Profiles Archives - The Baylor Line

From Shakespeare to Shoot-em-Ups: The Remarkable 70-Year Career of Clu Gulager

History, Profiles / By Robert F. Darden, Editor emeritus

The story of William Martin “Clu” Gulager’s journey, from tiny Holdenville, Okla., to becoming a star of beloved television series like The Virginian and films like The Killers and The Last Picture Show, would make a rip-snorting good movie itself. The son of vaudevillian/Broadway actor John Delancy Gulager, who left the stage to become a […]

From Shakespeare to Shoot-em-Ups: The Remarkable 70-Year Career of Clu Gulager Read More »

The Final Days of Baylor’s Oldest Freshman

History, Profiles / By Mark Andrew Olsen

He first pulled up to Brooks Hall on move-in day in 1956, behind the wheel of a brand-new, red and white Chevrolet station wagon. His name was Kenneth Reuben Durham, he’d driven five hours from his Panhandle hometown of Tahoka, and he was beaming. There was nowhere he’d have rather been at that moment. From

The Final Days of Baylor’s Oldest Freshman Read More »

Col. John Paul Stapp: There Was Much More Than Speed to the Fastest Man on Earth

History, Profiles / By Robert F. Darden, Editor emeritus

For a time in the 1950s, Baylor graduate John Paul Stapp was the holder of the land speed record and was as famous as Col. Chuck Yeager. Once featured on the cover of Time magazine, Stapp is considered the “Father of the Seat Belt” in the United States and is even credited with coining one

Col. John Paul Stapp: There Was Much More Than Speed to the Fastest Man on Earth Read More »

The Picture on Ted Uhlaender’s Baseball Card

Profiles, Sports / By Robert F. Darden, Editor emeritus

In fall 1957, just 5’9” weighing only 129 pounds Theodore Otto “Ted” Uhlaender journeyed from McAllen to Waco and asked to try-out for the baseball team. As a non-scholarship walk-on, he led the freshman team in hitting. By his junior year, Uhlaender was one of the Southwest Conference’s leading hitters, batting a sizzling .365. Ted was all-Southwest Conference in baseball three times. After graduating, it wasn’t long before he began an eight-year major league career with the Twins, Cleveland Indians, and ending with the Cincinnati Reds.

The Picture on Ted Uhlaender’s Baseball Card Read More »

Shaping Minds to Sharing Stories: A Professor’s New Journey

Profiles / By Julianne Fullerton

In May 2023, the most awarded professor in Baylor’s history retired. A year later, he’s working more than ever. Reflecting on his time at Baylor, Robert Darden (’76), master teacher and emeritus professor of journalism, public relations, and new media, has not only left an impact on the university at large but also on the thousands of students who walked into his classrooms for over 30 years. Having had such gifted professors when he attended Baylor in the 1970s, Darden said it was these passionate and informed mentors who he tried to emulate in his classroom, as he desired to carry on their legacy.

Shaping Minds to Sharing Stories: A Professor’s New Journey Read More »

Her Name Was Cindy Campbell Brown. She Died In 1995. And It’s Time You Knew Her Story.

Features, History, Profiles, Remembering / By Jeanne Bishop

Her name was Cindy Campbell Brown. Her age was 26. She was a Secret Service agent whose office was on the top floor of the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. On April 19, 1995 at 9:02 a.m., Timothy McVeigh, 26, a U.S. Army veteran poisoned with anti-government hate, set off a truck bomb in front of the building where Cindy worked. McVeigh had designed and built the bomb by hand along with his co-conspirator Terry Nichols. The blast sheared off the front of the 9-story, glass front federal building, reducing it to rubble. The ensuing devastation killed 168 people, including Cindy.

Her Name Was Cindy Campbell Brown. She Died In 1995. And It’s Time You Knew Her Story. Read More »

A Class Apart

Campus, History, Profiles / By Karen Krajcer

Of its many achievements, Baylor particularly enjoys two distinctions: that of being the oldest university in Texas (established by the Republic of Texas in 1845, before statehood) and the first university west of the Mississippi to go coed, 75 years before American women were guaranteed the right to vote. Though BU’s gender history may be complicated—the university segregated for about 35 years in 1851—there is no surer sign of its inclusivity than the legions of female Baylor graduates who continue to honor the university through their accomplishments.

A Class Apart Read More »

“In times of uncertainty, innovation happens”: The Bears Who Cared For Us During COVID-19

Profiles / By Tyler Hicks

Baylor professors, students, and healthcare professionals who have served on the front lines of the pandemic since spring 2020. These Bears have spent untold hours both saving lives and grieving for the ones they’ve lost, and now, looking back on over three years of work, they’re reflecting on what they’ve learned—and the challenges that lie ahead.

“In times of uncertainty, innovation happens”: The Bears Who Cared For Us During COVID-19 Read More »

Chalk of the Town

Profiles / By Kate Hull

A Baylor alumna’s creative outlet of crafting neighborhood art is also a form of advocacy. Rebecca LaFlure, of the popular Instagram profile @ChalkOfTheTown312, is drawing more than murals. Chalk, it turns out, can be a powerful tool.

Chalk of the Town Read More »

Blessings Beyond Baseball

Profiles, Sports / By Robert Justice

The Miami Marlins’ Daniel Castano reflects as he recovers from a concussion. Thankfully, the former Baylor left-hander has virtually no recall of the horrifying image that flashed around the world in an instant: a baseball struck at 104-mph slamming off the bill of his cap and into his forehead.

Blessings Beyond Baseball Read More »

Profiles

Discover

More