Baylor changes board of regents system
Alumni group says revisions are ‘baby steps’
New revisions to Baylor University’s governing board aim to focus regents on compliance with federal law and accreditors. The changes, approved Friday, also expand voting rights to a student regent, two faculty regents and two regents representing athletic interests.
The vote marked the Baptist university’s largest change to governance since top administrators — including former president Ken Starr and former football coach Art Briles — left after an investigation found that Baylor mishandled sexual assault reports.
“Combined with the changes we’ve already taken, these actions today will make Baylor’s governance model one of the most responsive and transparent of any major private university,” board chair RonaldMurff said in a statement.
High-profile alumni donors said the adopted changes still don’t go far enough to reform the board, which they say should disclose more information on campus sexual assault and how allegations are handled in Waco.
Houston attorney John Williams, who leads the activist alumni group Bears for Leadership Reform, called Baylor’s changes “baby steps.”
“The Board of Regents is still going to appoint itself,” he said in a statement. “It is still going to operate under a cloak of secrecy and gag rules. And it still has failed to share the facts and details of the sexual assault investigation.”
Bears for Leadership Reform — whose membership includes former Gov. Mark White and former Astros owner Drayton McLane — had suggested more radical changes that would have given more power to regents elected by the Baptist General Convention of Texas and alumni. It also recommended that regents hold open meetings, which a task force examining Bay-
lor’s board said it did not endorse, because it could unnecessarily disclose competitive information.
Bears for Leadership Reform said its proposal was necessary because of the severity of allegations against Baylor. New details and accusations on the university’s response to sexual assault accusations have emerged early this year, months after a report from independent investigators was released.
A former employee who worked in the office ensuring Baylor complied with the federal gender-equity law known as Title IX said the university was reluctant to support staff who investigated complaints against athletes. A long lawsuit filed by three regents accused Briles of trying to protect players accused of sexual assault. And a suit filed late in January by a former student said she is “aware of ” at least 52 rapes committed by more than 30 football players during her four years in Waco.
Interim President David Garland called those accusations “disappointing and horrifying and certainly not reflective of the Baylor that I know and cherish.”
Friday’s vote on Baylor’s board structure divides an “audit and compliance” committee into two entities — the compliance group will review and oversee all athletic compliance requirements, including Title IX.
The compliance group will also ramp up oversight of athletes’ misconduct and background checks for potential recruits.
Baylor on Friday said it had revised its policy outlining procedures to investigate and respond to reports of sex and gender based harassment and violence. It also has begun to administer a climate survey on healthy relationships, abuse and harassment. Results are expected in May.
At Friday’s meeting, the chair of Baylor’s presidential search committee said the board was interviewing candidates for president and planned to identify Starr’s successor this spring.