President Linda A. Livingstone, Ph.D.

Transcript

Derek Smith:
Hello and welcome to Baylor Connections, a conversation series with the people shaping our future. Each week we go in depth with Baylor leaders, professors, and we're discussing important topics in higher education, research, and student life. I'm Derek Smith, and today we are visiting with Baylor University President Dr. Linda Livingstone. We're approaching the start of a new semester here at Baylor, a lot of exciting things taking place as students and families prepare to come back next week. We've got athletics right around the corner. Lots going on. President Livingstone, thanks so much for taking the time to join us today.

Dr. Linda Livingstone:
Well, it's great to be with you, Derek, as we get ready for a new school year. It's always an exciting time of the year.

Derek Smith:
Summer always flies right by, doesn't it? It seems like we got a few months at the beginning and the next thing you know, here we are.

Dr. Linda Livingstone:
Well, it comes around fast, especially ... Once you get past July 4th it's like all of a sudden you're getting ready for the fall. Students move in next week so we're very excited.

Derek Smith:
That's right. I know you'll be out there helping move them in and welcome them here. And we'll talk about that. We're going to look ahead here. Let's look back just a little bit. Because I know you and Brad, the first gentleman, had a great summer traveling with students who were studying abroad in Europe. It was fun seeing some of those pictures on social media. Take us inside of that. Where are some of the places that your travels took you there?

Dr. Linda Livingstone:
Well, we had a great time this summer visiting some of our students. We'd been wanting to do this for several years. We'd planned it way back before COVID and then, of course, that disrupts everything. And so we finally got around to it this summer. So we started in Italy and we spent some time in Florence with a group of students. We went to an archeological dig outside ... Between Florence and Rome. And I've always wanted to go on an archaeological dig so that was-

Derek Smith:
Oh, yeah?

Dr. Linda Livingstone:
A bucket list thing. Oh my goodness, those students worked so hard, it was amazing. We had such fun with them. Then we went to Rome. Well, actually we started in Rome, I reversed my trip. We started in Rome with a group, did the archaeological dig, and then we went to Florence with a couple of groups. Florence, of course, we'd been there before, it's just a fabulous city with so much to see and do. And then we went to Madrid, Spain and met a couple of our groups in Spain. We ended up in Greece. We had a Baylor and Greece group that was in Delphi where we met them, and then we ended up in Athens and saw the Acropolis and everything. And then we actually took a little time ourselves to visit some of the Greek isles so that was fun at the end. We definitely needed a vacation after spending a couple of weeks with students who have lots of energy and enthusiasm. But it was a great, great trip and a wonderful time with our students and faculty.

Derek Smith:
What was it like for you all getting to go inside their world there and experience what they're experiencing, whether at the dig or elsewhere?

Dr. Linda Livingstone:
Well, you hear them talk about the experience but to actually be with them on the ground was really special. Living in another country and they go for a number of weeks at a time ... Some of them have never traveled abroad. So just watching them see the world through a different lens with their classmates, with their faculty, connecting their academic experience to it, it's just really a special opportunity. You can just see the world open up before them and help them see how much more opportunity there is, how big the world it is, and how what they're studying here at Baylor helps them understand the world better. And they do it on the ground in the location. I was so proud of our students, they conduct themselves so well. They're so curious and enthusiastic. Really proud of the way they represent Baylor and the university around the world.

Derek Smith:
As you were there with them, it's an educational experience. Was there any educational experiences that you or Brad got to do for the first time?

Dr. Linda Livingstone:
Well, we did several things with the students. The group in Rome was with our Truett Seminary and they were working on food security so we went to a couple of the UN food program organizations, and got to hear about the work that's being done through the UN around the world to feed folks that have food security issues. Of course, the archaeological dig. We were in the ground digging with the students. That was amazing. We did a cooking class in Florence with our fashion design students. Got to actually make homemade pasta which I have never done before, probably will never do again it's a lot of work. So that was really interesting. We actually were in class with our public health group in Spain one morning and then we got to tour some of Madrid with them.
When we got to Greece, of course, you're just seeing some amazing history. Delphi's just an amazing city, a beautiful city but so much history there. And then, of course, to see the Acropolis, and the Parthenon, and everything was something you read about and hear about but to actually be there and to do it with our students was a really special experience. It was a pretty diverse set of educational experiences as we went through the time with our students.

Derek Smith:
That's great. Yeah, a really great trip. You can't really beat that-

Dr. Linda Livingstone:
No.

Derek Smith:
Getting to experience a lot of different places, and beautiful locations, and seeing what they do as we visit with President Livingstone. One other question for you, just a fun question here at the top. The first pup, BU, his celebrity continues to grow.

Dr. Linda Livingstone:
Yes.

