Baylor is filled with faculty, staff and administrators whose fascinating work and deep sense of mission give us plenty of worthy stories to tell. But unless you’re on campus, you can’t always hear those stories straight from the source.
Enter Baylor Connections, the weekly radio show and podcast that introduces listeners to the people who provide the heart behind the work. Hosted by Derek Smith — whose voice you likely recognize as the voice of McLane Stadium, Baylor baseball and women’s basketball — new episodes air weekly all year long.
In honor of the podcast recently surpassing the 200-episode milestone, here are five recent episodes that give a sampling of the many ways Baylor and Baylor people impact the world:
- Vice Provost for Research Kevin Chambliss explains the significance of Baylor reaching R1 status — perhaps as early as 2024 — and how Baylor students benefit from those efforts.
- Deputy Athletic Director Dawn Rogers is one of the very few individuals who have helped lead both a city’s Final Four efforts and an athletic department in a Final Four; earlier this year, she shared her insights from both experiences.
- Dr. Sparky Matthews (BA ’92), a professor in Baylor’s Honors Program, relates his journey that took him from Baylor all the way to becoming the U.S. Space Force’s first surgeon general — and back.
- Baylor Law School dean Brad Toben (JD ’77) and professor Gerald Powell (BA ’74, JD ’77) take listeners inside “the Marine Corps Boot Camp of lawyering”: Practice Court, a longtime Baylor law staple.
- Dr. Rizalia Klausmeyer, director of Baylor’s Office of Undergraduate Research, explains how research and teaching work together to improve the Baylor student experience.
Baylor Connections airs in Waco each Friday at 11 a.m. on KWBU-FM; the show can also be subscribed to as a podcast, or streamed online at baylor.edu/connections.
Sic ’em, Connections listeners!