Baylor University President Robert Sloan Jr. has announced he will transition to chancellor of the largest Baptist university in the world, effective June 1.
Baylor University President Robert Sloan Jr. has
announced he will transition to chancellor of the largest Baptist
university in the world, effective June 1.
The announcement is the latest twist in a presidency
that has seen Sloan launch an ambitious program designed to move the
school into the upper echelons of American schools, even as he was
forced to survive numerous challenges to his tenure.
“It has been my privilege to launch the university
upon the exciting journey we call Baylor 2012,” Sloan said in making
the announcement. “Now that the voyage is well under way, it is time
for someone new to navigate sometimes choppy waters.”
Baylor Board of Regents Chair Will Davis said
regents have expressed unanimous support for the change and are
expected to ratify it at their Feb. 3-4 meeting.
Davis said he and Sloan arrived at the decision by
mutual agreement. He said an interim president and a presidential
search committee will be appointed this spring.
Sloan acknowledged his vision for leading the school
made his presidency a lightning rod. “Though I’ve worked hard to
cultivate mutual understanding with those that disagree with various
decisions or even my management style, the reality is my role as
president has become more of a distraction from the main goal of
fulfilling the vision,” Sloan stated.
Sloan said the reason he wanted to continue as
president as long as he did was because he was persuaded that was in
the best interest of Baylor. “Now, I’m persuaded it’s in the best
interest of Baylor that the university have the opportunity for new
leadership,” he continued.
Sloan outlined his new assignment as chancellor as
involving fundraising, student recruitment, networking with higher
education leaders on the state and national levels and cultivating
Baylor’s relationships with denominational and Christian leaders and
organizations, while continuing to promote the Baylor 2012 vision.
Sloan assumed the Baylor presidency on June 1, 1995.
In the ensuing decade, he was forced to survive repeated challenges to
his leadership, including three no-confidence votes from faculty
members. The Board of Regents affirmed Sloan last fall by a 31-4 vote,
but it voted only 18-17 last May against a call for him to resign.
In discussing the upcoming change last week, Davis
said Sloan’s vision for the future remains the blueprint for the school.
The 10-year Baylor 2012 vision calls for Baylor to
become a nationally-prominent research institution while simultaneously
strengthening its Christian mission.
Baylor is the oldest institution of higher learning
in Texas. Fall enrollment at the Waco campus hit 13,799, an increase of
14 percent since Sloan began serving. In addition, the number of
faculty members and annual expenditures for research and other
sponsored activity have grown under Sloan.
Annual gifts to the university have grown from $18.5
million in 1995 to more than $45 million in 2003. Gifts to the
university during the Sloan administration total almost $400 million.
Endowment has grown from $341 million in 1996 to $722 million in
2004. The school’s operating budget has more than doubled, from $145
million to