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Building Unity
The Baylor Alumni Association recently asked alumni and friends a short
but important question: "What can be done to unite Baylor?" In response
came a wealth of widely varying and perceptive suggestions.
During the recent transition in Baylor University's administration, Dr.
Howard Batson, chair of Baylor's Board of Regents, commented that more
emphasis needed to be placed on unifying the Baylor family and
understanding the concerns of Baylor's various constituencies, ranging
from faculty, staff, and students to alumni and Texas Baptists.
"With a broad-based constituency
of more than nineteen thousand members, the Baylor Alumni Association
is well positioned to encourage participation in these efforts as well
as to provide valuable feedback as an alumni community," said Jeff
Kilgore, executive vice president and CEO of the Baylor Alumni
Association (BAA).
Accordingly, through its online
communications, the BAA invited Baylor alumni and friends to respond to
the question, "What can be done to unite Baylor?" The resulting wave of
responses confirmed that a great variety and strength of opinion exists
within the Baylor family.
The following--containing a large
cross-section of responses, which have been edited for length and
clarity--offer a plethora of suggestions for how to create unity. Which
ones would work? You be the judge.
The absolute key to the Baylor experience is in the classroom. Down the years, the special attention given by the faculty
 to the student's learning experience and the faculty’s caring attitude toward students has set us apart.
The governing bodies--the Board of Regents, the administration, the
Faculty Senate, and perhaps even the Student Congress--must find common
ground. I hope the acrimony about governance has not found its way into
the classroom, even though faculty members have been vocal in their
criticism.
The faculty must feel included in the process of university governance if their caring attitude is to become eternal.
Dan Chapman '66, MBA '73
Dallas, Texas
Some suggestions:
1. Baylor was founded to educate Baptist students; therefore, they
should be given first priority to enter the university. In the fall of
2007, only 38 percent of students were Baptist.
2. Baylor was founded as a thoroughly Christian institution and must always remember that foundation.
3. Baylor was founded to provide the very best education to its
students; therefore, the professors should give of their very best to
students. Research should be secondary.
4. Baylor was founded so that any student who wanted to attend and
receive a Christian education could; therefore, the cost of a Baylor
education should be affordable.
5. Baylor was founded to prepare students for Christian service in all
professions, with a strong emphasis on Christian ministry.
6. The meetings of the Board of Regents must become more open to
suggestions by the entire Baylor family. The regents should open up
their meetings and give more substantive information about their
deliberations.
Joseph H. Machat '56
Brenham, Texas
Everyone must come to the table with mutual respect for differing
opinions and perspectives. "My Baylor" does not exist, nor will it. It
is "Our Baylor." From far right to far left, there is enough room for
all under the tent.
Personal attacks and negative outbursts hurt the university and serve
no purpose other than to harden the party line. Baylor today is
stronger and more resilient than it ever was before.
John S. Wilson
Director of Library Advancement and Special Projects, Baylor University
Waco, Texas
We need a winning football program. It would help to sell kids on
Baylor if they were successful. Faculty morale would be high as they
sat in the stands to cheer on the Bears. National recognition would
attract professors to work at Baylor. All alumni should get behind the
football program. Build a stadium within walking distance to campus.
Remember, "If you build it, they will come."
Priscilla Shytles Shellenberger '83
Dallas, Texas
The regents could take three important steps to better unite the Baylor
community. First, meet with faculty, students, alumni, Baptist
officials, community leaders, and Texas policymakers to listen to their
dreams for Baylor and to share the regents' views. Second, through an
open and transparent process, develop a shared long-term vision for
Baylor. And third, with valued input from the broad university
community, name a new university president to begin fulfilling that
vision.
John Howard '85
Austin, Texas
I think the first step to uniting a group of people is to know who is
out there to unite with. This may sound trivial to some, but I have
often wondered why there is no Baylor merchandise in stores across
Texas.
I live in a suburb of Dallas. I have the Longhorn, Red Raider, and
A&M letters shoved down my throat every time I step into a Target,
Wal-Mart, or Dillard's. Where is my beloved BU?
I'm never able to go into a store and find a cute T-shirt, hat, throw
pillow, chip and dip tray, or whatever other little knick-knack in
green and gold with Baylor painted across it.
When I proudly display the word Baylor--or just the letters BU--I find
other Bears coming out of the woodwork to say something nice about our
school. Let's have that happen more often. Let's get some Baylor
branding out there.
Jennifer Rapp Honea '92
Carrollton, Texas
I may not be a Baptist, but I chose to go to Baylor. I still am not a
Baptist, but I can genuinely say that I came out of Baylor with an
added sense of spirituality. I say this because what unites us first
and foremost is the mission of our school and our sense of belonging to
this great institution with all of its pluses and minuses. The mission
is clear to me--to provide a second-to-none education in a healthy
environment without ever losing track of the important things that
shape our lives.
I do not think anyone in our community would disagree about our
mission. It does not matter if we are the conservative Baptist kind,
the liberal thinker, or the rebel of the community. To unite, we must
understand each other, and in order to do so we must communicate.
Let this be an open forum to all who wish our school well. Let us
attract and nurture the best faculty. Let us attract and nurture the
best students and leaders of tomorrow. Let us not fall prey to a
one-sided agenda, but let us practice what we preach, make room for all
at the table, and embrace the diversity that makes our school stronger.
J. P. Daccache '87
Riverside, Connecticut
The basic issue that the Baylor family has struggled with over the last
ten years is the issue of trust, or lack thereof, between Baylor's
major constituency groups--the administration, the regents, the alumni,
and the faculty and staff. Thank goodness the students have better
things to do! I would like to make the following suggestions to
reestablish the trust that is so badly needed in the Baylor family.
1. Baylor's business needs to be conducted in an open environment. With
the exception of personnel and legal matters, all discussions of
Baylor's Board of Regents should be open to the Baylor family. Secrecy
simply breeds mistrust. There is very little about the governance of
Baylor that needs to be conducted behind closed doors.
2. A self-perpetuating board has not served Baylor well, and the
current methodology of regent selection needs to be changed. The regent
body needs to be representative of the best Baylor has to offer from
its major constituency groups. I'd suggest that the Board of Regents,
the Baptist General Convention of Texas, and the Baylor Alumni
Association each select one third of the Baylor Board of Regents.
3. Baylor 2012 has done a lot of good for Baylor, but it's time for a
revised vision. The goal of being a top research university and in the
top fifty universities in America sounded alluring ten years ago, but
the reality is that Baylor 2012's emphasis on research is fundamentally
changing the personality of Baylor. Baylor has been recognized for
generations as one of the outstanding undergraduate institutions of
this country, with excellence in every area of the classroom
experience. This was due to the outstanding Baylor faculty that were
committed to teaching undergraduate courses, including the freshman and
sophomore levels. Teaching assistants and adjunct professors now teach
a much larger percentage of undergraduate courses under Baylor 2012 due
to the research demands placed on tenure-track professors.
Let state schools lead the way in research, and let Baylor continue to
lead the way in the education of young men and women in a Christian
environment where the development of the entire person--body, mind, and
soul--is the goal, with the knowledge that these graduates will make a
difference for the better in their chosen professions and spheres of
influence.
David Malone '73
Austin, Texas
I recently talked with one of former president Robert Sloan's
"Distinguished Professors," who may have revealed some of the strategy
on the other side of the long struggle "for the soul of Baylor." This
person said he is somewhat disillusioned with Sloan because Sloan
didn't fulfill his promise to him. He thinks some of Baylor 2012 should
be revised, particularly the time schedule. He said, "We should declare
victory" and start over with a vision by another name. The substance
should be the same, however.
His main point was that Baylor 2012's objectives--faith and learning
and all--are already now "the soul of Baylor." Sloan merely tried to
move too fast and didn't bring the "old faculty" along with his plan.
My world-class friend said something like, "The old faculty need time
to be grafted on to the 2012 vision." A slower pace, he said, would
have prevented our current problems.
I tried to point out to him that Baylor 2012 is the problem. The root
stock is the "old faculty." What is worthy in Baylor 2012 should be
"grafted on the root stock"--not the other way around. From this
conversation and from other sources as well, I get the impression that
Sloan's appointees consider themselves "the real Baylor." The rest of
us merely need to fall in line.
I am certainly willing to accept what was and remains good about Baylor
2012. But I don't want us to compromise to the point of letting the
world think that Baylor 2012--by whatever name--is our vision for
Baylor's future. The strategy of the pro-Baylor 2012 crowd, who control
the Board of Regents, may be to present a conciliatory face--maybe the
appointment of a moderate interim president--while never abandoning the
"rotten core" of Baylor 2012. The old adage, "Beware of Greeks bearing
gifts," may apply in this instance.
Dr. Rufus B. Spain
Emeritus Professor of History and Director of the Retired Professors and Administrators Program, Baylor University
Waco, Texas
It’s nice that the Baylor Alumni Association is so active, but I am not
convinced that any organization with nineteen thousand members can
itself be “unified,” let alone help unify an entire campus. That
notwithstanding, one way the BAA can help with unity is to not be the
source of lack of unity. In other words, perhaps the Baylor Line
can avoid publishing negative stories about the Baylor administration
and administrative decisions, and perhaps the BAA can let the
administrators run the university.
It is really not the place for past, present, or future students to be
heavily involved in the day-to-day affairs of the university. An
attempt to exert too much power and influence itself becomes a force
for disunity.
Dr. Dorothy Leidner
Randall W. and Sandra Ferguson Professor of Information Systems, Baylor University
Waco, Texas
Upon arriving at Baylor in 1975, I was impressed with the environment
that I entered. There were two characteristics that distinguished
Baylor from any other organization that I had been affiliated with.
The first was a genuine mutual respect and care for each other among
those who were involved in the day-to-day activities of Baylor. There
did not seem to be the need for a cold, corporate attitude, which
created friction and distrust among the trustees (now regents),
administration, faculty, staff, and alumni. The second was a commitment
by the administration to faculty, and by the faculty to students, which
allowed students to seek and attain their full capability in a
nurturing and peaceful environment.
Somewhere along the way, the "bigger is better" attitude came into
being, which resulted in more emphasis being placed on credentials,
accreditations, rankings, endowment funds, and other "worldly things"
than the product being provided to our students and ultimately to our
society. Unfortunately, Baylor has become entangled in the modern
society's philosophy that you can only get ahead by being the richest
and the biggest. We are lost in the argument that "education makes the
person" rather than "the person making education."
Since 1975, there have been two Texas governors who were Baylor
graduates, along with numerous other alumni who have served on the
national, state, and local levels. Additionally, there have been and
remain numerous teachers, preachers, doctors, business people, and
others who have contributed to our society. Amazingly, these alumni
were not the products of a Baylor that was in the top tier of America's
colleges and universities or among those with huge endowments funds.
They were the products of a university where the emphasis was on
teaching and the faculty-student relationship and where trustees,
administration, faculty, staff, and alumni possessed a commitment to
and passion for the betterment of student and institution.
I believe unification would come from two things--first, a return to an
environment where there is mutual respect and concern for each other;
and second, a passionate commitment to make the student and institution
the very best they can be without compromising the principles upon
which Baylor was created.
Claude Ervin
Former Associate Vice President for Human Resources, Baylor University
Waco, Texas
Expecting any organization the size of Baylor to show unity is
unrealistic; expecting a university to do so is positively quixotic.
That's why we call them "universities." Donors expect to see a return
on their investment, but they measure that in many different ways. Some
just want to see their names on buildings. Others wish to foster
research in a particular field. Fundamentalist donors expect the school
to provide a Christian education, whatever that is; some of the
students--but nowhere near all--expect to receive one. All of the
students expect to be prepared for material success in later life.
Professors expect a stable work environment, or at least as stable as
the academic world can ever be.
There are only two possible outcomes for Baylor: wither to the
intellectual stature of a Bible college, or perpetually maintain a
dynamic equilibrium among the disparate interests. I would prefer to
see the school take the second option, but I know it's a hard one.
Machiavelli's Discourses should be required reading for all involved.
Karl Sutterfield '71
New Zealand
I recommend that the university's upper-level administration and Board
of Regents open their eyes to the value of the Baylor Alumni
Association with its more than nineteen thousand members. Among our
group are some of the best friends this university will ever have. If
the regents want to rebuild the Baylor family, I suggest they begin by
rebuilding their relationships with the Baylor Alumni Association.
We have been amazed that our regents seem more attuned to politics than
to Baylor's alumni and students, and we have cringed over the bad news
about Baylor that always seems to come out in the media. But through it
all, we have stood by our beloved university.
Ann Garner Sullivan '61
Spring, Texas
We need "something" to come together about. Maybe that is the short
answer. The "something" could be athletics. Almost always, when I meet
some new Baylor person, some reference is made to one of our athletic
teams. Most people at least appreciate the thrill of athletic
competition and the warm glow that can come from a successful team or
individual. We certainly have had some success in several areas, and
the university needs to redouble its efforts to improve both our
coaches and teams in the "high profile" areas.
Bill Loden '79
College Station, Texas
Having taught at Baylor for thirty-eight years, I have a perspective
that is part alumna and part faculty. What Baylor ought to do now is to
move away from the traditional top-down governance model that we've
used for many years. When more groups are involved in making decisions,
everyone will feel valued and good ideas will come from some unexpected
sources, such as people who haven't had an opportunity to be heard. The
administration and the regents need to listen and respond to ideas that
come in from various sources besides administrators--students, alumni,
faculty, and local citizens.
Mary Massirer '60, MA '62
Emeritus Professor of English, Baylor University
Crawford, Texas
The current regents are mostly those who were aligned with former
president Robert Sloan in days past. Neither that group nor those who,
like me, strongly opposed Sloan are likely to be trusted by all facets
of the Baylor family.
There are many good Texas Baptists who would guide Baylor on a proper
course that do not fit in either group. If good, longtime supporters of
Baylor who could get past the conflicts of the past were again in
charge, I think Baylor could have some of its best days in the
immediate future.
John Wilkerson '57
Former Chair of Baylor Board of Regents
Lubbock, Texas
The Baylor faculty and the Baylor Alumni Association should stop
complaining so much. Get on board with the great things happening at
Baylor and finally recognize Baylor 2012 as a success.
I've been an alumni association member for twenty-plus years, and I can't believe how much negativity comes out of you guys.
G. Clark Damon Sr. '87
Amarillo, Texas
Open up the selection of members of the Board of Regents, and open
board meetings by making the actions of the board more visible to the
public. In addition, reduce issues of conflicts of interest within the
board.
More openness in board affairs will restore confidence and overall support for the university.
John Kothmann '65
Junction, Texas
To ensure lifetime communication with alums, give every graduate a
permanent Baylor e-mail account. The university and alumni would
benefit from the permanent contacts to help with fundraising and
promoting Baylor-related activities.
Ellen Stoesser Byrd '64
Richardson, Texas
Unity at Baylor or any other richly diverse university of worth is not
even a reasonable goal. "Unity in diversity" could be, if consensus
could be found on what the two terms "unity" and "diversity" mean in a
functional sense.
Baylor ceased to be a "unified school" years ago when it transitioned
to a "university"--and I do not mean in name primarily. In much the
same way that our nation derives vitality from the constant jockeying
for influence and momentum among the competing ideologies and
perspectives, Baylor needs to develop viable vehicles through which an
ongoing dialogue is encouraged and even rewarded.
There is strength in open communication of ideas. There may have been a
time in its history when Baylor was best led by a no-nonsense, top-down
presidency, but I believe that those days are over. This is a new day
demanding a new leadership style that regards diversity as a strength.
Dr. Robert A. Reid '67, MM '70
Carthage, Texas
I believe Baylor has had two progressive presidents who wanted to move
Baylor to an Ivy League status. This change does not come easy.
However, many times you must lead through adverse times, and great
leaders do this exact thing.
We must find a leader who unites the regents and faculty regarding the
future. The regents must understand they will get complaints from the
tenured staff about change because these people don't want change in
their life.
The regents must back the president and push Baylor to become the
distinguished university it has the potential to be and not let old
staff hold the school back from reaching new levels.
I believe one of the largest problems is a regent board that will not
support the significant change it will take to move Baylor to the next
level. Once Baylor is at that level and change is complete, then a
uniting will come by itself.
Trent Voigt '86
Van Alstyne, Texas
Leadership ultimately comes from the top; therefore, if Baylor is to be
considered a leading academic entity on a global—not just regional or
ecumenical—scale, it is time to take a close look at the Board of
Regents. To unite the Baylor family the Board of Regents must ask
themselves, individually and collectively, and then answer the
following questions:
Have we been successful in recent years in one of our main responsibilities: to select and elect a successful president?
Have we been successful in bringing together and unifying the rich,
diverse fabric that the various constituencies bring to the university?
In our present structure system, are we accountable--really
accountable--to anyone (alumni, students, faculty, donors)? Should we
be?
Have we, the Board of Regents, given individually significant monies from our personal resources to Baylor?
Will we be more transparent by opening all our board and committee
meetings to our constituencies, except in certain specific personnel
and contractual matters?
When compared to the results, organization, and efficiency of other
universities, are we a top-tier board? Would other academic entities
look to us as a model of success? If not, should we resign?
Why does our membership not include representatives chosen by our constituencies?
Will the Board of Regents cooperate with the board of the Baylor Alumni
Association to bring the leadership of other Baylor constituencies
together to study, evaluate, and create a better board of governance
for Baylor?
Tom Purdy '60
Former Development Officer, Baylor University
Waco, Texas
We will never unite the Baylor family on every issue, but we can unite
those who will agree on this issue--that we love Baylor for its core
Christian values and the experience these values allowed us to have as
students.
There are many who would like to see those core values changed or would
try to define those values in a way that would weaken them. Some would
like for Baylor to more closely mirror secular universities and move
away from our core values altogether. The Baylor community will never
unite under the leadership of those who would do that. The Baylor 2012
initiative defines those core values accurately, and those who
generally disagree with that definition, in my opinion, do not hold the
mainstream view of the Baylor family.
Tom Pulley '83
North Richland Hills, Texas
I think the most urgent need at Baylor is real communication. It likely
must start with the regents, since they have the power of governance.
They need to make clear what they expect of the administration and the
amount of freedom the administration will have in leading the
institution. Both the regents and the administration should keep the
alumni association and the faculty informed regarding their goals and
process.
Regents and the administration should make allowance for serious input
from both the alumni association and the faculty. Assurance should be
clearly expressed that the goal of each entity is to ensure the highest
good for the university family.
Only God knows if we can each check our egos long enough to accomplish
this remarkable task. Indeed, harmony and singleness of purpose can
only come as the Lord intervenes. Thus, our greatest strategy is to
pray that God will be able to trust us with his remarkable intervention
to bring the best to pass for Baylor.
Clyde Glazener
Fort Worth, Texas
Focus on common ground: For the coming year all parties should focus on
those aspects of Baylor for which we have a shared vision--a focus
which should result in collaborative action on behalf of Baylor.
Dr. Sally Kilgore '67, MA '72
Nashville, Tennessee
As a major university, Baylor does not need to be "united" around a
particular academic theorem, scientific formula, or mathematical
principle. We need not try to unite around a certain numerical goal,
whether it relates to student population or percentile ranking in a
magazine.
What can and should unite the Baylor community are the things that make
Baylor unique. We must unite around our common experiences on
campus--our ability to teach and learn in a place centered on Christ.
What will unite us is the willingness to set aside our personal goals
for what Baylor could be, in favor of first preserving the uniqueness
of what Baylor has always been.
I am not suggesting that Baylor should not change for the better, but
before that happens we must unite around what we all have cherished
about what Baylor is.
Lyn Robbins '87, JD '90
Keller, Texas
One of my favorite cartoons captures the frustration Baylor faces in
the coming years. A Swiss mountain climber is hanging precariously to
his pick, which is driven into the cliff above as the wind swings his
body in space like a clock pendulum. Much to his consternation, his
climbing partner has a death-grip on his left foot as they both eye the
valley floor hundreds of feet below. The climber on the top turns to
the climber below and yells, "If you don't let go of my foot, I'm going
to hit you with my pick!" The fate of each end of the continuum is tied
to that of the other.
If Baylor obsesses too much on becoming a major research university at
a pace beyond the good of its own health and loses its historic role as
a teaching university, it has abandoned the strength of its legacy. If
Baylor doesn't continue to stretch itself toward national and
international respect as a contributor to the body of exploding
knowledge essential in the twenty-first century, it will have missed
the window of opportunity for greatness.
The answer lies in finding leaders who can appreciate this strategic
role of mutual respect of all perspectives and leadership toward a
future in which everyone has a stake.
Dr. Dan McGee
Emeritus Professor of Religion, Baylor University
Waco, Texas
There are at least three things that could be done to unify Baylor:
• Close down the university department known as the Baylor Network,
formerly called Alumni Services. There is just one large group of
alumni; we need just one alumni organization. We could combine our
hearts, minds, efforts, and resources behind one dynamic organization.
• Cease publication of Baylor Magazine. We already have an outstanding publication called the Baylor Line
that has been around for decades that does a better job of connecting
the university and the alumni. Again, a merging of resources makes more
sense and promotes more harmony.
• Ask the Board of Regents to open up meetings to their constituents.
Granted, there are times when executive session is necessary--mainly
for personnel reasons. For the rest of the business concerning our
great university, an attitude of openness would go a long way in
unifying folks.
If these things can be accomplished, then I think we would see development funds pick up, and Baylor would move forward.
Tommy Brashier '71
Waco, Texas
Baylor’s "powers that be" need to take their time and make sure of
their choice for president this next time. The media coverage we get
needs to be a positive and not a negative one by making a choice that
causes dissension.
Jody Autrey Dunn '59
Port Arthur, Texas
Baylor University does have a number of constituencies whose issues
should be addressed and whose input should be desirable. In this
regard, Baylor is no different from other universities.
It seems to me that the wrecking ball for Baylor, however, is that
without effective leadership these constituencies become entrenched and
inflexible. They are like the special-interest groups in our
communities and our political parties shouting the other down to
determine who will end up on top.
Effective leadership--and I do not mean in just one person, but at
several levels--is the only reasonable solution that I have observed to
address this problem. These constituencies must be persuaded, in the
best interests of the university, to reach compromise and cooperation.
By this I do not mean some selfless conciliation but instead the
toughest form of compromise worked out with mutual respect on all sides
and a recognition of how the real and perceived power of these
constituencies is allocated.
Dianne Ferrell Neal '69
Nashville, Tennessee
My solution is that we make a fundamental change concerning who is
eligible for the position of president. Let us change the requirement
that a candidate for Baylor's presidency must be a Baptist. That person
must be a very committed and active Christian, but he or she does not
have to be a Baptist. That person must, also, have had experience as a
CEO of a large corporation, whether it's a university or a business.
Wake Forest, a Baptist university, does not require the Baptist label
for its president, and they have an excellent reputation in the
academic world.
Art Coltharp '61
Austin, Texas
Since leaving Baylor, I have had the privilege of attending other
schools--Yale, Wesleyan, and Boston University, from which I earned my
doctorate. No single school has had the spirit of Baylor--a kind of
free, open sense of joy and belonging. During the time my wife and I
attended Baylor, I do not recall religion as being the center of
conflict or, for that matter, something we wore on our sleeve. I do
recall some outstanding professors whose main goal in life was
teaching. Henry Trantham, for example, was a unique gift in my life.
President W. R. White often chaired "Chapel," but it was never, so far
as I recall, without some intellectual premise. The music department
was chaired by a Jewish man. The theater department reached well beyond
Baylor. The church-going habits of the teachers were not their central
qualifications.
Certainly Baylor, at that time, did not have the "publish or perish"
principle. We all accepted the fact that Baylor was a school based on
the Christian mission and that it was founded and controlled by
Baptists. Even our version of being Baptist was open, accepting, and
mindful of the manifold differences between us all.
Thus it has been disappointing to see the conflict and rancor grow
among believers, Baptists, intellectuals, and various power groups.
I suggest that Baylor define its mission clearly. In my mind, the
mission is that of a world-class university. Baylor is not in that
league, but it is something that can be in process. Using as its base
the freedom that should come from the exercise of an open and lively
faith, excellence in research, teaching, and intellectual perspicacity
should be above all else. Faculty should have no credo to sign. The
only criteria should be: Can this professor communicate and transmit
the area of expertise required? Does this professor contribute by
writing, research, and inclination to the body of knowledge in the
field? Does this professor have that "something extra" which makes him
or her a standout?
Religious persuasion, race, or any other variable should not be the
main point of consideration, period! In this way the doors will open,
Baylor can champion its values within the framework of outstanding
teaching and learning, and unity will grow.
Dr. Larry Larsen '58, MA '59
Andover, Maryland
Every diverse group needs a uniting covenant that establishes
expectations and boundaries within which healthy co-existence can take
place. Examples of a healthy Baylor covenant might include:
• To treat administration, faculty, staff, students, and alumni with genuinely mutual respect and honor.
• To seek first to understand and then to be understood.
• To be ready to incorporate new or emerging information into programs
or processes in order to refine them, even after they have begun.
• To work for progress through joint decision making, rather than unilateralism or defiance as a conditioned response.
• To honestly and selflessly care enough for the Baylor ideals of
developing, encouraging, and educating young people to have the tools
necessary and the attitudinal energy to change the world for the better.
• To encourage but not coerce faculty, students, alumni, and staff to
honestly share the ideals of their faith freely and frequently, so that
others may have a positive example of Christian commitment.
Dr. Dan Williams '75
Shawnee, Oklahoma
At some point, the Baylor Alumni Association and the Faculty Senate
need to stop dragging the Baylor name through the mud whenever you guys
don't get what you want and focus on the good.
I'm a conservative Baptist, and there were a lot of liberal teachings
that I found uncomfortable while I was at Baylor. But that didn't make
me love Baylor any less. It strengthened my convictions to have my
views challenged, and liberal professors also need to make room for
conservative professors to give a voice to their views. Students are
bright enough to make up their own minds, and that is what academic
freedom is all about. We should all invite that sort of debate and
discussion, rather than just present one side of it or to demonize
those who disagree with us.
I'm sure there are plenty of conservative Baptists who would like to
shut out liberal views at Baylor, but I'd defend the right of liberal
professors to make their case.
The job of the BAA in such a situation is to be fair and balanced,
presenting both sides of the argument and not just one side--as I feel
you have done for far too long.
Jorge Estrada '94
The Woodlands, Texas
While my approach may be regarded as naive, I contend that all
concerned parties truly aspire to essentially the same goal for Baylor,
which is an excellent educational process bolstered by a faith-based
environment.
Our differences of opinion on how to attain our common goal have been
magnified in the past by the occasionally inflammatory public rhetoric
which has ensued. It is now time for all factions to cast aside the
issues of personality, private agendas, and entrenched views for the
greater good of the university. We need to be constantly reminded that
the things that unite us are far greater than those which divide us.
To this end, I propose the foundation of an ongoing forum composed of
two to three members from each of the following groups: faculty,
administration, alumni, and regents. This body should be made up of
knowledgeable and respected individuals who have not been at the
forefront of past internal struggles.
Ideally, this group should meet on a regularly scheduled basis, should
establish healthy lines of communication between all interests, and
should identify and deal with dissimilar views before these occasional
discordant notes become a full-fledged symphony.
Jerry Marcontell '58, MD '63
Rye, Texas
Building Unity, page 2
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