Baylor Arts & Sciences Spring 2013

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>> Hands-on Filmmaking >> Influential Theatre

Welcome to the spring 2013 issue of Baylor Arts & Sciences magazine.

During the short hiatus since our last issue, we’ve made some changes in design and content that we hope will provide you with an even better look at what’s going on in the College of Arts & Sciences. Making the alumni and friends of Arts & Sciences a part of the excitement on campus is very important to us. Our plan is to publish this magazine twice each year.

These are indeed exciting times at the University.

The demand for a Baylor education has never been greater, the breadth and depth of our student body and faculty is ever increasing, and Baylor is ranked as one of the nation’s “best places to work” and as a “best buy.” We are ranked as a “High Research Activity” institution while at the same time having a nationally recognized core curriculum. Our campus facilities continue to expand to accommodate program growth at both the graduate and undergraduate levels.

Importantly, Arts & Sciences is currently embarking on a major strategic planning initiative in response to Pro Futuris, the University plan that will guide us in the coming years. And, of course, Baylor’s athletic success continues to energize our campus, aid our student recruiting efforts and swell the pride of Bear fans everywhere.

In this issue you will find stories relating to some of today’s most important Arts & Sciences initiatives.

Creating a collaborative Arts District on campus is a dream we are working to make a reality. The Arts District would bring the fine arts departments and divisions from Arts & Sciences (art, theatre arts and

film and digital media) together under one roof with collaborations with the School of Music. It would not only serve the interests of Baylor students and faculty, but would enrich the arts for Central Texas residents.

The President’s Scholarship Initiative, which seeks to raise $100 million for student scholarships, is in the final year of its three-year campaign and we in Arts & Sciences have made supporting the PSI a priority. As examples you will meet two Baylor families who have created endowed scholarships to help students.

In another article you’ll see how Baylor health science programs are benefiting the local community and contributing to the advancement of scientific discoveries. Much of Baylor’s brand is built on the health sciences –– in a large sense it is who we are –– and that’s why we must remain on the cutting edge. You may be surprised to know that over onethird of our freshman class each year declares a prehealth concentration.

Finally, you’ll also learn how Baylor is taking the lead in helping to preserve Baptist heritage, be introduced to the University’s newest living-learning centers, and meet high-achieving faculty and students.

I hope you take the opportunity to read through these pages, to become engaged, and to learn about the great things happening at Baylor.

DR. LEE NORDT

DEAN AND PROFESSOR OF GEOLOGY

Contents 8

Creative Communities

Living-Learning Centers foster Arts & Sciences collaboration

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pg.

Helping Others Soar

Baylor health science programs benefit the community

14 Legacies of Education and Opportunity Families honor Baylor students through scholarships

Hands-0n Experience

18 Baptist Studies Center for Research

aylor filmmakers B provide real-world experience on location

Keeping church history alive for new generations

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News & Notes Stay Connected

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pg.

Influencing an Industry heatre students make T the world their stage

Baylor Arts & Sciences is the magazine of the Baylor College of Arts & Sciences that shares news of interest with the Baylor family. As the University’s oldest and largest academic unit, the College of Arts & Sciences is a community of 26 academic departments dedicated to the discovery and dissemination of knowledge across the humanities, social sciences and sciences. It is the foundation upon which all Baylor students’ educational experiences are built.

Baylor Arts & Sciences is produced for the College of Arts & Sciences

by Baylor’s Division of Marketing and Communications.

PRESIDENT Ken Starr | Provost Elizabeth Davis | DEAN, COLLEGE OF ARTS & SCIENCES Lee Nordt DIVISIONAL DEAN FOR HUMANITIES AND SOCIAL SCIENCES Robyn Driskell | DIVISIONAL DEAN FOR SCIENCES Kenneth T. Wilkins EDITOR Randy Fiedler | CONTRIBUTING WRITERS Casi Bowers, Eric Eckert, Dana Wallace Photography Matthew Minard, Robert Rogers | ART DIRECTION Clayton Thompson Director of Development Rose Youngblood

B y C asi B owers

When Chris Hansen – veteran moviemaker and associate

professor and director of film and digital media at Baylor – embarked upon shooting his third feature film in the summer of 2011, he knew the interaction and assistance received from current students would be beneficial for all. But he had no way of predicting the incredible amount of real-life experience that he and his students would gain along the way.

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CHRIS HANSEN

ansen wrote and directed his film Where We Started while Baylor colleague Brian Elliott, a senior lecturer in communication, served as producer on the project. Two seasoned actors – Cora Vander Broek and Matthew Brumlow – were hired for the project as was Taylor Rudd, whose skills as a director of photography are unrivaled. The remaining members of the cast and crew were current Baylor students, who developed new skills while building an undeniable bond.

While working through inclement weather and expending a great deal of labor constructing sets is not uncommon while shooting a film, no one could have expected the owner of a local motel (the main set for Hansen’s film) to back out of the contract halfway through the rigid production schedule.

This setback could have easily spelled disaster, but instead it gave the students remarkable insight into both the unpredictability of moviemaking and the professionalism and decorum needed to find appropriate solutions.

Those solutions called for all-night shoots, increased amounts of manual labor and great teamwork, but everyone rose to the occasion.

And one might say the experience was that much richer after cast and crew faced – and overcame – adversity together. Leadership comes from the top, and there is no doubt the group took its cue from Hansen.

“Making films puts me on full alert. When I’m directing, I feel like I have this laser focus,” Hansen said. “It’s as though, no matter the hour, I will be able to make it through. I’ll be exhausted later, no doubt, but while we’re doing it, I just love it.”

