By Tim Woods

Tribune-Herald staff writer

All indications are that Elizabeth Davis, named Thursday as Baylor University’s interim provost, is a person who will be able to rebuild trust between the school’s faculty and administration following a messy tenure controversy this spring, Baylor officials say.

Davis, Baylor’s vice provost for financial and academic administration since 2004 and a faculty member since 1992, was named by acting Baylor President Harold Cunningham.

Cunningham said he’s confident Davis’ experience as both a faculty member and administrator has prepared her for the role.

“The faculty knows her very well,” Cunningham said. “They’ve had good experience working with her. I checked with everybody I could check with within the university groups, and she came out as the consensus favorite everywhere that I checked, so I have great confidence that she can (restore the faculty’s trust).”

This spring, former President John Lilley, fired by Baylor regents last week, and former Provost Randall O’Brien, who leaves the post today to become president of Carson-Newman College in Jefferson City, Tenn., denied tenure to 12 of 30 candidates, drawing the ire of faculty.

Davis said she believes the summit held in June between faculty and administration leaders was a good first step in restoring good will between the two groups, but she acknowledged that proof may not surface until next year.

“I think the trust is going to be, hopefully, built based on what (faculty) see as the result the next time around,” she said, referring to next spring’s tenure decisions and how the administration proceeds based on recommendations coming from the summit.

“In my opinion, it would be naive to think that the summit itself could restore trust,” she said. “I think we’re going to have to see some positive results, and that won’t happen until the spring.”

New Baylor faculty senate chairwoman Georgia Green, dean of the music department, who replaces law school professor Matt Cordon, said she’s pleased with the selection of Davis as interim provost and that she believes the entire faculty senate supports the appointment.

Green said she looks forward to working with Davis, who was one of the candidates recommended by the faculty senate’s executive council earlier this week when Cunningham asked the group for input.

“I agree with what Elizabeth said,” Green said. “The summit was a good first step, and I think some good work came out of the summit. How all that plays out this year will be the test as to whether we’ve made progress. But I will say this: I trust Elizabeth completely to understand the process and let the process work as it should.”

Both Green and senior lecturer Lynn Tatum, immediate past president of the Texas Conference of the American Association of University Professors, praised the process Cunningham employed in selecting an interim provost — involving all relevant Baylor constituents.

In May, the faculty senate passed a “failure of shared governance” resolution criticizing Lilley’s administration. Tatum said Cunningham’s involvement of different groups this week is an early indication of progress toward true shared governance at the university.

“(Davis) is viewed as very competent (and) very fair, so I think this bodes well if we can keep up this consultation between administration and faculty,” Tatum said.

“The outcome of the process was an excellent candidate who will begin her tenure with good will and the broad support of the administration and faculty,” he said.

twoods@wacotrib.com

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