The Baylor Line

08/30/2026

When war breaks out, what's the role of a university? That's the question Baylor faculty and students grappled with in this piece from just after the Gulf War began in January 1991.
From history professors drawing parallels to the Crusades, to literature scholars turning to War and Peace and Walt Whitman to help students process what they were seeing on the news, faculty across disciplines wrestled with how — and whether — to bring the headlines into the classroom.
"The university should enable people to think more clearly always," said philosophy professor Dr. Robert Baird, "and, in wartime, that need to do so comes more into focus."
A thoughtful look back at how Baylor's academic community responded when the world outside the classroom suddenly felt very close. 💚💛
🔗Read here:

Far from the front, the university can play an important role in illuminating the darkness of war by sharing information and prepping pupils.

08/29/2026

Fall semester is packed with reasons to be excited — football season kicking off, Homecoming festivities, the bonfire, and all the traditions that make Baylor feel like Baylor.
What are you looking forward to most this fall?
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Photos courtesy of The Roundup, 1995 + 2019

08/28/2026

Getting into medical school is one of the most competitive processes in higher education — but at Baylor, 70 to 75 percent of undergraduates who apply to medical school get accepted, nearly double the national average of 40 to 41 percent.
Baylor's Prehealth program supports eight healthcare tracks and goes beyond grades and test scores, weaving in medical humanities to build well-rounded, compassionate future healthcare providers. As Dr. Lauren Barron, Director of the Medical Humanities Program, puts it: "Medicine is closer to love than it is to science."
With research opportunities, mentorship programs, and even a study abroad option in Dublin, Baylor is preparing students for the road ahead — long before they ever set foot in a hospital.

Read here: http://baylorline.com/baylor-prehealth

08/28/2026

Dr. Christine Limbers, a professor of psychology at Baylor University, has been named to the Stanford-Elsevier "Top 2% Scientists" database two years running — placing her among the most-cited researchers in the world.
Her Pediatric Psychology Lab studies everything from maternal-child health to how sports impact young athletes' mental well-being. One recent study found that children with autism treated in a collaborative, patient-centered healthcare model had mothers who reported significantly less depressive symptoms and parenting stress.
As a former Division I tennis player herself, Limbers is especially passionate about her sports psychology research. "I think we have this notion that sports are always going to be positive, but what we've found in the lab is that it really depends on the experience the athlete has," she said.
Read here: baylorline.com/christine-limbers-pediatric-psychology-lab

08/27/2026

While Baylor’s 50th anniversary passed without much fanfare, its 75th could not have been more different. The Diamond Jubilee was an all-out celebration of all that Baylor had accomplished throughout its lifespan — and there truly was so much to celebrate. While the school started as essentially a small liberal arts college, by 1920 it had blossomed into a true university with multiple developing schools of education, business, music, law, graduate studies, and nursing.

It was former Baylor President Samuel Palmer Brooks who was adamant that the 75th anniversary was an occasion for celebration. He was, in fact, responsible for much of the University's recent growth and success at that point as president since 1902, so it was only fitting that he would want to celebrate.

The jubilee was scheduled from June 13-16, 1920. For three days, the Baylor campus hosted an abundance of sermons, meetings, theatrical productions, concerts, poetry readings, luncheons, receptions, and dinners. One such event, listed as a “Browning Benefit,” served as the occasion for the formal acceptance by Baylor of the famous bronze casting of the clasped hands of Robert and Elizabeth Barrett Browning currently housed in the Armstrong Browning Library.

The festivities culminated in a commencement ceremony held on June 16. After presenting all the degrees, Brooks impressively summoned 62 distinguished guests to the podium and proceeded to summarize their careers and accomplishments before the packed audience without any notes — and he didn't stumble over his words once.

The celebration, while exhausting, was also worthwhile. It was a reminder to every member of the Baylor family just how far they had come and a moment for President Brooks to reflect on all the time and effort he had poured into the school he loved so dearly.

08/26/2026

There's something special about an alumni ring. It's not just a piece of jewelry — it's a reminder of years of growth, friendships, and memories made on campus.
What does your ring remind you of? 🐻

08/23/2026

From strict 9 p.m. curfews to apartment living near campus, the way Baylor students experience independence has changed dramatically over the decades. 🏠

This Classic from 1991 follows two generations of the same Baylor family: Tommye Lou Vines Davis, who came to Baylor in 1962 when women had curfews and cars were off-limits for freshman girls, and her daughter Christi, navigating off-campus apartment life and a whole new set of pressures in the early '90s.

It's a fascinating look at how Baylor's approach to student life evolved — from strict rules to a philosophy of education, support, and what administrators called "redemptive" discipline — as the University worked to prepare students for adulthood in a changing world.

A must-read for anyone curious about how campus life at Baylor has shifted across generations. 💚💛

🔗 Read here:

The trend toward off-campus living has created new challenges for administrators who help students deal with the hazards of young adulthood.

08/22/2026

Baylor game day, sorted 🏈🐻
📍George's — the OG, Big O in hand
📍 Cricket's — 100+ beers, downtown default
📍The Backyard — biggest screen in Waco
📍Lucky Buck's — rooftop views + pizza
📍 Shorty's — family-friendly, pizza pillows
📍 Salty Dog — small, loud, all football
📍 Hilltop Tavern — upscale eats, Woodway
📍 Waco Ale Co. — local brews, taproom vibes
Save this before kickoff 💛 link in story

08/21/2026

During World War II, Texas housed 120 POW camps holding 79,000 German, Italian, and Japanese prisoners — and Baylor University was one of 103 American universities that offered these prisoners higher education.
Baylor Latin professor Dr. Walter Howard Juniper took a leave of absence to serve as a U.S. military officer overseeing the "re-education" of German POWs, delivering weekly German-language radio addresses on democracy and American values. Prisoners nicknamed the camp's PA system "Juniper's Terror from the Air."
It's a lesser-known chapter of Baylor's history, one that reveals the complicated role academics played during wartime. Read here: https://baylorline.com/german-pows-in-texas/

08/20/2026

Who knew the first bridge permanent across the Brazos River in Waco would become home to an iconic Baylor tradition: tortilla tossing!

Today, the bridge is only for pedestrian crossings, though its history as an integral thoroughfare begins long before Baylor moved to Waco. Baylor students have adopted it for the tradition of tortilla tossing. The goal is simple: toss a tortilla from the bridge and land it on one of the pylons emerging from the river below. The reward? Campus lore has it that a successful landing could grant the tosser graduation in four years, a Baylor soulmate, or a wedding ring by spring.

Until 1870, there was no bridge spanning the entire Brazos River, leading travelers, merchants, and cattle drivers on the Chisholm Trail to rely on dangerous shallow fords or ferries to cross. Plans to construct a bridge across the Brazos emerged in 1866, and the Texas State Legislature granted a charter that would establish the Waco Bridge Company. The private company was allowed a monopoly on transportation across the river for the next 25 years.

It was determined that a steel cable suspension bridge would be best suited for the project, and Thomas M. Griffith, a civil engineer from New York, was hired. By 1870, the bridge was complete. At the time of its completion, it was the longest suspension bridge west of the Mississippi River.

The bridge had economic benefits for the community. In the decades that followed, Waco became the capital for cotton and cattle trade in Central Texas. However, in 1913, many Wacoans called for the bridge’s removal — complaining that it was unsightly. But instead, the city, by then in ownership of the bridge, gave it a makeover, re-flooring it, stuccoing over the brick, and replacing the wooden trusses with steel.

So next time you’re walking the Waco Suspension Bridge, be sure to stop and take a second look to see if you can find any tortillas floating in the waters below.