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Building Unity, Page 2Inclusiveness has become a dirty word in
some circles--taboo almost. But being welcoming doesn't mean giving up
the things we cherish most. While we do live in a complicated "in
between," where we're all flawed and feel incomplete, we have a calling
to grow, to change, to carve out joy, and to love life.
Now, how do we live this out as the Baylor community? Further, how do
we bridge the gap between the lie of separation and the promise of
wholeness? First, we have to allow ourselves to accept the gift of
being surprised at what we can learn from others who live differently.
We have to invite the person we've called the "other" for so long to
walk with us side by side. In short, we need to promote radical
inclusiveness and take steps to unite students, alumni, and our other
partners.
And our school and its various alumni organizations need to openly
recognize their shared purpose, swallow their collective pride, and
enter into a covenant together, committing to be good stewards to the
Baylor community.
Sure, to use an analogy, maybe it's as simple as reminding everyone
that there is room at the "banqueting" table. But frankly, that alone
sounds glib. It's also going to be as complex as taking the daily,
uphill steps to show those who may have been marginalized that the
table is in fact big enough. And they may have to go one step further
by helping them pull up a chair.
Liz Eddy '05
Washington, D.C.
I would suggest that, first of all, an official list of the members of
the Board of Regents with their names, titles, mailing and e-mail
addresses, and telephone numbers be made readily available to those who
request it, so that Baylorites could provide input to each and all
members.
The Board of Regents should meet periodically with the Faculty Senate,
the board of the Baylor Alumni Association, and Student Government.
There should be open and frank discussions on these occasions so that
each entity's position or interests could be clearly understood and
action taken if such seems advisable to the Board of Regents.
All who care about our beloved Baylor University might profit
enormously from such scheduled exchanges. And surely the regents and
these constituencies would want to understand the other's thoughts and
concerns.
James Vardaman '51
Emeritus Professor of History, Baylor University
Waco, Texas
The Board of Regents and all constituencies need to recognize that the
primary purpose of Baylor is to be an educational institution of the
first order. In the spirit of open and shared governance, I suggest the
Board of Regents have a member of the Baylor faculty as a full voting
member of the board. Further, the faculty member should be chosen by a
vote of the faculty and not the regents. The Board of Regents should
also have a full voting board member chosen by the BAA.
Make these two changes and much of the acrimony will fade away in short order.
Si Ragsdale '75
Childress, Texas
When I was in Baylor we never thought about not being unified. I'm not
sure when all this came about, but reversing it would be a good thing.
Our professors were God-fearing Christians who believed in the literal
meaning of the Bible--all of it. Why is that not still a requirement? I
recently saw a movie called Expelled, No Intelligence Allowed
that showed one of Baylor's science professors being ostracized and
almost losing his tenure because of his belief in Intelligent Design,
which was never even referred to as Creationism. I have since been in
contact with him and find that he is still there, but that some of his
grants were pulled.
I have grandchildren who want to go to Baylor, and I am not sure that I
want them to. We seem to have become quite liberal in our theology, in
order to be all things to all people, and Christians cannot accomplish
this and remain true to our beliefs.
The cost of going to Baylor has become almost unthinkable for most
families. Have we priced ourselves out of existence for the average
person? How has this come about, along with the liberalization of
doctrine that I have watched take place?
Please bring back some of the conservatism that we experienced in the
"olden days." We are still living and doing well, not seemingly scarred
by attending a university that had beliefs that it adhered to and did
not change in order to attract every student alive.
Martha Wiley Eberhart '58
Cordova, Tennessee
My hope is for more transparency between regents, faculty, and alumni.
Perhaps Rick Warren could get us all together so that we might better
understand any differences, yet be allowed to keep them--pushing on to
a greater prize of cohesive support for our "soul-mother."
Bob Morrison '60
San Antonio, Texas
I believe most of the divisions are traceable back to the change in
Baylor's direction and philosophy embodied in Baylor 2012, and the hard
feelings engendered by the methods of its implementation. If the Baylor
family is to be united, Baylor 2012 must be replaced by a new set of
goals and directives that is truly derived from input from all
constituencies--regents, administrators, faculty, students, alumni, and
other benefactors of the university--and that reflects Baylor's
historic mission and strengths.
Another important change would be an end to the secrecy surrounding
regents' deliberations and actions, and perhaps even the inclusion on
the Board of Regents of representatives of a broader spectrum of Baylor
family members.
Bette McCall Miller '67
Pittsburg, Texas
I think the Board of Regents needs to be more open with alumni. I would
suggest that the Board of Regents invite at least a couple of members
of the Baylor Alumni Association to each meeting of the board. Members
of the Board of Regents should go out of their way to attend meetings
of the alumni association, and they should--and I believe they do--have
a standing invitation to attend.
We alumni seem to feel that somewhere along the way we became the enemy
of the Board of Regents. I don't know how that ever happened or
why--and I don't care. But I do believe that as graduates of our
beloved university we care about what happens to it, and we ought to be
able to at least express an opinion. I attended Baylor on a
scholarship, and I was the first person in my family to earn a college
degree. I now have both a son and a daughter who are graduates of
Baylor, and I can't imagine how someone could possibly think that I
wouldn't want what is best for Baylor.
Mike Parker '76
Cedar Park, Texas
The key to Baylor's effort to become unified lies in the qualities of
the new president to be elected by the regents. He or she must be an
individual who primarily has the full and unyielding confidence and
trust of the faculty, who genuinely understands healing and has the
ability to resolve differences, who is an individual without guile or
bias, who is fully and sincerely committed to Baylor and to the Lord,
and who is able to convince others of Baylor's lofty goals and purposes.
One of the major impediments to the unity of the faculty in the past
few years, in my view, has been an unwillingness to accept the goal of
research as having priority over student teaching and care. The new
president must recognize that neither is sufficient without the other.
A thriving modern university cannot be content to assume the role of a
sponge--to soak in and retain, then share the knowledge that has been
gained by others. It must actively produce new knowledge through
research by its own faculty, working hand in hand with students,
graduate and undergraduate alike. That is the responsibility of
stewardship. But of equal importance is the imparting of knowledge from
professor to student, coupled with a profound sense of caring and
concern for the student. That is the responsibility of Christian
discipleship. Both thrusts must be equally well achieved, and one is
not more important than the other.
Faculty unity is the sine qua non
for future success. Once achieved, unity in the rest of the
family--regents, alumni, students, Texas Baptists, and all who love
Baylor--will follow its natural course.
Dr. William D. Hillis '53
Cornelia Marschall Smith Distinguished Professor of Biology and former Vice President of Student Affairs, Baylor University
Waco, Texas
I want to express my disappointment with the politicking and
dysfunctional nature of the Board of Regents. During my time at Baylor,
I worked as an office assistant in one of the vice president's office.
I was well aware of the politicking even then. Since graduating from
Baylor, I have attended three Ivy League universities. I was grateful
for being able to attend Baylor on scholarship and for the support of
one of the administrators. However, I have to say that I feel very
alienated from my alma mater.
Dr. Alex Thomas '92, MS '94
Columbus, Ohio
The recurring question of unity at Baylor strikes me as both perplexing
and ill-defined. Perplexing, because during my time in student
government, as senior class president, I interacted with a number of
administrative offices, including those of the president, chancellor,
student development, student life, and several college deans, and found
a great deal of unity. Though an incomplete sample, that unity was
defined by a shared set of values with regard to student affairs, a
genuine interest in hearing the causes and concerns of the student
body, and a coordinated effort to design and complete our senior class
gift.
Why did this unity exist? Simply because the various stakeholders had a
shared purpose--a specific goal with clearly defined, measurable
timelines and outcomes. Before asking about unity, it is more salient
to ask, "To what end?"
Painstaking as it may be, the best way to accomplish a goal of "Baylor
United" is for every party--from faculty, staff, and students to alumni
and Texas Baptists--to precisely understand its role, how it connects
to other parties, and how it drives the Baylor organization, at large,
toward its goals. Unity is the outcome of communication and
coordination, not the other way around.
Ryan Jackson '06
Lantana, Texas
As I understand Baylor history, it was founded to provide a Christian
education primarily to Texas Baptists. If a child had the desire to
attend and could meet the academic requirements, then he or she would
have the opportunity to do so, within reason. During my years on
campus, many students were from middle-income families, and we majored
in such areas as business, education, arts and sciences, and music.
Today, Baylor appears to only be interested in the absolute highest
academically achieving high school graduates who want to be doctors,
attorneys, professors, scientists, and researchers.
Furthermore, the cost of attending Baylor today is probably cost
prohibitive to most middle-class Texas Baptist families. Being in the
top ten, twenty-five, or hundred of some magazine's "Best Universities"
was not a goal twenty years ago. Baylor's academic goals and
achievements have always been high, but not at the expense of the
target demographic it is here to serve.
I have two sons, ages fourteen and ten, who are much smarter than their
dad. When the day comes for them to choose a university, financing a
Baylor degree may play a bigger role in attendance than academic
ability. That is a shame! I am a third-generation Baylor graduate and
gained admittance through summer school on academic probation.
Today, according to our current presidential candidates, I have
attained a level above middle-income in America. If I have done my part
in saving and planning for my sons' education, why would financing a
Baylor education ever be a concern? Simple: Baylor has become or is
becoming an elitist university!
If it were not for the voice of Baylor Alumni Association, I don't believe folks like me would ever be heard.
John M. Hamman '88
Plano, Texas
Unity is created over time as trust emerges in relationships. I am not
sure there is some "magic bullet"--some one thing--that we can do to
restore trust. The only thing I can suggest is that we all put aside
our limited vested interests, move ahead in our various commitments to
Baylor, and hope that in God's good time we can experience community
that will serve the interests of the university.
Baylor is now on the road to becoming a research university. That will
involve some gains and some losses. Change always does. We should work
as hard as we can to preserve those values of the past that we
genuinely cherish and embrace new values with enthusiasm and courage
but in ways that are always sensitive to the well-being of both
individuals and the community.
Dr. Robert Baird '59, MA '61
Professor of Philosophy, Master Teacher, and Faculty University Ombudsperson, Baylor University
Waco, Texas
Baylor's core values will unite the various groups. At some point there
will be a consensus and those who agree will provide support, and those
who don't will leave. The challenge for the leadership is to
acknowledge trends and fads before focusing everyone on those values
that are relevant down the years.
Gary Taul '77
La Grange, Kentucky
The Board of Regents reflects a tendency at Baylor of one
constituency's thinking that its job is to "protect" Baylor's
interests. Alumni easily could become a similar constituency, as could
faculty or students or Texas Baptists. The list of constituencies is
long. Such thinking runs counter to the best interests of Baylor--or
any fine academic institution whose identity is multi-faceted and
honorable.
All Baylor constituencies must begin again to function within our
roles. The faculty must be allowed to teach and produce scholarship.
Students must be allowed to learn, even from their mistakes. The Board
of Regents must oversee the broad interests of Baylor in long-range
terms--not as day-to-day, rowdy supervisors. The president must
lead--guided by principles that are valued in academia and distinctive
to Baylor--and grow the endowment. And we alumni must love and support
and defend Baylor as we honor "that good old Baylor line" well into a
bright future beyond ourselves.
Susan Harden Borwick '68
Winston-Salem, North Carolina
There are several things the Board or Regents can do. The first is to
make their work more transparent. There are too many unnecessary
closed-door sessions. By all means, keep personnel or other sensitive
issues behind closed doors; that I would expect and even demand. But
too many decisions are made in secret, lending the board an air of
cloak-and-dagger activities on how to "take over," rather than doing
what is best for the school and its constituents. It also lends itself
to outrageous rumors and makes people strongly doubt that the board is
in place for the good of Baylor. We need a board to give direction, not
a board that is a cabal.
It also seems to me that the board has overstepped its bounds in many
areas of the university--read micromanagement. Let the people do the
jobs they were hired to do. Don't put up a thousand road blocks and
then watch over their shoulders. The president should do that job and
that job only, and the board should do its job only--no more and no
less from either. The regents need to re-read the board policies and
codes of regulations as to when they have overstepped their bounds with
the administration, with the students, with the faculty, and with the
alumni.
Just as the human body and the body of Christ has its parts that work
together to make the whole, so does Baylor. And just as the human body
and the body of Christ can have a body part that doesn't cooperate or
tries to do another part's job and so weakens the body, so can Baylor.
Cancer can spread quickly through a human body when the body's own
cells attack; discord spreads just as quickly through the body of
Christ and Baylor and can be just as devastating and eat away at what
can be accomplished.
Don't shut out the alumni, because we too have a vested interest that
goes beyond the years we spent as a student. The future reflects on us
just as much as our time at Baylor was built on Baylor's past.
Cynthia L. Peterson '79
Hallsville, Texas
I have thought of small steps--but no big steps can be taken without
the Board of Regents taking the initiative. They tell us that they are
totally in charge of Baylor University--and it certainly looks that
way. Yet one of their "leaders" (not the board's chair) has been quoted
as saying that "all people are motivated by either fear or greed." Is
that what one hopes to hear from a Christian institution? Is that an
attitude that promotes unity?
Until "fear and greed" are replaced with "kindness and love," we will continue to have problems.
Babs Baugh, Class of '64
San Antonio, Texas
There should be peace in the valley. There certainly should be peace
between the alumni association, the administration, and the Board of
Regents. The alumni association is and should be an independent voice
of alumni, advising alumni of matters impacting the university--even
the "bad news."
However, it is difficult to represent the views of all alumni when the
alumni base is so broad and diverse. For example, many of our alumni
are concerned about the rising tuition at Baylor. Others, such as
myself, feel there is no apparent reason tuition should be lower at
Baylor than at any other private, church-related university. Is it
cheaper to educate Baptists than Methodists or members of the Christian
Church? Isn't it up to the board and administration to set tuition,
just as they set faculty salaries?
I personally feel the alumni association can best represent the views
of all alumni by staying away from this divisive issue. Finally, I
cannot imagine anyone objecting to Baylor's efforts to strive to become
a so-called "tier one" university. We all want to see our alma mater
improve--and, thereby, the value of our degrees increase. But this will
take time, and in the interim there will be change--something with
which it is so difficult to deal.
Fred Weekley '62, JD '63
Arlington, Texas
In Lewis Carol's Alice In Wonderland,
the Cheshire Cat tells Alice, "If you don't know where you are going,
any road will take you there." It seems that the Baylor family spends
far too much time arguing over which road to take instead of agreeing
on where we are going. If the objective is to build a sense of common
direction and mutual commitment, the questions seem to boil down to the
following:
Does Baylor want to be a great university? Does Baylor want to be a
great Christian university? Does Baylor want to be a great Baptist
university? Does Baylor want to be a Baptist university?
For those of us who think Baylor needs to be focusing on the first two
options, it seems that far too much time, energy, and resources are
devoted to the latter two questions. Otherwise we will simply continue
to wander, as did Alice.
Ral Aars '64
DeSoto, Texas
I am not a Baptist; I was raised Catholic. I chose Baylor in 1985
because of its high-quality, private education, low student-teacher
ratio, and location. I really think my life began at seventeen when I
went to Baylor, and my tenure there shaped me into what I am today--a
highly educated, successful professional woman.
While I realize that Baylor will always be Baptist, I really think that
to unite Baylor's past, present, and future students, someone needs to
be reminded that it is a university composed of a diverse population
from different backgrounds, religions, states, and countries. That
diversity should be celebrated rather than curtailed in favor of
Baptist-only doctrine. If acting like a university is no longer
important to Baylor, I have no advice to offer. My worst fear is that
Baylor will become too fundamentalist, lose its accreditation, and my
undergraduate degree will become worthless.
Becky Mattes '89
Brussels, Belgium
The Board of Regents needs to have open meetings in the future. The
chair of the Board of Regents needs to attend and greet Heritage
members at the spring banquet. The new president or interim president
needs to attend a forum with the Baylor Alumni Association's Alumni
Council and resolve differences. The president should renew the
practice of paying for the annual Heritage Club banquet.
Betty Rogers Bryant '63
Commerce, Texas
Make a pointed effort to attract middle-class students to Baylor.
Wealthy families and poor families have an inordinate advantage at
Baylor because of the cost. Wealthy families can pay for it, and poor
families get scholarships.
Swing the pendulum back from religion to academics. Baylor has always
walked a fine line, balancing its spiritual roots and comprehensive
education. However, in recent years it has crossed too far into
religious territory and Republican politics.
Create an atmosphere of accepting different points of view without
having to agree with those points of view--the foundation of
independent thinking.
Quit giving tenure to professors solely on their social, religious, and political points of view. Make them earn it.
Ask the regents to open their minds and realize that Baylor should be
creating servants of God and not thinking that all who associate with
Baylor are God's chosen people.
J. Andrew Rice '75
Dayton, Texas
Division within a body usually stems from narrow viewpoints and a lack of tolerance for differing thoughts and opinions.
The way my principal unites our very diverse faculty is to validate the
worth of each teacher by recognizing the strengths of each one while
minimizing the importance of weaknesses. Each teacher feels important
to our team. The principal doesn't play into the "personality attacks"
that so often cause strife. We have very little turnover at our school
due to the healthy environment we've created where we all can grow and
thrive.
