Baylor Ambassadors

The Baylor Ambassadors is a unique student organization created by Baylor President Herbert H. Reynolds in the spring of 1982 in conjunction with student body president, Russell Sullivan. The two met to discuss President Reynolds' plan for student life and Russ's vision for his term as student body president. President Reynolds wanted students to continue their involvement in representing Baylor University before the Texas Legislature, particularly in programs like the Tuition Equalization Grant (TEG), and Russ believed students roles should be expanded to the federal level.

Thus, a proposal was developed that included plans for a new student organization responsible for assisting Baylor University in lobbying its local, state, and federal officials as well as hosting public officials that visited campus. Lobby training would come from Baylor faculty and administration. The name for the organization proved to be a difficult task because the administration wanted a name that sounded like the members were official and involved in the public arenas. Baylor Delegates was one suggestion but it was decided that the name sounded as if the members were elected. Finally, Baylor Ambassadors was chosen.

An application was developed and by the fall of 1982, the first group of approximately 25 Ambassadors was chosen by Russ and a member of General Counsel. Tim Smith, a senior from Rockwall, Texas was selected as the first president of Baylor Ambassadors. The first item on the agenda for the fledgling group was maintaining funding for the Tuition Equalization Grant during the 68th Legislative Session of 1983.

To find out more about Baylor Ambassadors, please contact Grace Steenbergen, President, at grace_steenbergen1@baylor.edu.

Spring 2026 applications can be found HERE.