Friday, October 27, 2017 The Baylor Lariat
News
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RESEARCH from Page 1 Overload and Hearing Simmons joined the Baylor faculty recently after conducting research at the University of Sheffield in the United Kingdom as a Fulbright Scholar. Simmons was previously a professor in the department of integrative biology and physiology at UCLA and worked to increase diversity in biomedical undergraduate research through his work with several NIH-funded programs. Simmons’ said he has been fascinated with the brain as long as he could remember. His work now centers on how sensory systems respond when they are overloaded. His most recent research focuses on cellular and molecular mechanisms related to hearing loss in the brain and inner ear. “As a child, I was interested in the brain and how it perceived and saw all of these amazing inputs coming into it,” Simmons said. “As an adult, and as a scientist, we’ve been working on trying to make sure we understand this in a way in which we can actually help others, those who actually have or suffer from hearing loss from overload of sounds or those who suffer from damage to their spinal cords.” Research Solutions: Cultural Consequences of Scripture Interpretation Gaventa is one of the world’s leading New Testament scholars, whose work particularly engages with the writings of Paul. She has published several books, including “Our Mother Saint Paul” and “When in Romans.” “The task of the Biblical scholar is very simple. It is to enhance our reading and our understanding of Scripture,” Gaventa said. “More generally, Biblical scholars help us to understand how religion contributes to human flourishing, contributes to our shared humanity.” Gaventa acknowledged that at times, religion has been twisted or distorted in unproductive ways. For example, Gaventa said the Bible could be read in a productive, enlightening way, or it could be read in ways that have harmful effects such as the justification of slavery or oppression of women. Gaventa said she sees her work as a Biblical scholar to counteract the harmful interpretations and lift up positive readings and constructive ways of thinking about Scripture. Research Meets The Classroom When students hear about high research activity at a university, a prevailing conception is a professor who is too busy for quality teaching, much less forming relationships with students. However, students at Baylor have a unique opportunity to come alongside and engage with faculty members in the work they are contributing to society. Carlson incorporates her passion for research in the classroom with her graduate students in the Hankamer School of Business. MBA students form relationships with community partners to analyze the organization’s use of human capital. Students conduct interviews, surveys and comparative analysis to collect data. At the end of the project, students share their findings and provide feedback on ways the organization can further human flourishing in the workplace. For Simmons, research in the sciences is fundamentally the best way to teach what science is all about. Simmons said he taught his first freshman class at Baylor last spring. At the beginning of the course, Simmons said he found that only about a third of the class had been engaged in any type of research. He said he met with each student one-on-one and tried to challenge them, asking, “What are you going to do? What contribution can you make in creating new knowledge that we didn’t already know?”
Johnson said students normally approached him first about collaborating with him in research endeavors. “In that way Baylor’s different, too,” Johnson said. “That [students] would take that initiative to come see you and see if they could get plugged into a project, that’s one way it happens ... whether it’s post-doctoral students, graduate students or undergrads, I think that the mentoring piece is huge. I was the beneficiary of mentoring and it changed my whole career.” The Baylor Difference Simmons said he’s worked at a number of secular
institutions and did well, but found there was something just different about coming to Baylor. “[Baylor] wanting to be not just a Christian institution, but to really set its goals very high and say, ‘We want to be top-tier. We want to be a really great research institution, and on top of that, to tenaciously hold onto teaching as a mission,’ Simmons said. “Bringing those two together, most institutions just say no, they really don’t go together. But here, we’re really trying to make them not only go together, but to raise them both up.” Simmons said he believes
that Baylor’s aspirations to be a quality research institution testify to the fact that it is possible to be both a faithful Christian and a strong academic. “What Baylor is doing is rethinking that and saying, we’re putting it back together again,” Simmons said. “We’re going to be an institution where one’s Christianity and faith are as important as the academic work you’re doing and we can do both together.” Gaventa, Carlson and Johnson all echoed Simmons’ reflection of Baylor as an institution where higher learning and faith can be embraced equally and openly.
