2015 Elsewhere at Baylor

Following a global search led by a committee representing Baylor University faculty, staff and students, Baylor President and Chancellor Ken Starr announced the appointment of Edwin Trevathan, MD, MPH, as executive vice president and provost in December. Trevathan previously served as dean and professor of epidemiology in the College for Public Health and Social Justice at Saint Louis University and professor of neurology and pediatrics at SLU’s School of Medicine.

“Dr. Trevathan brings outstanding credentials and genuine enthusiasm for Baylor’s unique mission and the community vision of Pro Futuris,” Starr said. As chief academic officer, Trevathan will be charged with advancing the University’s academic programs and providing oversight on vitally important matters of academic affairs.

“I am thrilled to have this opportunity to serve one of the world’s outstanding Christian universities and to assist the faculty in fulfilling the great promise of Pro Futuris,” Dr. Trevathan said. “Baylor maintains a deep and abiding commitment to scholarship and discovery across all disciplines, which it exercises powerfully in the context of Christian community, and a dedication to preparing women and men for lives of service.”

Dr. Trevathan earned his bachelor’s degree in chemistry in 1977 from Lipscomb University, his master’s degree in public health from Rollins School of Public Health at Emory University and his medical degree from the Emory University School of Medicine. He completed residencies and post-doctoral fellowships at Yale-New Haven Medical Center, Yale University School of Medicine; and Massachusetts General Hospital and Boston Children’s Hospital, Harvard Medical School. 

Regents Approve PhD in Environmental Science

Baylor’s Board of Regents approved a new PhD in environmental science that will educate a generation of scientists, scholars and professionals who can address the most challenging environmental issues that face humanity by advancing scientific understanding of environmental health, environmental chemistry and toxicology, which are core specialty areas within the department. 

“Impactful research activities in the environmental and health sciences must combine core research strengths within interdisciplinary team structures to address environmental problems, protect public health, steward the environment and achieve sustainable practices,” said George P. Cobb, PhD, professor and chair of environmental science in Baylor’s College of Arts and Sciences. 

Over the next five years, Baylor anticipates an increase in doctoral production in the STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) fields. In 2014, Baylor produced 28 PhD graduates in STEM fields. By 2019, the University expects it will award 44 STEM doctoral degrees. 

‘Topping Out’ of $100 Million Paul L. Foster Campus for Business and Innovation Celebrated

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In November, Baylor reached the significant “topping out” milestone – or midpoint of construction – on its latest project: the $100 million, 275,000-square-foot Paul L. Foster Campus for Business and Innovation.

The Foster Campus will provide a dynamic new home for the University’s nationally ranked Hankamer School of Business when it opens in Fall 2015.

Once open, the Foster Campus will expand the size of the business school by 40 percent and increase opportunities for student and faculty collaboration across areas of business, science and technology.

Among the features of the Foster Campus:

• 41 classrooms, 36 team rooms and numerous seminar spaces 
• A 10,000-square-foot centerpiece atrium 
• A 9,200-square-foot conference center 
• A 350-seat auditorium 
• Innovative technologies such as lecture capture, video conferencing and distance learning capabilities
• A state-of-the-art financial markets center giving students the opportunity to gain hands-on experience 

Baylor Dedicates Clyde Hart Track and Field Stadium

Just months after opening McLane Stadium, Baylor dedicated its newest “jewel on the Brazos” – the $18.1 million Clyde Hart Track and Field Stadium.

With the completion of the Hart Track and Field Stadium, every Baylor sport now has its home on campus. Hart is Baylor’s longest-tenured coach and one of track’s most successful coaches in the sport’s history.

“The addition of Clyde Hart Track and Field Stadium to the athletic complex now occupying both sides of the Brazos River is a key part of the physical transformation taking place across the campus of Baylor University as we pursue excellence in all areas of the University’s operations,” said Baylor President and Chancellor Ken Starr.

The Clyde Hart Track and Field Stadium accommodates 5,000 spectators and participants and offers a wide variety of facilities and state-of-the-art amenities including:

• The 13,500-square-foot Lewis A. and Mary Woodall Training Center, featuring an indoor practice facility;
• The Bob and Brenda Barkley Champions Plaza recognizing winners of Olympic and NCAA titles;
• A 6,000-square-foot team facility containing the Winston Wolfe Clubhouse; and
• A 10,300-square-foot team building containing hydrotherapy pools, a training room, offices and meeting rooms, and storage space.
  “It’s a dream come true,” Hart said of the new facility.

“It was very hard for me to visualize a football stadium, much less a track stadium on this piece of property. It’s amazing the job and the work that went in to making this area not only a football stadium but a track and a park for the city of Waco.

Regents Celebrate Naming Gift for Robbins College of Health and Human Sciences

The Baylor University Board of Regents announced a significant gift from William K. and Mary Jo Robbins of Houston that will name the University’s newest academic unit focused on health-related education and research – the Robbins College of Health and Human Sciences at Baylor University.

“Bill Robbins is a person of immense talent whose character, insight and experience serving as a Baylor Regent has impacted in many ways the University’s forward momentum during a period of unprecedented growth and advancement,” said Richard Willis, BBA ’81, MBA ’82, chair of the Board of Regents. 

The College of Health and Human Sciences was established in May 2014, uniting four existing health-related academic units – communication sciences and disorders; family and consumer sciences; health, human performance and recreation; and the Louise Herrington School of Nursing.

A Baylor graduate and member of the Board of Regents, Bill Robbins received his bachelor of arts degree in 1952 and bachelor of laws in 1954. He earned a juris doctorfrom Baylor Law School in 1969. He is founder and CEO of Houston-based North American Corporation.

Mary Jo Robbins earned a bachelor of science degree in nursing from the University of Texas in 1975. During her 27 years in the nursing profession, she opened and managed 10 dialysis facilities in Texas.