• Skip to main content
  • Skip to main navigation
Baylor University
History Department
  • About
    • Contact Us
    • Statement on Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging
    • Baylor Land Acknowledgement
    • Statement on Racial Justice
    • Events
    • News
    • Schedule a Visit
  • Faculty
    • Current Faculty
    • Affiliated Faculty
    • Retired Faculty
  • Undergraduate Program
    • Why Study History?
    • Degree Requirements
    • Undergraduate Publication Opportunities
    • Undergraduate Course Descriptions
    • Military Studies Minor
    • Phi Alpha Theta
      • Executive Council
      • Membership
    • Model Organization of American States (MOAS)
      • Contact Information
      • Joining MOAS
    • History Scholarships
      • Scholarship FAQs
    • History Careers
  • Graduate Programs
    • Graduate Program Admissions
    • Graduate Program Faculty
    • M.A. Program Overview
      • M.A. Program Requirements
      • M.A. Recommended Timeline
    • Ph.D. Program Overview
      • Ph.D. Program Requirements
      • Ph.D. Recommended Timeline
    • Graduate Alumni Spotlights
    • Financial Information
    • Current Graduate Students
    • Resources for Graduate Students
      • Research and Facilities
  • History Alumni
    • Alumni Resources
    • Careers for History Majors
    • Guittard Book Award for Historical Scholarship
    • Alumni Spotlights
  • Annual Lectures
    • Black History Month Lectures
    • Charles Edmondson Historical Lectures
    • Women's History Month Lectures
  • Make a Gift
Baylor BU History Department About Statement on Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging
  • Contact Us
  • Statement on Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging
  • Baylor Land Acknowledgement
  • Statement on Racial Justice
  • Events
  • News
  • Schedule a Visit

Statement on Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging

The Department of History at Baylor University is committed to promoting diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging in our academic and professional community. This includes undergraduate and graduate students, faculty, and staff. Through our teaching, mentoring, service, and research, we seek to foster an environment that nurtures and abides by these values. We celebrate differences among individuals, families, and communities, and believe that this kind of understanding is central to our mission.

The Department of History seeks to support, include, affirm, and respect all of its members as people and scholars. To accomplish this, we must be reflective and willing to engage in courageous conversations both in and outside of the classroom. In 2021, the Department established the Robert Gilbert Memorial Endowed Scholarship in History, which recognizes the importance of diversity at Baylor University by honoring Robert L. Gilbert as Baylor's first Black American graduate. This endowed scholarship was established to support students enrolled in the College of Arts & Sciences, with preference given to underrepresented students who are pursuing a major in history and come from diverse communities and backgrounds historically underrepresented at Baylor University, including low-income and first generation. The Department is also committed to working with the appropriate University offices to fulfill this vision. Among others, these include the Department of Multicultural Affairs and the Office of the Vice Provost for Faculty Diversity and Belonging.

As scholars, we strive to recruit, support, advance, and retain a diverse group of faculty members, postdoctoral fellows, graduate students, and undergraduates. We adhere to Pillar 5 of the College of Arts & Sciences strategic plan and define diversity as differences in factors such as age, race, gender, veteran status, physical ability, religion, language, professional experience, skills and specializations, values and culture, social class, etc. Diverse applicants are encouraged to apply for our current open faculty positions. We also encourage diverse applicants for graduate school and postdoctoral fellowships and commit ourselves to working with the University to diversify and support our growing undergraduate population.

As historians, we acknowledge that we live with the consequences of centuries of injustice, colonialism, and discrimination. These legacies cannot be easily overcome, nor can we pretend that we live in a world—or on a campus—free from all forms of hate or inequity. Our profession calls on us to understand the past, yet for too long our understanding has been distorted by the ways in which historians have excluded people, voices, and experiences from our inquires and narratives. We must do better. We cannot hope for peace and justice in the current day if we do not first acknowledge how societies have denied those very things to marginalized communities throughout history. That is why we not only affirm our Department’s Statement on Racial Justice (2020), but also commit ourselves to consciously integrating diverse voices in our classrooms so that our study of the past reflects the full truth of the historical experience. At the same time, we stand by Baylor’s Land Acknowledgement and respectfully acknowledge that Baylor University in Waco and its original campus in Independence are on the land and territories originally occupied by Indigenous peoples including the Waco and Tawakoni of the Wichita and Affiliated Tribes, the Tonkawa, the Nʉmʉnʉʉ (Comanche), Karankawa, and Lipan Apache.

