Weather Group, LLC, a subsidiary of Allen Media Group. The channel's headquarters are in Atlanta, Georgia. Launched on May 2, 1982, the channel broadcasts weather forecas ...

CFO Jerry Elliott,

American Airlines American Airlines is a major airlines of the United States, major US-based airline headquartered in Fort Worth, Texas, within the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. It is the Largest airlines in the world, largest airline in the world when measured ...

CEO Thomas W. Horton,

Western Refining Western Refining, Inc., is a Texas-based Fortune 200 and Global 2000 crude oil refiner and marketer operating primarily in the Southwestern, North-Central and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. Western Refining (WNR) has been publicly tr ...

CEO Paul Foster,

Allbritton Communications Company The Allbritton Communications Company was an American media company. Based in Arlington, Virginia, Allbritton was the leading subsidiary of Perpetual Corporation, a private holding company owned by the family of company founder and former Riggs B ...

(the parent company of ''

Politico ''Politico'' (stylized in all caps), known originally as ''The Politico'', is an American, German-owned political journalism newspaper company based in Arlington County, Virginia, that covers politics and policy in the United States and intern ...

'') founder Joe Allbritton,

XTO Energy XTO Energy Inc. is an American energy company and subsidiary of ExxonMobil principally operating in North America. Acquired by ExxonMobil in 2010 and based out of Spring, Texas, it is involved with the production, processing, transportation, and ...

CEO Bob R. Simpson, chairman of the McLane Group and former owner of the

Houston Astros The Houston Astros are an American professional baseball team based in Houston, Texas. The Astros compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West division, having moved to the division in 2013 after ...

Drayton McLane, Jr.,

Oracle Corporation Oracle Corporation is an American multinational computer technology corporation headquartered in Austin, Texas. In 2020, Oracle was the third-largest software company in the world by revenue and market capitalization. The company sells da ...

CEO

Mark Hurd Mark Vincent Hurd (January 1, 1957 – October 18, 2019) was an Americans, American technology executive who served as Co-CEO and as a member of the board of directors of Oracle Corporation. He had previously served as Chairman, Chief Executive ...

, former chairman and CEO of Stanford Financial Group

Allen Stanford Robert Allen Stanford (born March 24, 1950) is an American financial fraudster, former financier, and sponsor of professional sports. He is serving a 110-year federal prison sentence, having been convicted in 2012 of fraud, on charges that his i ...

, EXUSMED CEO and founder of

Empowering Spirits Foundation The Empowering Spirits Foundation (ESF), Inc. is an American non-profit, non-partisan LGBT rights organization based in San Diego, California, United States.

A. Latham Staples A. Latham Staples (born 1977) is a San Diego, California community leader, a corporate executive, and an United States, American civil rights activist.Phil Hardberger Phillip Duane Hardberger (born July 27, 1934) is an American politician and lawyer who served as mayor of San Antonio, taking office in June, 2005. A Democrat, he was elected on a non-partisan ballot. Life and career Family and early years Hardb ...

, former Governor of Texas

Ann Richards Dorothy Ann Richards (née Willis; September 1, 1933 – September 13, 2006) was an American politician who served as the 45th governor of Texas from 1991 to 1995. A Democrat, she first came to national attention as the Texas State Treasurer, ...

, former Governor of Texas Mark Wells White Jr., former Federal Bureau of Investigation director

William S. Sessions William Steele Sessions (May 27, 1930June 12, 2020) was an American attorney and jurist who served as a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Western District of Texas and Director of the Federal Bureau of Inv ...

, seventh president of

LeTourneau University LeTourneau University (LETU) is a private, interdenominational evangelical Christian university in Longview, Texas. Founded as LeTourneau Technical Institute in February 1946 by R. G. LeTourneau with his wife, Evelyn, the school initially educate ...

Steven D. Mason Stephen or Steven is a common English first name. It is particularly significant to Christians, as it belonged to Saint Stephen ( grc-gre, Στέφανος ), an early disciple and deacon who, according to the Book of Acts, was stoned to death; ...

