Office of the Provost

Provost Newsletter - March 2025

March 17, 2025

Dear Colleagues,

With all the uncertainty surrounding federal research, I wanted to take a moment to reassure you how carefully Baylor’s administration is monitoring this ever-changing situation – not only do we have staff on campus dedicated to this task, but we also have people in Washington and Austin representing Baylor University. We are also partnering with higher education organizations across the country to advocate for research universities.

An executive order issued on February 14 capped the indirect cost rate for National Institutes of Health (NIH) to 15%. This order has been challenged in the federal courts. We do not know when we will know the court’s ruling.

Compared with our peers, Baylor’s indirect research cost rate is relatively low at 50%, contrasted with 52.5% at Texas A&M, 56% at Rice, and 60% at Baylor College of Medicine. Indirect costs, often referred to as “F&A” (facilities and administrative expenses), include the maintenance and other ongoing costs of the physical and digital spaces, as well as the essential personnel that support the research enterprise (administrators, technical staff, security, maintenance, etc.). The size of Baylor’s research enterprise is considerably smaller than any of these institutions as well. Thus, our overall financial exposure due to the executive order is also much smaller.

We recognize that many of you are concerned about the future of your research programs as well as with federal research programs more broadly. Some proposal submissions are in flux and may or may not accept new applications moving forward. It’s unclear how quickly proposals will be reviewed or when subsequent award announcements may be made. While we do not know when things will stabilize at the federal level, we continue to plan for the future. Baylor’s commitment to being a Christian R1 university has not changed.

Our administrative team at the University, within the Office of the Provost, and the Office of the Vice Provost for Research (OVPR) are taking these challenges seriously and actively moving forward with solutions and support. Please contact ovpr@baylor.edu with any questions or concerns – we may not have all the answers right now, but we will continue to work to sustain our faculty, staff, and students in these uncertain times. Continue to do your work. Continue to serve our students well. Know how grateful we are for each one of you.

Warmly,

Nancy Brickhouse, Ph.D.
Provost

Academic Affairs Announcements

Mark Your Calendars!

Celebrating Women’s History Month

We were delighted to welcome so many of you to the breakfast celebrating the women of our faculty on the morning of March 4. At that event, Dr. DeAnna Toten Beard, vice provost for faculty affairs, shared several points of interest regarding Baylor's strides in gender parity on campus:

  • As of the most recent promotion notifications, 25.7% of full professors are women (85 of 330, though some retirements will change our count, so expect better numbers in the fall!). For context, in 2016, that number was 18%.
  • 38% of our associate professors with tenure are female – 93 of 243.
  • In our leadership, 41% of department chairs or division leaders are women, and 60% of our associate deans are women. If you’ve been at Baylor for a while, you know that these numbers show a much more gender-balanced leadership profile than in the past.

There is still much work to be done, and we are excited to continue that good work. Happy Women’s History Month!

Review, Promotion, and Tenure (RPT) Update

A dedicated webpage on the Office of the Provost’s website has been created to centralize information for RPT release. Visit the webpage now to review frequently asked questions and see the latest training dates.

The 2025 Great Colleges to Work For Survey - Now Available Until March 28!

Each year, Baylor faculty and staff have the opportunity to submit anonymous feedback on their workplace experience. Please refer to an email in your inbox from ModernThink with your personalized link to access this survey. View this webpage for more information.

New Staff Role in the Office of the Provost: Coordinator of Faculty Affairs

The Office of the Provost is delighted to welcome Lara Strain, our new coordinator of faculty affairs. Lara will be responsible for various essential tasks, including maintaining and updating faculty records, ensuring compliance with the faculty roster for SACSCOC accreditation, coordinating and tracking faculty credentialing processes, and overseeing the Faculty Activity Reporting (FAR) system in Interfolio.

Vice Provost’s Corner

Vice Provost for Administration and Operations

2025 Summer Faculty Pay: Updates and Requirements

Summer is right around the corner! For any full-time faculty doing any work in the summer for which they are being paid, a Faculty Self-Report Form will be required. Please adhere to the instructions and deadlines your unit business officer sent separately. Additionally, please remember that this summer, we will be implementing a few changes to faculty summer pay rates.

