News

Baylor University is celebrating its most successful fundraising year ever, with the Baylor Family giving a record-breaking $244.5 million to the University during the 2026 fiscal year.

The Baylor Board of Regents celebrated the University’s second-best fundraising year ever, a growing endowment and continued success of the Extend the Line scholarship initiative.

During its regular February meeting, the Baylor University Board of Regents took several actions that will continue to strategically position the University for the future in areas related to academics and research and value and affordability.

Baylor University today announced the second-highest fundraising year in Baylor’s history, with more than $192 million given by alumni, parents and friends during the 2025 fiscal year.

Harmon and Lea Kong's gift to Baylor establishes the Kong Family Endowed Presidential Fund for Student Care and the Kong Family Endowed Fund for Faculty Development.

Baylor University today officially launched the Extend the Line Scholarship Initiative, which aims to raise $250 million by 2030 for student scholarships to help ensure a Baylor education remains accessible and affordable for both current and prospective students.

For Dan, B.B.A. ’66, M.B.A. ’73, and Nancy Russel Chapman, B.A. ’69, M.S.Ed. ’73, philanthropy is an inspired act. As alumni, former Baylor parents and grandparents, longtime volunteers and donors, their support took many forms over the years as their reasons for connecting to Baylor University changed and evolved.

Baylor’s unofficial Scriptural foundation in recent years has been Matthew 5:14-16, especially: “You are the light of the world… Let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.”

Both the terminology and meaning have shaped recent major endeavors, from the “Where Lights Shine Bright” and “Give Light” campaigns through the Illuminate strategic plan. Baylor’s next major efforts will continue the focus on those verses, this time on the reason we let our light shine — “so that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.”

Baylor University today announced a $1.5 million gift from B. Todd and Amy Patterson of Richmond, Texas, establishing The Todd and Amy Patterson Endowed Chair in Cybersecurity to advance the School of Engineering and Computer Science’s research within the field of cybersecurity. 

A Conversation with Jason Diffenderfer, Vice President for University Advancement
 

Before Matthew Pierce (BBA ’09) enrolled at Baylor, he and his mother had a conversation about how they would fund his undergraduate education. Unsure of where the money would come from, Pierce’s mother reassured him that God would give him more on the journey than at the start.

Baylor University is mourning the death of Baylor alumnus, former Regent and Board Chair and dedicated philanthropist Thomas R. “Tom” Powers of Houston, who passed away on Wednesday, Jan. 24, with his family by his side. 

WACO, Texas (Dec. 20, 2023) – Baylor University President Linda A. Livingstone, Ph.D., announced today that Jason Diffenderfer, vice president for university advancement at the University at Buffalo, will join Baylor as vice president for university advancement, effective March 1, 2024.

A $1.25-million grant from Lilly Endowment Inc. will establish an interdisciplinary project focuses on helping congregations embrace young people with disabilities, mental health challenges, and chronic illnesses, led by Baylor faculty in Truett Seminary, School of Education, and Diana Garland School of Social Work.

The Paul and Alejandra Foster Pavilion opened its doors as the new home for Baylor’s championship men’s and women’s basketball teams, expanding the footprint of Baylor’s presence along the Brazos River and Interstate 35 corridor.

WACO, Texas (December 11, 2023) - Baylor University’s George W. Truett Theological Seminary is pleased to announce that the University has been awarded a grant of $1.25 million from Lilly Endowment Inc. to help establish a project led by the Seminary in collaboration with the Baylor Center for Developmental Disabilities in the School of Education and the Center for Church and Community Impact (C3I) in the Diana R. Garland School of Social Work. The interdisciplinary project focuses on helping congregations embrace young people with disabilities and mental health challenges.

Baylor University today announced a $1.5 million gift establishing the first endowed chair position in the history of the Louise Herrington School of Nursing from the family of the School’s namesake, Louise Herrington Ornelas. The Louise Herrington Endowed Chair in Mental Health will support innovative research and teaching within the Louise Herrington School of Nursing, with a special focus on the areas of mental and behavioral health research, including the need for more mental health professionals.

Baylor University announced a $5 million gift from John and Helen Carona of Dallas, providing significant momentum and support for the renovation and construction of the Honors Residential College, as well as the University’s other major capital priorities through the Give Light Capital Fund. In recognition of their transformational gift, Baylor will name the Carona Family Commons at the Honors Residential College and the Carona Family Premium Entry in the Paul and Alejandra Foster Pavilion.

Baylor University announced a $1.5 million challenge grant from the J.E. & L.E. Mabee Foundation of Midland, Texas, providing significant momentum and support for the renovation and construction of the Honors Residential College. The grant will fund a significant portion of the more than $7 million needed in philanthropic support to complete the project, one of many capital projects funded through the Give Light campaign.

Earlier this spring, the Baylor Board of Regents approved a budget increase of $22.75 million for the renovation of the Honors Residential College (HRC) bringing the total project budget to $57.75 million. The project, which is slated to begin in May, fulfills key commitments of Illuminate Forward to improve students’ residential campus experience and to improve the Honors College.

WACO, Texas (March 16, 2023) – Baylor University today announced a $1.5 million gift from anonymous alumni establishing an endowed faculty chair position in the School of Education to support innovative research and teaching focused on the flourishing of children and youth with disabilities. 

WACO, Texas (March 3, 2023) – Baylor University today dedicated the Mary Jo Robbins Clinic for Autism Research and Practice during an event honoring the clinic’s namesake, Mary Jo Robbins, and her husband, William K. “Bill” Robbins, of Houston, who made the lead gift in her honor. The event recognized the Robbinses, a couple who has spent their lifetimes championing excellence in health care.

WACO, Texas (Feb. 24, 2023) – Baylor University today announced a $3.7 million gift from Jay and Jenny Allison of Frisco, Texas, to support the Give Light Capital Fund, as well as scholarships benefiting Baylor Law and the George W. Truett Theological Seminary. Baylor will recognize the couple’s philanthropic support through the naming of the Jay and Jenny Allison Development Center within the Paul and Alejandra Foster Pavilion.

WACO, Texas (Feb. 23, 2023) – Baylor University today announced a gift of approximately $6 million from the estate of Harold W. Dunn of Ballwin, Missouri, supporting the School of Music’s Center for Christian Music Studies. Dunn, an alumnus and retired elementary school music teacher, gave the entirety of his estate to the University, making the largest gift in the School of Music’s 100-year history.