The Texas Hunger Initiative (THI) at Baylor University works with school districts, like La Vega ISD, and communities across the state to improve participation in school breakfast through innovative alternative service models, like “Breakfast in the Classroom” and “Grab and Go.” Yesterday, March 14, representatives from the Baylor football program, including players Grayland Arnold (#4), Jamie Jacobs (#43), and Jonathan Hockman (#24), as well as Ryan Kelly, an administrator in the football program, joined students at La Vega Elementary to promote the importance of school breakfast and to encourage students to participate. Dave Thiel, Director of Child Nutrition for La Vega ISD described the important work of THI and the Baylor football program: “It is exciting for a first, second, or third grader to see some local sports figures – successful students that are proven athletes and who have proven that they’re doing great academically. They’re great role models in the community. We always appreciate it when Baylor supports us and comes out, and the Texas Hunger Initiative has been a really good supporter of our program here at La Vega, in many different ways.”

In a state where more than 1 in 4 children are food insecure, the public school system continues to grow as a primary infrastructure for addressing childhood hunger. Participation in school breakfast has been associated with decreased tardiness and absences and better school performance, attention, and behavior. More Texas students than ever are starting their school days fueled for success, especially students who might not have regular access to food at home. As a current student-athlete who benefited from school breakfast as a child, Jonathan Hockman reflected about his experience volunteering: “It’s important to keep perspective, because football, at the end of the day, is just a game. It’s really about who you reach through football. These kids look up to us, and it’s important that we can maintain that outreach and perspective of giving back to the community and back to others, and I’m happy and blessed to be able to do this.”

THI’s innovative model addresses food insecurity at all levels – local, state, and federal – by organizing systems and helping people work together to create more efficient and effective programs and policies that reduce hunger in Texas. Thanks to the efforts of numerous partners, including the Baylor football program, every day we get closer to our goal of ending hunger and setting up children for the wellness and success every child deserves.

Since 2007, Darryl Stuhr, associate director for digital projects in the Baylor Libraries, and his team of specialists have worked with Professor Bob Darden on the Black Gospel Music Restoration Project. This initiative, which began with an op-ed in the New York Times by Darden in 2005, now boasts over 5,000 black gospel music recordings digitized with thousands of songs available to the public online.

The Baylor Libraries’ digital preservation efforts caught the eye of Dr. Dwandalyn Reece, curator of music and performing arts for the new Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture in Washington, D.C. When its doors opened last year, digital tracks from the Baylor Libraries’ collection were featured in a standing exhibit. As thousands pour through the doors each day, they experience the rich, cultural heritage of the black gospel tradition and directly engage with Darden’s passion and the work of the Baylor digital projects 1,500 miles away.

Based on this success, Darden and the Baylor Libraries recently partnered with KWBU 103.3 FM, our local NPR affiliate, to record a series of brief historical vignettes that highlight different dimensions of the black gospel music tradition. These two-minute segments not only air locally on KWBU 103.3 FM, but have also been picked up by NPR stations across the nation. Darden continues to mine the Baylor Libraries’ digital collection for music and, more importantly, the stories behind the music, to share with the NPR audience. “It is inspiring to see how Professor Darden’s passion for the black gospel music tradition has resulted not only in the preservation of this vital dimension of our culture, but also an outpouring of engagement with these treasures,” said Pattie Orr, Vice President for Information Technology and Dean of University Libraries. “The Libraries, through our Riley Digitization Center, are proud to be a partner with Darden in this important work.”

Knowing the details of our history is essential to understanding contemporary society. The gospel music tradition holds the keys to everything from contemporary rock, R&B, hip-hop, soul, and other contemporary musical forms. Darden and the Baylor Libraries bring this to light with each track digitized and every episode of SHOUT! Black Gospel Music Moments that airs.

Globally, close to a million babies die within the first week of life from simple and preventable breathing issues, known as birth asphyxia. Many infants would respond to resuscitative measures if this lack of oxygen during late-term labor were recognized. To ameliorate this problem, the American Academy of Pediatrics and World Health Organization have collaborated to develop Helping Babies Breathe, a program to prepare nurses, midwives, and skilled birth attendants with simple yet lifesaving skills.

With the help of a BU Missions research grant, the support of Dean Shelley Conroy, and the leadership of Dr. Lori Spies and Dr. Cheryl Riley, nurses from Baylor University’s School of Nursing have and are continuing to initiate sustainable culturally congruent initiatives by working with global agencies and existing well-established regional partners in Ethiopia, India, Vietnam, and Zambia. LHSON nurses provide Helping Babies Breathe workshops and equip partners with the necessary tools to help babies breathe. Conducting Helping Babies Breathe workshops to APNs, nurses, midwives, and traditional birth attendants can increase workforce capacity and provide training for basic newborn care in vulnerable populations. Incorporating the Helping Babies Breathe program into existing research, clinical courses, and service learning global endeavors led by Advanced Practice Nurses can significantly contribute to decreased infant mortality.

