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Baylor law alums well on their way to success

Posted by The Baylor Proud Team in : Academics, Honors

For a young lawyer, graduating from law school and passing the bar exam are keys 1 and 1A to getting started on a successful career. Those same moments are important for the law school itself, too.

After learning several days earlier that Baylor had led the state once again in bar exam pass rate, Baylor Law School graduated 70 students in early May.

Two of those graduates, Josh Fogelman and Jeff Watters, will join two other recent law grads, Katy Boatman and Ashley Franklin, as clerks for the Texas Supreme Court in 2008-09. Only 18 clerks were hired by the state’s highest court, and Baylor Law School has four of them.

To top it off, a Baylor Law alumnus, Roland Johnson (pictured), finds himself well on his way to the aforementioned “successful career.” Johnson (BA ‘73, BS ‘76, JD ‘79) was voted president-elect of the State Bar of Texas. He will serve as president in 2009-2010, following another Baylor lawyer, Harper Estes (JD ‘79), who will begin his term as president of the State Bar of Texas in June.

Sic ’em, Baylor law alums!

Baylor student-athletes excelling in the classroom

Posted by The Baylor Proud Team in : Athletics, Honors

Baylor’s athletic program has developed a well-earned reputation for developing quality student-athletes who embody the best of both those words — “student” and “athlete.”

For years, Baylor’s graduation rates have reflected well upon the department, with the Bears annually at or near the top of the Big 12 in their percentage of student-athletes who earn diplomas. The NCAA has recently also developed what it calls the Academic Progress Rate (APR), and it should be no surprise that Baylor does well in that metric, too.

Baylor’s baseball and soccer programs lead the Big 12 in APR, according to the most recent data released by the NCAA. In all, 11 Baylor squads were above the national Division I-A average for their sport, and 16 of Baylor’s 18 sports scored at or above the national threshold. (Men’s tennis scored slightly lower but is not subject to penalty due to its squad size, and the equestrian program was not tracked since it is only in its third year.)

Programs that fall below the NCAA threshold can be penalized with scholarship losses and a ban on postseason play. But the combination of Baylor’s good numbers on the APR and the athletics department’s excellent graduation rates (over 50 more will graduate this weekend) shows the University really is “Winning with Integrity.”

Sic ’em, Baylor student-athletes!

Students learning international relations through model organizations

Posted by The Baylor Proud Team in : Baylor 2012, Academics, Student life, Honors

I was never much for model cars, model airplanes or any other sort of model. I lacked the coordination to keep things together and in the right places, and everything always came out not quite right.

Thankfully, Baylor students involved with a different sort of model aren’t having those troubles. Baylor students have enjoyed success competing in Model United Nations, Model Arab League and Model Organization of American States (MOAS) competitions.

In April, Baylor’s Model UN team received honorable mention at the National Model UN conference in New York, placing among the top 15% of the 290 colleges and universities competing at the prestigious event. Senior Will Masters received the top award in his committee.

Meanwhile, Baylor’s Model Arab League team was honored with one of two Outstanding Delegation awards at the Southwest University Model Arab League competition in Fort Worth. The Secretary General of the conference said afterward, “While I was speaking to Baylor delegates, I felt as if I was speaking to students who had lived in the Arab world and saw the culture, history, and passion of the Arab people first-hand. Their dedication to this competition and their desire to learn about the Arab states makes them one of the most respected and feared teams at the conference.” Four Bears (Tim Semons, Eric Headstream, Ryan Holder and Joji Suzuki) won Outstanding Delegate Awards.

Finally, the Baylor MOAS team’s co-head delegate, Seth Reed, was elected as the general assembly’s president during the Washington MOAS conference in Washington, D.C. Over 30 schools from nine different countries participated, but for the fourth time eight years, it was a Baylor student who was elected president. Three other Bears (Cassidy Ford, Manny Munoz and Joshua Hyles) earned positions of leadership during the competition.

Imperative XI of Baylor’s Vision 2012 recognizes the need to emphasize global education. I think these students have got it.

Sic ’em, model organization participants!

