Baylor Grad Conducts 2026 Super Bowl
When Giancarlo Guerrero stepped off a Greyhound bus in Waco after traveling from Costa Rica, he did not know what to expect. When the bus arrived at the terminal at 2 a.m., the only person waiting was Dr. Larry VanLandingham, who had advocated for bringing promising young musicians from Costa Rica to Baylor University. Guerrero’s journey was just beginning. Decades later, he stepped onto the Super Bowl stage to perform with Bad Bunny at this year’s halftime show.
A six-time Grammy Award-winning conductor, Guerrero led the Nashville Symphony for 16 years and now serves as artistic director and principal conductor of the Grant Park Music Festival in Chicago. He describes his time at Baylor as formative, citing the friendships he built and the mentorship he received as pivotal to his career.
“I was very fortunate that Baylor University gave me, perhaps, the most important opportunity in my life and has allowed me to pursue my dream of becoming a musician,” Guerrero said in a Baylor press release. “To this day, every time I mention Baylor, I do it with a smile because those four years were some of the happiest in my life, in a place that carried so many memories, but at the same time gave me the opportunity and more importantly set me in the right path professionally and personally to be able to pursue my dream.”
Preserving a Musical Legacy
Baylor University’s Black Gospel Archive began 20 years ago in the basement of Moody Library. Since then, the archive has grown into one of the leading programs dedicated to preserving Black sacred music and cultural history. The organization maintains thousands of rare gospel recordings, sheet music, and sermons. Each artifact was once in danger of being lost but is now preserved for current and future research.
In a recent interview with Baylor, Stephen Newby, Doctor of Musical Arts, the Lev H. Prichard III Endowed Chair in the Study of Black Worship, ambassador for the Black Gospel Archive and professor of music; Darryl Stuhr, director of the Black Gospel Archive; and Hannah Engstrom, digital project curator, shared their insights on Black gospel music and the importance of the archive.
The team has no plans to slow its efforts and has outlined ambitious goals for the future. “We want to keep growing the collection and promoting awareness so the BGA can truly become the definitive hub for Black gospel music — a space that is already a dedicated, research-ready facility equipped for instruction, small concerts, and archival storage,” Stuhr said. “We are also focused on bringing in more visiting researchers, expanding how the collection is used in courses, and building partnerships with collaborators across the globe.”
Baylor Professor Investigates Mother-Daughter Relationships
A new study by Allison M. Alford, Ph.D., clinical associate professor of business communication at Baylor University, examines how daughters from low-income backgrounds manage strained relationships with their mothers. The study explores the emotional labor daughters bring to complex family dynamics. It was published in Personal Relationships, a peer-reviewed journal of the International Association for Relationship Research.
Alford collaborated with a team of researchers from Chapman University to examine mother-daughter dynamics. Their findings show that daughters are not passive recipients of their mothers’ behavior but active interpreters who make strategic choices based on how they assess their mothers’ actions.
“When daughters see their mothers as unable or unwilling to change, they don’t disengage emotionally because they don’t care,” Alford said in a Baylor press release. “They disengage because they are trying to protect their own well-being.”
Alford’s research provides a nuanced framework for understanding the experiences of adult daughters and the role economics plays in shaping those experiences. The study also sparks a broader conversation about establishing healthy boundaries within families.
Bugs, Drugs, and the Fight to Cure Cancer
Colorectal cancer accounted for the second-highest number of cancer-related deaths in 2025, according to the National Cancer Institute. Michael S. VanNieuwenhze, Ph.D., FRSC, University Distinguished Professor and chair of Baylor University’s Department of Biology, along with Baylor doctoral students and a colleague at Texas Tech University, is working to develop innovative treatments. The team recently published its novel approach in the journal Cell Chemical Biology.
Previous research has shown bacteria can be used as a tool in fighting cancer. Building on that understanding, VanNieuwenhze and his team attached saporin, a known cancer-killing toxin, to the surface of bacteria, allowing the bacteria to deliver the toxin directly to tumor cells. Early results show promising potential.
“Our team asked the question, ‘What if we could hook saporin on the surface of a bug and let the bug get delivered into the cell as it normally would?’” VanNieuwenhze said in a Baylor press release. “We could then take advantage of chemistry inside the cell to release saporin to kill the cancer cell. That, in a nutshell, is what we were doing, and we were able to get it to work.”
VanNieuwenhze and his team plan to continue refining their research, with the goal of improving safety and ultimately developing therapeutic applications.
From Math to Movies
David J. Negrón Sr. came to Baylor University to study mathematics. However, when Student Union Building Director Marie Mathis recognized his artistic talent, his calling to pursue a creative career became clear. The portrait of Mathis that Negrón painted still hangs outside the Barfield Drawing Room.
After graduating from Baylor, Negrón pursued professional art training and went on to build a career as a conceptual painter, illustrator and storyboard artist in the motion picture industry.
His artistic vision helped shape the look of several iconic films, including “Jurassic Park,” “Raiders of the Lost Ark” and “Star Trek.” In 1997, Negrón was inducted into the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.
Negrón died in 2021, but his legacy as an artist endures.
Daily Parking Passes
As parking on campus continues to challenge Baylor University students, the university is introducing daily parking passes for the first time. Under the current system, students must purchase an annual parking permit at the start of the academic year, allowing them to park in designated lots and garages. When those lots fill or when students need a vehicle on campus for a single day without an annual permit, they will now have the option to purchase a $5 daily pass for the lot next to Seventh and James Baptist Church.
The lot was previously owned by the church but was recently sold to housing developers planning to build new student apartments. The daily pass option is a temporary solution that will remain in place until April, when construction is scheduled to begin.
Baylor in the Workforce
While students pursue a college degree for many reasons, finding employment after graduation remains a top priority. Baylor University’s placement survey, which covers summer 2024 through spring 2025, shows that most Bears are securing jobs related to their field of study.
Baylor reports a 92% placement rate and a 94% success rate. The placement rate reflects graduates who obtained jobs in their field of study, while the success rate includes employment of any kind, graduate school enrollment and internships. The survey reflects broad participation, with 99% of graduates responding, and both rates exceed national averages.
Finding Calling on set with “The Chosen.”
Gaining hands-on experience in their field is a goal for many Baylor University students. For Major Hargraves and Aundrea Suhl-Borbón, that opportunity came on the set of the critically acclaimed television series “The Chosen.”
Both students began working in the costume department, assisting with wardrobe needs, before transitioning to roles on the behind-the-scenes team. In those positions, they captured footage to share with fans of the show. The opportunity has helped them grow in both their technical skills and build important connections.
