Dean Nordt Announces Return to Geosciences

Dear Faculty and Staff,

I wanted to share with you the news that Lee C. Nordt, Ph.D., the longest-serving Dean of the College of Arts & Sciences –our largest academic unit – has announced his plan to step down from his role as Dean and return to the Department of Geosciences at the conclusion of the Spring 2026 semester.

During his tenure, Dean Nordt has overseen nearly half of Baylor’s academic operations – a responsibility he has carried with distinction for almost two decades. His leadership has been both steady and strategic. Under his guidance, the College’s research productivity played a key role in Baylor achieving Carnegie R1 status. This milestone reflects not only the strength of the College but also the visionary decision-making of Dean Nordt and the talented team he assembled. At the same time, he continued to strongly emphasize excellent teaching as an important expectation of our faculty. 

Dean Nordt joined the Baylor geology (now geosciences) faculty from Texas A&M University in 1996 and served from 2005 to 2007 as Interim Dean of the College until his appointment in 2007. He was instrumental in helping develop the research infrastructure in the Baylor Sciences Building, including its five core facilities, shortly after it opened.

He has led the College through successful strategic planning (A&Spire and A&Spire to Illuminate) that resulted in several notable achievements. These include the implementation of a redesigned unified core curriculum in 2019 – the first update to the core in nearly 60 years; increased retention and graduation rates; investments in endowed chairs and professorships; the creation of new majors and minors; increased Ph.D. production, with about 75% of all Baylor Ph.D. degrees being conferred in the College of Arts & Sciences; nationally ranked graduate programs; granting success; and securing more than $160 million through our Give Light philanthropic campaign. In addition,

Today, the College’s new strategic plan, A&Spire in Deeds, is based on the framework of Baylor in Deeds, and it provides a five-year path forward to advance the University in new and innovative areas across the sciences and the humanities.

While leading the College, Dean Nordt also remained an active scholar and researcher. A Fellow of the Geological Society of America, his areas of research include paleoclimatology, pedology (soil science) and paleopedology (soils of past geological ages), quantitative geomorphology/Quaternary environments, geoarcheology and more. His research has been published in Science, Nature, Nature Geoscience, Geology, Quaternary Research, Journal of Sedimentary Research, Geological Society of America Bulletin, Geoderma and more. In addition, his research has been cited more than 4,300 times.

As we look toward May 2026, I have asked Vice Provost for Research Kevin Chambliss, Ph.D., representing the sciences, and Vice Provost for Faculty Affairs DeAnna M. Toten Beard, Ph.D., representing the humanities, to lead the upcoming search process as we recruit nationally for a new leader of the College of Arts & Sciences.

Please join me in extending our deepest gratitude to Dean Nordt for his visionary excellence and exceptional legacy in our College of Arts & Sciences.

Sincerely,

Nancy Brickhouse, Ph.D.
Provost