What makes this process and experience most remarkable, though, is that others of its kind are rare at American universities. Baylor’s approach, which provides students with handson experience and real-life examples from which to learn, is invaluable.

“Seeing the faculty work was like getting a glimpse at what the future could hold for us,” said Jakobsen Beck, a junior film and digital media major who worked on the film as

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an assistant camera operator. “You can never predict the elements fully and Dr. Hansen demonstrated how a director needs to be able to think on his toes while Mr. Elliott showed me that being levelheaded is a quality you can’t live without on a film.”

Seeing the faculty work was like getting a glimpse at what the future could hold for us.

Baylor students aren’t the only ones who find this approach valuable. The non-student lead actors in the film, who have amassed an impressive amount of experience, believe their experience on Where We Started would not have been as rich without the constant interaction of film veterans and students.

In the future, Baylor hopes to increase the scope of its fine arts facilities to provide film students with more space and enhanced abilities to collaborate on projects.

BRIAN ELLIOTT

By Casi Bowers

S TA N D E N M A N & SARAH SMITH

While one may think of extravagant costumes,

witty writing and grandiose sets when the word ‘theatre’ comes to mind, students and faculty at Baylor are excelling in those areas while also pursuing another goal –– to make a difference within the industry itself.

Though this may seem like a huge task, history has shown that many times change begins with one person, and you may be surprised at the large number of Baylor alumni who are affecting the arts. Many are involved in the writing, production and acting necessary to make some of your favorite shows happen –– on screen and off, large and small screen, and in Broadwaystyle productions as well.

Research shows the average American spends more hours per week watching television than doing almost any other activity or task. Add in time spent watching movies and seeing theatre productions and it’s easy to see just how much of an effect the arts have on our lives.

In light of these facts, it is very important that Baylor Theatre –– within the scope of the University’s mission statement –– focus specifically on how Christians can have a positive effect within the industry.

For instance, is the story being told in a production an important one to our society?

If so, how best can an actor, writer, costume designer or producer convey the message while also giving concerted thought to how they can be salt and light to those with whom they come in contact each day?

These are important questions with a myriad of possible answers. How are today’s Baylor students building this foundation?

Sarah Smith, who graduated from Baylor in 2012 with a BFA degree in theatre performance, said the close ties formed between students is a major element.

“Baylor theatre students support each other through anything,” Smith said. “Three years ago, a freshman at the time, I started ‘Girls Group,’ which is a time when the women in the department come together and discuss life, share prayer requests and support each other through Christ. This inspired male students to do the same, and now they have a Bible study they call ‘Man Up.’”

Dare to be Different The mission of the theatre department, however, is not to focus solely on spiritual enrichment. Its graduates must have the skills necessary to gain the respect of those around them in order to earn a spot on a show, in a play or as a member of a writing staff. This is critically important if Baylor alumni are to be in a position to influence others within the industry.

“If we are going to educate students who will be successful in the arts, we must teach them both practical skills that will help them to excel at what they do in addition to the knowledge and diplomacy needed 6 / BAYLOR ARTS & SCIENCES

in order to navigate the industry,” Dr. Stan Denman, chair and professor of theatre arts, said. “They must have the complete package if they are going to be a positive Christian influence.”

In light of Baylor’s strong community of faith, it might seem that controversial subjects would automatically be censored or even discarded from productions. But Denman said that’s not the case.

“They must have the complete package if they are going to be a positive, Christian influence.”

“There are some stories that need to be told. They must be told,” Denman said. “So the question arises –– do we tackle them and tell them with a Christian view, or do we allow others to be the only voices reaching the masses? The fact of the matter is that someone is going to tell stories that have merit –– those with meaning that have societal implications –– so why not us?”

Blending the technical and spiritual aspects required to do that successfully is highly dependent upon faculty members who are engaged, well-educated and who make themselves available. They must also be willing to put in many hours developing a synergistic model that accomplishes the goals of the University and the theatre arts department.

Smith said that Baylor theatre professors have proven themselves to be excellent mentors.

“The professors in the department are encouraging, helpful and full of wisdom.

They are willing to do anything to help. As a student, I tried to soak up as much as I could from them,” Smith said.

It’s clear that this approach has been quite successful given the depth and breadth of the Baylor family now serving in positions of theatrical leadership and influence throughout the country, and that the program itself is nationally ranked.

Whether the locale is Los Angeles, Dallas, New York or Chicago, there is no doubt that Baylor theatre alumni are flinging their green and gold afar. And they’re doing it in an effective manner because they built a firm foundation while at Baylor. They know what it is they stand for and believe in, and they are changing the industry, one at a time.

STUDENT ACTORS SARAH SMITH AND STEPHEN HERSACK IN B AY L O R T H E AT R E ’ S “ T H O R O U G H LY MODERN MILLIE”

By Casi Bowers

students in the college of arts & sciences have the

chance to increase the depth and scope of their Baylor education by taking part in special residential learning environments.

Baylor’s Fine Arts Living-Learning Center, launched in fall 2010, provides a valuable opportunity for students within the Departments of Art and Theatre Arts, the Division of Film and Digital Media and the School of Music to learn and grow together. Residents of this dynamic learning environment live in the North Village Residential Community, a facility close to the primary fine arts buildings on the Baylor campus, including the Hooper-Schaefer Fine Arts Center and McCrary Music Building.

The Fine Arts-LLC encourages residents to become more engaged in Baylor fine arts events such as theatre and music performances, film screenings, art exhibitions and guest artist lectures. Students also expand their artistic experience with

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sponsored trips to performances, screenings and exhibitions in other cities, and with workshops and other events.