Law students lead Texas students in bar exam pass rate — again

Posted by The Baylor Proud Team in : Academics, Honors

For the sixth straight time and the 11th time in the past 14 offerings, Baylor law students have claimed the top pass rate on the Texas State Bar Exam.

During the February exam, 46 of 48 Baylor students passed on their first try — a 96% success rate. Totalling up the last 14 bar exam offerings, dating back to 2001, 926 of 980 Baylor students (94.5%) have passed the test the first time. Compare that to a state average closer to 80% over that same time period, and you’ll see why Baylor Law stands out. (For more on the law school’s approach and success, check out this feature from the last issue of Baylor Magazine.)

Sic ’em, Baylor law students!

Baylor tennis programs each hosting NCAA regionals

Posted by The Baylor Proud Team in : Athletics, Honors

It’s been a good three days for Baylor’s tennis programs.

Sunday, the No. 3-ranked women beat #20 Texas to claim the program’s third straight Big 12 Conference Tournament title, while the 11th-ranked men (playing without their top player) upset the No. 7 Longhorns to win the conference tournament for the fourth time in five years. This on the heels of both programs winning the regular season conference title, as well.

The past week’s championships give Baylor’s athletic department 20 Big 12 Championships in the past five years. Only Texas has won more in that period. In all, the Bears have won 29 Big 12 championships in the league’s 12-year history; Baylor won exactly 29 Southwest Conference titles in 81 years of SWC membership.

Monday, the conference announced that the Baylor women had swept the 2008 All-Big 12 awards, claiming the Player (Zuzana Zemenova), Freshman (Taylor Ormond), Newcomer (Jelena Stanivuk) and Coach (Joey Scrivano) of the Year. Zemenova became the first athlete in Big 12 history to be named Player of the Year four straight years in any sport. Three other Lady Bears and three Baylor men were named to the All-Big 12 teams.

Tuesday, the programs learned that, for the third straight year, they would each host NCAA First and Second Round action. The women are the tournament’s No. 5 seed and will face Oral Roberts in the first round May 9. The men were named the No. 9 seed and begin the tournament May 10, also against Oral Roberts. Baylor is one of only two schools to have both the men and women ranked among the top 9 seeds.

Sic ’em, Baylor tennis!

Former dean honored for his return to the classroom

Posted by The Baylor Proud Team in : Academics, Honors

Longtime Baylor professor Dr. Wallace Daniel is this year’s Cornelia Marschall Smith Professor of the Year. As such, Daniel will receive $20,000 and will present a public lecture on campus later this fall.

If you’re thinking, “Didn’t we just hear someone else named professor of the year?”, the answer is “sort of.” Dr. Mona Choucair, an English department lecturer, won this year’s Collins Outstanding Professor Award as voted on by this year’s senior class. To my way of thinking, it’s wonderful that we have more than enough great teachers to have multiple awardwinners every year!

The Cornelia Marschall Smith Award honoree is selected by a faculty committee based on the nominees’ teaching, research and service. Daniel came to Baylor in 1971 as an assistant history professor and since then has led the Honors Program, chaired the department of history, and served as dean of the College of Arts and Sciences before returning to the classroom in 2005.

Sic ’em, Dr. Daniel!

Equestrian excels at nationals as host

Posted by The Baylor Proud Team in : Athletics, Honors

Last weekend, Baylor hosted the Varsity Equestrian National Championships — the second straight year that the Bears have played host. In fact, Baylor will host the championships at the Heart O’ Texas Fair Complex next spring, too.

Of all the NCAA championships, only baseball hosts its championship in the same city every year. Could Waco follow in Omaha’s footsteps? Baylor equestrian fans can only hope so.

In the meantime, there’s plenty of success in the arena to cheer about. Junior Nicole Brown fell two points shy of winning the program’s first national championship over the weekend, losing 162-160 in the Equitation Over Fences title match. (The Waco Tribune-Herald ran a nice feature on Brown here.) Baylor’s hunter seat team also posted its best-ever finish at nationals, placing sixth.

