Baylor University Faculty Members Split over Sloan No-Confidence Vote

Lubbock, TX, Avalanche-Journal ^ | 08-22-03 | AP

[Theodore R.]

Baylor faculty members split over Sloan no-confidence vote

WACO (AP) — As embattled Baylor University President Robert Sloan prepared to welcome incoming freshmen to the world's largest Baptist university on Thursday, dueling groups of professors clashed over a faculty leader's call for a no-confidence vote on Sloan.

Even before basketball player Patrick Dennehy's slaying put the Central Texas university under an intense spotlight, Sloan had clashed with many faculty members over a reform plan that the official alumni magazine characterized as a "struggle for the heart and soul of Baylor."

In the wake of Dennehy's death, revelations of major NCAA violations by the basketball program — and an attempted cover up of misdeeds by former coach Dave Bliss — have caused Sloan's critics to question his administration's overall leadership and oversight of university programs.

About 100 Baylor faculty members gathered Thursday afternoon on the steps of the stately, yellow brick Tidwell Bible Building in support of Sloan.

"Many of us are outraged and embarrassed that some of our colleagues would use the tragic death of a student in a shameful opportunistic attempt to advance their own political agendas," said Barry Harvey, a Baylor theology professor since 1988.

Harvey read a statement on behalf of Sloan's supporters that praised the president's "honor, courage and responsibility to call for an inquiry into our men's basketball program and then to place it on probation."

"By these actions, he is following the precedent established by Dr. Herbert H. Reynolds, who was forced to deal with two basketball scandals during his presidency," he said.

If the 30-member faculty senate proceeds with the vote of no confidence on Sept. 9, it will surrender any pretense of being a representative body, he said.

But Chuck Weaver, the faculty senate's immediate past president, defended senate member Henry Walbesser's plans to make a motion for a no-confidence vote.

Walbesser, a computer science professor, said Thursday that academic programs have suffered under Sloan and that the president has used retaliatory measures against faculty members who have opposed his plans.

"It's a failed presidency," he said.

Sloan, a Baptist pastor who has headed Baylor for eight years, has said he has no intention to quit.

He planned to address the media Thursday evening after welcoming freshmen and transfer students to a "Welcome Week Picnic."

If the faculty senate passes a no-confidence vote, the regents would be asked to remove Sloan.

Drayton McLane, chairman of the Baylor board of regents, said Sloan has his support and he believes a majority of the regents approve the president's handling of the crisis within the men's basketball program. How Sloan and Baylor work to resolve those problems and prevent them in the future will be a true test of leadership, McLane told the AP on Wednesday.

But Weaver, a neuroscience professor and frequent critic of Sloan, said Baylor needs a unifying figure at this time. A divisive figure such as Sloan may not be the right person for the job, he said.

"I'm not going to speak for my colleagues ... I'll just say, it's fair to begin asking those questions," Weaver said of Sloan's future.

As for the claims that critics were using Dennehy's death to their advantage, Weaver said, "The problems existed long before the Dennehy situation. It's a case of confidence and trust in the present administration to lead us past this difficult time."

Until the Dennehy case, the spotlight at the 14,000-student university focused on "Baylor 2012," Sloan's 10-year plan to move Baylor into the top tier of American universities while strengthening its Christian mission.

Bulldozers and mounds of dirt on the campus between Dallas and Austin testify to Sloan's effort to remake Baylor physically.

But the $200 million price tag on the renovations and Sloan's other plans for Baylor have fueled criticism.

Some Baylor supporters worry about saddling the university with so much debt during an economic downturn. Others complain about a decision to raise tuition last year by more than a third, to $17,200 annually.

Still others suggest that Sloan's emphasis on strong faith and on faculty research as a condition of tenure will hurt Baylor's hiring and traditional focus on undergraduate teaching.