Baylor’s newest residential learning program, the Science and Health LivingLearning Community, and the expanded Engineering and Computer Science Residential College, will both be located within the East Village Residential Community.

East Village is now under construction adjacent to the Baylor Sciences Building, and will open to students in August 2013.

Each of Baylor’s living-learning communities is designed to foster collaboration not only between the students who live there with their peers but also between students and faculty who live and work there. Students can broaden their experience and depth of learning by “rubbing shoulders” with peers and practitioners from many major fields of study. Students are evaluated for acceptance into Living-Learning Centers by application.

Students and faculty in Baylor health science programs are

Communication Sciences & Disorders For second-grader Kelvin Williams, reading a story with his mom didn’t come easily. “Early on he exhibited frustration and a lack of patience with reading,” Kelvin’s mom, Adele, said.

Seeing her son struggle led Williams to search for whatever resources she could find. “As a parent when you see your child struggle, and you don’t know what the best approach is to get them the help they need … (it’s) an overwhelming experience,” she said.

Eventually her search led her to Baylor’s Language and Literacy Clinic, one of five clinics that operates as part of the Communication Sciences and Disorders Program. The clinics encompass everything from neurorehabilitation for stroke sufferers to speech assistance for stutterers and hearing and articulation.

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B y D ana W allace

Dr. Michaela Ritter, director of the Language and Literacy Clinic and associate chair of communication sciences and disorders, said children who experience communication challenges may face all kinds of frustration.

“If they are unable to read and understand the language, it’s going to influence every single subject in school,” Ritter said, emphasizing that early intervention is key.

The Baylor Language and Literacy Clinic partners with the Scottish Rite, a group that provides a large contribution to the Camp Success Program each year. This intensive summer program uses researchbased treatment techniques that have benefitted nearly 600 children since 2003.

“It’s not unusual for those kids to come to Camp Success and leave six weeks later and have improved one, two or three years in reading ability,” Dr. David Garrett, chair and associate professor of communication sciences and disorders, said.

More than 200 students and families are now on a waiting list to be seen at the clinic.

“It became very obvious to us that we weren’t going to be able to see all of the children who need to be seen,” Garrett said, indicating those families are urgently seeking assistance.

As a result, a U.S. Department of Education grant brought in teachers and speech pathologists from 11 school districts around Central Texas to teach them the curriculum Ritter developed. They were able to take that curriculum back and work with children in their own schools.

To improve reading fluency, Dr. Jungjun Park, assistant professor of communication sciences and disorders, and Ritter are also doing research using Interactive Metronome Therapy.

“In order to have good comprehension with your reading, you need something we call reading fluency, which means that you are accurate and read at a good rate,” Ritter said.

As part of the reading therapy, students wear headphones and clap each time they hear a beep. The metronome records the time between the beep and the clap down to the millisecond. They hear a different sound to let them know if they need to speed up. With practice, “the general belief early on was if you can train the temporal lobe to have better timing and be able to do something regularly, they would improve their attention, their ability to focus on something, and they would improve their timing,” Garrett said. Outcomes are confirming that the therapy improves speech, language and reading rate.

“Probably the biggest winners are the clients, the children and the adults we work with.”

Garrett said that the variety of work taking place in the Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders might be termed a winwin-win-win-win approach: graduate students receive hands-on training; undergraduates see how things work in the program and decide on

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their future; important research is taking place; the faculty are able to put research into practice; and the community wins.

“Probably the biggest winners are the clients, the children and the adults we work with,” Garrett said.

For Williams, she has seen a win with her son.

“He knows he’s worked hard, and he reminds me of that quite frequently,” she said.

Psychology & Neuroscience Another area of focus in Baylor’s health science programs is psychology and neuroscience. The variety of research being performed in these fields ranges from post-traumatic stress disorder and alcohol use, to conflict management among couples and hypnosis benefits for women experiencing the effects of menopause.

Women who report 50 hot flashes per week meet over a five-week period for weekly sessions with a research therapist in the Mind-Body Medicine Research Lab at Baylor. The sessions include hypnotic induction and learning self-hypnosis.

“These woman are experiencing hot flashes that are interfering with sleep, and are associated with sweating that can interfere with work and their activities. They are uncomfortable,” Dr. Gary Elkins, professor of psychology and neuroscience and director of the Mind-Body Medicine Research Laboratory, said.

“In the past, hormone replacement therapy had been the standard treatment for hot flashes. Hot flashes

are among the most distressing symptoms experienced as women enter menopause,” Elkins said. He added that there is a strong need for safe and effective alternative therapies to hormone replacement therapy.

Elkins’s five-year study has shown positive outcomes. Early results indicate that by week 12, hot flashes decrease 60 to 80 percent.

“We’re very pleased with the results,” Elkins said. He has submitted a new proposal to NIH to develop ways to make the therapy widely available.

Research study participants receive treatment that can be found only in Waco or at the Mayo Clinic, where Elkins is co-principal investigator on a similar project.

“We’ve had calls from people all over the country who are interested in receiving the treatment,” he said.

“It’s a real benefit for people in the community who need this service.”

It also offers providers a referral source when they’re looking for an alternative way to address the treatment of hot flashes.

Dr. Cassie Kendrick graduated from Baylor with a doctor of psychology degree in 2012 and completed a clinical internship at the North Texas Veterans Health Care System in Dallas.

In addition to overseeing analysis of blood and saliva samples gathered as part of the mind-body research, Kendrick worked as a hypnotherapist in the hypnosis arm of the research trial.

“It’s amazing to see how well participants respond. It’s really hard to believe how well it works until you see it happen,” she said.