Vice Provost for Faculty Affairs

Faculty Emeritus 
The dean of the faculty member's respective unit makes emeritus recommendations annually to the provost. Letters of nomination can be sent to the vice provost for faculty affairs by April 15 for those retiring in May 2025.

Vice Provost for Faculty Diversity and Belonging

Remote Faculty Affinity Group Launch 
We are excited to announce the formation of the Remote Faculty Affinity Group dedicated to faculty teaching online or hybrid courses. The leadership team will start hosting listening sessions to gather your thoughts as we shape the future of this group together. We strongly encourage our remote faculty to participate in one of the listening sessions. Below are the registration links.

Vice Provost for Global Engagement

New Director for International Graduate Recruitment 
We are delighted to announce that Mona Menking from Kansas State University has been named the first international student graduate recruitment director in the Center for Global Engagement. Beginning March 17, Ms. Menking will begin liaising with academic units and admissions to increase our international graduate student enrollment.

Dr. Benjamin F. Brown IV Fund for Interdisciplinary and Collaborative Scholarship 
Full-time faculty across the University are invited to apply for the Brown Fellowship, which supports collaborative, interdisciplinary, and globally significant research or curriculum-development projects. Three awards of up to $20,000 each are available. Larger award amounts may be possible depending on the number of competitive applications. Applications are due by April 4.

Vice Provost for Undergraduate Education and Academic Affairs

Academy for Teaching and Learning (ATL)

Office of the Registrar

Curriculum and Catalog Deadlines

Spotlight on the Academy

Diana R. Garland School of Social Work

Two Days with Author Kat Armas 
The GSSW, along with co-sponsors across the university, will host two events with author Kat Armas: “Learning from Women on the Margins" on the main campus on March 24 and a Book Club Luncheon at the GSSW's campus at 811 Washington on March 25.

George W. Truett Theological Seminary

W.C. Dobbs Endowed Lecture 
Truett Seminary invites you to the annual W.C. Dobbs Endowed Lecture on April 22, where Dr. Mikeal C. Parsons will provide the message.

Hankamer School of Business

People Day at Hankamer 
Encourage current and prospective human resources (HR) students and HR Management alumni to attend the inaugural Dr. Joe A. Cox People Day at Hankamer, March 26 at the Baylor Club, to learn about careers in HR and to celebrate 35 years of the HRM major.

Honors College

Annual Ethics & Culture Lecture
Join the Honors College for the Annual Ethics & Culture Lecture on March 20, featuring Dr. Anna Moreland (Villanova) & Dr. Thomas W. Smith (Catholic University of America) in a public conversation on how higher education shapes human flourishing.

Baylor Law School

New Podcast Launched: Counseller's Corner 
Baylor Law School announces the launch of “Counseller’s Corner,” a podcast hosted by Dean Jeremy Counseller. Each episode features an in-depth interview with a Baylor Law student, sharing their background, journey to law school, and experiences.

Baylor School of Music

Presenting Lyceum Series Guest Artists and other concerts in the month of March

  • March 18- Brass students and faculty perform the music of composer John Stevens
  • March 19- Los Angeles Philharmonic Principal Clarinet Boris Allakhverdyan
  • March 27- Pianist Norman Krieger

Baylor Libraries

Spring is in Full Bloom at the Libraries! 
There are many great learning opportunities at the Libraries in the next few weeks, including a Black Gospel Symposium & Concert, Baylor Libraries Author Series sessions, a Keston Center Spring Lecture, Browning Day, workshops, and exhibits. All are welcome!

Important Academic Deadlines

Additional deadlines are available on the Academic Units Deadlines calendar.

  • March 20- Each dean submits summary letters and continuation recommendations for Year 3 clinical assistant professors, Year 4 T-T candidates, and Year 2 and 4 lecturers to the Office of the Provost.
  • March 21- Nominations for Centennial Professor are due to Dr. Joaquin Lugo, committee chair.
  • April 15- Each dean notifies the Year 3 clinical assistant professors and Year 2 and Year 4 lecturers of continuation decisions.

 

Previous issues of the Provost Newsletter can be accessed on the Office of the Provost website.

Office of the Provost

Pat Neff Hall, Suite 109
1329 S. 7th Street
Waco, Texas

One Bear Place #97014
Waco, Texas 76798

(254) 710-3601
 
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