Kudos To The Baylor Faculty Senate!

What courage! I wish that I could have voted. Sloan Must Go! I'm not even a Baptist (Thank God, say the Baptists!) and I salute the integrity and courage of the Baylor Faculty Senate. The Faculty Senate at Amarillo College is made up of anti-intellectuals or bootlickers. No votes of confidence out of that craven crowd. If this be (fair & balanced) uncollegiality, make the most of it.

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Baylor Faculty Senate Votes No Confidence in University's President

By KATHERINE S. MANGAN

Baylor University's Faculty Senate voted overwhelmingly on Tuesday that it lacked confidence in the institution's embattled president, Robert B. Sloan Jr.

The senate recommended that the university's Board of Regents take steps to remove the president when it meets on Thursday and Friday.

The motion, which the senators approved by a vote of 26 to 6, cited "an avalanche of faculty grievances."

"The reality remains that Dr. Sloan's presidency has produced a chilling work environment, a climate characterized by distrust, anxiety, intimidation, favoritism, as well as profound concerns about the sanctity of academic freedom and professional standards," the motion stated. Above all, it
said, "this climate is marked by fear."

The senate's vote came just days after 5 of Baylor's 36 regents signed a letter demanding that Mr. Sloan step down.

"Baylor has been given a black eye that will require a long time to heal," the regents' letter stated. "We feel a major step in the process of healing would be a change of leadership at the top." The letter was signed by John G. Wilkerson,
Jaclanel M. McFarland, Toby Druin, Mary Chavanne-Martin, and Carl Bell.

Mr. Sloan, a Baptist pastor who has headed Baylor for eight years, said that he has no intention of resigning. "You don't solve problems by running away," he said after Tuesday's vote. He added that he didn't think the senate vote represented the views of most professors. Even while he insisted that his supporters outnumber his critics, the chorus of calls for his ouster has continued to grow.

Last week, three board chairmen from the 1990s -- Glenn Biggs, Randall H. Fields, and Gale Galloway -- also demanded that the president resign or be fired, saying that they no longer believed he could "lead, inspire, and unite Baylor's stakeholders."

Tuesday's faculty vote followed a long, hot summer that brought unwelcome scrutiny to the 14,000-student institution, the world's largest Baptist university.

The trouble began in June, when the basketball player Patrick J. Dennehy disappeared, and it intensified over the next several weeks as Mr. Dennehy's body was recovered and a teammate, Carlton E. Dotson, was charged with his murder (The Chronicle, August 1).

Swarms of reporters descended on the campus as sordid details of illegal drug use, cover-ups, and illicit payments within Baylor's athletics department emerged -- a scandal that resulted in the resignations of Baylor's head basketball coach and athletics director.

Faculty senators stressed, however, that their vote "is about academics, not basketball."

Many faculty members are also upset about the president's 10-year plan for turning Baylor into a nationally recognized research university, while strengthening its Christian mission.

They worry that research will be valued more than teaching and that the hefty tuition increases approved over the past few years to help pay for the changes will price many students out of a Baylor education.

Earlier in the day, as Mr. Sloan awaited the outcome of the Faculty Senate meeting, he said he was committed to working toward a more collegial relationship among faculty members and administrators.

"Sometimes you have to go through hard and dark and difficult experiences to be reminded of the importance of community," he said. "I intend to serve here with a listening ear and a commitment to the future for a very long time."

Copyright © 2003 by The Chronicle of Higher Education