Tom Escandell (1948 - 2006)

It is with great sadness that Friends of Baylor must report the passing of Tom Escandell. Tom, in addition to being a loving husband, father and committed Christian servant, was the technical genius for Friends of Baylor. Tom established and maintained the FOB website and database and produced and distributed the weekly FOB E-letters. Our loss is Heaven’s gain as we are confident in Tom’s new spiritual address.

Brooks Village Ground Breaking

Construction began on May 12 for Baylor’s newest residential community. An essential element of Baylor 2012 is the enhancement of the “residential” atmosphere of the BU campus. The new Brooks Village will be an outstanding contribution to the campus as well as a promised fulfilled to students who have been attracted by 2012.

Freshman Class Taking Shape

As previously projected, the Fall ’06 class will meet the targeted size of 2,850 students and will exceed all previous academic standards with a class mean SAT average of 1211. Baylor was only able to accept 42% of this years applicants for admission as compared to 66% last year.

These incoming freshman are not just bright and talented, they come with a Christian priority in their lives. Certain churches in the state are sending 20-30 students per year to Baylor. The prospect of an outstanding education led by Christian faculty is a one-of-a-kind college experience. Baylor 2012 is a product with great appeal.

Lady Bears Softball

The Lady Bears made it all the way to the Regional finals of the NCAA tournament but lost to Oregon yesterday 3 to 1. Congrats to Coach Glenn Moore and the Lady Bears for an outstanding season.

Men’s Tennis

Baylor’s men’s tennis team came from behind to beat Stanford in Palo Alto late last night.  This is a huge victory for Coach Matt Knoll’s troops and sends the Bears to the NCAA Championship semifinals.  This marks Baylor's third consecutive semifinal appearance. They will take on top-seeded Georgia, a 4-0 winner over Virginia, at 7 p.m. CDT on Monday at the Taube Tennis Center in Palo Alto. Texas and Pepperdine will face off in the other semifinal at 4 p.m. CDT. The semifinals consists of the top four teams in the Fila/ITA rankings: No. 1 Georgia, No. 2 Pepperdine, No. 3 Texas and No. 4 Baylor

Friends of Baylor Co-Chairman Clifton Robinson to the Rescue (Again!)

You can always count on Waco’s Clifton Robinson to step up in a time of crisis.  He did it when he founded Friends of Baylor three years ago (including donating $1 million to the University as FOB’s first act) and he did it again by rescuing the Bush Presidential Library bid by leading an effort to support the financing (up to $9 million) of a four-star hotel project. The lack of an appropriate hotel property was a perceived deficiency in the Baylor/Waco bid.  Clifton and other “well known, prominent individuals” fixed it.  God bless you Clifton and “friends”.  Click here to read the article in the Waco Tribune-Herald.

Scott Drew is More Than Just a Coach

Those of you privileged to have attended the Baylor Day of Prayer event in Dallas on May 1st will agree that Coach Scott Drew can articulate his faith as well as X’s and O’s.  Scott gave a fabulous speech and made all the Baylor family grateful for his Christ like representation of our University.  Likewise Regent Joe Armes and FOB Steering Committee members Ron Murff and Pastor Jim Johnson delivered inspirational messages as well.  For a wonderful example of how to pray for our University, click here.

Baylor Professor Receives Grant for Research at Cambridge University

Dr. Sarah-Jane Murray, a professor at the Honors College, has been selected to participate in a National Endowment for the Humanities summer seminar led by Prof. Richard Newhauser (Trinity University) at Darwin College, Cambridge University, this summer. The seminar will be devoted to the topic of "The Seven Deadly Sins as Cultural Constructions during the Middle Ages."

Top Prize for Undergraduate Research Awarded

Taylor Wooton, a senior from Allen, TX, received the Wallace L. Daniel Award for Undergraduate Writing. Her essay received the top award from a panel of professors representing several departments. Ms. Wooton, a University Scholars major with a concentration in chemistry, also delivered The Pulse Student Lecture. Kudos to Taylor and her mentors, (Professor of the Year) Dr. Kevin Pinney, and her graduate student mentor Madhavi Sriram. Visit www.baylor.edu/edu/pulse to read all the top essays. If you would like to order a copy of The Pulse, please contact faculty sponsor Dr. Susan Colón at Susan_Colon@Baylor.edu.

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