Sic 'em Bears - Research and Endowment

Research and Endowment

In 2005, the university was invited to join the Collider Detector at Fermilab (CDF) collaboration at the Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory in Batavia, Illinois. The project is one of the world's largest experimental physics collaborations.

The following year, Carnegie Foundation upgraded the university's classification to "Research University" status with "High Research Activity," opening the door to many new research opportunities.

In October 2009, a group of state, county and city governments and organizations and higher educational institutions in Central Texas announced the creation of the Central Texas Technology and Research Park, and the park's first project, the Baylor Research and Innovation Collaborative (BRIC) to be housed in the former General Tire facility on South Loop Drive in Waco. Funding for the effort came from the state of Texas and Baylor University. Clifton Robinson (a member of Baylor's Board of Regents) donated the facility to the university to support the research collaborative. Several former and present members of faculty at Baylor are involved in the intelligent design debate, most notably philosopher William Dembski, now at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, Christian philosopher Francis Beckwith and electrical engineer Robert J. Marks II.

The university's endowment passed $1 billion in 2007 and reached $1,055,478,000 on December 31, 2007. Despite the economic crisis of 2008, Baylor spokesperson Lori Fogleman reported that Baylor's endowment grew 5.1 percent in the fiscal year ending June 30, 2008; the National Association of College and University Business Officials estimated that during that same period, the median return for the top 25 percent of college endowments decreased by 2.2 percent. Fogleman cited the university's long-term investments and diversified holdings as the cause of the endowment's success. As of December 2008, the Baylor endowment totaled less than $1 billion, down from a May high of $1.06 billion. A consulting firm hired by the university expressed concern that the disagreements within the Baylor community could hinder the endowment from continuing its four-year streak of increased endowment donation totals and its 2012 goal of a $2 billion endowment, though the current economy may also prevent both.

On March 4, 2010, "An anonymous longtime Baylor donor. . . set up an estate provision that will benefit the school to the tune of an estimated $200 million dollars. The gift will bolster Baylor's research on the issues of aging in multiple disciplines at the school." Citing the most recent data reported by the Chronicle of Higher Education, Baylor officials say the $200 million donation is the second-largest gift to a Texas college or university and ranks among the top 20 private gifts to higher education institutions in the country.