Robbins College Dean Jason Carter Celebrates One Year on the Job

What have you enjoyed most about your first year at Baylor and Robbins College?

I’ve really enjoyed getting to know the people—the faculty, the staff, and the students. Working with people who have a passion for the mission of Baylor University is so refreshing and welcoming. Getting to know the people has been my absolute favorite part of this first year.

Has anything surprised you this year?

I’d love to say that the heat was something I was prepared for, but I guess I wasn’t! The intensity of the heat has been quite a change from Montana, but the winter was actually a really pleasant surprise. Coming from states with a lot of snow, it was awesome to be able to go outside and walk the dog in December and January without getting all bundled up. So you take the good with the bad!

You’ve had a busy first year—building college infrastructure, developing new programs, launching a faculty and staff recognition program, just to name a few. What accomplishment are you most proud of from the last year?

What brings me the most joy is how many folks got on board with our alignment initiative. We had a remarkably high percentage of faculty and staff who bought into a big vision for Robbins College. You can’t make progress on big vision without great team members, so if I had to pick one thing that I’m the most pleased with, it’s how quickly we were able to—from the ground up—develop that vision together. I came in with some broad goals, but without the details filled in. Within a very short period of time, we achieved a tremendous amount of alignment around where we want to take Robbins College. I think that buy-in and that excitement is only going to accelerate into the second year.

Speaking of the “second year,” what’s next? What are you looking forward to in this new academic year?

I’m excited to settle into a pace. During the first year of any job, you’re learning everything new about an institution—the different cadences and the different times of the year that are busy. I’m looking forward to knowing the Baylor system a little better and being able to navigate it with some level of certainty. That excites me because it’s going to help us take some of that visioning we did this first year to the next level and really begin implementing.

Any other thoughts or reflections on your first year at Baylor?

Baylor University did not disappoint in its mission to further the Kingdom of Christ. That’s what drew me here alongside the benefit of being at an R1 institution with big-time athletics. It’s just such a unique culture, and that part has not disappointed in the least. As I look back at the decision to come here, it was because of that Christian faith mission. And I think it’s bringing other people here too, making this a really exciting time to be a part of Baylor’s history.