(If you don’t quite get the terminology, BaylorBears.com has a pretty good FAQ here. My wife, a former Baylor Riding Association member, has helped me learn the sport.)

Sic ’em, Baylor equestrian!

Baylor senior beats the odds in earning Goldwater Scholarship

Posted by The Baylor Proud Team in : Student life, Honors

Baylor senior Juan Yaquian’s life story could easily have turned out differently. At age 9, Juan’s father left the family, forcing his mother to work multiple jobs. But instead of following the easy path to trouble, Juan dedicated himself to his studies.

His hard work paid off, as Yaquian will graduate next May with a degree in electrical and computer engineering. Last week, he got some more good news — he received the Barry M. Goldwater Scholarship, the top undergrad award in the country for math, the natural sciences and engineering.

As a Goldwater Scholar, Yaquian’s award will cover tuition, fees, books, room and board up to $7,500 for one year as he continues his education. His long list of honors is impressive, but I’m even more impressed by his attitude. Here’s what he had to say after winning the award:

“I feel that I have been blessed just to have the opportunity to attend college because a college education was never guaranteed to me, so I never forget to thank the Lord for everything I accomplish in college and in life.”

Sic ’em, Juan!

Baylor boasts Big 12 champs in men’s and women’s tennis

Posted by The Baylor Proud Team in : Athletics, Honors

For the fourth straight year, Baylor is home to both the men’s and women’s Big 12 Conference tennis regular season champions. Think about that for a minute; it means that this year’s graduating class in each program has never known anything but winning conference championships!

The No. 3-ranked Baylor women finished the year a perfect 11-0 in Big 12 play, 25-2 overall, with both losses coming against teams that were ranked No. 1 in the nation at the time. The Lady Bears have won four straight Big 12 titles and five out of the last six; over the last four seasons, they have rolled up a conference record of 43-1.

The 13th-ranked men, meanwhile, finished the regular season 5-1 in the Big 12, 19-8 overall. The team tied for the conference title with Texas, landing the Bears their seventh straight Big 12 championship and their eighth in the conference’s 12-year history.

Combined, the Baylor tennis programs have won 11 of the last 12 Big 12 tennis titles over the past six years — a time period that just happens to correspond with women’s coach Joey Scrivano’s start at Baylor and men’s coach Matt Knoll’s promotion to Director of Tennis Operations. Coincidence? I think not.

Sic ’em, Baylor tennis!

Senior class elects this year’s Collins Outstanding Professor

Posted by The Baylor Proud Team in : Academics, Alumni, Student life, Honors

When I heard that Dr. Mona Choucair won this year’s Collins Outstanding Professor Award, I was both overjoyed and completely unsurprised. For the senior lecturer with dual appointments in the English Department and the School of Education, it was only a matter of time.

Dr. Choucair (BA ‘86, PhD ‘00) is the epitome of what it means to be a Baylor professor: knowledgeable, professional, a great communicator, a superior listener. Every semester, students fight tooth and nail to get into her classes. She brings dynamic energy to the classroom, starting off almost every period by asking students about their other classes and often offering a timely pep talk. And though Dr. Choucair’s classes are challenging, her fairness and consistency is remarkable. She inspires her students to work hard every single day. I should know; I was one of them (and I didn’t even make an A).

Above all, Dr. Choucair cares deeply about her students, whether that means helping them with schoolwork, sharing meals, writing recommendation letters, or just talking with them about life. She welcomes all visitors, and on most days, a line waits outside her office door. As busy as she is, Dr. Choucair always makes time for one more.

I have often been the “one more” Dr. Choucair made time for. She is a big reason I switched my major to English after taking her American Literature course. She even helped me locate a home, find the right graduate school and land three jobs! Baylor is extremely blessed to have more than our fair share of people like Dr.  Choucair who literally change the direction of our lives. May we always remember how fortunate we are to be surrounded by professors who devote themselves to the students of this university. Track down those favorite professors of yours and let them know how much you appreciate them. Professors like these make me proud to be part of the Baylor family.

Sic ’em, class of ‘08, for making an excellent choice, and Sic ’em, Dr. Choucair!