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Critics let Robert Galbraith’s debut crime novel, The Cuckoo’s Calling, pass initially without fanfare, albeit with positive reviews. After Galbraith was revealed as J.K. Rowling’s pseudonym, reviewers rallied to see evidence of its famous author’s brilliance in the novel, some claiming to have quietly intuited it all along. Perhaps so, but it’s a strain to find consequential similarities between Cormoran Strike and Harry Potter, Denmark Street and Diagon Alley, a one-legged, ex-army private detective and an orphaned boy wizard. Character, setting, plot, style, and theme are very different under Galbraith’s hand. Rowling thoroughly reinvented herself as an author.

What comes to mind when you think of correspondence? I recently pondered this question in Fare Forward, a Christian review of ideas that takes its bearings from T.S. Eliot’s Four Quartets and seeks to “consider the future / And the past with an equal mind.”

Three weeks ago, we launched the website for 100 Days of Dante. The project honors the seventh centenary of Dante’s death. It expresses—as should everything we undertake—our distinctive academic vocation and University mission. It rallies us around a work of art that Pope Francis praises as “one of the highest expressions of human genius,” one that shows “with poetic beauty the depth of the mystery of God and love.”

Baylor’s Honors College will lead the world’s largest Dante reading group this fall in honor of the 700th anniversary of Dante’s death. Through a beautifully designed, engaging website, we’ll read Dante’s wondrous poem, the Divine Comedy, and discover how it can change our outlook, love of God, and embrace of neighbor.

Erik Larson’s new book, The Splendid and the Vile, has occupied my attention during our recent spell of rainy evenings and weekends. From Churchill’s inner circle to ordinary Londoners, the book elevates very human voices contending with amplified awareness of the thin line between life and death.

Bringing the 2020-21 academic year to a successful conclusion merits more than the usual celebration. Bon mot it may not be, but here’s the best word I have for the occasion: woohoo! I am grateful, I am proud, and I am blessed to serve with you. For all of the creative, excellent, generous, hopeful, meticulous, patient, and steadfast contributions you have made this past year, thank you.

Dean Douglas Henry has announced the appointment of Dr. Jeffrey M. Hunt, Senior Lecturer in Classics, as Director of the University Scholars Program, one of four hallmark academic initiatives of Baylor's Honors College.

As Giving Day approaches we want to thank our many alumni who continue to support the Honors College through both their time and generous giving. One such dedicated alumnus is Dr. Lang (B.A. Social Work 2004, BIC)! After receiving her BA and MA from Baylor in Social Work, Dr. Lang went on to pursue her Ph.D. in Social Work as well as her Masters of Divinity. Dr. Lang currently serves as the director of Tarleton State University’s BSW program. In her Alumni Spotlight, Dr. Lang reflects on the impact of many of her Baylor professors on her college experience and on her teaching practices now. Sic‘em, Dr. Lang!

Spring is upon us and Easter draws nigh! In these days, the grace of resurrected life bursts forth in the natural profusion of the season and in the supernatural work of God in the holy days culminating in Easter. The joyous beauty of Spring—with its echoes of Eden glory, susceptibility to ruin, and redemption through Christ—is celebrated in a sonnet Gerard Manley Hopkins called, simply, “Spring.”

Continuing our emphasis on notable Honors College graduates who have received prestigious fellowships, grants, or scholarships, our Alumni Spotlight this week is Dr. Jamie Gianoutsos! A double major in Political Science and Great Texts of the Western tradition in the honors program, Dr. Gianoutsos received the Marshall Scholarship in 2006. As a Marshall Scholar, she attended a master’s course studying Renaissance literature at the Queen’s University of Belfast and a second major in political thought and intellectual history at the University of Cambridge. Learn more about Dr. Gianoutsos’ incredible journey in this week’s Alumni Spotlight!

Cormac McCarthy’s post-apocalyptic novel, The Road, has provided a sober frame of reference for my recent thinking. Have you read it? A gifted writer’s craft is powerfully at work from the gripping first words to the final poignant scene. But I’m also impressed with the depth and nuance McCarthy’s novel brings to fundamentally important questions of faith. In these respects, we do well to follow many of his cues, albeit with the freedom and joy to express a living, well-tested faith in the Way of Christ, something generally missing and certainly muted in The Road.

On Thursday, February 25th, Baylor Graduate Dr. Keister, along with his four Baylor Graduate interns, educated Honors College students about their great work in Amarillo, Texas to help the poor gain access to free healthcare. After graduating from Baylor summa cum laude with a B.A. in Biology, Dr. Keister went on to become a physician with a big heart to help those in need. Interestingly enough, Dr. Keister identified the significant need for free healthcare in his hometown of Amarillo, Texas. This realization led to the eventual creation of his non-profit, “Heal the City,” in 2013.

On Thursday, February 8th, the Director of the Institute for Faith and Learning and Clinical Professor of Moral Philosophy in the Baylor Honors College, Dr. Darin Davis, gave a Formation series lecture entitled “Some Fools Never Learn.” This lecture identified and analyzed the various forms of foolery as detailed in the book of Proverbs. A well-attended lecture by Honors College students, the contents of this Formation Series will no doubt be a prominent point of discussion for its insightful reflections on the simple, the silly, the stubborn, the scorning, and the steadfast fool.

We live in a world that needs humility and magnanimity, but often lacks them. Is there anything more ridiculous than inordinate pride, than vaunted, self-congratulatory praise? To it, humility is the answer. Aren’t we put off by excessive self-deprecation, by defeatist, woe-is-me despair? To it, magnanimity is the antidote. We need humility and magnanimity, the former so our aspiration to greatness is tempered by gratitude for divine grace, and the latter so our frailty as dust-of-the-earth creatures reflects the brilliant image of God. Above all, we need hope!

The Honors College is proud of our many accomplished alumni. Dr. Terry Lee Mills (B.S. 1992, Biology, Honors Program) has had a successful medical career. Among his numerous accomplishments, Mills served as a primary care provider and as the Administrative Medical Director for St. John Clinic in Tulsa, OK. Most recently, Mills moved into the position of Senior Vice President and Chief Medical Officer at CommunityCare of Oklahoma, a regional provider-owned health plan. Mills also served for 23 years in the US Army Reserves as an Army medical doctor with six deployments including to Iraq in 2008.

Through the recent generosity of donor support, a new full-tuition scholarship has become available to Honors College graduates seeking a Master of Divinity at Truett Theological Seminary. To be eligible, graduates of the Honors College must demonstrate involvement in student ministry, church ministry, non-profit organizations, and/or missions. They must also be actively involved in church ministries, and Baptist students must have completed the First-Year Church Certification Form. In addition, graduates must have a minimum 3.25 GPA.

The Honors College is proud of our many accomplished alumni. Jerome Loughridge (B.A. University Scholars, 1995) has a long history of public service. Among his numerous accomplishments, Loughridge served as the chief of staff to former Baylor president Robert Sloan, and worked as a White House Fellow for Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld on Iraqi reconstruction. Most recently, Loughridge served in a volunteer capacity as the Secretary of Health & Mental Health for Oklahoma, where he led the state's early response to Covid-19

Out of the depths of vital Christian faith, MLK, Jr.'s service in the cause of social justice was rooted, grew up, and flowered. His sermons are of course a great source of insight into that faith. So also are his prayers, which are governed by the grammar of Christian faith as he praises God, confesses weakness and failure, pleas for help, seeks deliverance and guidance, gives thanks, and waits upon the Lord. His praying goes hand in hand with his public, prophetic witness.