New Baylor Center for Ethics
A new Ethics Center is debuting at Baylor University this June – bringing together students, faculty, and resources in one place to engage ethical issues. Paul Martens, Ph.D., associate dean for undergraduate studies, strategic initiatives, and special programs in the College of Arts & Sciences, and associate professor of religion.
The center will bring people together to foster initiatives on campus that engage ethical issues and further integrate ethics into Baylor’s campus identity.
“Baylor University, because of its Christian mission, needs to be part of the national conversation on any number of ethical issues,” said Lee C. Nordt, Ph.D., dean of the College of Arts & Sciences, according to a Baylor press release. “At least two of these issues that our new Center will address will be bioethics and the ethics of artificial intelligence (AI), which have been subjects for discussion and research at Baylor for some time now. We have a lot of people at the University already working in areas involving ethics, and they will be affiliated with this new Center.”
Article of the Year Award
Nicholas Benson, Ph.D., associate professor of educational psychology in Baylor’s Moody School of Education, received the Outstanding Article of the Year Award from the School of Psychology Review.
Benson’s research centered around the efficacy of Patterns of Strengths and Weaknesses (PSW). He and his associates found that the widely used diagnostic method is no more likely to identify specific learning disabilities (SLD) than chance.
“Recognition of this article signals growing consensus in the field that SLD identification must be grounded in diagnostic accuracy and meaningful educational impact,” Benson told Baylor Instant Impact. “Moving forward, greater emphasis should be placed on approaches that directly assess academic need and inform effective intervention, ensuring more equitable and evidence-based support for students.”
Learning Beyond the Classroom
Sometimes, the best learning happens outside of the classroom. That is why Baylor’s Moody School of Education took 30 of its junior education majors to Baylor’s Eastland Lakes Team & Leadership Center.
The students participated in rope courses and team activities to learn how to build trust and work together as a community.
“During my 10 years teaching elementary and middle school science, I came to deeply appreciate the value of getting students outdoors and the impact it can have on their lives,” Mandy Dunphy, Ph.D., clinical assistant professor in Curriculum & Instruction, who led the initiative, told Baylor Instant Impact. “I consistently noticed that students were happier, more engaged, and more willing to participate when we spent time outside the traditional classroom. As I’ve transitioned into teacher education, I’ve carried that commitment with me. I want to instill that same sense of connection to the outdoors in future teachers.”
Excellence in Undergraduate Mentoring
Jay Yoo, Ph.D., associate professor of Apparel Merchandising, was named as a recipient of the Elizabeth Vardaman Faculty Awards for Excellence in mentoring undergraduate students. Yoo has a broad range of academic interests and consistently encourages his students to be open-minded about their career paths.
“Mentoring is deeply important to me. It provides a strong sense of purpose and connection, and I learn a great deal from my students in return. Their perspectives, questions, and ideas often challenge me to think in new ways and continue growing as both an educator and a researcher,” said Yoo, according to an article from Robbins College of Health and Human Sciences.
Fullbright Awards
Time and time again, Baylor has been recognized as one of the top Fulbright-producing institutions. This year, the university shines once again, with 11 students and recent alumni selected for the 2026-2027 Fulbright U.S. Student Grants.
“We are delighted to have so many Baylor students and alumni win Fulbright awards again this year,” said Daniel Benyousky, Ph.D., director of major fellowships and awards in the Office of Engaged Learning, according to a Baylor Press Release. “These life-changing experiences will allow those who won to teach English and pursue meaningful cultural engagement in countries like Nepal, South Korea and Bulgaria, complete a human rights M.A. in France, undertake an internship in Mexico focused on economic policy and trade and conduct important public health research in the European Union in Poland, Lithuania and Latvia.”
Additionally, 7 Baylor students were selected as Fulbright alternates.
Mother-Daughter Nursing Team
Taylor Houser, D.N.P. ’18, B.S.N. ’12, CNM, and her mother Carla Morrow, D.N.P. ’10 are working to bring recognition to the value of midwifery.
The mother-daughter duo, and Baylor nursing graduates, have been working together as nurse-midwives since 2013 and are currently in a hospital-based midwifery practice in the Dallas/Fort Worth metroplex.
“We had a shared vision of creating a different kind of care model, one that centered on continuity, accessibility and physiologic birth,” Houser said, according to an article from the Louise Herrington School of Nursing. “There is growing recognition of the value that midwives bring in improving outcomes, reducing intervention rates and enhancing patient satisfaction while also maintaining excellent statistics, including low cesarean delivery rates and low NICU admission rates.”
Innovation 2 Impact
At the 2026 Innovation 2 Impact reception, more than sixty inventors from Baylor University were recognized and honored.
“In partnership with our Office of General Counsel, the Innovation and Economic Development team is proud to be part of advancing the impact of the University by supporting our community of inventors,” said John Crandall, director of research, innovation and economic development, according to an article from the School of Engineering and Computer Science. “The Baylor inventors bring the strength of their research and the inspiration of their creativity to solve problems and enable new opportunities that can impact the world.”
In recent years, inventions developed by Baylor faculty have spanned various fields such as aerospace, digital communication, and health.
Canvas Shutdown Delays Finals
A nationwide Canvas outage delayed Baylor finals, with students unable to access tests, study material, and assignments. The outage resulted from the hacker group ShinyHunters infiltrating Instructure, Canvas’s parent company. While Baylor was one of many schools affected, the university stated that the breach was not directed at Baylor.
All exams that were originally scheduled for Friday, May 8, were conducted online on Thursday, May 14.