An inspiring example from LHSON serves as a testament to the immense benefits of Helping Babies Breathe: after teaching in Langano, Ethiopia, an LHSON team traveled to remote Makki to teach Helping Babies Breathe. While the LHSON team was gone, a woman who was pregnant with twins and had placenta previa went into labor early at the Langano clinic. The first twin was born, and the woman was bleeding profusely. Nurses at the Langano clinic loaded her into the clinic van/ambulance and headed to the nearest hospital. The first hospital turned them away, so they headed to the second hospital, which meant 2-3 hours of driving. Meanwhile, the second twin was born blue and floppy. While a nurse worked to save the mother’s life, the clinic assistant/translator, who had attended LHSON’s Helping Babies Breathe course, was handed the second baby and immediately knew what to do. After performing the actions he had learned during training, the baby cried; the mother and her two children survived. Our Ethiopian colleagues attributed this baby’s survival to the LHSON team having taught the Helping Babies Breathe course.

NASA Astronaut Shane Kimbrough, who is the current commander of the International Space Station (ISS), recently took photos of Waco from aboard the ISS. Even though Kimbrough has not been on Earth since October 19, 2016, when he and two other astronauts were transported to the ISS as part of Expedition 49/50, his connections to Texas run deep: Kimbrough was born in nearby Killeen, Texas, and he now has a child at Baylor. His photos of Waco from space illumine both the wonder and breadth of God’s Creation and the intimacy of personal relationships in our small corner of the world. Kimbrough regularly posts awe-inspiring photos taken from the International Space Station on his Twitter. Kimbrough is expected to return to Earth April 10, 2017.

Psalm 8

¹ O Lord, our Lord,
how majestic is your name in all the earth!
You have set your glory above the heavens.
² Out of the mouths of babes and infants
you have founded a bulwark because of your foes,
to silence the enemy and the avenger.
³ When I look at your heavens, the work of your fingers,
the moon and the stars that you have established;
⁴ what are human beings that you are mindful of them,
mortals that you care for them?
⁵ Yet you have made them a little lower than God,
and crowned them with glory and honor.
⁶ You have given them dominion over the works of your hands;
you have put all things under their feet,
⁷ all sheep and oxen,
and also the beasts of the field,
⁸ the birds of the air, and the fish of the sea,
whatever passes along the paths of the seas.
⁹ O Lord, our Lord,
how majestic is your name in all the earth!

Latino Leaders Magazine rated Baylor University as one of the top 50 universities for Latinos in the U.S. The list represents the top universities that excelled in their performance, outreach, and academic level in their relation with the Latino student population, according to data compiled from the Hispanic Association of Colleges and Universities, U.S. News & World Report, and other reporting agencies.

Latino Leaders Magazine highlighted Baylor’s variety of academic programs: 142 undergraduate degree programs, 75 master’s programs and 42 doctoral programs, which are “assets for Latino students who want both high academic standards and proximity to their families, who live primarily in the Lone Star State,” as well our Hispanic Student Association, which can “foster an enriching experience of the Hispanic culture, heritage and traditions in the Baylor and Waco communities while empowering and supporting students with their personal development, and advocating for a diverse and inclusive environment.”

Baylor has been committed to supporting Latino students for many years. Baylor has been an institutional member of the Hispanic Association for Colleges and Universities (HACU) for over twenty-five years, through which students have been selected as student fellows at national conferences. HACU provides scholarships, internships, international meetings, and opportunities to meet Latino scholars as well as business leaders. Baylor has also been a long-time institutional member of the Texas Association of Chicanos in Higher Education (TACHE) and recently partnered with McLennan Community College and Texas State Technical College to create the inaugural Heart of Texas TACHE Chapter. Officers and members consist of representatives from all three Waco institutions.

Last fall, the Latino student enrollment rate reached 15%, resulting in Baylor University’s identification as an “Emerging” Hispanic-Serving Institution through the U.S. Department of Education. Baylor also held the National Hispanic Christian Leadership Conference on October 18, 2016, at which around 250 people gathered from around the country to discuss strategies and solutions to increase Latino student college graduation rates.

Dr. Elizabeth Palacios, Dean for Student Development, said, “After 35 years at Baylor, I am excited to see the Latino community has not only grown in numbers, but in impact as well. The Hispanic population is the largest minority group and second fastest growing community in the United States. Our Baylor Latino students come from a diverse array of cities, states, and countries! The Latino culture is rich in traditions, including faith and spirituality. As Baylor University continues to be intentional in reaching out to all students of color, no doubt our campus will continue to benefit from the rich tapestry of heritages!”