Derek Smith:
Yes. We saw the video recently on social media, Brad leading her around campus. But they said you're her favorite person. Is this controversial at all? Would Brad and Shelby dispute that because it sure looked like it?

Dr. Linda Livingstone:
Well, I'm pretty sure Brad and Shelby would have their own opinions about who BU's favorite person is. The good thing about BU is she loves everybody and our students know this. I really do encourage our students, as they come back, to get to know BU. Brad walks her on campus nearly every day. She loves our students and she loves to be loved on by our students. It was interesting to hear her voice for the first time, however.

Derek Smith:
That's true.

Dr. Linda Livingstone:
That was an experience for all of us so I found that interesting. We had a great time with that. And BU is absolutely the most popular of all the Livingstone's for sure.

Derek Smith:
Visiting with President Livingstone here on Baylor Connections. Let's shift gears to some things we're going to be looking forward to, whether it's this semester or even far beyond that. Let's first talk about Pro Mundo. I think we touched on this briefly in the spring here. But it's the newest part of our institutional motto, Pro Ecclesia, Pro Texana, Pro Mundo. Let's dive into that. What does that mean for Baylor? Why is it the right time for that?

Dr. Linda Livingstone:
Well, we've always talked about Baylor being for the church and for Texas, but we certainly have always reached beyond the borders of Texas and had an influence. So as we went into this strategic plan, and as we framed the strategic plan ... In my inaugural address I said, "The world needs a Baylor." And so we'd really leaned into that over the last strategic plan. And so in this strategic plan we said, "What does the world most need Baylor to do?" The question that we asked, as we built this strategic plan, was a very global question of ... A question that looked outside the walls of Baylor. And so then we felt like well, if what we're really focusing on is what the world most needs from Baylor, it might make sense to embed Pro Mundo, the world in our motto. And so that was really the motivation for it. So that we could not just have it in our strategic plan but really have it framed in the university motto that we believe will carry on for decades to come beyond this strategic plan.

Derek Smith:
It's really that idea of living out our Christian mission to the world just ... Because we've been doing that in a lot of ways, but doing that even more so in that way.

Dr. Linda Livingstone:
No, absolutely. And I think when folks see the strategic plan they will see themed throughout it programs, initiatives, outreach that explain ... Expand our global footprint even more than we have in the past. And really make it much more of a strategic focus of the university to say, "How do we as" ... "Really the only Protestant Christian research University in this country and really in the world, how do we go out and touch the world and have a greater impact in the world through our students, through the research that our faculty are doing?" And you see that theme throughout the strategic plan, and thus the motto reflects that.

Derek Smith:
So is it fair to say it's somewhat aspirational but also somewhat a reflection of where we are and have been going?

Dr. Linda Livingstone:
Absolutely. Clearly aspirational because we really want to lean into our impact in the world. If you look back over the history of Baylor, we have always had global programs, we've always had international students on our campus, we've always had faculty that have come to us from inter-Latin national locations. I do think what you'll see in this plan is a much more embedded part of the strategy of the university. And so we're really excited about it. There's going to be some tremendous opportunities for our faculty, and students, and frankly our alumni and the connections they have with the university.

Derek Smith:
This is Baylor Connections. We are visiting with President Livingstone. Let's talk about the strategic plan a little bit. We're heading into the fall semester, I know we're really going to be hearing more about it then. What can people anticipate as we look forward to that?

Dr. Linda Livingstone:
Well, we will publicly launch the strategic plan in early September as part of our faculty and staff meetings as we bring everybody back to campus. This plan really builds on the work that was done in Illuminate. I think every strategic plan builds on itself. The work we're doing now goes all the way back to building on Baylor 2012 and Pro Futurist, and then Illuminate and going forward. Some of the things that you'll begin to see in that is, obviously, a continued focus on the transformational, educational experience that our students have at the undergraduate and the graduate level. And how do we continue to lean into that, provide new and richer learning experiences for our students? And how do we make sure that the facilities and other things that we have support that 21st-century learning experience as opposed to maybe how we did learning in the past?
You will also see a continued focus on the research that our faculty are doing but probably with more particular focus. As we went through Illuminate we invested in some areas. We have some wonderful endowed faculty chairs through some of the work that we did from a fundraising perspective. And we've brought in some amazing faculty in some areas. And so you'll see some leaning into some of those areas in this strategic plan where we truly believe that we can have great impact in the world, in some focused areas, that frankly were developed in many ways through Illuminate, and now we're going to get the opportunity to build on that. And part of that you'll see is a lot of emphasis on growth and development in engineering and the health sciences. Clearly, when you look at where the world is going, the big issues in the world with artificial intelligence, with all the healthcare issues in the world, those are two areas that we can play in. We can do it in interesting ways and need to have an impact.
Lots of focus on community development, both on our campus and outside. How do we help our people to work together, live together, particularly in a divisive world in ways that ... Not just help our campus to be healthy and safe, but also help us to be an example for others outside the walls? And then there's a stewardship component. As a Christian university we should be good stewards of all of the resources that we have whether that's our people, our facilities, whether it's the research that we're doing. And so you'll also see a focus on how we're stewarding our institution but also how we're taking that outside of our walls to be an example of stewardship to others. So those are very high-level themes but those are important. We'll flesh out more of those as we go into the fall.

