By Tim Woods

Tribune-Herald staff writer

Baylor University’s announcement Wednesday that Truett Seminary dean David Garland will be interim president has some in the so-called “Baylor family” — a clan often divided in years past — excited about the future.

The move comes after weeks of rumor and speculation following former president John Lilley’s dismissal in late July.

Baylor Alumni Association executive vice president Jeff Kilgore said Garland’s appointment, coming on the heels of acting president Harold Cunningham’s naming Elizabeth Davis interim provost, could help bridge the rifts that have marked the administrations of the past two presidents, Lilley and Robert B. Sloan Jr.

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Interactive: Baylor presidential timeline

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Recent coverage

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• 08-21-08  Baylor family enthusiastic about newly appointed interim president 
• 08-20-08  News report: Truett dean to be Baylor's interim president 
• 07-27-08  Inclusiveness paramount as divided Baylor University seeks 14th president 
• 07-27-08  Q&A with Baylor regents head: Unity, vision crucial in months, years ahead 
• 07-25-08  Lilley legacy at Baylor one of focus, strong will but occasional rancor 
• 07-25-08  John Lilley's tenure at Baylor: Mission Impossible? 
• 07-25-08  In his own words: Dr. John Lilley at Baylor 
• 07-24-08  Baylor board of regents debating Lilley's future 
• 05-17-08  BU officials mum on campus president's future 
• 05-15-08  Seven BU faculty see controversial tenure denials overturned 
• 05-14-08  Lilley's future hinges on BU regents' vote, sources say 
• 05-10-08  Beleaguered BU president labels faculty senate's criticism 'false' 
• 05-07-08  BU faculty senate passes resolution critical of administration's governance 
• 05-01-08  Baylor officials back off decision to change logo on football helmets 
• 04-16-08  Some BU alums feel snubbed by leaders not at dinner 
• 04-03-08  Faculty 'massacre' blamed on Baylor's confusing tenure criteria 
• 03-24-08  Tenure denials spark steep questions about Baylor's academic aims 

> Lilley multimedia

“As he has done at Truett, David should do a fine job continuing to build consensus through a process of inclusion on campus,” Kilgore said Wednesday. “I look forward to working with him and can only hope that this appointment is indicative of what’s to come for the Baylor family.”

Lilley was fired in July after months of bickering with faculty following denial of tenure to 12 of 30 candidates this spring. Faculty leaders said at the time that the administration didn’t value their input, prompting the faculty senate to pass a “failure of shared governance” resolution in May.

Although regent chairman Howard Batson said after the regents’ July meeting that no one specific reason existed for Lilley’s firing, Baylor constituents have clamored for an interim president who would be inclusive and fair.

Judging by the reaction of Baylor constituents Wednesday, Garland may be that man.

“I’ve not talked to a lot of people, but I think that generally the faculty will be very pleased with this appointment,” said faculty senate chairwoman Georgia Green, professor of music education and associate dean of the school of music.

Garland told the Tribune-Herald on Wednesday that his long experience as a faculty member has provided a simple formula for healing any remaining divisions between faculty and the administration.

“I’m open to listening to people, and I treat people respectfully,” Garland said. “I know a lot of people on campus, and I have high respect for them. There may be some conciliation, I would try to do that, but the direction of the university is (clear) in its move toward excellence. And I think we’re already an excellent university.”

Batson said Garland’s commitment to Baylor 2012, the school’s 10-year vision to become a top-tier university, and his ability to unite were primary reasons for his appointment.

“David’s really the model of (Baylor) 2012,” Batson said. “He’s a great teacher, he’s a great researcher, he’s really tops in his field. So he’s kind of a paradigm or embodiment of what Baylor’s looking for in faculty. Also, it’s very important to us that he can be accepted by a broad consensus of the various Baylor constituents.”

Garland, who was interviewed by regents Wednesday morning before their unanimous vote, said he didn’t seek out the interim presidency, a quality noted by Batson.

“Quite frankly, he wasn’t looking for it,” Batson said. “That might sound like a strange thing, but self-promoting candidates are rarely attractive to me, and David’s doing this as a service to the university he loves.”

Batson said the next few months will be dedicated to studying what Baylor and other universities and governing boards have done in the past to find permanent leaders. The goal: formulating a national search process with which the Baylor board is comfortable.

Garland, Batson said, will not be considered for the permanent presidency.

The search for a permanent replacement could last anywhere from six months to two years, Batson said.

Batson downplayed rumors he’ll become Baylor’s next president.

“I’m very happy right here in Amarillo, where I am sitting, and will continue to serve (as pastor) at First Baptist Church with no other plans,” he said.

Both Batson and Garland, as a member of Baylor’s council of deans, expressed gratitude to Cunningham for his service as acting president. The board originally approached Cunningham for the interim presidency in July, but he spurned the offer, agreeing only to serve as acting president until a suitable interim was named.

Garland has been at Truett since 1997, dean since 2007, following a 21-year teaching stint at Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, Ky.

His wife, Diana, is dean of the Baylor School of Social Work and is widely respected among students, faculty and alumni, something Kilgore also noted.

“The Garlands have been such a good team working together for Baylor, and we really continue to get a two-for-one benefit with this deal,” Kilgore said. “They are good people, and we are pleased with David’s appointment as interim president.”

Garland, though, said that while his wife is very supportive, “We have completely separate assignments.”

Now that Baylor has found a widely embraced interim president, members of the Baylor family are hopeful the recent trend of regents looking to the school’s constituents for input continues through the search for a permanent president.

“In a manner that bodes well for the future, Dr. Batson and the board of regents reached out for substantive input from faculty leadership,” said Lynn Tatum, senior lecturer in religion and a member of Baylor’s American Association of University Professors’ executive committee. “They received it and, I’m convinced, took it seriously . . . It makes sense that when you get together intelligent people, all who want to make Baylor a better place, there can be a remarkable confluence of opinion.”

twoods@wacotrib.com

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