Baylor University regents approved a charter change to downsize the school's governing board from 36 to 16 members over nine years.
Chairman Will Davis of Austin characterized the vote on the reduction in board size as “not unanimous but overwhelming.”
The downsizing ultimately will give Baylor the smallest board of any Texas Baptist school and one of the smallest boards among nonprofit, religiously-affiliated universities.
Debate on the issue among regents was “a very high-quality, thoughtful discussion” of its advantages and disadvantages, said interim president Bill Underwood.
Regents approved amendments to the university's articles of incorporation reducing the board's size from 36 to 16 members and dropping the maximum number of years of consecutive service from nine years to six. The board downsizing will be achieved through attrition over nine years, Davis explained.
“There will be no mandatory resignations,” he said. “As current terms expire, they will not be reappointed.”
Regents approved the measure to improve the “efficiency and effectiveness” of the governing board, Davis said, adding they considered 36 too many members for a working, decision-making board.
Prior to the meeting, some who were aware of the proposal characterized it as a power grab intended to silence dissenting voices on the board. They noted some of the first regents to rotate off the board will be among the most vocal opponents of former President Robert Sloan and his leadership. Sloan resigned June 1 after more than two years of controversy and accepted the university chancellor's position.
Others maintained the downsizing fails to address the root cause of problems at the university-a deeply polarized board that continues to line up in support of or opposition to the former president.
Associated Baptist Press