Presidential Search

On March 5, the Baylor Board of Regents announced the names of regents who will serve on a Presidential Search Committee for a new university president. In a press release, the university announced that regent chair Dr. Howard Batson had invited all regents not rotating off in May to serve on the committee, and fourteen out of fifteen accepted.

Batson (pictured, right, with regent Wes Bailey during the February regent meeting) also appointed a Presidential Search Advisory Committee of ten members. Batson had asked the Baylor Alumni Association, Faculty Senate, Staff Council, and Student Government to recommend people, and he chose names from those lists and added others. Each of those groups last fall passed resolutions asking for input in the search process, and all but the Staff Council requested that their representatives serve as voting members of the search committee.

Little information was provided about the exact process the two committees will use to recommend a candidate to the full Board of Regents. "The Presidential Search Committee has the responsibility to recommend the best finalist for the board's consideration in selecting Baylor's next president, and it will do so having been informed by a steady flow of very good information from the Presidential Search Advisory Committee," Batson said.

But Batson confirmed in a conference call with reporters that the advisory committee wouldn't vote on presidential candidates. "We’ve been respectful of the spirit of those resolutions," he said. "They wanted to be included. They wanted to be heard." In the Waco Tribune-Herald, Batson added, “Somehow we’re getting hung up on that voting thing, which I really don’t understand.”

Leaders of the three constituent groups that had requested a voting role on the search committee said they recognize the regents' sole authority in hiring Baylor’s president. However, they noted, the groups' representatives could have been allowed to serve on the primary search committee alongside regents and to vote on whom to recommend to the full board as a finalist for Baylor's fourteenth president.

Last July, when the regents fired John Lilley as president, Batson explained that the board had taken the action due to "a building of factors over time, to the point where we realized progress was not being made quickly enough to unify the Baylor family."

Appointing constituent group representatives as voting members of the search committee, the groups' leaders said, would have been the most effective stimulus that the regents could have provided to unify the Baylor family during a time of administrative turnover.

There's no timetable for the search, but officials said the process would begin within thirty days of the announcement. "The one thing I'm hearing from folks on campus is that we need some time to heal," Batson said. "We’re happy that things are going so well with [interim president] Dr. [David] Garland." After the regents' February board meeting, Batson told the Tribune-Herald that he couldn't comment on whether or not Garland would be considered as a candidate for the permanent post. Both the Tribune-Herald and the Baylor Lariat asked Batson about rumors that he was interested in being considered for Baylor's presidency himself. "I'm happy serving as the pastor of First Baptist Church Amarillo," he said.

In response to the regents' announcement, Student Body President Bryan Fonville said Student Government was disappointed that only one student was included. "The board has signaled, through its selections, which constituencies it considers priority, and the committee's composition appears to suggest that students are not at the top of the list."

Faculty sounded a similar note. "It's not the process we would have preferred. That's obvious from the resolution we passed," Dr. Georgia Green, chair of the Faculty Senate, told the Baptist Standard. "But it is the process we have. No president at any university can be successful without the support of the faculty, and that's certainly true at Baylor." Dr. Lynn Tatum, senior lecturer at Baylor and immediate past-president of the Texas State Conference of the American Association of University Professors, added, "The Baylor process does not conform with best practices at the nation’s top universities."

David Lacy, president of the BAA for 2009, said, "Although it was our request that all constituents would be given a voting role, the BAA is committed to continue working toward finding the most qualified leader. We know, from talking to alumni, that Baylor alumni desire inclusiveness, transparency, and increased communication in this search process. These are the top priorities for alumni and donors for a successful process, and the BAA will remain vigilant in advocating for them." He added, "The Board of Regents could have furthered its commitment to an inclusive process by giving all stakeholders an official, voting role in the process."

Prior to the February regent meeting, the BAA sent regents the results of a membership survey it commissioned about the qualities and experiences that alumni believe are important for Baylor’s next president to possess.

Findings showed that members believe the most important priorities for Baylor are "preserving the strength of undergraduate education," "stable, effective leadership by the president," and "preserving a Christian commitment as a Baptist institution."

When asked to choose the most important qualifications for Baylor’s next president, respondents selected: "experience as either the top academic or financial officer of a college or university"; "experience as the president of a college or university"; "record of effective community relations as the leader of an institution of higher education"; and "possess a PhD or the equivalent terminal degree as determined by academic discipline."

Respondents said that the most important values and vision characteristics for the next president were "commitment to, and reputation for, serving as a consensus builder"; "commitment to keeping the cost of a Baylor education affordable"; "commitment to academic freedom"; and "commitment to religious liberty and freedom of conscience."

At the close of the February regent meeting, Batson said he had yet to peruse the findings. Regents have established a website, baylor.edu/president/search,  where anyone can share opinions about what Baylor needs in its next president.