Baylor University

This statue of Judge Baylor is at the front of Founder's Mall in the heart of campus.

In 1841, 35 delegates to the Union Baptist 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 and onetime U.S. Congressman and soldier from Alabama, 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.

Judge R. E. B. Baylor

In fall 1844, the Texas Baptist Education Society petitioned the Congress of the Republic of Texas to charter a Baptist university. Republic President Anson Jones signed the Act of Congress on February 1, 1845, officially establishing Baylor University. The founders built the original university campus in Independence, Texas. The Rev. James Huckins, the first Southern Baptist missionary 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.[7] The noted Texas revolutionary war leader and hero Sam Houston gave the first $5,000 donation to start the university. In 1854, Houston was also baptized by the Rev. Rufus Columbus Burleson, future Baylor president, in the Brazos River.[8]

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, son of President Sam Houston, a famous western gun-fighter and attorney; and Lawrence Sullivan "Sul" Ross famous Confederate general and later President of Texas A&M University.

In 1892, Baylor University had two main buildings, Old Main and Burleson Hall

For the first half of the American Civil War, the Baylor president was George Washington Baines, maternal great-grandfather of the future U.S. President, Lyndon B. Johnson. He worked vigorously to sustain the university during the Civil War, when male students left their studies to enlist in the Confederate Army. Following the war, the city of Independence slowly declined, primarily caused by the rise of neighboring cities being serviced by the Santa Fe Railroad. 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 Waco, Texas, 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. It later became known as the University of Mary Hardin-Baylor. 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 again.

In 1900, three physicians founded the University of Dallas Medical Department in Dallas, 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, 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. 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, Baylor was one of 131 colleges and universities nationally that took part in the V-12 Navy College Training Program which offered students a path to a Navy commission.[9]

The university first admitted black students in 1964.[10] The first black graduate was Robert Gilbert, of Waco.[11] 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.[12] As of 2021 the university prohibits LGBT student groups and is opposed to gay marriage.[13]

In 1991, Baylor began appointing the majority of its board, granting it partial independence from the Baptist General Convention of Texas.[14]

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.[15][16]

2010s sexual assault scandal

In 2015 the Baylor Board of Regents hired law firm Pepper Hamilton to perform an external review of Baylor's handling of sexual assaults.[17] The report, summarized by the board in a public "Findings of Facts" document, stated that Baylor failed to implement Title IX 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.[18][19] In response to the report, the Board of Regents fired Ken Starr as president of the university but retained him as Chancellor and as a law school professor;[20] he resigned as Chancellor shortly thereafter and resigned as law professor in August 2016.[21] The school also fired head football coach Art Briles.[22]

Burleson Quadrangle in the early 1900s

Presidents

Kenneth Winston Starr was President of Baylor from 2010 to 2016.

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

• 1846–1851 – Henry Lee Graves
• 1851–1861 – Rufus Columbus Burleson
• 1861–1863 – George Washington Baines
• 1864–1885 – William Carey Crane
• 1885–1886 – Reddin Andrews
• 1886–1897 – Rufus Columbus Burleson
• 1899–1902 – Oscar Henry Cooper
• 1902–1931 – Samuel Palmer Brooks
• 1932–1947 – Pat Morris Neff
• 1948–1961 – William R. White
• 1961–1981 – Abner Vernon McCall
• 1981–1995 – Herbert H. Reynolds
• 1995–2005 – Robert B. Sloan Jr.
• 2005–2006 – William D. Underwood, interim president
• 2006–2008 – John M. Lilley
• 2008–2010 – David E. Garland, interim president
• 2010–2016 – Ken Starr
• 2016–2017 – David E. Garland, interim president
• June 1, 2017–present – Linda Livingstone[23]

(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.)

The sign inscribed Baylor's Student Union Building (SUB)

Student choirs and orchestras performing the 1812 Overture on Fountain Mall for the 2009 President's Concert.

More than 16,000 students study at Baylor University, representing all 50 states, the District of Columbia and approximately 89 foreign countries.[40][41] 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.

Greek organizations

Approximately 14 percent of undergraduate men are members of fraternities, and 21 percent of undergraduate women are members of a sorority.[42] 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.[43]

Phi Kappa Chi and Chi Omega performing at Baylor University's 2011 All-University Sing

Fraternities	Nickname	Status
Alpha Tau Omega	ATO	Active
Beta Theta Pi	Beta	Active
Delta Tau Delta	Delt	Active
Kappa Alpha Order	KA	Active
Kappa Sigma	Ksig	Active
Lambda Phi Epsilon	Lambdas	Active
Phi Gamma Delta	Fiji	Suspended[44]
Phi Iota Alpha	Phiota	Active
Pi Kappa Phi	Pi Kapp	Active
Sigma Phi Epsilon	SigEp	Active
Sigma Chi	Sigs	Active[45]
Sigma Alpha Epsilon	SAE	Active
Tau Kappa Epsilon	TKE	Active
Beta Upsilon Chi	BYX "Bucks"	Active

Fraternities	Nickname	Status
Pi Kappa Alpha	Pike	Inactive
Sigma Nu	Sig Nu	Inactive
Lambda Chi Alpha	Lambda Chi	Inactive
Phi Delta Theta	Phi Delt	Inactive
Delta Upsilon	Ducks	Inactive
Sigma Tau Gamma	Sig Tau	Inactive

Sororities	Nickname	Local Founding Date	Status
Alpha Delta Pi	ADPi	1980	Active
Alpha Chi Omega	AXO, Alpha Chi	1985	Active
Alpha Phi	Aphi	2019	Active[46]
Chi Omega	Chi-O	1977	Active
Delta Delta Delta	Tri Delt	1977	Active
Kappa Alpha Theta	Theta	1976	Active
Kappa Kappa Gamma	Kappa	1977	Active
Pi Beta Phi	Pi Phi	1977	Active
Zeta Tau Alpha	Zeta	1977	Active

Delta Delta Delta and Kappa Alpha Order participate in Baylor University's 2018 Homecoming Parade.

Sororities	Nickname	Local Founding Date	Status
Kappa Delta	KD	1983	Inactive

Non-IFC fraternities, social clubs, & non-NPC sororities

Fraternities	Sororities
Kappa Omega Tau	Kappa Chi Alpha
Phi Kappa Chi	Sigma Phi Lambda

NPHC Fraternities and Sororities

Fraternities	Sororities
Alpha Phi Alpha	Alpha Kappa Alpha
Kappa Alpha Psi	Delta Sigma Theta
Omega Psi Phi	Zeta Phi Beta
Phi Beta Sigma

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,[50] Baylor offers these intramural sports:

Fall Semester	Spring Semester
Dodgeball	5-on-5 Basketball
Indoor Volleyball	Table Tennis
Ultimate Frisbee	Singles Tennis
Tennis Mixed Doubles	Co-ed Sand Volleyball
Kickball	Soccer
Canoe Battle	Spikeball
Flag Football (7v7)	Softball
Racquetball	Track
Pickleball
Spikeball (co-ed)

The pool in the Student Life Center (SLC)

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.[51] 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.

Members of The NoZe Brotherhood in 2002

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

Baylor University's Air Force ROTC program celebrated 65 years in 2013.

Baylor has had several famous military graduates such as Andrew Jackson Lummus, Jr., who fought and died at the Battle of Iwo Jima 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. Programs offered include the Doctor of Physical Therapy,[52] MHA, United States Army Graduate Program in Nursing Anesthesia (USAGPAN), and MHA/MBA (joint program).[53]

Baylor Sciences Building

In 2005, the university was invited to join the Collider Detector at Fermilab (CDF) collaboration at the Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory in Batavia, Illinois.[54] The project is one of the world's largest experimental physics collaborations. The following year, the university was classified as "Research University" with "High Research Activity".[55] In 2021, the university was classified among "R1: Doctoral universities with very high research activity".[6]

The interior of the Baylor Sciences Building

In October 2009, a group of state, county and city governments and organizations and higher educational institutions in Central Texas announced the creation of the Central Texas Technology and Research Park, and the park's first project, the Baylor Research and Innovation Collaborative (BRIC) to be housed in the former General Tire 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.[56][57]

Burleson Quadrangle

Several former and present members of faculty at Baylor are or were prominent proponents of intelligent design, most notably philosopher William Dembski, now at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, Christian philosopher Francis Beckwith and electrical engineer Robert J. Marks II.[58][59]

The university's endowment passed $1 billion in 2007 and reached $1,055,478,000 on December 31, 2007.[60] Even with the economic crisis of 2008, 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 as of May 2013.[40]

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."[61] 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.[62]

Baylor student athletes participate in NCAA Division I as part of the Big 12 Conference. 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.[63][64] 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.[65] 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.[66] 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, 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 (first round)
• Perry Jones III
• Quincy Acy (second round)
• Quincy Miller (second round)

McLane Stadium

Baylor University's 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" would be constructed on the university's campus. Opened in fall 2014, the stadium holds 45,000 spectators and is situated on 93 acres (38 hectares) 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.[68]

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 (originally named Baylor Stadium), located four miles from campus with a seating capacity of up to 50,000 spectators.[69] The stadium has been renovated several times, most notably in 1998 and 2005.[70]

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.