When Johnson first received a job offer from Baylor, he said he asked himself, “Why would I want to come to Baylor? I’m in the Ivy Leagues.” Johnson said the desire to be a part of a great Christian university that aspired to be a great research university really touched him. Not only did Baylor’s toptier research aspirations attract Carlson to the university, she said she believed Baylor’s culture concerning work and family balance gave her confidence when she interviewed for the job as an expectant mother. Livingstone was a part of
the group r that hired Carlson to join the faculty. When Carlson saw that Livingstone was married, raising a child and doing well in her work, Carlson said she felt confident that she could achieve as a scholar, mother and family member at Baylor. “By creating this unique environment, it brings us to the table. It brings a Christian perspective to the table of decision-making and the table of policymaking, to the table of scholarship,” Carlson said. “We can have an impact on lots of people beyond simply the walls of Baylor because we’re creating such outstanding scholarship here.”
What’s Happening on Campus? Sundown Weekend Friday, Oct. 27 UBreak Pop Up Brunch Bar
10 a.m. to 12 p.m. Come by the Union Board Office on the first floor of the BDSC for free brunch and a cup of coffee, on us!
Food Truck Fridays
11 a.m. to 11 p.m. Head to Fifth Street for a food truck feast outside the BDSC. All trucks accept cash or credit/debit card.
Sundown Sessions: Pirates of the Caribbean, Blacklight Bowling
9 p.m. to 1 a.m. Join us in Barfield Drawing Room for showings of Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales at 9 p.m. and 11 p.m. Blacklight Bowling will take place all evening in the Baylor Gameroom.
Saturday, Oct. 28 Sundown Sessions: Halloween Dance, Blacklight Bowling
9 p.m. to 1 a.m. Show off your best costume at the Sundown costume contest and be prepared to dance the night away in Barfield Drawing Room. Blacklight Bowling all night in the Baylor Gameroom.
Friday, Oct. 27 NASA’s Shane Kimbrough presents “Life on the International Space Station” 2:30 p.m. Hear Col. Shane Kimbrough, astronaut and space station scientist, share about his multiple ventures to space in Room B110 of the Baylor Sciences Building.
Friday, Oct. 27 and Saturday, Oct. 28 Fright Nights
8 p.m. to 11 p.m. Come prepared to be scared as the Phi Gamma Delta Fraternity and the Baylor Activities Council present FIJI Fright Nights Haunted House on Fountain Mall.
Monday, Oct. 30 Cherry Award Public Lecture: Dr. Heidi G. Elmendorf
Monday, Oct. 30 Movie Mondays at the Hippodrome: What About Waco
7 p.m. The four-episode documentary about our city starts with the story behind the Waco Suspension Bridge and ends with the devastating 1953 Waco tornado and the rebuilding of the city as we know it today.
Monday, Oct. 30
Concert Choir and Bella Voce
7:30 p.m. The Concert Choir and the chamber choir of women’s voices, directed by Lynne Gackle, will take place in Jones Concert Hall, McCrary Music Building.
Tuesday, Oct. 31 World Cinema Series: Nosferatu: Eine Symponie des Grauens 6 p.m. Nosferatu: Symphony of Horror, released in Germany in 1922, is an adaptation of Bram Stoker’s Dracula. The Halloween feature will play in Bennett Auditorium, Draper Hall.
Tuesday, Oct. 31 Neighbor Nights: CSSA
6 p.m. Join the Baylor Chinese Students and Scholars Association at the Bobo Spiritual Life Center for Neighbor Nights, a dinner event that brings different groups on campus together to share their cultural and religious experiences through stories and food.
Tuesday, Oct. 31 Halloween Organ Concert
7:30 p.m. Isabelle Demers, assistant professor of organ, and her students present this annual Halloween tradition in Jones Concert Hall, McCrary Music Building.
Wednesday, Nov. 1 Find Your Major Fair
3 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. If you are undecided on a major or are questioning your career path, come meet professors and departmental staff representing all the programs Baylor has to offer in Barfield Drawing Room.
Thursday, Nov. 2 “Look and See: A Portrait of Wendell Berry”
3:30 p.m. An exclusive screening of the film that gives a look into the farming cycle and its evolution over time in Henry County, Kentucky. The screening and panel discussion will be hosted by Dr. Mikeal Parsons at the Waco Hippodrome Theater.
3:30 p.m. Cherry Award Finalist Heidi G. Elmendorf, PhD, will present “The Moral Relativism of Microbes: To Be or Not To Be Virulent” In Kayser Auditorium, Hankamer Academic Center.
For more, join Baylor Connect at
baylor.edu/baylorconnect Follow @BaylorStuAct, @BaylorMA and @BaylorUB on Twitter.