Derek Smith:
A good preview of that-

Dr. Linda Livingstone:
Yes.

Derek Smith:
That we can look forward to, yeah.

Dr. Linda Livingstone:
Exactly.

Derek Smith:
I think I'm probably plagiarizing a question I asked you which is ... Crazy to think probably five or six years ago now when Illuminate was being introduced to the Baylor community. But that idea of our Christian mission infusing every part of us. You said, "This really builds on Illuminate, Pro Futuris before that." For maybe people who weren't around then, what does that look like?

Dr. Linda Livingstone:
Whether it was Illuminate or now in the new strategic plan, which we will launch a name for it in the fall ... I'm going to tease you guys with it. I'm not going to tell you what it is you'll have to pay attention in the fall. Everything we do should be connected to our Christian mission. Really that whole theme of Illuminate was about letting our light shine before others that they may see our good deeds and glorify our Father in heaven. And so this strategic plan really builds on that. And probably has more of a focus on the doing part of it, and how we lean into doing things that reflect God's goodness in the world, reflects God's grace in the world, and that have an impact in the world that flows out of our faith in Christ, in our Christian mission. It's a very active strategic plan. But in the sense of as Christians, how do we lean into the world and have an impact in the world for Christ? That's the theme that you'll see run through this new plan.

Derek Smith:
Visiting with President Livingstone here on Baylor Connections. You mentioned that idea of civil discourse a moment ago. We're in a contentious election season right now. There's just a lot going on in the world these days. For a Christian university like Baylor, what opportunities does that present?

Dr. Linda Livingstone:
Well, we've really been having conversations around civil discourse really since I started at Baylor. We've had a conversation series throughout the years I've been here and a number of those have reflected on civil discourse. You will see a theme through the strategic plan around civil discourse. We believe that we have a unique opportunity and a unique positioning, as a Christian research university, to be a place that can bring people together with differing views and differing perspectives on really important and hard issues. Help people to have those conversations, to bring their ideas to the forefront, and to really debate and discuss those in significant ways but healthy and respectful ways. And that we need to be a place that helps our students, and our faculty, and staff know how to have those conversations in healthy ways.
We live in a very contentious world, whether that's division from a faith perspective, a political perspective, or other ways. And we need to be a place that helps people understand how we can do that better and be an example for that, not just on our campus but preparing people as they go out into the workplace, into the mission field, whatever they might do, as they step out of the walls of Baylor to be an example for how to be respectful of others who have different opinions but also not to compromise their own views. It's something we've leaned into. Some are leaning into even more as we go into the fall, particularly with the election season coming up. That frankly you'll see as an important theme in the strategic plan that will carry on for years ahead.

Derek Smith:
How important is it for Baylor to be an example and to create other examples? Sometimes it doesn't seem like there's a lot of healthy ones out there.

Dr. Linda Livingstone:
Well, you're exactly right. So I think we feel like we're positioned well to be able to do that. And frankly, that as a Christian university we have a responsibility to do that. I mean, in the Bible Jesus is a great example. He didn't shy away from hard issues. He was willing to have difficult conversations with people and to stay true to his values. And so we've got to be able to do that. We talk about universities being a marketplace of ideas. And as a Christian university we can be a marketplace of ideas about bringing people together and trying to come to terms with difficult issues that we may not agree on in a lot of ways but maybe finding some common ground that we can work together on to move forward and solve problems in respectful ways. Because we don't learn how to do that. Some of the big, hairy problems in the world will never get resolved if we can't find ways to bring people together with different ideas and different perspectives and get them to work together. We feel like we're a place that can ... Should be able to do that.

Derek Smith:
Absolutely. I'm visiting with President Livingstone here on Baylor Connections. President Livingstone, by this time next week Welcome Week's going to be in full swing. Move in, families coming back to Baylor. What are some of your favorite aspects of the days ahead?

