Thanksgiving Greetings

The Thanksgiving season would not be complete without an inventory of the many things that the Baylor family has to be thankful for. In the spirit of Baylor 2012, which fuels much of what we are grateful for, and Baylor’s successful membership in the Big XII, we offer “12” (in no particular order) items Baylor can be thankful for:

#1 The appeal of the “Baylor product” has never been higher

 

Twenty one thousand applications for the fall ’06 class and a school record 3,150 freshmen enrollment for the fall '05 class attest to the appeal of Baylor 2012.

#2 Academic Qualifications of Student Body have never been higher

The fall ’06 class average SAT score of 1211 is an all-time high for Baylor. Early indications suggest that this record could be broken by the fall ’07 class.

#3 Baylor is officially a “Research University”

Baylor’s designation this summer by the Carnegie Foundation as a “Research University” was a huge achievement by the faculty and administration of the University. Clearly a core goal of Baylor 2012, to achieve it so quickly was terrific.

For the full story, click here.

#4 Baylor Women’s Basketball

 

Baylor 2012 isn’t just about academics and states that Baylor will “build with integrity a winning athletic tradition in all sports.” A whole lot of that “winning” and “tradition building” has been going on under the leadership of Coach Kim Mulkey. A National Championship, multiple Sweet 16 appearances and 3 wins just last week, including a victory over #9 LSU illustrate this point.

#5 Baylor Leadership

We are blessed to have a new President, Dr. John Lilley, a new Vice President for Marketing and Communications, John Barry, and a new Vice President of Development, Dr. Dennis Prescott. Each of these gentlemen replace very significant contributors to Baylor and specifically Baylor 2012. Our hopes are that these new leaders will mightily add to the Baylor 2012 legacy.

#6 Residential Campus

The addition of Brooks Village and North Village has made a significant improvement in on-campus housing which is a stated goal of Baylor 2012. Coupled with the outstanding leadership of Vice President for Student Affairs, Dr. Dub Oliver, student life at Baylor has never been better.

#7 Presidential Library

Baylor remains a finalist for the President George W. Bush Presidential Library project. It is a terrific compliment to all aspects of the University to be in this position and we continue to reap great publicity from the effort. Case in point, check out Saturday's front page of The Wall Street Journal. God bless Tommye Lou Davis for her leadership.

Click here for the full story.

#8 Men's Basketball

Coach Scott Drew doesn’t yet possess the tournament trophies that his Lady Bear counterparts do. However, in spite of huge obstacles, he has made us absolutely competitive in short of order and given us fantastic dreams for the future. The signing of USA Today super 25 recruit LaceDarius Dunn this month is just the latest example of Scott’s magic. Scott and his staff demonstrate their faith and their competitiveness in a wonderful way.

#9 Baylor Faculty

Whether setting records for publications, research, and grants, attracting the best and brightest students, achieving “Research” classification for the University or just caring for and mentoring our student body, Baylor faculty are special by all measurements. Our faculty happen to be great “teachers” as well. World-class intellect and Christian worldview can co-exist and Baylor faculty and Baylor 2012 prove it every day. We are grateful for Provost Randall O’Brien’s leadership.

#10 World Class Facilities

The campus facilities at Baylor have seen tremendous improvement. The science building, the extensive sports complex along the Brazos, Brooks Village, North Village, the world class Law School, the many improvements to Floyd Casey Stadium and the new Faculty Center, are just a few of the fabulous changes to the campus.

#11 Baylor Sports in General

Baylor sports have never been better. National Championships in tennis and women’s basketball, Olympic gold medal winners, NCAA Tournament appearances in golf, softball and baseball, getting competitive (3 Big XII victories) in football, track records galore, AND! the highest graduation rates and academic standings for student-athletes of any team in the Big XII (see Baylor 2012 Imperative X).

#12 Baylor’s Distinctive Christian Mission

All of the above are interesting and cause for “thankfulness.” However, if all of Baylor’s efforts were not predicated upon the expansion of God’s Kingdom and the maintaining of the University’s distinctive Christian mission, its achievements would not be so meaningful. Thankfully, the foundation for all of Baylor’s endeavors is the Lordship of Jesus Christ. It is that distinction that makes us the most unique major university in the world.

JOIN FRIENDS OF BAYLOR!

Encourage your friends and family to join Friends of Baylor. Forward this newsletter to someone who cares or click here to sign them up yourself on our website sign-up page.