With a new academic year underway, we are grateful to begin another season alongside our growing community of colleagues, partners, families, and friends.
The work of the Center continues to gain momentum. We have welcomed five new team members, strengthened partnerships nationally, and expanded opportunities to share and grow our work.
We launched Raising Texas Voices across the state, celebrated creativity and inclusion through our Disability in the Arts Celebration with Art Center Waco, joined partners for gatherings including Worship as One, and promoted awareness during Disability Pride Month. We also celebrated the accomplishments of our faculty affiliates and student fellows, released new research and resources, and gathered our Center community to launch the new semester.
We are energized by all that is taking shape and hopeful about the year ahead. Thank you for continuing to learn, connect, and partner with us as we work toward communities where people with and without disabilities are known, needed, and loved—and where we all flourish together.
— Erik Carter & Kristen Padilla
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MOODY SCHOOL OF EDUCATION CELEBRATION AND CENTER OPEN HOUSE: During a ceremonial sign unveiling, Baylor University celebrated the naming of the Moody School of Education, made possible by a transformational $30 million gift from the Moody Foundation of Galveston, Texas. Following the celebration, the Baylor Center for Disability and Flourishing welcomed colleagues, partners, and friends for a special open house in our recently redesigned space. Guests had the opportunity to tour the Center, learn more about our growing work, and celebrate this exciting new chapter together. Read more.
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KRISTEN PADILLA RECEIVES AAIDDTX LEADERSHIP AWARD: We are thrilled to celebrate Kristen Padilla, who received the 2026 Helen G. FitzSimmons Leadership Award from the Texas Chapter of the American Association on Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities (AAIDDTX). The award recognizes Kristen’s leadership, service, and longstanding contributions to the field of intellectual and developmental disabilities. She was honored during AAIDD-TX's 50th annual convention in Corpus Christi. Read more.
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RAISING TEXAS VOICES PROJECT GAINS TRACTION ACROSS LONE STAR STATE: More than 1,400 Texans have already shared their hopes and experiences in our statewide study of adults with disabilities, parents, and siblings. Their perspectives are helping us better understand experiences of disability, advocacy, belonging, and community participation across Texas. The project was featured on KENS-TV’s Great Day SA in August. Help us keep the momentum going. Learn more, take the survey, and share Raising Texas Voices with your community.
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BRIDGES TO BELONGING LAUNCHES NEW CHURCH COHORT: The Bridges to Belonging project launched its second Congregational Learning Community in August, gathering ten churches from across Central Texas. The 18-month experience equips churches to reimagine accessible youth and young adult ministry through training, coaching, prayerful reflection, and practical tools. Our Bridges to Belonging team is delighted to come alongside these churches as they deepen belonging for disabled youth and young adults.
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JOIN OUR TEAM: We are hiring for two new positions that will help strengthen and expand the Center’s work. We are currently seeking an Assistant/Associate Research Scientist and an Associate Director of Resource Strategy and Development. Both roles will support our growing work at the intersection of faith, disability, and flourishing for all.
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CARING FOR OUR COMMUNITY: This fall, we are offering many ways for people with disabilities and their families to connect, learn, and find support. From counseling and family programs to employment opportunities, community gatherings, and research studies, there are various ways to engage with the Center and one another. Learn more.
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We were honored to join Baylor alumni and members of the University’s national engagement team at the 2026 National Down Syndrome Congress Big Game Ball in Atlanta. The Center was recognized as an honoree at the annual event, which celebrates inclusive postsecondary education programs and raises scholarship funds for people with Down syndrome and intellectual disabilities.
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We Build Flourishing Together |
We invite you to help carry this mission forward. Your generosity, partnership, and prayers fuel every program, every training, every breakthrough, and every story of hope.
We can do so much more together.
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Collaborate on research, community outreach, and interdisciplinary initiatives.
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Give to advance research and expand access.
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