Welcome to Baylor's Global Engagement Report, a collection of stories from 2024 to 2026 that illustrate how our community is living out Baylor's mission of Pro Ecclesia, Pro Texana, Pro Mundo through teaching, learning, research, service, and partnership around the world. The year 2024 marked a pivotal moment in Baylor's history and in the work of global engagement.  In May 2024, the Baylor Board of Regents approved expanding our long-serving motto, Pro Ecclesia, Pro Texana (For the Church, For Texas), to include Pro Mundo (For the World). At the time of the announcement, President Linda A. Livingstone, Ph.D., explained:  

“Now that Baylor has risen to a Christian Research 1 university, we have an opportunity to shine God’s light around the world and serve others in even more significant ways. Our world is becoming increasingly complex and challenging, and we must lead in emerging fields and remain competitive in academics and athletics. Baylor brings an important Christian perspective to help solve grand challenges, particularly at the intersection of health and engineering. Our students will always remain our top priority, and we must prepare them to lead now and into the future in an ever-changing global environment.”

The addition of Pro Mundo went beyond simply adding new language. Instead, it signaled both a formal commitment to the worldwide leadership and service Baylor has always practiced, and this addition represented a deeper investment in our internationalization efforts.  

The year 2024 also marked the launch of our new strategic plan, Baylor in Deeds, which helps translate our motto into concrete actions. The first three pillars of the strategic plan provide the framework for this report.  Within each section, we highlight the individual and collective efforts of our community members to live out our motto and advance strategic initiatives. Although Christian Stewardship is not a formal subsection, it is central to our work and woven throughout our ongoing efforts to engage with the world in ways that reflect Baylor’s distinctive mission and strengths. Finally, 2024 marked a new chapter for the Center for Global Engagement as we moved into our new home in Sid Richardson Hall. More than relocation, the space reflects our commitment to hospitality and global community. From providing coffee, tea, and snacks to our visitors to lining our hallway with flags representing the countries of our current Baylor students, we’ve endeavored to create a welcoming environment for all. One moment that captures this spirit came when one of our designated student speakers at a commencement ceremony for international students, Jaimala Kishore, said: “I learned that I have another home at Baylor, and that my family room is in CGE.” Jaimala was among the first students to graduate under Baylor's expanded motto, and her words capture what Pro Mundo looks like in practice: a caring community rooted in belonging, connection, and shared purpose. 

At many universities, the motto is an afterthought, artifact, or anachronism, but as this report will show, this is not the case at Baylor.   Compiling these stories has been an uplifting experience, revealing how our motto is not only widely recognized at Baylor but also, in many cases, serves as a north star for the work we do. Through these efforts, we continue to give Pro Ecclesia, Pro Texana, Pro-Mundo meaning and relevance in the life of our University. As you explore the stories in our report, I hope you will see not only the remarkable breadth of Baylor's global engagement, but also the many ways our community is advancing the University's mission to serve the Church, Texas, and the world. 

Dr. Eduardo Contreras  
Vice Provost for Global Engagement  
Baylor University