Tolerance and acceptance are what I think Baylor needs to move forward.
Just like our country, Baylor is very diverse and looking more like our
world! We can hang on to our traditions without alienating people if we
have the right spirit.
Pamela Pridemore Groves '79
Arlington, Texas
I believe that any leader at Baylor--president, vice president, or
dean--must be able to build meaningful relationships with the faculty,
staff, students, and especially the alumni and the Waco community. It
is time for diplomatic leadership and forging alliances between warring
parties. I think that maybe the next president or interim president
should host town hall meetings with affected parties. This individual
also should create an interdisciplinary, external council made up of
Baylor faculty, staff, students, alumni, and community members to
address where Baylor is headed and build consensus among all of the
constituencies of our great institution.
Allan Marshall '07
Waco, Texas
Baylor alumni will be united when we are behind a single purpose. What
is the single purpose that unites most colleges? It is sports!
Academics are more important than sports when it comes to the results
of a college education, but I never hear a group of alumni sitting
around discussing academics. They talk sports. Just remember the
national championship won by our women's basketball team. That united
us more than anything else for the last twenty years.
Don Chrestman '65, JD '70
Weatherford, Texas
Over the past few years, I have listened to all the rhetoric of various
participants in the issues that have been hindering Baylor's long-term
success and frankly see it as the usual problem when change is
required. Those with power refuse to give it up and make the necessary
changes to respond to the changes that have already taken place in the
environment. The times require change, otherwise Baylor will be seen as
weak academically.
Powerful people always find some thread of truth to assist them in
retaining their power, and people with money always get more attention
and acceptance than those without. I think there are many like me who
do not feel that the Baylor Alumni Association represents them. It
seems to me that what blocks the necessary changes at Baylor are those
people with sufficient power and money to buy the BAA's attention and
pressure the Board of Regents to stifle change. Baylor is first and
foremost an academic institution. As a Christian institution, it should
strive to be a high-quality academic institution that represents the
ability of God and his people to succeed and perform academically as
well as those without a Christian faith.
We do not need to be seen as a weak and less-respected academic
institution just so people who are not strong academically can keep
their jobs or feel unthreatened. Good teaching and service do not equal
poor research. There are many examples of very good teachers willing to
spend a great deal of time with their students who also publish
top-quality research.
I encourage the BAA and Board of Regents to talk to Christian academics
from their own alumni and see what their opinion is on the subject. I
will admit that change takes time and that some will feel threatened by
these changes. We should be sensitive to their uncomfortable situation,
but we cannot refuse to improve our academic standing because of the
lack of comfort of a few or fear of the loss of power by others. We do
not need their money. If God is working on our behalf, he will provide
the money necessary for the future as he always has in the past.
Dr. Beverly Baker Tyler '77
Raleigh, North Carolina
Although I am far away, a part of my heart is still at Baylor. From
what I read, the best way to unite Baylor is to go back to its roots as
a Christian university. Let all the other schools take care of those
who do not seek a Christian education. Through an emphasis on Christian
values and prayer, people will be united. Baylor does not have to
embrace the same ethics as a state school. Baylor must stand up for its
Christian beliefs, even when they are not popular in academia. You can
get a good education at thousands of other schools, but at Baylor you
must be able to get the best Christian education available.
Judith Gregg Jones, att. '62-'65
Modesto, California
Based on the fact that a substantial number of Baylor students, now and
historically, are non-Baptists, we should allow one third of the Baylor
Board of Regents to be non-Baptists. This would bring a more diverse
perspective and reduce the Baptist in-fighting on the board. Unity and
positive progress would abound, and Baptist control would not be
compromised.
Rick Smith '68
Austin, Texas
From the top down, there needs to be a drive to glorify Jesus and to be
his disciple. Kind of general you might say. Easily interpreted by each
individual differently. Nothing of value is found easily. To find a few
ounces of gold, tons of earth are moved. To find a few diamonds, man
digs deep mines thousands of feet into the earth. Can finding unity and
renewed purpose require less effort? I would suggest the following:
• Each student, each person in the faculty and administration, and each
regent should read, and re-read, and then re-read and meditate upon the
four gospels. During their reading and meditation, they should ask of
the Lord, "How can I and the institution of Baylor University glorify
the Lord Jesus?" They should ask the Lord Jesus to show them how to be
his disciples.
• Then there should be a number of symposiums led by someone who is a
disciple of the messiah--finding such leaders is probably the hardest
part--and they should discuss the glorification of Jesus and being his
disciple.