As people of faith, we repudiate injustice and discrimination as antithetical to the character of the God we serve and contradictory to the idea of humanity as created in God’s own image. As educators whose classrooms and pedagogies all look differently, yet each seek to enrich the intellectual and spiritual lives of our students, we commit to personal reflection on how our own scholarly and classroom practices might perpetuate systemic inequalities rather than address, confront, and/or actively work against them. Finally, as members of the Baylor community, we welcome those voices who feel or have felt unseen and unheard. We recognize the need to listen to, learn from, and value the experiences of all people, and we pledge to do the hard work needed to make our department and campus a place that does so as well.

Department of History

Department of History
One Bear Place #97306
Waco, TX 76798

(254) 710-2667
history_department@baylor.edu
Undergraduate Programs
Graduate Programs
Schedule a Visit
Baylor BU History Department About Statement on Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging
  • About
    Back
    • Contact Us
    • Statement on Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging
    • Baylor Land Acknowledgement
    • Statement on Racial Justice
    • Events
    • News
    • Schedule a Visit
  • Faculty
    Back
    • Current Faculty
    • Affiliated Faculty
    • Retired Faculty
  • Undergraduate Program
    Back
    • Why Study History?
    • Degree Requirements
    • Undergraduate Publication Opportunities
    • Undergraduate Course Descriptions
    • Military Studies Minor
    • Phi Alpha Theta
      Back
      • Executive Council
      • Membership
    • Model Organization of American States (MOAS)
      Back
      • Contact Information
      • Joining MOAS
    • History Scholarships
      Back
      • Scholarship FAQs
    • History Careers
  • Graduate Programs
    Back
    • Graduate Program Admissions
    • Graduate Program Faculty
    • M.A. Program Overview
      Back
      • M.A. Program Requirements
      • M.A. Recommended Timeline
    • Ph.D. Program Overview
      Back
      • Ph.D. Program Requirements
      • Ph.D. Recommended Timeline
    • Graduate Alumni Spotlights
    • Financial Information
    • Current Graduate Students
    • Resources for Graduate Students
      Back
      • Research and Facilities
  • History Alumni
    Back
    • Alumni Resources
    • Careers for History Majors
    • Guittard Book Award for Historical Scholarship
    • Alumni Spotlights
  • Annual Lectures
    Back
    • Black History Month Lectures
    • Charles Edmondson Historical Lectures
    • Women's History Month Lectures
  • Make a Gift
  • General Information
  • Academics & Research
  • Administration
  • Admissions
  • Gateways for ...
  • About Baylor
  • Athletics
  • Ask Baylor
  • Bookstore
  • Calendar
  • Campus Map
  • Directory
  • Give Light
  • Give to Baylor
  • Illuminate
  • News
  • Pro Futuris
  • Search
  • Social Media
  • Baylor Libraries
  • College of Arts & Sciences
  • Diana R. Garland School of Social Work
  • George W. Truett Theological Seminary
  • Graduate School
  • Hankamer School of Business
  • Honors College
  • Law School
  • Louise Herrington School of Nursing
  • Research at Baylor University
  • Robbins College of Health and Human Sciences
  • School of Education
  • School of Engineering & Computer Science
  • School of Music
  • More Academics
  • Athletics
  • Human Resources
  • Marketing and Communications
  • Office of General Counsel
  • Office of the President
  • Office of the Provost
  • Operations, Finance & Administration
  • Senior Administration
  • Student Life
  • University Advancement
  • Undergraduate Admissions
  • goBAYLOR
  • Graduate Admissions
  • Baylor Law School Admissions
  • Social Work Graduate Programs
  • George W. Truett Theological Seminary Admissions
  • Online Graduate Professional Education
  • Virtual Tour
  • Visit Campus
  • Alumni & Friends
  • Faculty & Staff
  • Online Graduate Professional Education
  • Parents
  • Prospective Faculty & Staff
  • Prospective Students
  • Students
  • Accessibility
  • Anonymous Reporting
  • Annual Fire Safety and Security Notice
  • Digital Privacy
  • Legal Disclosures
  • Mental Health Resources
  • Report It
  • Title IX
 
Baylor University
Copyright © Baylor® University. All rights reserved.
Baylor University • Waco, Texas 76798 • 1-800-229-5678