Kendrick noted that Baylor’s program offers a good balance of clinical and research experience, something she said is not frequently found in PsyD programs. “The thing that Baylor does very well is that it gives students a great breadth of experience but without sacrificing depth,” she said. Kendrick believes she’ll have an advantage among other candidates when looking for a job after graduation.

“In our program, our students start in their clinical practicum in their very first day on campus,” Elkins said. He pointed out that doctoral students in Baylor’s program also get more research experience.

Future Collaborations The ultimate goal for Baylor’s health science programs is to increase collaboration among researchers and provide an even higher level of patient care for the community by housing the health sciences under one roof. It’s something that will require new funding sources in addition to the support already being received.

Dr. Jaime Diaz-Granados, chair and professor of psychology and neuroscience, said Baylor is making a real impact in the community and beyond.

“To be able to have research programs that are residing here and being supported here, and having the facilities to implement the findings –– that’s pretty exciting,” he said.

With the programs in his department now housed in three different locations, Diaz-Granados said bringing them together under one roof would be ideal.

“It’s obviously a benefit to the community that would be receiving the services at the facility, but it would have a great impact on the entire university in terms of the resources that would become available,” he said, adding that it also would help in recruiting and retaining an even higher quality of students.

Garrett also appreciates the collaborations a new facility uniting the health sciences would promote.

“Let’s say we have a person who had a stroke, has lost their communication, and they’re depressed. They can end up seeing a psychologist,” Garrett said. “When you get a bunch of really smart people in a room together looking at a problem and brainstorming, magic happens.”

With his program at capacity, Garrett added that it would also allow them to reach more families.

“You want to serve more, and yet we are totally limited,” he said.

Having the health sciences under one roof would also make Baylor’s research more appealing to funding organizations like the National Institutes of Health and the National Science Foundation.

“They love to see research that puts a lot of different professions together looking at the same kind of problem,” Garrett said.

Melinda Hedrick and her husband have two children receiving assistance at Baylor’s clinics. “I would be willing to move mountains for my child,” she said.

Melinda’s seven-year-old, Tinsley, receives help with language and literacy. Her four-year-old daughter, Ella, was diagnosed with apraxia, a disorder of the brain and nervous system where tasks that may be understood can’t always be performed. Ella has grown her vocabulary from five words to 20 in about a year through help she receives at the Language and Articulation preschool.

“I have been bound and determined to do everything,” Hedrick said. “I finally feel like we’re at a place where they’re doing just as much for my child as I would want somebody to do.”

Garrett would like to be able to do just that for even more families.

He said being in one location would mean that “a person from the community could come to Baylor University, walk in that door and have one-stop shopping for a lot of different types of therapy. We could join forces with other departments on campus so we could all look at an issue from different directions.”

“To be able to have research programs that are residing here and being supported here, and having the facilities to implement the findings ­— that’s pretty exciting.”

By ERIC ECKERT

Pat and Dave Bronstein write letters.

The letters they write – simple, heartfelt notes from one set of parents to another – can only be penned by those who have suffered the loss of a child.

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“We do this, mainly, to let them know that we’ve been through what they’re going through now and we’ve felt what they feel,” Pat Bronstein said. “No one really knows how you handle things unless you’ve walked in those shoes.”

In the fall of 2007, Kate Bronstein, the couple’s youngest daughter, died from injuries she sustained in a car accident.

Kate, 19, was a Baylor sophomore, majoring in both art history and international studies.

In the wake of that tragedy, the Bronsteins wrestled with how to honor their daughter and keep her memory alive. Working with the University, they

discovered a way. In addition to writing letters to each and every family that loses a Baylor student, the Bronsteins created the Kate Alison Bronstein Memorial Endowed Scholarship.

An endowed scholarship is a gift that creates a permanent legacy for Baylor students. Endowed gifts are placed in a permanent fund and a portion of the income earned from that fund provides scholarship assistance to students, both on a need and merit basis. Endowed scholarships are critical to student success at Baylor, as more than 90 percent of today’s students receive some type of financial assistance.

About 3,000 students are assisted by memorial endowed scholarships each year.

“We didn’t know what to do, initially,” Dave Bronstein said. “We wanted to do something that would mean a lot to Kate. She’d traveled to

France when she was in high school, and that changed her life. At Baylor, she was an art history major and she planned to travel abroad the following summer. So we created a scholarship to honor her and her interests. That was the thought behind it.”

The Bronstein’s endowed scholarship supports sophomore, junior or senior art history majors who plan to study abroad. Since its establishment in 2007, the scholarship has helped five students achieve their academic and life goals.

Building Relationships For Adair Baggett McGregor (BA ’11), the Bronstein scholarship gave her the opportunity to study abroad in Florence, Italy, in the summer of 2010 and helped her finish her art history degree within four years.

A museum studies minor from Clarksville, Tenn., McGregor now

works as collections manager for the Baylor art department.

“Just before I went to Florence, the University told me I received the scholarship,” McGregor said. “I was beyond thrilled. The scholarship helped me pay for the trip and to take two classes which counted toward my degree and helped me finish on time.”

But there was more.

Because of the scholarship, McGregor was able to meet and spend time with the Bronsteins, and a relationship began.

“They opened their arms and welcomed me in,” McGregor said.

“We’ve gone to dinner. They contact me when they visit Waco. After I was married, they met my husband.

I never imagined that kind of relationship would’ve developed.”

The Bronsteins said that the building of relationships with students has proven to be a blessed

THE BRONSTEIN FAMILY WITH KATE BRONSTEIN AT CENTER

“One of the things we ask the art students is if we can buy one of their works,” Dave Bronstein said. “Fifty years from now, we’d like to have a house full of these artists’ works.”