Dr. Linda Livingstone:
Move in is so much fun. I love the move in experience, Welcome Week. The days we actually had families move in is certainly one of my favorite days of the year because the families come back. It's a stressful time for families. Some of them are dropping their first child off to college, some of them are dropping their last child off to college, some of them are dropping their only child off at college and there's stress in all of that.
We make it so easy for them because we have several thousand volunteers ... I can't say enough about our volunteers that grab people's things out of their cars, take them to their room. They completely reduce the stress of move in when I think it's going to be like 102 or 103 next week. So that all they really have to do is go into the room, help get their students settled. It's a gift we give to families when they come. I think it's an important gift so they can focus on their student and not focus on the stress of carrying boxes and stuff upstairs into the student's room. That to me is a wonderful part of Welcome Week.
But we close Welcome Week on Sunday evening with a worship service. And there's lots of great things in between. So I do also love that we close Welcome Week, right before students start classes, with a worship service to remind them of the importance of their faith, the importance of their connectedness to a faith community. And that that's something that we take very seriously and that's important for us at Baylor to help sort of ground them and remind them of part of why they're here before they start classes on Monday morning. It's just a great, great week for our students and a great way to get the year started well.

Derek Smith:
That's great. A lot of intentionality to what we do as we serve students. When we think about that whole first-year experience, in general, Baylor was honored for being a top university for first-year experience. I saw recently our services to first-generation students who are honored. It just feels like it's all sort of in a microcosm in Welcome Week. A microcosm of what the university offers to first-year students to try to set them up for success.

Dr. Linda Livingstone:
We've been very intentional about the design of our first-year experience for students. And it's wonderful to see folks outside of Baylor recognize that tied back to the strategic plan. You will also see in the strategic plan a focus on extending elements of that first-year experience into sophomore, junior, senior year as well because we've had such success with it the freshman year. And it has a huge impact on the retention and graduation rate of our students.

Derek Smith:
As we head into the final minutes of the program, President Livingston, I want to ask you about another thing that's coming up and that is sports. Football, volleyball, soccer about to really get underway here. Football weekends, or even just game days for any sports, soccer, volleyball, what are your favorite aspects of getting ready for the games first?

Dr. Linda Livingstone:
We've had the Olympics this summer so we've had lots of sports this summer.

Derek Smith:
That's true. Michael Ford coaching, yes.

Dr. Linda Livingstone:
We've had some great performances from our Olympic athletes this summer. But normally summer's so quiet with sports. You end baseball and softball season and then there's nothing until football, and soccer, and volleyball gets started. Fall's an exciting time with the sports getting started. We love being able to watch our student athletes perform, they work so hard. And those sports particularly come back early before everybody else comes back. They've been back on campus for a week or two already in the heat preparing for the season. So we love to prepare to watch them. On game days, obviously, you got to put on your Baylor spirit gear to go. We try to get there early, we love to watch warm-ups and prep. For football games we always go hang out in the tailgate area and wander around to visit with our fans and everybody that's there. It's the whole game day experience, no matter what sport it is, we love. And part of that's probably being student-athletes. We love the excitement of it, the enthusiasm. And then, of course, watching our students perform is a real treat.

Derek Smith:
So McLane, Betty Lou Mays, in the Ferrell Center for volleyball.

Dr. Linda Livingstone:
That's right.

Derek Smith:
Lots going on as they come back to life here. Well, finally, President Livingstone, looking into the fall semester I think you've previewed so many exciting things. Are there anything else that you want to say to the Baylor family as we just look forward to this fall semester together?

Dr. Linda Livingstone:
Well, it's always an exciting time when you go into the fall semester. And, of course, as we've talked about the strategic plan, we're really excited about launching that and rolling that out. Each of our academic and administrative units will be building out a plan in support of that that they will be submitting in December. There's going to be a lot of work being done on campus in support of the strategic planning as we roll up our sleeves and get ready to begin implementation of that.
And then we talked about civil discourse. But a big piece of that for this fall is the election. It's a huge election season, it's a presidential election. Many of our students will be voting in a presidential election for the very first time. And I remember that when I was in college, it's a really exciting opportunity. So I think we want to lean into encouraging our students to be engaged, to vote, to be involved in that process, and to do it in kind and respectful ways with others that may have completely different political views than they do. It's a big fall for a lot of reasons, but a great opportunity from an educational perspective, from a student development perspective to give them some new and interesting opportunities as we bring them back to campus and continue to watch them really grow and develop into who God has designed them to be.

Derek Smith:
Well, that's wonderful. Well, we'll look forward to all that. And I know the Baylor family will be seeing you at athletic events or perhaps move in next week.

Dr. Linda Livingstone:
That's right.

Derek Smith:
We'll look forward to all that. Thanks for taking the time to join us on the program today.

Dr. Linda Livingstone:
Happy to be with you, Derek, and looking forward to the new year.

Derek Smith:
Thanks so much. President Livingstone visiting with us today on Baylor Connections. I'm Derek Smith. A reminder you can hear this and other programs online at baylor.edu/connections, and you can subscribe on iTunes. Thanks for joining us here on Baylor Connections.