Sunday, April 05, 2009
Earlier this year, a couple of Waco business leaders invited me to lunch to discuss a concern they had regarding Baylor University.
Far from being a gripe session, these two men offered some terrific insight into Baylor as one of the most important institutions in this city — and the economic and cultural impact it had.
Their concern at the time had to do with how Baylor’s board of regents was going about its search for a new permanent president.
- 07-19-09 David Brooks, guest column: Second-guessers misrepresent '2012' designs
- 06-24-09 Charles S. Madden, guest column: 'Baylor 2012' painted as something it never was
- 06-03-09 Joseph Armes, guest column: Opportunities endless for next Baylor president
- 05-30-09 Rufus Spain, guest column: Root of Baylor's rift: Vision 2012
- 05-27-09 Kenneth L. Hall, guest column: Baylor's next president needs a Christian, global view
- 05-20-09 Henry Walbesser, guest column: BU regents should reconsider their goals carefully
- 05-13-09 Clifton Robinson, guest column: Waco's wellbeing key to next Baylor president
- 05-06-09 James G. Vaughan, guest column: Next Baylor president must be immersed in city
- 04-29-09 Patricia Pack, guest column: Our next boss at Baylor should be approachable, a listener
- 04-22-09 David Lacy, guest column: Entire Baylor family must agree on the next president
- 04-15-09 Robert C. Cloud, guest column: Baylor faculty seek 'first among equals' for top spot
- 04-08-09 Bryan Fonville, guest column: Trust issue crucial in Baylor's next president
- 04-05-09 Carlos Sanchez: We're asking: What qualities should Baylor's next president possess?
Although the regents had not acted at the time that we met, my lunch companions were worried that the presidential search committee would be composed only of regents.
This, they said, would be a mistake, particularly at a time when the long-sought town-and-gown relationship between Baylor and Waco was dramatically improving.
The good news is that the Baylor regents chose a more inclusive path since I had that meeting. They’re including faculty, alumni and student representatives on their search advisory committee. They’re even including a community representative. This 10-member committee, which is to work closely with regents, has already held its first meeting.
The better news is that the business leaders I met with planted a seed that readers will benefit from beginning this week.
These two business leaders suggested that I reach out to representatives of each of those four key constituencies and ask them to write columns for the Trib giving their input on what is important in selecting a new president.
The conversation made me realize that a president of a prestigious university is so much more than an educator.
The right president must be a combination of visionary, diplomat, fundraiser, business person and groundskeeper.
And given the recent turmoil on campus, the right president must stay at Baylor for more than a few years to return to campus a sense of stability.
Finally, the right president must play an active role in our community that extends beyond the campus, because our community expects and demands such a role.
But what other traits must the right president have?
That’s where these two business leaders came up with the suggestion of allowing our readers to have the perspective of a student, a member of the faculty, a graduate and a community leader.
So after a couple of months of coordinating and cajoling, we’re proud to introduce what we call “Baylor at a Crossroads,” a series on our Opinion page starting Wednesday.
It will be a series of essays by members of those key constituencies at Baylor and in our community.
Our hope is that not only will our community benefit from this insight, but that the presidential search effort and, ultimately, the regents themselves will benefit.
Every Wednesday for the next month you will hear from a different constituency. Our challenge to these writers: If you had a seat at the table of the presidential search committee, what would you say?
Among those who agreed to write for us:
* Baylor Student Body President Bryan Fonville, a senior economics and finance major from Garland.
* Dr. Robert Cloud, professor of educational administration and higher education at Baylor, and a former president of Lee College in Baytown.
* David Lacy, a Baylor graduate and president of the Baylor Alumni Association, who is also president of Community Bank & Trust.
* Jim Vaughan, president of the Greater Waco Chamber of Commerce.
Their essays are terrific, and their insights are instructive.
While we recognize the next president cannot be all things to all people, we must challenge the regents to find someone who possesses more rather than fewer of the qualities outlined in these essays.
We also recognize that Baylor is a private institution that is free to do what it wants and needs.
But we offer these essays in the spirit of cooperation and with our best wishes that Baylor is successful in its search.
Because Baylor’s success is our success.
Contact Editor Carlos Sanchez at 757-5703 or csanchez@wacotrib.com.
Comments
By michael
Apr 29, 2009 12:26 PM | Link to this
Baylor Bear is right. BAA people, you may have a death grip on Waco politics but the Regents will elect a person who will tap dance to their music alone. Just read Bryan Fonville's column.
