Former Baylor President Sloan Takes Same Post at HBU

[MrMustang1965]

By JAMES M. O'NEILL / The Dallas Morning News

Robert Sloan was appointed president of Houston Baptist University on Tuesday, 1 ½ years after stepping down from a rocky reign at Baylor University.

And, just as he did at Baylor, Dr. Sloan said he would probably launch a process in the next year or two to develop a 10-year master plan for Houston Baptist.

His plan at Baylor called for the world's largest Baptist university to become a nationally acclaimed research institution with a strong Christian mission. That irked some faculty members, who argued that the plan abandoned the school's traditional mission of offering a solid education at a reasonable price.

A faculty leader at Houston Baptist, however, on Tuesday embraced the idea of a master plan.

"I have no reservations that he could have a very productive relationship with our faculty," said Brenda Whaley, an HBU biology professor who was the faculty assembly president the past two years. "He spoke with us last week about doing a long-range plan, and the faculty here are very enthusiastic about that idea."

Mark Denison, a member of the presidential search committee and a former HBU trustee chairman, said one of the things that appealed to the trustees about Dr. Sloan was the Baylor 2012 plan. They also liked Dr. Sloan's Baptist heritage, including the fact that he has been a pastor or interim pastor at some 20 churches in Texas and Oklahoma.

Dr. Denison said he expected that the issues that plagued Dr. Sloan's decade as Baylor president would not be a problem HBU.

"Baylor's issues are not HBU's issues. I don't think that will be relevant to us," he said.

He said Dr. Sloan's handling of controversy at Baylor "showed his character and integrity to be very strong."

Dr. Whaley said that Dr. Sloan impressed her by emphasizing how important the faculty's role is on any campus, and that he "was very honest with us" when describing his experiences at Baylor.

Dr. Sloan said he had learned some key lessons at Baylor that he would carry to HBU.

"It's important to understand how difficult change is – it's [deleted] all of us," he said. "When initiating change, we need to make sure everyone has participation in the process. And it's important to affirm tradition and history in the midst of making change.

"Not all change is good," he said, "but I believe that without change, you can't make progress."

Some Baylor faculty chafed at Dr. Sloan's management style, which they said created a culture of fear and mistrust. And some complained that religious standards became a litmus test for hiring and tenure decisions.

Baylor's faculty senate had two no-confidence votes on Dr. Sloan, and in 2004, 85 percent of faculty who voted in a nonbinding election called for him to step down. Describing himself as a lightning rod, he stepped aside in 2005, becoming Baylor's chancellor.

Dr. Sloan said that after learning more about HBU, he would like to develop a 10-year plan. He also said he wants to help build HBU's endowment and better use the school's presence in the nation's fourth-largest city to help attract faculty, students and donors, and build connections between the city's cultural attractions and the school's academic offerings.

Dr. Whaley said HBU's faculty would not be alarmed if Dr. Sloan emphasized the Christian nature of the school. The HBU faculty, she said, "are very dedicated to maintaining a Christian atmosphere. People come here because they want to teach in that kind of setting."

HBU, which opened in 1963, is an independent Baptist institution with an enrollment of about 2,300 students and an endowment of about $75 million.

Dr. Sloan helped double Baylor's endowment, from about $350 million to more than $700 million. Baylor, in Waco, has more than 14,000 students.

[smupony94]

Ok 65 - Is this a riddle, how does this article involve SMU? Are we playing HBU in basketball this year?

[MrMustang1965]

Ok 65 - Is this a riddle, how does this article involve SMU? Are we playing HBU in basketball this year?

Well...Baylor is a former member of the SWC as was SMU. The Mustangs and the Bears still play each other in football from time-to-time. Sloan is the former president of Baylor. So...six degrees of separation? Alright...bit of a stretch, I guess.