Baylor must find a way to regain moral compass
Baylor University has been under siege in recent months over its mishandling of allegations of sexual assaults, with the media and members of the Baylor family alike asking for greater transparency and accountability from its leadership. Instead, the university has generally stonewalled these requests.
Two voices within the Baylor family have led the call for transparency. The first was the Baylor Line Foundation (the renamed Baylor Alumni Association), an independent group of alumni established by Baylor President Rufus Burleson in 1859 that survived a 15-year battle with Baylor seeking to silence its independent voice. A new nonaffiliated organization, Bears for Leadership Reform, is led by some of the university’s largest contributors, including Drayton McLane, a Temple businessman whose name is on the football stadium; John Eddie Williams, a founding partner of the Williams Kherkher law firm in Houston; former Gov. Mark White; and former Regent president Gale Galloway.
The crisis began last year with reports of sexual assaults that included Baylor athletes. In September 2015, regents retained the Philadelphia law firm Pepper Hamilton to investigate those reports and in May, a 13-page “Findings of Fact” document was released with vague details of what the investigation disclosed. President Ken Starr was relieved of his duties, football coach Art Briles was fired, and athletic director Ian McCaw was suspended. The report said the university had failed to properly implement Title IX and described a “hostile environment” toward those who reported sexual assaults. Months later, the school’s Title IX coordinator resigned, claiming university leadership was not allowing her to do her job.
More than 450 concerned members of the Baylor family showed up for an initial meeting of Bears for Leadership Reform a few weeks ago in Waco. (Since that time, 9,300 people have expressed their support on the organization’s Facebook page). Bears for Leadership Reform has called for complete transparency dealing with the Pepper Hamilton report, including specific reasons for the terminations of Starr and Briles, and for changes in the way the regents are selected.
These two organizations are pursuing similar goals on slightly different paths. The Baylor Line Foundation is the new name for the 157-year-old association of alumni and friends. We recently surveyed our members on a variety of topics, and nearly 92 percent of the 1,500 respondents told us that we should continue to push for transparency and changes to the governance system.
We made our first call for transparency and accountability months ago, and we certainly support the goals of Bears for Leadership Reform. In fact, many members of the Baylor Line Foundation, including some of our former presidents, are involved with Bears for Leadership Reform.
The goals of Bears for Leadership Reform are focused on the present. In contrast, the goals of the Baylor Line Foundation are long-term: To provide an independent voice on matters affecting the Baylor family, to tell the stories of the Baylor family through our Baylor Line magazine and online Oral Histories, and to award legacy scholarships to the children and grandchildren of Baylor alumni.
In recent years, regents have been anything but transparent in its efforts to silence criticism and independent thinking. That was in large part why it sued the Baylor Alumni Association in 2014. That lawsuit was settled this year with the Baylor Line Foundation emerging as the continued independent voice representing all members of the Baylor family, and we continue to expect more candor from those who should care most for Baylor.
Especially troubling is the board of regents’ decision to remain silent about the part of the Pepper Hamilton report detailing problems with the structure of the board and the conduct of regents.
We hope that the board of regents is hearing the growing chorus from members of the Baylor family. Its recent promise to publicly share its meeting agendas and minutes is a small first step on a long path. The governance structure at Baylor must change, just as the Bears for Leadership Reform demands. But perhaps more important, if Baylor is to return to the timeless values on which it was chartered in 1845, then it must find a way to regain its moral compass.
Norton is a founding partner of the Norton & Wood law firm in Texarkana. He holds undergraduate and law degrees from Baylor University and is president of the Baylor Line Foundation.