, and ninth president of

Goucher College Goucher College ( ') is a private liberal arts college in Towson, Maryland. It was chartered in 1885 by a conference in Baltimore led by namesake John F. Goucher and local leaders of the Methodist Episcopal Church.https://archive.org/details/h ...

Judy Jolley Mohraz, WrayMax CEO Joji Suzuki. Professional athletes who graduated from the university include quarterback and 2011

Heisman Trophy The Heisman Memorial Trophy (usually known colloquially as the Heisman Trophy or The Heisman) is awarded annually to the most outstanding player in college football. Winners epitomize great ability combined with diligence, perseverance, and hard ...

-winner

Phoenix Mercury The Phoenix Mercury are an American professional basketball team based in Phoenix, Arizona, playing in the Western Conference (WNBA), Western Conference in the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). The team was founded before the league ...

WNBA player

, four-time

Olympic Olympic or Olympics may refer to Sports Competitions * Olympic Games, international multi-sport event held since 1896 ** Summer Olympic Games ** Winter Olympic Games * Ancient Olympic Games, ancient multi-sport event held in Olympia, Greece b ...

gold medalist Michael Johnson, and

Baseball Hall of Fame The National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum is a history museum and hall of fame in Cooperstown, New York, operated by private interests. It serves as the central point of the history of baseball in the United States and displays baseball-r ...

inductee

Ted Lyons Theodore Amar Lyons (December 28, 1900 – July 25, 1986) was an American professional baseball starting pitcher, manager and coach in Major League Baseball (MLB). He played in 21 MLB seasons, all with the Chicago White Sox. He is the franchise le ...

. Grammy–winning recording artist

Willie Nelson Willie Hugh Nelson (born April 29, 1933) is an American country musician. The critical success of the album ''Shotgun Willie'' (1973), combined with the critical and commercial success of ''Red Headed Stranger'' (1975) and '' Stardust'' (197 ...

, actor

Austin Miller Austin Miller is an American actor, singer and dancer frequently seen on screen and on stage. Biography Miller was raised in the small town of Alvin, Texas (population 21,000), to a conservative Catholic family.Rand Paul Randal Howard Paul (born January 7, 1963) is an American physician and politician serving as the junior U.S. senator from Kentucky since 2011. A member of the Republican Party, he is a son of former three-time presidential candidate and 12 ...

attended Baylor but did not receive degrees from the university. Former

United States Vice President The vice president of the United States (VPOTUS) is the second-highest officer in the executive branch of the U.S. federal government, after the president of the United States, and ranks first in the presidential line of succession. The vice pr ...

John Nance Garner John Nance Garner III (November 22, 1868 – November 7, 1967), known among his contemporaries as "Cactus Jack", was an American History of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic politician and lawyer from History of Texas, Texas who ...

(Franklin D. Roosevelt President) received an honorary doctor of laws degree from Baylor in 1936. Actor and comedian

Bill Cosby William Henry Cosby Jr. ( ; born July 12, 1937) is an American stand-up comedian, actor, and media personality. He made significant contributions to American and African-American culture, and is well known in the United States for his eccentric ...

received an honorary doctor of humane letters degree from the university in 2003, which was rescinded in 2015. For information on notable faculty, staff and other alumni, please see the List of Baylor University people. Mark Hurd.jpg,

CEO of the

and former CEO of

Hewlett-Packard The Hewlett-Packard Company, commonly shortened to Hewlett-Packard ( ) or HP, was an American multinational information technology company headquartered in Palo Alto, California. HP developed and provided a wide variety of hardware components ...

Crowder.jpg,

-winning Christian recording artist Rg3 redskins.jpg,

Quarterback and winner of the 2011

Jeff Dunham and Achmed.JPG,

Ventriloquist Trey Wingo cropped NFL Live ESPNWeekend2010-026.jpg,

Trey Wingo Hal Chapman Wingo III (; born September 19, 1963), known as Trey Wingo, is the former co-host of ESPN ''Golic and Wingo'', ''SportsCenter'', and ''NFL Live''. He has previously served as host of the Women's NCAA basketball tournament. He current ...

