I am Officially Sold

Well, yesterday it was official.

I am sold on Baylor.

Yesterday I went to the inauguration of the 13th president of Baylor University and it was definitely a turning point for me here. I am sorting through what it was that actually made me realize that I am starting to really love this institution. I know that most of the time I am spending my time working through (doesn't that sound so much better than complaining?) my time here in Texas. And while Texas may never grow on me, I do think that Baylor has, and I am thankful for the opportunity to be learning, experiencing student life, and working here.

There were two points at the inauguration that really made me realize that Baylor truly is distinct. First of all, President Lilly believes that Baylor can be a place the will be able to integrate faith and learning. For a place like Baylor that has 14,000 students and is aiming to be a more renown institution in terms of research, that is a bold statement to make. Not many institutions have been able to do that and still remain attached to their faith background. Baylor is making that a priority, and it is starting from the top, the president, and I believe that makes a huge difference. While the president does not have the capacity to change an institution, a strong leader can influence it in small ways in order to push it in a positive direction.

Secondly, the president said that Baylor needs to learn humility. That is a huge statement to make for any institution. And I think many of our secular counterparts would see that as a sign of weakness. If Baylor is such a great university, why not stand on that and move forward with confidence. The key to that, is that that is the natural and easy thing to do. However, to recognize the incredible responsibility that an institution of higher learning has in its goals and missions, a dose of humility could be the best thing. To realize that our goals to mold and educate young and men women to become responsible, intelligent, community engaged students is not something that is easy to do. Perhaps a university that stands up and says that we are humble enough to know we cannot achieve those goals without God's grace will have a better chance of actually doing that.

If Baylor wants to be distinct, humility will definitely set it apart from other universities and colleges.