Provost's Newsletter - January 2022
Dear Colleagues,
Welcome back! I hope you were able to enjoy our crazy warm weather and celebrate Christmas with family and friends. Spring 2022 will be the beginning of a new journey for Baylor as a Christian research university, recognized by Carnegie as among the highest-ranked research universities in the U.S. We were only able to reach this goal because of you and the work you do every day.
While I do not typically make New Years’ resolutions, I did this year: to do a better job of communicating with you. Every month, I will send you a newsletter that directly informs you about a wide variety of issues such as policy changes, critical hiring decisions, special recognitions, and areas of concern. The newsletter will also inform you of deadlines, professional development opportunities, and significant academic campus events. I hope to reduce the number of e-mails you get from me by consolidating them into a single newsletter that will become an essential resource for you.
In November, I presented to the Board of Regents an assessment of our progress on Illuminate. I, along with other members of the President’s Council, also presented plans for the next five years as we more fully implement the direction set in Illuminate. You’ll hear more about this at the Spring Faculty meeting on January 27th at 3:00 p.m. We also want to spend time at that meeting thanking and celebrating our faculty for their work in reaching our R1 goals. We are so grateful to each and every one of you and are excited for what is ahead. Please join us!
One of the initiatives that my office has been working on is implementing the recommendations that emerged from the COACHE survey. As a result, several essential initiatives have been started, including a Target of Excellence Hiring Program and the Discipline-Specific Diversity Program.
One of the other recommendations was to create a new position for a Vice Provost of Faculty Diversity and Belonging. This position has been created, and we are accepting nominations for internal candidates to fill the position. Please read the description carefully and nominate individuals you believe have the relevant experience and characteristics articulated in the position description. Then, you can send those nominations to vp_nominations@baylor.edu. The Search Committee will reach out to nominated candidates to invite them to apply for the position.
Great work is happening at Baylor, and I hope you are rested and ready for the start of the Spring 2022 semester. I am so grateful for your hard work in helping us achieve the R1 goal – and I look forward to continuing our journey together as we live out our faith through our scholarship and our teaching in ways that bring honor to the Lord.
Nancy Brickhouse
Covid Updates
- Please ensure that you have reviewed the e-mail sent from the Provost’s Office on January 12th, discussing the updates to faculty guidelines surrounding COVID absences.
- Did you have coronavirus over the holiday break? Please contact your department head to report your case to HR. Thank you!
- All classes scheduled in Type 1, 2, or 3 classrooms are set to automatically record for the spring 2022 term. Automatic lecture capture technology, live streaming options, and upcoming training for technology solutions in all types of classrooms on campus are also available on the Spring 2022 Technology Updates webpage.
Vice Provosts' Corner
Vice Provost for Global Engagement
- Reminder: International Students and Internships
International students on an F-1 visa who wish to complete an internship must first be approved for Curricular Practical Training (CPT).
Vice Provost for Undergraduate Education
- Baylor’s McNair Scholars Program seeks your help in identifying student applicants for our 2022 McNair cohort. The McNair program prepares first-generation and other underrepresented students for graduate school. Eligible applicants may apply as early as their sophomore year and as late as their senior year as long as they will not graduate before the fall of 2022.
- Progress with Progress Reports: This past semester, faculty doubled their rate of progress report submissions. Students identified through this process were 29% more likely to enroll in the spring 2022 semester than those who were not, and all received direct support from the Center for Academic Support and Engagement (CASE) staff. Be on the lookout for more information in the upcoming Navigate Newsletter. Thank you for supporting this work and our students!
Events
Readers Meet the Author
January 25th, 11:30 a.m.-1:00 p.m., Online
The fourth installment of our virtual "Readers Meet the Author" series will spotlight the scholarly work of Baylor faculty member Beth Allison Barr, Ph.D., Professor of History and Associate Dean in the Graduate School, who has authored The Making of Biblical Womanhood: How the Subjugation of Women Became Gospel Truth.
Spring Faculty Meeting
January 27th, 3:00-4:30 p.m., Online
Join us as we share in a time of celebration of the achievement of R1 status and look to the future with a panel discussion by Kevin Jackson and Dave Rosselli, along with a discussion of new capital projects from Brett Dalton. You will receive the virtual meeting link the day before the event.
Important Academic Deadlines
- January 15 to February 15 — Annual reviews commence with meetings between chairs (or deans in single-department schools) and faculty, and review meetings for Lecturers in years 2 and 4.
- January 15 to February 15 — Conduct evaluation meetings for T-T faculty in year 4 (must be completed by Feb. 15).
- January 31 — Clinical Associate Professor promotion to the rank of Clinical Professor decision must be made.
- January 31 — Deans to notify all summer sabbatical applicants and their department chairs of application decisions
- February 1 — Favorable Clinical Associate Professor promotion to the rank of Clinical Professor and all supporting documentation due to the dean.
- February 3 — For information about research dates and deadlines, contact the Office of the Vice Provost for Research - Research Services.
- February 3 — University Teaching Development Grant applications due to ATL.
Spotlight on the Academy
School of Music
- January 29th: President’s Centennial Collage Concert, Waco Hall, 7:30 p.m. Free tickets are available at 254-710-1211.
- February 1st: Distinguished Artist Series, Hub New Music, Roxy Grove Hall, 7:30 p.m. Tickets available at baylor.edu/tickets.
- February 3rd – Sunday 6th: Baylor Opera Theatre presents Aaron Copland’s The Tender Land, Hooper-Schaefer Fine Arts Center, 7:30 p.m. (Thursday – Saturday) and 3 p.m. (Sunday). Tickets available at baylor.edu/theatre.
University Libraries
- The Affordable Course Materials Summer Fellows Program offers Baylor faculty the opportunity to re-evaluate their course materials with an eye toward replacing required course materials with low- to zero-cost materials, such as open educational resources (OERs). Applications are accepted from January through March.