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Second, and more important, careful attention to hiring and tenure based at least in part on a candidate's faith perspective touched a nerve. When conservatives won the SBC battle and fired personnel deemed unorthodox or too liberal from positions in agencies and seminaries, many of them found work at Baylor. Although Sloan's concerns and those of the SBC were really quite distinguishable, his critics seized the opportunity to paint him as a "fundamentalist." Thus, the man who emerged unscathed from the denominational battles in Texas and was even something of a statesman in their midst, became a victim of the Baptist war after all.

Approximately a year and a half ago, possibly because of publicity created by the murder of a member of Baylor's basketball team, hits on Sloan's leadership began to score. The faculty senate began a series of no-confidence votes and a faculty referendum on his presidency. The board of regents, although initially supportive, became deeply divided over whether Sloan should remain. Their apparently irresolvable division over the man made leading the university nearly impossible. Each board meeting took place with media waiting hungrily outside for a scoop. The conflict spilled over to issues of recruitment, fundraising, and probably even retention of students.

In the end, the only way to move forward was to make a change at the helm. Sloan's move to the chancellor's office is a hopeful sign for those in the Christian community who have pinned their hopes on the Baylor experiment. Both his remarks and those of board chairman Will Davis re-affirmed the centrality of Baylor Vision 2012. If Sloan's opponents thought to derail the vision by removing Dr. Sloan, they may find they spent their ammunition in a lost cause. In the meantime, President Sloan stays in office until an interim is named. He is a bear in winter, but spring is on its way.

Hunter Baker is a doctoral fellow at Baylor University. This essay represents his opinion alone and not that of the university, its administration, or faculty.

See today's related news story, "Baylor's Sloan: 'It's Time for Someone New'"

Baylor University has video and transcripts from the press conference.

Expect news and commentary from the Waco Tribune-Herald, The Dallas Morning News, KWTX, KCEN, the Houston Chronicle, and other news sources. The Lariat, Baylor's student newspaper, will also have detailed coverage.

Past Christianity Today coverage of the Battle for Baylor includes:

2012: A School Odyssey
Baylor strives to go where no Christian university has gone before—in ten years
by Randall Balmer | posted 11/22/2002

COMMENTARY
Nothing Personal
The dustup at Baylor is not about its president. It's about change.
By David Neff | posted 07/26/04 8:30 a.m.

God and Man at Baylor
Even if Robert Sloan fails, what he has set in motion is irreversible.
By Hunter Baker | posted 06/24/2004

Christian History Corner: Breaking Down the Faith/Learning Wall
How the history of Christians in higher education has stacked the deck against Robert Sloan's "new Baylor"
By Collin Hansen | posted 09/19/2003

More articles are available at our Battle for Baylor page.

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January (Web-only) 2005, Vol. 49