President Starr Announces Executive Appointments

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Contact: Lori Fogleman, 254-710-6275

WACO, Texas (July 10, 2014) – Baylor University President and Chancellor Ken Starr today announced two appointments to the executive staff of the University.

Tommye Lou Davis has been appointed Chief of Staff to the President. Ms. Davis also will retain her responsibilities as Vice President for Constituent Engagement. