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Follow the LeaderBaylor University seeks a new president--again
By Meg Cullar
For the second time in three years, Baylor University is seeking a new
president. On July 24, at the conclusion of the Baylor Board of
Regents' summer retreat, the board issued a press release stating that
the regents had "voted today to begin the search for a new university
president," replacing Dr. John Lilley '61, BM '62, MM '64, who had
served two and a half years of a five-year contract as president.
 The
board appointed Harold Cunningham '56--a current regent, former board
chair, and previous vice president at Baylor--as acting president.
After he served for nearly a month in that post, on August 20 the board
tapped Dr. David Garland, dean of the George W. Truett Theological
Seminary, to be interim president. (He is pictured, center, with
philosophy professor Robert Baird and interim provost Dr. Elizabeth
Davis.)
In a telephone conference with reporters following Lilley's dismissal,
board chair Howard Batson, PhD '95, pastor of First Baptist Church of
Amarillo, said, "The reality is the board lost confidence in John's
ability to unite the various Baylor constituencies." He named various
arenas--athletics, U.S. News
rankings, endowment growth, and student SAT scores--where Baylor had
recently experienced successes and said Baylor had achieved an "upward
trajectory" while Lilley was in office. "But at the same time, we had
to have someone who could bring the various constituencies at Baylor
together as one Baylor family," he said.
After a much-publicized dispute with faculty members over the tenure
process last spring, Lilley also found himself in hot water with alumni
and students when he proposed changes to the university's logo. While
noting those two incidents, Batson said that there was no single issue
that led to Lilley's departure. "John came at a very difficult time in
the history of Baylor University--there's no doubt about that. And
nobody is saying John is responsible for any disharmony in the Baylor
family," Batson said. "But perhaps progress was not as swift as some of
us would have hoped in regard to bringing the Baylor family together."
The Baylor press release noted that the regents had preferred a
transition plan that would have allowed Lilley to stay on while a
search moved forward. "Because plans for a gradual transition were
rejected by Dr. Lilley, the board will immediately seek a new
president," the release said.
The appointment of Garland as interim president was greeted with
widespread praise from alumni, students, and faculty. In a follow-up
story a few weeks after Garland's appointment, the Waco Tribune-Herald quoted numerous sources touting Garland as a servant leader of integrity, humility, and character.
Garland told the Baylor Line
that he was "rather stunned" by the good press, but that his main goal
is to serve Baylor in a time of need. "As an interim--and given the
circumstances that we've been through--I don't have any main agenda,"
he said.
"Interims don't leave legacies. What I'm very interested in is simply
bringing a sense of peace and opening up channels of communication."
Garland came to Baylor in 1997 as professor of Christian scriptures at
Truett. Before coming to Baylor, he taught for more than twenty years
at Southern Baptist Theological Seminary (SBTS) in Louisville,
Kentucky. A graduate of Oklahoma Baptist University and a U. S. Navy
veteran, Garland earned master's and doctoral degrees from SBTS. A
noted New Testament scholar and author or co-author of more than a
dozen books, he became associate dean in 2001 and was named the William
B. Hinson Professor of Christian Scriptures in 2005. He has been dean
of Truett since June 2007.
Garland's wife, Dr. Diana Garland, is currently dean of Baylor's School
of Social Work, and in 2007 the couple co-authored a book titled Flawed Families of the Bible: How God's Grace Works Through Imperfect Relationships. The Garlands have two grown children, one of them a Baylor graduate, and they are members of Calvary Baptist Church of Waco.
Garland said that he was completely caught off guard when someone
approached him about turning in his name as a candidate for interim.
When he didn't hear anything more, he forgot about it until Batson
called him to set up an interview. After the interview in Amarillo, he
said, he was sent out of the room, they voted, and the announcement
came immediately.
The regents received praise for seeking the opinions of leaders of the
Faculty Senate, the Baylor Alumni Association, and Baylor's Council of
Deans before making their decision. "In a manner that bodes well for
the future, Dr. Batson and the Board of Regents reached out for
substantive input from faculty leadership," Baylor senior lecturer Dr.
Lynn Tatum told the Waco Tribune-Herald.
Tatum is a member of the executive committee of Baylor's chapter of the
American Association of University Professors. "They received it and,
I'm convinced, took it seriously," he said. "It makes sense that when
you get together intelligent people, all who want to make Baylor a
better place, there can be a remarkable confluence of opinion."
Board chair Batson said that the search for a new president could take
anywhere from six months to two years and that it will begin with a
study by the regents into the practices of other universities. In a
resolution passed on September 9, Baylor's Faculty Senate, a
representative body of members elected from various academic units,
called on the regents to create a search committee that includes
faculty members, staff, alumni, students, and representatives from the
Baptist General Convention of Texas in a voting role. (See The Baylor Family for
more.) In a response to the Baylor Line News
online publication, Batson said that, while the regents plan to seek
significant input, the responsibility of selecting a new president
"properly resides" with the Board of Regents.
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