Packard Physics to return this spring
Posted by The Baylor Proud Team in : Academics, Student life
If you attended Baylor in the last 50 years or so, chances are that you took “Packard Physics” — the introductory physics course for non-science majors taught by the legendary Dr. Robert Packard.
Honored as one of Baylor’s select Master Teachers in 1990 and voted the Collins Outstanding Professor by the senior class in 2001, Packard retired in 2002 after teaching at Baylor for 50 years. But this spring, “The Pack is Back,” as flyers around the Baylor Sciences Building report. After six years away from the classroom, Packard will again teach one section of Physics 1405 next semester.
It’s said that a quarter of all Baylor alumni had Packard as a professor, which sounds about right. But then, when I was a student, it was also said that Packard was a top government official (perhaps CIA) who, should a national crisis arise, would be whisked away by helicopter to a top-secret location.
Regardless, for half a century, spending a semester in “Packard Physics” was kind of a rite of passage here — an experience students shared with a good percentage of the other students at Baylor. I’m certainly glad I was able to enjoy his physics demonstrations and good humor for a few months, and I’m glad the students who take his class this spring will get to benefit from his talents, as well — as perhaps their parents and even grandparents did.
Sic ’em, Dr. Packard!
Lariat editor among panelists blogging for New York Times
Posted by The Baylor Proud Team in : Student life, Honors
Presidential candidates John McCain and Barack Obama will square off tonight in the second of three scheduled debates. During the first debate on September 26 (and again during the vice-presidential debate last week), The New York Times enlisted a panel of student newspaper editors from colleges around the country to share their thoughts on the exchange in real time.
Included in that panel of students was Baylor junior Anita Pere, editor-in-chief of the Lariat. Pere did a good job of sharing not only her own thoughts, but also a bit of what students here at Baylor are thinking as the election is less than a month away. It’s nice to see Baylor included on that sort of national stage, and good for people across the country to hear about what students are thinking and doing here in Waco.
Sic ’em, Anita!
First-year students unwind at Freshman Follies
Posted by The Baylor Proud Team in : Photo Galleries, Just for Fun, Student life
September at Baylor just wouldn’t be the same without Freshman Follies, an annual campus tradition since long before I arrived here. The free event gives first-year students a chance to unwind and just be silly, dousing one another with food and shaving cream.
Most of us could use a day like that every now and again, but rarely (if ever) get the chance. But we can remember our own experiences fondly, and be glad today’s students still get to form their own memories like these. Baylor photography captured some of those memories in this photo gallery from the 2008 event, held last week. The Lariat also compiled their own photos, and if you’re really interested, take a look back at last year’s event.
Sic ’em, freshmen!
School of Social Work honored for work with Waco’s homeless
Posted by The Baylor Proud Team in : Academics, Student life, Honors
Baylor’s School of Social Work recently was honored with the 2008 Texas Homeless Network Outstanding Community Service Award, which annually goes to the person or group “that has helped advance policies or innovative solutions to homelessness or worked with communities to make a difference in fighting homelessness.”
The School of Social Work was recognized for its prisoner re-entry efforts and its work with the homeless in Waco. For example, more than 70 students, faculty and staff participated in the 2007 Project Homeless Connect, an event sponsored by the City of Waco’s Housing and Community Development office in which volunteers survey persons who are homeless to collect information that can be used to provide more beneficial services to this population. I love what the office’s director, Jeff Wall, had to say:
“I stood and watched with pure amazement at the professionalism and compassion Baylor’s students reflected in this critical homeless event. The homeless individuals were truly blessed by our Baylor students.”
Sic ’em, School of Social Work faculty, staff and students!
Nursing students work hard, play hard
Posted by The Baylor Proud Team in : Just for Fun, Student lifeThe most recent issue of Baylor Magazine included a feature on Baylor’s Louise Herrington School of Nursing that examined the people who, on the cusp of the school’s 100th anniversary, make the LHSON such a special place. The subjects ranged from faculty to students, alumni in local hospitals to alumni on the mission field, to even a special family of test dummies who help make the students who train on them smarter.
And when nursing school students aren’t studying, they’re giving back of their time, on international trips to places such as Ethiopia, Uganda and Mexico. But they do occasionally take a break from all that hard work, and when they do, you might find them cutting loose. Footloose.
Sic ’em, nursing school students!
Fall Premiere welcomes over 1,100 future Bears to campus
Posted by The Baylor Proud Team in : Photo Galleries, Student life
Even though students have only been back on campus for about a month, the effort to recruit students for next year and beyond has been underway for quite some time already. Last Saturday, the University welcomed over 1,100 students and more than 4,000 total participants to campus for Fall Premiere, one of the largest days in the event’s history.
Future Bears, along with their parents and siblings, toured campus, met with professors and administrators, enjoyed perhaps their first-ever Dr Pepper Hour, and were on hand for the annual Brothers Under Christ Island Party, with inflatable games and a concert by Kutless. (Click here for a photo gallery from the weekend.)