By Jeff
Apr 28, 2009 8:14 AM | Link to this
I grew up bleeding green and gold. I was fortunate enough to know Dr. Reynolds and call him a personal friend and a man I strive to be like one day. I was also fortunate to know Dr. McCall extremely well. Needless to say I think that we need to find a president that stays true to Baylor's baptist heritage but at the same time understands that Baylor is a University and that a university is where we are to learn to think for ourselves.
Two people that I believe should be at the top of the list of candidates are people I know personally and embody the same strengths Drs. McCall and Reynolds brought to the university.
First, I believe Justice Priscilla Owen would be an excellent president. She is a baptist and obviously very well respected nationally and I believe she would be able to allow Baylor to excel academically and hold true to the rich Baptist heritage that makes Baylor unique. I think that the faculty would rally with a strong leader like the Justice.
The second person I believe that needs to be a serious candidate is Dr. Charles North PhD. He is a devout baptist and scholar. He regularly is published in the Journal of Religion and Economics. He is a Baylor man all the way. He is a Duke trained lawyer and very well respected by his peers, students and faculty. He earned his PhD in economics from University of Texas and the one of the best professors I ever had.
I earned a B.S. in Economics and minor in chemistry. While I was at Baylor the Arts and Science was falling apart because the university leadership wanted to not put resources in the sciences. I was fortunate enough to have professors like Dr.North who concentrated on his students and not the bickering that was so rampant 10 or so years ago.
Another person well qualified to be President is Dr. Wallace Daniel. He would be another excellent choice but may be a difficult hire since he is now at Mercer University with Dr. Underwood who in my opinion was the right man to heal the university.
I strongly believe the faculty needs to be very involved in the selection of the new president so Baylor can return to the esteem Dr. McCall and Dr. Reynolds worked so hard to create. I believe we need to involve around ten informed alumni of all age groups without any ulterior motive other than wanting Baylor to return to a well respected academic and nonsecular institution.
I hope Dr. William Hillis is very involved in the selection of the new president. He is an amazing man, scientist, and loves Baylor University as much if not more than most of us.
By Jason
Apr 13, 2009 12:50 PM | Link to this
I think more than a shred of religion is needed in Baylor's next president, lest we end up like TCU and begin (or continue in some opinions) to compromise our ethics and founding values for academics. If its considered "throw back" to want someone like that, then call me old fashioned. I have no problem with someone with throw back values and ethics. I could point out that "change" has gotten us into the predicament we're in onw. Change in itself is not bad, but change at the expense of compromise, especially when the compromise is again in the area of our founding values, will bring us as a Christian university down.
Jason Haddock
BS Applied Mathematics
By C. Duncan
Apr 11, 2009 1:15 PM | Link to this
Baylor's next president must show justice and mercy wherever he goes, he must be in continual prayer 24/7, he must heal the sick and raise the dead wherever he encounters them, he must lead both his friends and his enemies with compassion and understanding, he must take on the sins of the world and be crucified for them, and then be raised into glory. His/her most important duty, however, is to bring unity to Texas Baptists and stability to the institutions they own and operate. I had a candidate in mind until we came to that last qualification.
C. Duncan, BM 1978
By Baylor Bear
Apr 11, 2009 11:54 AM | Link to this
As usual, it appears the local Baylor alumni association leaders have called on its puppet, the Trib, to once again stir the pot of controversy and disagreement. These throwbacks to the McCall and Reynolds era just can't accept change, as evidenced by the cover of the latest Baylor Line paying homage to McCall. Just about the entire issue is an advertisement and fundraiser for the BAA. I'm embarrassed to be a lifetime member and am about to just cancel my subscription.
Conduct a national search for a president-go to the top tier schools Baylor desires to emulate. Take the petty Baylor politics out of it. I suggest the BAA take its toys and go home-they're doing the school more harm than good.
By John Williams
Apr 9, 2009 10:01 AM | Link to this
"Papa Bull" Strickland is exactly right.
By Hugh Strickland, BBA, Class of 1966
Apr 9, 2009 12:42 AM | Link to this
Albert Einstein said that a sign of insanity was doing the same thing repeatedly and expecting a different outcome. Baylor has tried installing a Baptist preacher as the President several times. I recoomend that we seek a real leader like General Colin Powell and ask the Baptists to stay out of it.
Hugh Strickland
BBA, Class of 1966
By D.Lay
Apr 5, 2009 11:12 AM | Link to this
I read with interest today's column concerning the search and hiring of a new Baylor President. Good points detailing qualifications needed in selection process. One missing part, since Baylor is a private religious university, is mention of one consideration of religious affiliation, namely Baptist.
Am looking forward to future columns written by the constituences that are on the advisory committee that will have input to the Baylor Regents who have the final say in the selection process.
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