President of Baylor Resigns

One must understand that there is a lot more underneath than what appears. He will be able to work better under the scenes than in front. So it is more than what appears. He will still be there. Politics, politics!

 

A few notes from a Baylor grad who has watched the situation closely:

- Dr. Sloan did not battle secular forces at Baylor. He battled the same group that has been in charge of the university for decades. This group believes that overt Christianity should take place outside of the classroom. And that professors should individually decide where/when to express their faith. They believe that Dr. Sloan's methods would move Baylor from being perceived as a university to a bible college.

- School of Engineering was around long before Dr. Sloan.

- 400 million in new facilities were largely funded by issuing bonds, debt. It was the first time in the history of the university that debt was issued to pay for facilities. Personally, I think it was a wise move.

- I'm not sure he strengthed the school's Christian character. I have a nephew on campus now and it does not sound much different than it was 12 years ago (when I was there).

- I have also seen a stat that the number of administrators during Dr. Sloan's term increased by 40% while the number of professors only increased by 25%

Most of the fight with Dr. Sloan did not center around the vision of the "soul of Baylor" but around the execution of the plan. Professors were placed into 2 different tracks - A (research) and B (teaching).

Historically, Baylor has been considered a teaching university and most of the old professors were placed into this track. Many of these professors believed they were then treated like second class citizens.

Dr. Sloan pushed the university to focus more research. Many new professors have been hired that are more research oriented. These people happen to fit in a higher pay and advancement scale which caused problems within the Baylor community.

Professors believed that Dr. Sloan and a small group of administrators took over most of the hiring and took much of the decision making out of the hands of department chairs and away from traditional decision making centers.

There are a host of issues like this. Having a student athlete murdered by a former student athlete in '02 exacerbated the problems and made everything national news.

BTW - I am a Dr. Sloan supporter. I am strongly in favor of much of what he intended to accomplish. I wish that he had not stepped down. I also wish that his presence/methods did not divide my family (Baylor) the way it has.

Just want to make sure a more accurate presentation is made.