The Baylor Line on the field of a home football game

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 in 1910, the University of Missouri in 1911, and at universities throughout the U.S. in the years that followed.[80][81] 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.[82]

The Immortal Ten Memorial

Willie Nelson attended Baylor

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-winning composer Steven Stucky, GMA Dove Award-winning composer Bruce Greer, Grammy Award-winning Christian recording artist Phil Driscoll, Christian recording artist David Crowder, Grammy-winning Gaither Vocal Band tenor David Phelps, screenwriter and director John Lee Hancock (with works including The Blind Side, nominated for the 2009 Academy Award for Best Picture), screenwriter Derek Haas (with works including 3:10 to Yuma and Wanted, both nominated for multiple Academy Awards), Emmy Award-nominated director Kevin Reynolds, Emmy-winning actress Angela Kinsey (the character of Angela Martin in NBC's The Office), Emmy-nominated actress Allison Tolman, Tony Award-nominated actress Elizabeth A. Davis, actress Carole Cook (a protégé of Lucille Ball), ventriloquist Jeff Dunham, and The Silence of the Lambs writer Thomas Harris.

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.[88]

Alumni known for leadership in the private and public sectors include People Magazine co-founder Hal C. Wingo, The Weather Channel CFO Jerry Elliott, American Airlines CEO Thomas W. Horton, Western Refining CEO Paul Foster, Allbritton Communications Company (the parent company of Politico) founder Joe Allbritton, XTO Energy CEO Bob R. Simpson, chairman of the McLane Group and former owner of the Houston Astros Drayton McLane, Jr., Oracle Corporation CEO Mark Hurd, former chairman and CEO of Stanford Financial Group Allen Stanford, EXUSMED CEO and founder of Empowering Spirits Foundation A. Latham Staples, former mayor of San Antonio Phil Hardberger, former Governor of Texas Ann Richards, former Governor of Texas Mark Wells White Jr., former Federal Bureau of Investigation director William S. Sessions, seventh president of LeTourneau University Steven D. Mason, and ninth president of Goucher College Judy Jolley Mohraz, WrayMax CEO Joji Suzuki.

Professional athletes who graduated from the university include quarterback and 2011 Heisman Trophy-winner Robert Griffin III, Phoenix Mercury WNBA player Brittney Griner, four-time Olympic gold medalist Michael Johnson, and Baseball Hall of Fame inductee Ted Lyons.

Grammy–winning recording artist Willie Nelson, actor Austin Miller and Senator Rand Paul attended Baylor but did not receive degrees from the university. Former United States Vice President John Nance Garner (Franklin D. Roosevelt President) received an honorary doctor of laws degree from Baylor in 1936.[89] Actor and comedian Bill Cosby received an honorary doctor of humane letters degree from the university in 2003,[90] which was rescinded in 2015.[91]

For information on notable faculty, staff and other alumni, please see the List of Baylor University people.

• Notable people
• 
  Mark Hurd
  CEO of the Oracle Corporation and former CEO of Hewlett-Packard
• 
  David Crowder
  GMA Dove Award-winning Christian recording artist
• 
  Robert Griffin III
  Quarterback and winner of the 2011 Heisman Trophy
• 
  Jeff Dunham
  Ventriloquist
• 
  Trey Wingo
  Co-host of ESPN's SportsCenter
• 
  Brittney Griner
  WNBA player for Phoenix Mercury, three-time All-American, 2012 AP Player of the Year
• 
  Robert Fulghum
  Philosopher and New York Times Bestselling author
• 
  Gary W. Keller
  Author and co-founder of Keller Williams Realty
• 
  Michael Johnson
  Sprinter, winner of four Olympic gold medals and eight World Championships gold medals
• 
  Trey Gowdy
  Former US Congressman and television news personality
• 
  Ann Richards
  Former Governor of Texas

• Campus
• 
  Pat Neff in the Spring, named for the former governor of Texas, Texas Railroad Commission member, and president of Baylor
• 
  Bill Daniel Student Center from the side
• 
  Bill Daniel Student Center during Christmas
• 
  Tidwell Bible Building at Baylor University in Waco, Texas
• 
  Tidwell Bible Building
• 
  Truett Seminary
• 
  Mayborn Museum
• 
  Burleson Quadrangle
• 
  Old Main and Pat Neff Hall
• 
  Pat Neff Hall looking west
• 
  Statue of Judge Baylor
• 
  Another view of Burleson Quadrangle
• 
  Baylor Science Building
• 
  McLane Stadium
• 
  McLane Stadium interior facing south

• SS Baylor Victory—ship namesake

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Baylor University.

• Official website
• Baylor Athletics website