Co-host of

ESPN ESPN (originally an initialism for Entertainment and Sports Programming Network) is an American international basic cable sports channel owned by ESPN Inc., owned jointly by The Walt Disney Company (80%) and Hearst Communications (20%). The ...

's ''

SportsCenter ''SportsCenter'' (SC) is a daily sports news television show, television program that serves as the flagship program and brand of United States, American cable television, cable and satellite television television network, network ESPN. The show ...

'' Brittney Griner accepting Wade Trophy 2.jpg,

WNBA player for

, three-time All-American, 2012 AP Player of the Year Robert Fulghum.jpg,

Robert Fulghum Robert Lee Fulghum (; born June 4, 1937) is an American author and Unitarian Universalist minister. Early career He grew up in Waco, Texas and received his Bachelor of Arts at Baylor University in 1958. He received his Bachelor of Divinity at ...

Philosopher and ''New York Times'' Bestselling author GKeller.png,

Gary W. Keller Gary Keller is an American entrepreneur and best-selling author. He is the founder and Executive Chairman of Keller Williams, which is the largest real estate company in the world by agent count and second in closed sales volume, and units sold. ...

Author and co-founder of

Keller Williams Realty Keller Williams Realty (commonly referred to as Keller Williams) is an American technology and international real estate franchise with headquarters in Austin, Texas. It claimed to be the largest real estate franchise in number of agents and sal ...

Michael Johnson Sydney2000.jpg, Michael Johnson
Sprinter, winner of four

gold medals and eight

World Championships A world championship is generally an international competition open to elite competitors from around the world, representing their nations, and winning such an event will be considered the highest or near highest achievement in the sport, game, ...

gold medals Trey Gowdy official congressional photo (cropped).jpg,

Trey Gowdy Harold Watson "Trey" Gowdy III (born August 22, 1964) is an American television news personality, former politician, and former federal prosecutor who served as the U.S. representative for from 2011 to 2019. His district included much of the Up ...

Former US Congressman and television news personality Ann Richards.jpg,

Former Governor of Texas

Campus

Image:PatNeffflowers.JPG, Pat Neff in the Spring, named for the former

governor of Texas The governor of Texas heads the state government of Texas. The governor is the leader of the executive and legislative branch of the state government and is the commander in chief of the Texas Military. The current governor is Greg Abbott, who ...

Texas Railroad Commission The Railroad Commission of Texas (RRC; also sometimes called the Texas Railroad Commission, TRC) is the state agency that regulates the oil and gas industry, gas utilities, pipeline safety, safety in the liquefied petroleum gas industry, and su ...

member, and president of Baylor File:Bill Daniels Student Center, Baylor University (2006).jpg, Bill Daniel Student Center from the side File:Bill daniel student center.jpg, Bill Daniel Student Center during Christmas File:Tidwell Bible Building - Baylor University.JPG, Tidwell Bible Building at Baylor University in Waco, Texas Image:Tidwell Bible Building.jpg, Tidwell Bible Building File:Truett Seminary at Baylor University (2006).jpg, Truett Seminary Image:Mayborn Museum.jpg, Mayborn Museum File:Old Main, Baylor University.jpg, Burleson Quadrangle File:Old Main and Pat Neff Hall, Baylor University (2004).jpg, Old Main and Pat Neff Hall Image:Bu_patneff.jpg, Pat Neff Hall looking west Image:Judgebaylorfixed.jpg, Statue of Judge Baylor Image:burleson.jpg, Another view of Burleson Quadrangle Image:Baylor Science Building (panoramic picture) - Baylor University, Waco, Texas.jpg, Baylor Science Building File:Baylor University's McLane Stadium.JPG, McLane Stadium File:McLane Stadium facingsouth7.16.14.jpg, McLane Stadium interior facing south

Notes

References

External links

*
Baylor Athletics website
{{authority control 1845 establishments in the Republic of Texas Buildings and structures in Waco, Texas Education in McLennan County, Texas Educational institutions established in 1845 Private universities and colleges in Texas Tourist attractions in Waco, Texas Universities and colleges accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Universities and colleges affiliated with the Baptist General Convention of Texas Universities and colleges affiliated with the Southern Baptist Convention Articles containing video clips