Baylor University aspires to transform lives around the world through ground-breaking research and evidence-based, capacity-building partnerships that address the critical issues of our time and create a foundation for future discoveries.
At Baylor, research is more than an academic enterprise. Across our 12 nationally recognized academic divisions — through short-term and long-term initiatives alike — Baylor utilizes its institutional capabilities and faculty research expertise for the mutual benefit of the on-campus community and the surrounding world. Following Christ’s example of serving others, we will grow in our support of academic programs, research and creative endeavors that increase human knowledge, explore artistic frontiers and address real-world concerns.
Baylor’s focus on recruiting and supporting faculty researchers will additionally serve to enhance the value of a Baylor undergraduate degree. Professors who are active scholars and creative artists bring that experience and knowledge into their classrooms, labs and studios, thereby augmenting undergraduate education. Today’s undergraduates come to Baylor expecting to have opportunities to engage in research and discovery as college students. In turn, Baylor faculty members are eager to directly involve undergraduates in their research and provide the kind of inspiring mentorship that has long been a part of the Baylor experience.
A heightened emphasis on scholarship and post-baccalaureate education will serve to create a campus-wide environment increasingly characterized by intellectual achievement and ambitious goals. In turn, the increased presence and active engagement of graduate students at Baylor will expand the University’s impact on the world. With master’s degrees and doctorates in hand, these accomplished men and women will pursue careers in fields across industry, academia and the medical professions. In doing so, they will carry the faith-based education they experienced at Baylor into other communities and, through their accomplishments and integrity, serve as ambassadors for Baylor’s excellence in higher education.
Foundational to the quality and impact of our research are the vast resources provided by our library system to stir inquiry, curiosity, and insight and connect colleagues through digital collaboration and engagement with diverse scholarly perspectives. Constantly improving library science, data science and technology are building blocks that must be in place for the growth of any research enterprise.
The education of the future is marked by a transition in our libraries from acquiring and providing access to scholarship to connecting students and faculty to the broader domain of information and supporting our campus’s use of this information. Our libraries have responded with evolving media, databases, and technologies that play a fundamental role in providing a complex infrastructure of scholarly work.
As holistic learning environments, our library facilities are equipped to provide uniquely designed support systems, study spaces, and learning labs. Future attention will be focused on the growing needs they must serve as a nexus of multidisciplinary collaboration.