Baylor’s President Sloan steps aside to become chancellor of world’s largest Baptist university

WACO, Texas (BP)–Baylor University President Robert B. Sloan Jr. and Baylor Board of Regents chairman Will Davis jointly announced Jan. 21 that Sloan will transition to chancellor of the largest Baptist University in the world effective June 1.

"It has been my privilege to launch the university upon the exciting journey we call Baylor 2012. Now that the voyage is well under way, it is time for someone new to navigate sometimes choppy waters, always aiming toward the fully charted destination ahead," Sloan said.

During the Jan. 21 news conference, Davis said Baylor regents had expressed unanimous support for the change and are expected to ratify it during their Feb. 3-4 meeting.

"Baylor has been through a challenging period over the past 18 months," Davis said, "and the Board of Regents and the administration have been actively engaged in discussions over this time period about how best to address these challenges and do what is best for the university." Davis noted that he and Sloan arrived at the decision by mutual agreement. He said an interim president and a presidential search committee will be appointed later this spring.

Introducing his remarks by stating, "There's a time and an appointed season for every person under heaven," Sloan said Baylor University "has touched every season of my life," referring to his student athlete days, academic career, being the parent of Baylor students and serving as dean of Truett Seminary. Sloan said every Baylor president inherited a strong foundation.

"In the dynamic field of higher education, the focus must always be on the horizon," he insisted, anticipating progress toward the Baylor 2012 vision of moving into the upper echelons of American higher education while strengthening its Christian mission.

"Ascending to the top tier of American universities while maintaining our firm commitment to a uniquely Baptist and distinctly Christian identity insures that there is no more exciting place to be in American higher education than right here at Baylor University," Sloan told reporters.

After recounting significant achievements in a wide range of areas, Sloan admitted, "The natural side effect of change is conflict. We moved quickly and boldly to implement the vision and found that Baylor is not immune to the discomfort and insecurity generated by change." He declared that his own leadership "has often been a lightning rod for that discomfort," insisting the focus be placed on the vision.

Sloan said he is enthusiastic about his last 130 days as president and the opportunity to represent Baylor as chancellor. The tenured professor of religion and founding dean of George W. Truett Theological Seminary assumed the Baylor presidency on June 1, 1995.

Chartered in 1845 by the Republic of Texas and affiliated with the Baptist General Convention of Texas, Baylor is the oldest institution of higher learning in the state and the largest Baptist university in the world. Fall enrollment at the Waco campus hit 13,799. The school offers 164 baccalaureate degree programs at the undergraduate level, 23 master's degrees with 74 programs of study, one educational specialist and 19 doctoral degree programs through the graduate school plus the juris doctor through the law school and the master of divinity, master of divinity/master of music and doctor of ministry through George W. Truett Theological Seminary.