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byproduct of the scholarship. “That’s one thing we wanted to do was to become friends and involved in their lives,” Dave Bronstein said.

Several of the Bronstein scholarship recipients have taken studio art classes. They’re often pleased to find Pat and Dave Bronstein at the front of the line to purchase their works.

“One of the things we ask the art students is if we can buy one of their works,” Dave Bronstein said. “Fifty years from now, we’d like to have a house full of these artists’ works.”

“Education means so much” Baylor parent Richard Mooney remembers the day he and his wife, Joan (BS ’76), received their letter from the Bronsteins.

“They sent us a card when we lost our son, Brendon,” Richard Mooney said. “They reached out and gave us their phone number so we could call them. I’ve kept that card to this day.”

Brendon, a junior majoring in exercise physiology, died May 11, 2009, at age 22 following a car accident. Inspired by the legacies of the Bronsteins and other donors, the Mooneys established the Brendon Chase Mooney Memorial Endowed Scholarship, which benefits exercise physiology majors in the health, human performance and recreation department.

“My son was extreme about working out and being at the gym and eating healthy,” Mooney said.

A wrestler in high school, Brendon planned to become a trainer and return to his home and work with high school athletes.

For the Mooneys, the decision to launch a scholarship was the most appropriate response to the loss of their son.

“Education means so much to me. I was the first one in my family to earn a college degree. I was determined to put my kids through school,” said Mooney, whose daughter Ashleigh attends St. Edwards University in Austin. “I know Brendon would want me to help others who valued an education and needed assistance.”

When Brendon died, the young man was a year away from earning his diploma. In the summer of 2009, Baylor University honored his memory by awarding him a posthumous degree. His parents walked the stage and accepted the degree on his behalf.

“That totally overwhelmed us.

Everyone stood as we walked across the stage. I don’t think many other colleges would have done that,” Richard Mooney said, adding that his family’s relationship to Baylor has blossomed in the years since his son’s death.

“When Brendon was at Baylor, we bought football season tickets as a way to check up on our son,” Mooney said. “We’ve continued to do that and be involved. It means so much to my wife. I’m not a Baylor grad, but I’m so proud of the University.”

Since its creation in 2009, the Brendon Chase Mooney Memorial Endowed Scholarship has been awarded to three students.

One of the recipients is a health and science studies major who hopes to one day be a physician’s

“Thank you for showing his love to me.” assistant. She sent the Mooneys a letter that warms the couples’ heart each time they read it. The note extends appreciation to the family for honoring their son and helping others, and offers the line: “Thank you for showing his love to me.”

Said Richard Mooney: “That is one of the best Christmas presents we can have. That’s what it’s all about.”

Building a Scholarship Creating a named memorial scholarship at Baylor requires a $50,000 commitment, Bill Dube, director of Baylor’s Endowed Scholarship Program, said.

Once the first $10,000 is invested, donors then have five years to contribute the remainder. Any funds donated beyond the initial $50,000 are used to build the endowment and provide more opportunities for current and future Baylor students.

“The wonderful thing about a memorial scholarship is that every dollar that someone will give to an endowment creates a permanent legacy for that person,” Dube

said. “As long as there’s a Baylor University, there’ll be a student that’s allowed to have a Baylor education because of the lives of students like Kate Bronstein and Brendon Mooney. There’s something special about knowing that after we’re all gone, there will still be opportunities for others to get an education.”

Those who establish scholarships receive annual reports that include the names and addresses of those who have donated to the scholarships. This gives the families the opportunity to contact those who have donated in their loved one’s memory and thank them with a note –– something the Bronsteins and Mooneys do regularly.

“We have written a thank-you note to every single person who donates,” Pat Bronstein said.

Since providing their initial investments for the endowments, the Bronstein and Mooney families have continued to build the scholarships. The methods vary from family to family, but the goal – more opportunities for students – is the same.

Each year, on Kate Bronstein’s birthday and the anniversary of her passing, her parents host a

memorial and fundraising event to build up the scholarship fund.

At one recent event, 65 people gathered and contributed a total of $30,000 to the fund.

“People have kept giving over the years,” Pat Bronstein said.

“We’re just overwhelmed at the generosity of our friends who’ve stepped up to meet the challenge.”

When the Mooneys committed to the scholarship, they saw an incredible outpouring from family and friends. Richard Mooney said he and his wife were humbled by the experience.

In addition, Richard Mooney donates every penny he earns officiating hockey and football –– a total of 150 games each year –– to build the fund and create more opportunities for students.

“I feel led to do it. I’m blessed with my health. I have no problems to go out there on the field or on the ice knowing those earning will go to something like this,” Mooney said. “I want to keep my son’s name alive, and it will be. As long as Baylor is around, there will be a scholarship with Brendon’s name on it.”

IN THE SUMMER OF 2009 BRENDON MOONEY’S PARENTS walked the stage and accepted A POSTHUMOUS DEGREE on his behalf.

By RANDY FIEDLER

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hen the Baylor Board of Regents approved the creation of the Baptist Studies Center for Research in February 2011, its members expressed a strong desire for the University to increase its role preserving and communicating the 400-year global heritage of Baptists.

“We think Baylor is the logical place for this center,” Dr. William H. Bellinger Jr., chair and professor of religion and The W. Marshall and Lulie Craig Chair of Bible, said.

“Its focus will be on research, and that is our strong suit.

We think Baylor can make important contributions.”