If you or someone you know is interested in Baylor, let us know! And don’t worry — you haven’t missed out; there are still Winter and Spring Premieres yet to come later this year!
Sic ’em, future Baylor Bears!
Baylor working to help those affected by Hurricane Ike
Posted by The Baylor Proud Team in : Student life
While many who live along the Gulf Coast are still without power and working to get their lives back in order after Hurricane Ike, Baylor University is doing what it can to help its students and their families.
After the storm made its way through Texas, University officials began to contact the 800 or so students whose families live along the Texas and Louisiana coast to let them know specifically how Baylor can help them during this time.
Staff in the Counseling Center are available to students who just to need to unload, talk, cry and pray through what they and their families are dealing with. Professors have been urged to be sensitive to their students’ situations, particularly since many classes are just hitting their first round of tests. In the coming weeks, those students hit hardest may find themselves struggling to keep up with school work, and academic counselors in the Paul L. Foster Success Center are also ready to help.
Above and beyond that, the Baylor Parents League as well as the Financial Aid and Development offices are working together to make financial aid available to students with needs caused by the storm — those with parents who lost homes, jobs and/or businesses, for instance. The Parents League has a fund for just such a situation, and Baylor has set up a second temporary fund just for those affected by this storm. Interim president Dr. David Garland sent out an e-mail late last week to ask for prayers and financial assistance in supporting these students, and already over $7,500 has been collected; if you’re interested in helping, click here.
Last but not least, the Student Activities and Spiritual Life departments are working together to form a relief team that would head to the coast over Fall Break, depending on safety issues, with another follow-up trip being considered for Spring Break. Anyone interested should contact Karin Klinger in Student Activities or Rebecca Kennedy in Spiritual Life for more information.
Sic ’em, Baylor family, for helping those in need!
Students help those in need during summer of service
Posted by The Baylor Proud Team in : Baylor 2012, Alumni, Student life
How did you spend your summer? For many Baylor students, the answer to that question is “helping others.”
* Over 160 students visited AIDS clinics, installed hydro-electric generators, tutored children and shared the Gospel on Baylor-sponsored mission trips across the globe this summer. Baylor Magazine compiled this powerful series of journal entries and reflections on the trip from some of the students who went.
* More recently, students and faculty from Baylor’s Louise Herrington School of Nursing spent a week in Mexico this summer, providing free health services to nearly 1,000 patients in need. The team provided general and women’s health care, plus eye and dental assistance and even free medications.
* In a related note, nursing school graduate Rose Nanyonga was profiled by a leading Ugandan media outlet. Nanyonga overcame an incredible series of obstacles growing up in Uganda and earned her master’s from Baylor in 2005. She has since returned to her homeland and is director of clinical operations at the International Hospital Kampala there.
An important part of Baylor 2012 and the school’s mission is “to educate men and women for worldwide leadership and service.” What an excellent way for this to be put into practice!
Sic ’em, Baylor students with servant hearts!
Student body biggest in Baylor history
Posted by The Baylor Proud Team in : Student life
We covered most of this back when school started a couple of weeks ago, but now that official numbers are in, we thought it was worth following up on.
As expected, Baylor’s freshman class is the second-largest in school history (that’s some of them pictured at right, during Late Night at the SLC). The Class of 2012’s total of 3,062 students trails only the Class of 2009’s freshman total; in 2005, Baylor welcomed 3,168 freshmen.
The academic quality and diversity came through as projected, too. The freshman class’ average SAT score of 1210 does indeed mark the third straight year that the incoming students’ score has been over 1200. Minority enrollment is also a record at 31 percent.
The large incoming class means Baylor’s student body is bigger than ever, with 14,541 students on campus. The previous record came in 2001, when the University hosted 14,221 students. This fall’s total includes a record 1,369 graduate students. Truett Seminary and Baylor’s School of Law each welcomed over 400 students (a record 406 for Truett).
It’s great to see that kind of demand for a Baylor education!
Sic ’em, students!
Helping students Rock the Vote
Posted by The Baylor Proud Team in : Alumni, Student life
It seems like recently news of the upcoming presidential election is everywhere you turn. A couple of weeks, during the Democratic National Convention, I flipped through the channels and found vice-presidential candidate Joe Biden’s acceptance speech being carried live on 12 of the 80 or so channels I get on cable — 15%!
But, knowing all the information in the world about the candidates means nothing if you don’t actually turn out to vote. Towards that end, Baylor is supporting the national Rock the Vote campaign all this week with their own local events, all to encourage students to register to vote by actually taking voter registration to where students are — places like the Student Union Building and Fountain Mall.
Assuming Hurricane Ike cooperates, the week will conclude tomorrow night with a concert featuring three bands — Sleeper Star, Shapes Stars Make, and Trey Duck — all made up of Baylor alums. The event will also include free food and, of course, voter registration.
Sic ’em, Rock the Vote!
