Nearly 17 months ago, when David Garland was named interim president of Baylor University, the school appeared to be at a crossroads.

Garland, the dean of Baylor’s Truett Seminary, was appointed to the interim presidency on Aug. 20, 2008, and faced an immediate challenge of boosting faculty morale. The school’s faculty were in a state of distrust, still reeling from what became commonly known as “the faculty massacre,” in which tenure was denied to 12 of 30 candidates in the spring of 2008.

Baylor had fired its previous president, John Lilley, less than a month earlier, about halfway into a five-year contract. Baylor now had three presidents in less than four years, with Bill Underwood, now president at Mercer University, bridging the gap as interim president between Robert B. Sloan Jr. and Lilley.

Whether David Garland returns as dean of Baylor's Truett Seminary immediately is yet to be decided. Garland has made commitments to write several books, which he intends to fulfill.
Rod Aydelotte/Tribune-Herald

The school was struggling to raise funds amid the turmoil and saw its endowment dip below $1 billion, because of a sinking economy and donors’ desire to see stability in the school’s top post before opening their checkbooks. Baylor’s Vision 2012 imperative of reaching a $2 billion endowment was creeping farther into the distance, rather than moving closer to reality.

Today, Garland, by many accounts, has Baylor clearing the road for those bold enough to follow.

Faculty morale is up. Baylor recently announced an estate gift estimated at $200 million. The university unveiled plans for a high-tech research park last fall. And there appears to be peace and harmony on the Baylor campus.

Elizabeth Davis was appointed interim provost about a month before Garland took over as interim president.

“I think David has been able to bring a peace to the campus, where folks are able to focus on the work they were called to do at Baylor and not worry that the rules were going to change on them at the last minute or that something unexpected would happen to upset what we’re trying to accomplish,” Davis said.

Regent chairmann Dary Stone said Garland’s “character and integrity are such that, immediately, the campus was injected with calmness and trust and respect in the president’s office.”

When Garland was appointed, his colleagues lauded him as “humble” and a “servant leader.”

When asked recently what he found the most pride in during his interim presidency, which will end June 1 when Ken Starr takes the reins, Garland shied away from taking credit for Baylor’s recent gains. He pointed to the contributions of people such as Davis and members of the council of deans as playing a large role in those successes.

‘Spirit of unity’

When pressed on the question, Garland said, “I guess the thing I’m most proud of is we have a spirit of unity on campus and a sense of mutual respect between the faculty and administration. At least — and I don’t know whether it’s vice versa — but I have respect for the faculty.”

Garland also pointed to athletic success and the Baylor Research and Innovation Collaborative as points of pride, along with a strengthened relationship with the community.

Truett’s associate dean, Dennis Tucker, who has taken on many of Garland’s day-to-day responsibilities in the past year and a half, mentioned faculty solidarity as one area where Garland has been effective. However, he also noted Garland’s “commitment to helping Baylor be a greater servant to the community of Waco.”

“There are a lot of different groups across the campus that have joined together in projects (in the community) that, previously, we had not been challenged to be thinking in those kinds of ways,” he added.

Baylor alumni flap

One area of friction during Garland’s presidential tenure has been the administration and regents’ relationship with the long-independent Baylor Alumni Association.

A gulf has developed between the two in recent years, including steps taken by both Lilley’s and Garland’s administrations to undo agreements between the school and BAA, citing the association’s desire to remain an independent organization. Stone cited the uniqueness of the alumni association’s independence among national private universities.

In response, the BAA has said it wants to remain independent, as it has been for more than 150 years, but does not desire the degree of separation that has developed between the university and association in recent years.

Last fall, Garland and the regents asked the BAA to dissolve as an independent organization and become part of the university’s alumni outreach. That offer was later rescinded, with Stone saying the BAA’s lack of a timely response equated to a rejection of the offer.

Garland stands by his administration’s moves regarding the BAA, saying, “Independence implies separation.”

He also said data presented by regents and the administration demonstrate that private schools’ alumni associations are most effective in reaching out to their alumni base when the association is part of the university.

BAA executive vice president Jeff Kilgore and president David Lacy did not return requests for comment.

Last month’s announcement of Starr being named Baylor’s 14th president signaled the coming end of Garland’s tenure as interim president and his return to Truett.

Jana Brazzil, a Truett student who was at the seminary for a semester before Garland became president, said at a recent Dr Pepper Hour that a buzz makes its way through the seminary when Garland comes into the building. As she made the point, Garland stood about 30 feet away, talking and laughing with students and faculty.

Monique Criddell, who entered Truett after Garland became president, said she and others are eager to work with Garland as a professor and administrator.

Return to Truett

But whether or not Garland returns to Truett immediately upon Starr’s arrival is yet to be decided. He has made commitments to write several books, and neither he nor Davis nor Stone could say with certainty when he would return permanently to Truett.

Stone did say that while the details about the transition back to Truett have not been fully hammered out, “It starts with David’s desires, because the university certainly owes him due consideration for when, how and under what circumstances (he wants to return).”

Though students mentioned that Garland has already carved out a legacy at Truett and the university, Garland, himself, dismissed the question of what he would like that legacy to be.

“I never think about legacy,” Garland said. “What you’re supposed to do is fulfill your duties and responsibilities and not build your legacy. I think leaders always get in trouble when they start thinking about their legacy, because then it’s about them and not about the folks they are leading.”

twoods@wacotrib.com

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