The center will pull together the hundreds of thousands of Baptist-related research materials –– books, letters, sermons, photos, oral histories and more –– already at Baylor.

“We’re now working on getting an inventory of just what materials we do have here,” Bellinger said. “In the future we will be making a significant effort to become a repository of the papers of significant Baptists that will likely lead to a need for archival space at some point in the future for all of these materials.”

In addition to printed materials, the center will seek to assemble a virtual depository of important Baptist documents, photographs, books and other collections.

Plans are for the depository to be an online archive not only of materials digitized from Baylor’s collections, but

from the collections of libraries and archives around the world that will partner with the center.

“We want to work with other institutions to create a virtual collection because while there are good Baptist materials in many places, the access researchers have to them is not very good as a rule,” Bellinger said. “Our long-term goal is to have all of these materials available at the click of a mouse.”

Baylor’s center will be comprehensive in its scope, something that other Baptist study centers so far have not achieved.

“Baptist centers at smaller schools typically try to develop a niche to reach out to Baptists in their local area, and the centers do tend to serve mainly churches in the local areas,” Dr. C. Douglas Weaver, associate professor of religion and coordinator of Baptist Studies research, said. “It’s all very good work, but it’s usually done with limited resources and has a very narrow scope. Our goals are much more ambitious than that.

We hope to offer a comprehensive look at Baptist stories in ways that other places can’t.”

Baylor is the only Baptist university with a PhD program in religion, and that distinctive will allow the center to offer graduate students new opportunities for research and enrichment.

“We will now be able to offer an emphasis in Baptist studies in our PhD program,” Bellinger said. “Doctoral students will be able to take courses in Baptist history and theology as well as do some research, with the idea that when they graduate they can teach in the area of Baptist studies. That will be a unique contribution made by this program.”

Chris Moore is pursuing a PhD in religion at Baylor, researching how the beliefs of colonial American Baptists regarding church and state helped influence the First Amendment to the Constitution. He said one aspect of the new center that will greatly aid students is the intent to bring Baptist

scholars from around the world to campus to lecture and teach.

“Having access to scholars that you normally would not be able to interact with –– being able to talk with them and even take classes from them –– is a great opportunity,” Moore said.

Bellinger said the lectures by visiting scholars will sometimes be offered in conjunction with other Baylor departments and research centers.

“These lectures could have a significant impact on our students, who could meet with people having important voices in Baptist life and catch a sense of future possibilities for themselves,” Bellinger said.

The Baptist Studies Center also will make it possible for more students to conduct research outside of Waco by providing funds that will allow students to travel to important Baptist sites around the world.

“Allowing more students to travel for research will help them do better research earlier in their careers, and will result in better publications and participation in academic

“We will now be able to offer an emphasis in Baptist studies in our PhD program.” conferences,” Baylor religion PhD student Courtney Lyons said.

The extent to which Baylor’s Baptist Studies Center can fully achieve all these goals depends on securing adequate funding. Once funding is in place, Bellinger said the new center can fully achieve its objective of adding value to Baptist life, helping Baptists learn more about their denomination’s history and pass that history down to new generations.

“This is one of the ways that Baylor can make a contribution to the Baptist future,” Bellinger said. “We also think that it’s a way to contribute to Baylor’s efforts at making sure our Baptist heritage is not only a heritage of the past, but also contributes to the living tradition and the current research efforts of the University.”

ADVANCING RESEARCH After Courtney Lyons earned a Master of Divinity degree from Baylor’s George W. Truett Theological Seminary, she decided she wanted the chance for deeper study of a topic that fascinates her — the important role African American women played in the American Civil Rights Movement.

“I found them to be among the leading women in the Civil Rights Movement, and I wanted to research their role as preachers,” Lyons said.

While she has nothing but praise for her Baylor professors as she pursues a PhD in religion with an emphasis on church history, Lyons said Baylor’s new Baptist Studies Center for Research will one day make it easier for students like her to complete comprehensive and detailed research.

“A lot of the traditional research that’s been done so far centers on the origination of Baptists,” she said.

“Having the Baptist Studies Center will hopefully give Baylor students the opportunity for a more focused emphasis on contemporary aspects of Baptist history, allowing us to deepen our research.”

CORE VALUES Baylor University is one of only 21 institutions in the United States to earn an “A” for its high-quality core curriculum, according to a report on the state of general education at the nation’s colleges and universities from the American Council of Trustees and Alumni. Baylor is on the “A” list for the third consecutive year, and is one of fewer than 2 percent of all institutions to receive that highest grade. No other Big 12 university and only three other Texas institutions made the list. Most classes that make up Baylor’s core curriculum are offered by departments in the College of Arts & Sciences.

The American Statistical Association has presented Baylor University and Eli Lilly & Company with the SPAIG Award, which recognizes outstanding partnerships established between educational institutions and business, industry and government organizations, and seeks to promote new partnerships. Baylor’s 2012 award recognizes the vision and support provided by Eli Lilly to the University in creating a long-term partnership to enhance pharmaceutical research and development.

Popular Art Baylor University’s Martin Museum of Art is expanding its permanent collection as it continues to draw thousands of visitors.

During the 2011-2012 academic year, the Martin Museum hosted six exhibitions featuring nationally recognized artists, including one national traveling exhibition. In addition, there were two group exhibitions of graduating Bachelor of Fine Arts seniors from Baylor, as well as one student and faculty exhibition. Approximately 6,300 visitors turned out for these exhibitions during the year, averaging about 700 per exhibition.

The museum purchased four new pieces with museum funds during the year, and had an additional 20 new pieces given to the museum as gifts, including artwork by Joan Miró, Marc Chagall and H. Claude Pissarro. This brings the total of pieces in the museum’s Permanent Collection to 1,574, valued at $4 million.

