Welcome from Provost Brickhouse

Dear Colleagues,

A common thread across the Baylor undergraduate educational experience—from business to nursing, arts to sciences, education to social work—is that students are eager to bridge their classroom learning to the world beyond it.

I am pleased to announce the creation of the Provost’s Scholars program to both highlight and support ambitious undergraduates who wish to excel, over the course of their undergraduate careers, in research, civic, and ambassadorial endeavors. A collaborative effort between my office and the Office of Engaged Learning (OEL), the purpose of this program is to inspire and guide students toward excellence in each of these domains and to cultivate an intellectual community that promotes a vision of excellence that is pursued together—for and with others.

Graduate admissions, employment searches, and applications for major fellowships and awards such as the Fulbright, Marshall, Truman, and Rhodes are often crowded and competitive. As we at Baylor prepare students for worldwide leadership and service, we believe it is essential, and indeed transformational, to help our students gain access to such opportunities. Yet, as we do, we are committed to forming them for leadership and service marked by commitments to the discovery of truth, love of neighbor, and flourishing of humanity. A new sequence of programs culminating in Provost’s Scholars is designed to do just that.

Students who are interested in becoming Provost’s Scholars will begin their journey in an innovative one-hour class offered through the OEL called Learning for the World. Taken in the freshman or sophomore year, this course will open students to a pathway called Baylor Engage, which helps students navigate opportunities to deepen and advance their research, civic, and global engagement, while providing them with a community of engaged scholars committed to pursuing excellence together.

Provost’s Scholars are those who deepen and sustain these commitments over the duration of their Baylor careers, developing an ability to integrate and effectively apply their scholarship, leadership, and service to the common good. Becoming a Provost’s Scholar is both a recognition and a responsibility. As we celebrate the achievements of these excellent students, we will also rely on their leadership in our ongoing efforts to create a culture of inclusive excellence at Baylor.

These programs—Learning for the World, Baylor Engage, and Provost’s Scholars—are available to students in any program of study. In fact, Learning for the World has enrolled its first cohort this semester and will enroll a second one this fall, available to any interested student who will be in their second year at Baylor. We congratulate those who have worked hard to bring these programs to fruition and look forward to our first cohort of Provost’s Scholars.

All the best,

Nancy Brickhouse, Ph.D.

Provost, Baylor University