• The reading, meditation, and symposiums should all take place in a
semester, and then be repeated each semester, probably for at least a
couple of years.
Proverbs 28:2 reads, "When a land is in rebellion, it has many rulers,
but with a discerning and knowledgeable person, it endures.” “Land”
could be a country. It could also be an “organization” or even a
“university.” “Many rulers” speaks of disunity.
Matthew 18:19-20 reads, “Again, I tell you that if two of you on earth
agree about anything you ask for, it will be done for you by my Father
in heaven. For where two or three come together in my name, there am I
with them." Jesus is the Prince of Peace. Let him bring a deep unity
and a deep peace to Baylor University.
William Buckley '87
Houston, Texas
Those of us who are more conservative have seemed to be shut out of
decision-making since the moderate takeover of the university. We are
still loyal to the school, just not to all of the governing philosophy.
I still value my life membership in the Baylor Alumni Association. I
don't know of many graduates who ever advocated the creation of another
Bob Jones University. We figured one was enough. Unity can be better
approached when the rhetoric alleging conspiracies to change the
culture of the school is turned down.
Larry Bowles '67
Houston, Texas
Baylor University has a rich and storied heritage in the State of
Texas. Many of the leaders in the state government through the years
have been Baylor graduates. For many years, a large number of the
leaders among Texas Baptists have been Baylor graduates. In addition,
there are a large number of faculty who were part of Baylor as
undergraduate students that have returned to Baylor, after pursuing
graduate degrees, to serve with dedication and passion. Many of these
individuals had very lucrative opportunities elsewhere but chose to
return to Baylor.
It is painful for many of us to experience the divisions that have been
a part of Baylor for the past dozen or so years. There have been so
many petty issues in the media that cast Baylor in a negative light to
the marketplace around us. Many of our friends have found great
astonishment that the oldest university in Texas would be in such
turmoil and so divided.
It is way past time to embrace a strategic agenda built around the
major functions of higher education: teaching and research. The
academic reputation of Baylor is a vital part of the life of the
institution, and this is in danger of eroding if we keep these
negatives and self-serving agendas in the forefront of our
institutional strategic purposes. The leadership of Baylor--the
regents, the executive administration, and significant others--are the
key players in deciding which course Baylor is going to follow with its
opportunities or consequences.
Dr. Jerry Johnson '62, MBA '65
Professor of Marketing, Baylor University
Waco, Texas
I'm personally tired of hearing about the problem Baylor has with
disunity among its constituency. I don't think Baylor has a problem.
There are a few people who obviously have a problem with other people
and their ideas, and they are using the ties with Baylor as the vehicle
with which to fight over their personal disagreements.
Baylor has received the bad press because of the personal issues, and
that is unfortunate. I love Baylor for what it is, what it stands for,
and what it has done for me.
Ken Cooper '74, MBA '75
Waco, Texas
I believe that the highest priority any university should have is the
education of the students. My education at Baylor was from outstanding
professors who taught by example from an expandable curriculum rooted
in theory and practicum. It didn't matter to me if the professor were
male or female, of a different ethnicity, Catholic, Jewish, Klingon, or
research-oriented. I was there for an education.
I believe unity at Baylor will return when the president is a business-
or law-oriented individual who has a firm belief in God and lets the
deans of each college run their college without interference from
anyone, including the Board of Regents.
In my twenty-four-year teaching career, I had principals I didn't
trust. Those were the years I was unhappy in my profession. Find the
trust, and the unity will follow.
Ann Brown Goode '71
San Antonio, Texas
I am a third-generation Baylor grad, and my daughter is a
fourth-generation Baylor grad. I also have a son presently attending
Baylor, and another who will attend soon.
Baylor has always loved its own, but recently it has not. While
attending orientation with my children, Baylor never acknowledged those
who were children of alumni, nor did they acknowledge the alumni. In
all of the Baylor material, there was no mention of whether or not they
were children of alumni.
Baylor must have legacy children in order to have the love of Baylor
continued. With legacy children, we hope the love of Baylor is
initiated and transferred to those students who are experiencing Baylor
for the first time. A majority of legacy students have been attending
Homecoming and athletic events all their lives. Is there a better way
to recruit than through an in-house process?
I must say the Baylor Alumni Association has for years done a wonderful
job of including alumni and their children in all aspects of life at
Baylor.
Robert Draughn '84
Commerce, Texas
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