Grace Simpson

Baylor

The Baylor Brief – March 20, 2026

Collins Outstanding Professor Each year, Baylor’s senior class recognizes a professor for outstanding teaching with the Collins Outstanding Professor Award. This year, the 2026 senior class voted on Walter M. “Sparky” Matthews, M.D., B.A. ’92. Matthews is a clinical professor and pre-medical mentor who has continuously been recognized for his humility and exceptional care for […]

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Tiffany Jones-Smith (’95): Triumph over tragedy

Tiffany Jones-Smith embodies the adage “triumph over tragedy.” She is no stranger to grief, having lost 15 members of her family to kidney disease and later discovering that she herself carried the same high-risk genetic marker. It would have been easy to surrender to this grief and let it consume her. Instead, Jones-Smith was motivated

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Chris Seay (’95): For the love of spiritual leadership

When Pastor Chris Seay was 16 years old, he destroyed two of his grandfather’s most prized possessions: his car and his house. After driving his grandfather’s brand-new Oldsmobile 98 straight through a wall, a shaken teenage Chris braced himself for the anger and disappointment he assumed would follow. Instead, his grandfather, a Baptist preacher, responded

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Skye Lynn Perryman (’03): Defender of Democracy

Skye Perryman is urgently working for justice and fighting for the future. The current president and CEO of Democracy Forward, Perryman’s work centers on confronting extremism, challenging anti-democratic movements, and building a vibrant democracy for all people. For her, the work isn’t political — it’s about serving people.  Perryman grew up in Waco and studied

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Dr. Elizabeth Palacios (’80, MSE ’91): Developer of diversity

Dr. Elizabeth Palacios is no stranger to being first, and she has never hesitated to lead the way. A first-generation college student, one of the few Latina professors in Baylor’s School of Education during her 10-year tenure, and the first faculty member appointed special assistant to the president on diversity, Palacios has consistently broken barriers

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