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The timing of the resignation was crucial. First, it gave the supporters of Baylor 2012 more time to move forward with it in all its dimensions. Second, Sloan's firm stand in the midst of great turmoil forced the issue of 2012 on the board and the faculty senate, both of which endorsed it. Third, his tenacious resolve and the public support for 2012 make it much more likely that his successor will not be able to take Baylor in a different direction. Fourth, holding on as long as he did makes it possible for his supporters to accept his decision to step down with a sense of hope, not despair. And, fifth, his standing firm sent a clear message that Baylor was not being run by an assortment of its critics, but by the board of regents and the university president.

Thus, there is good reason to believe that Baylor 2012 will go firmly forward under a new administration. There is no guarantee that this ambitious plan will be completely successful or that it will now be free of controversy, but its likelihood of success is now greater without Sloan than it was with him.

Robert Benne is the director of the Roanoke College Center for Religion and Society (roanoke.edu/crs) and author of Quality with Soul—How Six Premier Colleges and Universities Keep Faith with Their Christian Traditions.

Copyright © 2005 Christianity Today. Click for reprint information.

SIDEBAR
The Burden of 2012 | The real issue at Baylor is the relationship between faith and learning. By Duane Litfin

And a related article

Don't Bury Baylor | Sloan's resignation doesn't mean secularism won the day.

Christianity Today's original coverage and analysis of Baylor's change in president:

Baylor's Sloan: 'It's Time for Someone New'| Controversial president to become university chancellor in June. (Jan. 21, 2005)

SPEAKING OUT
Springtime for Baylor Still Lies Ahead | Sloan's move out of the presidency isn't bad news. A view from inside Baylor. (Jan. 21, 2005)

Baylor University has video and transcripts from Sloan's resignation press conference.

Baylor's official statement regarding about the change, and that of the student body president, is available from Baylor University's website.

More about Baylor 2012, including the full document and other resources, is available from the university's website.

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 (Nov. 22, 2002)

COMMENTARY
Nothing Personal | The dustup at Baylor is not about its president. It's about change. (July 26, 2004)

God and Man at Baylor | Even if Robert Sloan fails, what he has set in motion is irreversible. (June 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" (Sept. 19, 2003)

More articles are available at our Battle for Baylor page.

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March 2005, Vol. 49, No. 3