Baylor Connections

Lulin Jiang and Charles Dowdell

What if communities could reduce air pollutants in landfills and convert waste into energy? Baylor and the City of Waco are partnering on a competitive project to bring this idea to life. In this Baylor Connections, Lulin Jiang, assistant professor of mechanical engineering, and Charles Dowdell, chief sustainability officer for the City of Waco, share how this partnership could pay dividends for the Greater Waco area.

Michael Motta and Luke Simons

Baylor’s men’s and women’s basketball teams enter a new season among the nation’s top 20 teams, lofty rankings that have become the norm for both. The months ahead bring additional anticipation with the opening of Paul and Alejandra Foster Pavilion. What goes into making sure the programs run smoothly? Michael Motta, Assistant Athletic Director for Basketball Operations for Women’s Basketball, and Luke Simons, Director of Operations with Men’s Basketball, know better than anyone. In this Baylor Connections, they take listeners behind the scenes in travel, planning, working alongside coaches Nicki Collen and Scott Drew and more.

Jordy Dickey

Experience Baylor Student Activities’ impact with events like Homecoming and Christmas and 5th on the horizon. Jordy Dickey, Director of Student Activities, takes listeners inside campus events, student groups and more, and examines the importance of building student connections to the broader community to enhance their time at Baylor.

Kallie Kobold

The Baylor Counseling Center offers a wide array of services and resources to meet the mental health needs of Baylor students. Kallie Kobold is a psychologist and coordinator of outreach in the Counseling Center. In this Baylor Connections, she shares insights from serving students, examines student approaches to mental health and explains how Baylor outreach encourages students to consider their own needs and breaks down stigmas surrounding mental health challenges.

Craig Gundersen

Craig Gundersen is an agricultural economist whose game-changing research examines the causes and effects of food insecurity. Gundersen, who serves as the Jim and Tammy Snee Family Chair in Food Security, has developed metrics used by food banks nationwide, and provided research yielding greater understanding of the SNAP program’s impact. In this Baylor Connections, he examines approaches to the fight against food insecurity and shares the path that brought him to Baylor.

Kevin Dougherty and Michael Ryan

Graduate students play an important role in Baylor research and teaching, and the mentorship they receive from Baylor professors is significant in preparing them for excellence in both. In this Baylor Connections, a professor and graduate student-Kevin Dougherty, professor of sociology, and Michael Ryan, a sociology Ph.D. student-share their experiences from this distinct time in a student’s life.

Baylor Connections - Strategic Plan

Baylor has started the process to pursue the University’s next strategic plan. Provost Nancy Brickhouse and Chief of Staff Tiffany Hogue serve as co-chairs of the Strategic Planning Group, whose members will walk with the Baylor Family through the comprehensive, year-long process. In this Baylor Connections, they take listeners inside the goals and process of strategic planning, examine the success of Illuminate as Baylor pursues its successor, and examine the pillars that Baylor will follow to elevate the University’s mission and impact on the world.

Daniel Pack

Dr. Daniel Pack was appointed as Dean of Baylor’s School of Engineering and Computer Science (ECS) after a successful tenure as dean at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga. In this Baylor Connections, get to know Dr. Pack and learn more about his insights into the school’s research, teaching and future growth.