John and Nancy Jackson

Many Baylor alumni who have stepped forward in support of Baylor University and the Give Light Campaign have chosen to make an impact in an area where the University’s academic priorities intersect with their personal areas of interest or callings. For John, B.B.A. ’79, and Nancy, B.S.Ed. ’79, Jackson, of The Woodlands, their support of faculty through the Foster Academic Challenge is creating new areas of opportunity in Latin America.

In 2019, the Jacksons established the Jackson Family Chair for Baylor in Latin America to support the expansion of Baylor’s international footprint and advance the priorities of the Baylor in Latin America initiative.

“Nancy and I support Baylor’s efforts to expand our presence in Latin America through the Baylor in Latin America initiative,” said John Jackson. “We hope the Jackson Chair can elevate this concept and reinforce the University’s commitment to the people within this critically important part of the world. We look forward to Dr. Hinojosa’s leadership and perspective as the inaugural holder of the Jackson Chair.”

Jackson Family Chair for Baylor in Latin America

Felipe Hinojosa, Ph.D., is the inaugural holder of the Jackson Family Chair, and he began his tenure at Baylor during the Fall 2023 semester. A civil rights historian, Hinojosa researches Chicana/o and Latina/o studies, American religion, race and ethnicity and social movements. Growing up as the son of a Mennonite pastor in the Texas/Mexico borderlands, Hinojosa was exposed to the power of the Gospels and how communities can harness religion and politics at the grassroots level to do good and implement change.

“I’m thrilled to join Baylor University and my brilliant colleagues in the History department,” Hinojosa said. “I’m looking forward to joining conversations at Baylor that cross disciplinary borders and help us think collectively and critically about important questions on immigration, race, citizenship, politics and religion.”