Baylor Connections

President Livingstone

Baylor University is now an R1 research institution. The end of 2021 brought this exciting news, as this long-pursued goal became a reality. Additionally, the University celebrates the announcement of an agreement with the City of Waco to locate Baylor’s new basketball facility along the Brazos River near downtown Waco. In this Baylor Connections, President Linda A. Livingstone, Ph.D., discusses these major benchmarks and their impact going forward.

Jameson Graber

What is game theory and how can it shape our understanding of economics, business, politics and more? Baylor’s expert in game theory, Jameson Graber, recently earned a prestigious CAREER Award from the National Science Foundation to conduct interdisciplinary research that seeks answers to important societal questions. In this Baylor Connections, Graber, an assistant professor of math, gives listeners a lesson in “Game Theory 101” and shares more about his research.

Brian Raines

Brian Raines wears numerous hats at Baylor as he teaches students, serves his fellow faculty and sits on the Board of Regents. On this Baylor Connections, Dr. Raines, professor of mathematics, associate dean for research and strategic planning in Baylor’s College of Arts & Sciences and faculty regent, talks about those roles and the threads that tie them together in service to students and the Baylor mission.

Angela Gorrell

Amidst the joy of the holiday season, many dealing with loss or trauma in their own life feel grief. Angela Gorrell, assistant professor of practical theology, has experienced that type of dichotomy. While studying joy at the Yale Center for Faith and Culture, her family suffered a string of tragedies that led to her to question what it means to find joy in the midst of suffering. Her book, The Gravity of Joy: A Story of Being Lost and Found, walks readers through those struggles and what she learned in the process. She takes listeners inside that journey and offers insights on joy in this Baylor Connections.

Sarah Kienle

Sarah Kienle is the world’s top expert on the craniofacial anatomy of pinnipeds. In this Baylor Connections, Dr. Kienle, assistant professor of biology, explains what that means and provides a broader understanding of this little-studied area. Pinnipeds are a group of animals that includes seals, sea lions and walruses. They feed underwater, and Dr. Kienle’s foundational study of their facial muscles in Journal of Anatomy deepens understanding of the role those muscles play in feeding and more.

Danielle Parrish

As a young social worker in the 1990s, Danielle Parrish noticed significant gaps in the support provided to young women in the juvenile justice system. She’s since dedicated her career to changing that. Dr. Parrish today serves as a professor at the Houston campus of Baylor’s Diana R. Garland School of Social Work. In this Baylor Connections, she shares the needs faced by this at-risk population and how advancing beyond siloed care can lead to better outcomes for their future.

Dave Rosselli

The Baylor Family’s generosity has spurred exciting growth throughout the University. From new faculty chairs and student scholarships to major capital projects like a welcome center, basketball pavilion and football operations center, it’s an exciting season in the life of the University. In this Baylor Connections, Dave Rosselli, Vice President for Advancement, takes listeners inside these projects and shares how Baylor alumni and friends across the nation are driving a dynamic vision to become reality.

Byron Johnson

The Global Flourishing Study represents the largest initiative of its kind to investigate the determinants of human flourishing. In this week’s Baylor Connections, Dr. Byron Johnson, Distinguished Professor of the Social Sciences and Director of the Institute for Studies of Religion at Baylor, takes listeners inside the massive project that will survey over 240,000 individuals in 22 countries over five years. With $43 million in funding, it’s also the largest funded research project in Baylor history, with a scope that will impact numerous disciplines through scientific, longitudinal data on a variety of factors that influence human thriving.