Meanwhile, one of the most popular paintings in the Martin Museum’s Permanent Collection –– “Ballerina Vera Fokina,” painted in 1927 (shown here) –– was loaned to a Minnesota exhibition focusing on the life work of its creator, RussianAmerican painter Nicolai Fechin.

SHELTER FROM THE STORM Interior design students from the Department of Family and Consumer Sciences in the College of Arts & Sciences will partner with students and faculty from other Baylor disciplines to design temporary relief housing that can be used by persons made homeless by hurricanes and other natural disasters. It’s all part of a national contest sponsored by the Interior Design Educators Council and Florida International University. The guidelines state that no tents will be allowed, and the units must contain areas for sleeping, food preparation and bathroom facilities. To aid their designs, Baylor students have been studying past disasters ranging from the 1906 San Francisco earthquake to Hurricane Katrina in 2005. Winners of the contest will be announced in February 2013.

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PROFESSORIAL excellence College of Arts & Sciences professors received three of Baylor’s top faculty awards during the 2011-2012 academic year.

Dr. Blair W. Browning, assistant professor of communication studies, was chosen by seniors to receive the 2012 Collins Outstanding Professor Award. Dr. Roger E. Kirk, Distinguished Professor of Psychology and Statistics and Master Teacher, received the Cornelia Marschall Smith Professor of the Year Award. Dr. Richard R. Russell, associate professor of English, received the Baylor Centennial Professor Award.

Authors receive acclaim Two Arts & Sciences faculty members have won awards for books dealing with religious topics.

Dr. Rodney Stark, Distinguished Professor of the Social Sciences and codirector of Baylor’s Institute for Studies of Religion, received WORLD Magazine’s 2012 Book of the Year Award for The Triumph of Christianity: How the Jesus Movement Became the World’s Largest Religion (HarperOne, 2011). The magazine praised Stark’s long-term perspective during a time when some evangelicals are displaying a pessimistic sense of decline.

Dr. C. Stephen Evans, University Professor of Philosophy and Humanities, won the first prize in the most recent C.S. Lewis Book Prize competition for his book Natural Signs and Knowledge of God: A New Look at Theistic Arguments (Oxford University Press, 2010). The Lewis Prize is given for the best book published in the philosophy of religion or philosophical theology for a general audience in the last five years.

Dr. Beverly Roberts Gaventa, who has taught New Testament literature and exegesis at Princeton Theological Seminary the past 21 years, will join the Baylor religion faculty in fall 2013 as Distinguished Professor of New Testament Interpretation. Dr. Gaventa is the author or editor of 14 books and more than 70 articles and essays, and is currently writing a commentary on Paul’s Epistle to the Romans. “Dr. Gaventa has established herself as one of the leading New Testament scholars in the world who engage in theological interpretation of the Christian Scripture,” Dr. Elizabeth Davis, Baylor executive vice president and provost, said.

Dr. Johnny Henderson, Distinguished Professor of Mathematics, was among a select group chosen for the inaugural class of Fellows of the American Mathematical Society. Fellows are selected for their “distinguished contributions to mathematics.”

Dr. Stephen G. Driese, chair and professor of geology, has been named a 2012 Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science. “Dr. Driese’s research has established him as a leader in his field…and places him among an elite group of scientists,” Dr. Elizabeth Davis, Baylor executive vice president and provost, said. In 2011, Driese was one of the scientists involved in discovery of the oldest archaeological evidence of human occupation in the Americas at a Central Texas archaeological site.

Professor of English Dr. William V. Davis is Baylor’s Writer-in-Residence and an awardwinning poet. Education administrators in Canada have chosen one of Davis’s poems to include as an “assessment item” for their English Language Arts 12th grade diploma exam administered in 2012 in Alberta, Nunavut and the Northwest Territories. The poem also is being used in required exams in Abu Dhabi, Bermuda, Doha, Hong Kong, Macao and Switzerland –– reaching more than 150,000 students worldwide.

Dr. Jennifer L. Good, associate professor of German, was selected to attend the prestigious 2012 Baden-Württemberg Seminar for American Faculty in German and German Studies at the University of Tübingen in Germany. The Fulbright Commission-sponsored seminar offers professional development to American educators in German studies, including German language, literature, culture, professional education, politics and higher education.

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Fulbright scholars

Language students shine

Six recent Baylor graduates, most from the College of Arts & Sciences, received prestigious Fulbright Scholarships in 2012.

Students in Baylor’s Department of Modern Foreign Languages are using their language proficiency to win awards and open doors to study abroad.

Sophomore Gus Holdrich won first place at the 2012 Texas State Japanese Speech Contest, beating out students from Texas A&M, the University of Texas and other schools.

As part of his first place prize, he received a free round-trip ticket to Japan. Meanwhile, senior Ryan Smith was awarded a prestigious Critical Language Scholarship to study in Japan this past summer.

Another Japanese language student, senior University Scholar major Brittany Lozano, is studying at Hosei University in Tokyo, Japan, this year, taking courses that focus on Japanese culture. The year abroad was made possible when Lozano won two prestigious scholarships –– the Freeman-ASIA Award and the Bridging Scholarship, both designed to help deserving students pay for study in Japan and Asia.

For the second time, senior Adrien Lavergne of Houston, who is studying French with minors in music and film and digital media, was named one of six winners in the national Vista Higher Learning Video Contest. Lavergne’s winning video “Unlimited” (available on YouTube) was shot on the Baylor campus, and features himself and a friend discussing the benefits of learning a foreign language.

