Baylor Waco Initiative

Mission

External Affairs is inspired to lead, engage, support and celebrate the collective impact of Baylor and Waco.

About the Initiative

Encompassing the Greater Waco Region, we strive to serve the community in partnership with leaders and organizations that strongly believe in the potential of our city. 

Commitment III of the Baylor University strategic plan, Baylor in Deeds, focuses on building a vibrant, caring, global community, a cornerstone of the Baylor experience, and further calls us to develop opportunities to build a strong sense of community and mutual learning throughout Baylor’s primary location in Waco. Through this, we seek to expend opportunities and partnerships with the Waco community to include government, business, non-profit entities and churches as well as expand opportunities for students to engage in meaningful service and learn from community experts, right here in Waco.

Simply put, we seek to build a thriving community where we live and work by rallying cross-campus and city-wide resources. 

Through the work of the Baylor Waco Initiative:

1. We develop civically minded leaders (community leadership).
2. We partner with local organizations (community engagement).
3. We leverage institutional output (community impact). 

The Baylor Waco Initiative builds upon three core components, community leadership, community engagement and community impact in support of these outcomes.

Community Leadership

• 5 Year Vision: Participate and lead in the Waco community through service as Baylor brand ambassadors, leveraging human, physical, and financial resources, for the benefit of the city.
  • We manage programs that strengthen leadership capacity.
    • Goal: Offer leadership and professional development that aligns with community interests and needs for 50 individuals.
• We dedicate human capital and other resources to organizations.
  • Goal: Strategically direct human and financial capital in ways that create opportunities for collaboration by supporting more than 50 organizations annually.
• We represent Baylor as a highly engaged, thoughtful, and intentional anchor institution through collaboration and brand advancement.
  • Goal: Serve as Baylor University brand ambassadors for the local community by executing at least one spirit project or campaign. 

Community Engagement

• 5 Year Vision: Collaborate with local stakeholders, including the City of Waco, local businesses, and nonprofits, to enhance community capacity, knowledge, and experience by hosting events on campus and leveraging institutional output.
  • We leverage the university’s assets to expand capacity of partners.
    • Goal: Establish baseline measurements of community usage of university resources (e.g. facilities, expertise) by the end of FY ‘25, aiming for a 25% increase in utilization through community partnerships within two years.
    • We collaborate to advance social and economic progress.
      • Goal: Facilitate at least two collaborative projects per quarter focused on driving social and economic development.
    • We develop mutual awareness and relationships between community organizations and the University.  
      • Goal: Facilitate up to 5 academic, service-learning, and/or research projects in partnership with local organizations.

Community Impact

• 5 Year Vision: Share stories, data, and insights that showcase the collaborative impact and positive outcomes of Baylor and Waco.
  • We organize quantitative and qualitative data to present a holistic narrative of Baylor’s positive impact and outcomes on the Waco community.
    • Goal: Measure institutional impact within Waco through a community engagement survey to inform our annual impact report.
    • We highlight stories of impact and progress.
      • Goal: Expand our storytelling reach leveraging External Affairs web and social media assets to highlight Baylor faculty, staff, and students in their positive impact on Waco.
    • We position programs, personnel and progress in support of local social and economic development.
      • Goal: Increase awareness and utilization of Waco Perks by students, faculty and staff as well as add at least 10 new partners to the program.