Robert F. Darden, Editor emeritus

Robert F. Darden, Editor emeritus

The Life and Times of ‘Fesser Courtney

In its long history, who was Baylor’s first senior professor? Dorothy Scarborough? A. J. Armstrong? Paul Baker? Daniel Sternberg? Glenn Capp? Cornelia Marschall Smith? It was Dr. Luther Weeks Courtney, who taught in the English department for nearly 40 years. In 1954, President W.R. White conferred the newly created title of “Distinguished Professor” on Courtney

The Life and Times of ‘Fesser Courtney Read More »

The Ghost of Ramsey Yelvington: Baylor’s Great Cowboy Playwright Still Haunts His Final Stage

Since the Paul Baker era, the Baylor Theatre has always punched far above its weight on Broadway. From the beloved actor Carole “Cookie” Cook to Robert Askins’ award-winning dark comedy Hand to God, dozens of Bears have graced the stages of the Great White Way. Baker’s Baylor was a particularly rich and nurturing home for

The Ghost of Ramsey Yelvington: Baylor’s Great Cowboy Playwright Still Haunts His Final Stage Read More »

Baylor’s Forgotten Hero: Aenard “Ann” Compton

Aenard “Ann” Compton left a remarkably small footprint during her life, much less during her time in Waco. Even so meticulous a researcher as Frank Jasek, who spent more than 11 years assembling his book, Soldiers of the Wooden Cross: Military Memorials, could only find a few facts about Compton. Jasek’s ambitious, beautiful book is

Baylor’s Forgotten Hero: Aenard “Ann” Compton Read More »

Reynold Arnould: The Curious Case of the Purloined Painting and Baylor’s Most Famous Painter

During their brief tenure in Waco, artist Reynold Arnould and his wife, novelist and art critic Martha, were the most famous faculty members at Baylor University – and almost certainly the most glamorous. The Arnoulds brought international attention to the campus before the siren call of Paris eventually, perhaps inevitably, lured them back home. But

Reynold Arnould: The Curious Case of the Purloined Painting and Baylor’s Most Famous Painter Read More »