1 Elisabeth A. Black of Dallas, a 2012 graduate who majored in Russian and international studies, received the Fulbright English Teaching Assistantship and is spending the 2012-2013 academic year in a Russian school teaching English as a foreign language.

2 Rachel Cliburn of Long Grove, Ill., a 2012 graduate who majored in neuroscience on a pre-med track, is conducting research in neuropharmacology through a master’s degree research program in neuropsychology at the University of Maastricht, in The Netherlands.

3 Elizabeth A. Dratz of Wheat Ridge, Colo., a May 2012 BBA graduate, received the Fulbright English Teaching Assistantship and is spending the 2012-2013 academic year in Turkey teaching English as a foreign language at a university.

4 Jackie Hyland of Houston, a 2009 graduate who double majored in international studies and journalism, received the Fulbright Binational Award, allowing her to work for an international company while studying international business, business development and social entrepreneurship in Mexico City.

5 Ross Natividad, a 2010 graduate who double majored in international studies and Spanish, and is currently a master’s candidate in Spanish, received the Fulbright English Teaching Assistantship and is spending the 2012-2013 academic year in Indonesia teaching English to high school students.

6 Huong Nguyen of Houston, a 2012 graduate who majored in medical humanities on a pre-med track, is pursuing a master of science degree in health sciences and public health research at the University of Aberdeen in Aberdeen, Scotland.

These recent awards have increased the number of Baylor students and/or graduates who have received Fulbright Scholarships since 2001 to 32.

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Kaylyn Smith, a senior apparel design and product development major from Austin, was one of only six students nationwide chosen to participate in a student version of the reality design show “Project Runway.” In August 2011, Smith traveled to Salt Lake City, Utah, to the Outdoor Retailer summer show, and was required to create outdoor recreational clothing under severe time constraints.

Brook Bonorden, a senior anthropology major from Aransas Pass, helped make a historic find in the ancient village of Huqoq, Israel, this past July –– a mosaic — that illustrates the biblical story of Samson.

Bonorden was part of an excavation team headed by the University of North Carolina that included students and professors from other colleges across the nation. Nathan Elkins, an assistant professor of art at Baylor, served as the team’s numismatist, or coin-finding specialist.

A man of many talents

PHOTO Lelund Thompson

Up-and-coming actress If you were watching the 2012 Tony Awards broadcast, you might have enjoyed the performance by the cast of the winning best musical, Once.

Among the cast was standout performer Elizabeth A. Davis (BFA ’03), a Baylor Theatre veteran who was up for a Tony in the category of Best Performance by an Actress in a Featured Role in a Musical.

Playing the part in Once of Cristin Milioti’s Czech roommate Reza, Davis wows audiences with a performance that includes a scene where she dances while playing the violin.

Although she didn’t win a Tony Award this time, there’s every reason to believe we’ll see Davis back on the awards platform one day. Dr. Stan Denman, chair and professor of theatre arts at Baylor, said he knew from her days as a student that Davis was special.

“Elizabeth was always so poised in class.

She’s been a dancer, a violinist, and she’s brought so many skills to whatever she did,” Denman said. “She learned such versatility while she was here, and she was such a hard worker. We’re seeing that pay off for her.”

DaNae Couch (BA ’10), who earned an undergraduate degree in English and public relations from Baylor and is now in law school, was crowned Miss Texas 2012. At Baylor DaNae was active in Baylor Ambassadors, Kappa Alpha Theta and Student Foundation, and was a twirler with the Golden Wave Band. Her pageant platform is “Hope for Family Recovery: Life Beyond Addiction,” and she represented Texas at the Miss America 2013 pageant.

Journalism graduate Miller Gaffney (BA ’02) is one of the stars of the new PBS television series “Market Warriors,” produced by the same folks behind the popular “Antiques Roadshow.” An art appraiser who started her own fine arts appraisal company, Gaffney and three other antique “pickers” scour flea markets and antique shows during the show, looking for items they can sell at a profit at auction.

Mathematics alumna Dr. Evelyn Lamb (BA ’05) received the 2012 American Mathematical Society’s AAAS Mass Media Fellowship. The fellowship allowed Lamb to spend the summer of 2012 working at Scientific American magazine, writing articles on scientific topics ranging from the evolution of music to the idea of tractor beams.

The experience helped her “figure out whether science writing is a good fit for my interests and strengths.”

Did you by chance watch the miniseries “Hatfields & McCoys” on The History Channel this year? It was directed by A&S alum Kevin Reynolds (BA ’74, JD, MFA ’76). The action-packed miniseries drew 14.3 million viewers for its final episode, making it the most-watched entertainment program on adsupported cable television in history. It reunited Reynolds with actor Kevin Costner, whom Reynolds directed in other movies including “Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves” and “Fandango.”

PHOTO JORGE RIVAS

Dr. James Sai-Wing Wong of Hong Kong (BS ’60) has received the Baylor University Distinguished Achievement Award. It’s considered the University’s highest honor and had previously not been bestowed for two decades. Only 20 people have received the award since its creation in 1980.

Wong received the award from Baylor President Ken Starr, who characterized the Chinese business executive and mathematician as “a prolific scholar who has also achieved extraordinary success in business and brought honor to Baylor.”

Following his graduation from Baylor with an undergraduate degree in mathematics and physics, Wong went on to earn a doctorate in math from Cal Tech, teach at a number of distinguished American universities and become world renowned in the area of the qualitative theory of differential equations.

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Measuring Up Baylor University was named among Fashionista’s Top 20 Fashion Design Schools in the United States, as published in the Style-ology Magazine.

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