How Baylor’s Pro Mundo Institute Builds Partnerships That Extend Beyond Borders
As Baylor University advances the bold global vision outlined in Baylor in Deeds, meaningful global impact begins with faculty. Through teaching, research and service, Baylor faculty create the partnerships, scholarship and learning experiences that prepare students for worldwide leadership. The newly launched Pro Mundo Institute (PMI) represents Baylor’s newest investment in that vision.
Supported by the Kong Family Endowment, the Pro Mundo Institute is a strategic initiative designed to advance interdisciplinary research, strengthen international partnerships and expand global learning across the University. More than an international experience, PMI provides faculty with opportunities to build relationships that can inspire new research, enrich teaching and create transformational opportunities for students. In that way, the Institute represents a meaningful expression of Baylor’s expanded motto, Pro Ecclesia, Pro Texana, Pro Mundo—“For the Church, for Texas, for the World”—and the University’s commitment to worldwide leadership and service.
A Global Vision, Put Into Practice
The inaugural Pro Mundo Institute took place in Ghana from June 17–26, 2026, focusing on Healthcare Innovation and Sustainable Engineering Solutions in Africa, a theme that aligns directly with priorities outlined in Baylor in Deeds.
The first interdisciplinary cohort included seven participants—five faculty members and two staff members from the Center for Global Engagement—representing the Department of English, Department of Religion, the Diana R. Garland School of Social Work and the Hankamer School of Business. The range of disciplines represented in the cohort reflects an important part of the Institute’s vision: global challenges rarely fit neatly within a single field of study, and addressing them requires scholars to bring different perspectives, expertise and experiences to the same table.
During the immersive experience, faculty engaged with local universities, healthcare organizations, community leaders, NGOs and industry experts while also exploring Ghana’s rich cultural and historical context. These conversations were designed to foster relationships rooted in mutual learning, recognizing that meaningful global partnerships begin not with having all the answers, but with listening, learning and identifying opportunities to work together.
From International Experience to Sustained Partnership
Rather than viewing international engagement as a series of individual activities, the Pro Mundo Institute creates a framework for sustained collaboration. Faculty participants are exploring opportunities to develop internationalized curricula, collaborative research initiatives, study abroad programs, internships, service-learning experiences and reciprocal institutional partnerships that can continue long after the Institute concludes.
Those relationships are already beginning to take shape, with three memoranda of understanding underway with the University of Ghana, Ho Technical University and Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology. These partnerships have the potential to create new opportunities not only for faculty, but also for Baylor students who may one day conduct research alongside international scholars, study abroad, complete internships or participate in service-learning experiences connected to these institutions.
The goal is not simply to send Baylor faculty into the world, but to build relationships that bring the world back to Baylor.
Faculty as Multipliers of Global Impact
The impact of the Pro Mundo Institute extends well beyond the faculty who participate. When scholars return to Baylor, they bring new global perspectives into their classrooms, strengthen international research networks and create expanded opportunities for students to engage the world through research, study abroad and experiential learning. In this way, faculty become multipliers of global impact: one faculty member’s experience can influence an entire classroom, a new international relationship can lead to a collaborative research project, and a conversation with an international partner can become a study abroad or service-learning opportunity for students.
The possibilities extend far beyond the original experience. That is what distinguishes the Pro Mundo Institute from a traditional international faculty experience. Its purpose is not simply to expose faculty to another culture or academic environment, but to equip them to create lasting opportunities for collaboration, scholarship and student learning.
Building a Vibrant, Caring, Global Community
At its core, the Pro Mundo Institute reflects Baylor’s belief that global engagement is built through relationships. By investing in faculty, Baylor is investing in the partnerships, scholarship and shared learning that advance both the University’s mission and the communities it serves. The work also connects directly to Baylor’s vision of building a Vibrant, Caring, Global Community—one shaped by people willing to cross borders, disciplines and perspectives; relationships grounded in mutual respect, listening and service; and a commitment to engagement that extends beyond a single experience.
A global community is built over time, through people who return from international experiences ready to create something that lasts.
As Baylor continues living into the vision of Baylor in Deeds, the inaugural Pro Mundo Institute represents an important step toward that future. Its success will ultimately be measured not only by the experiences of its first cohort, but by the research it inspires, the partnerships it strengthens and the opportunities it creates for students and faculty for years to come.
The Pro Mundo Institute begins with faculty, but its impact reaches much further—to students, research, partnerships and communities around the world.
That is Pro Mundo in practice.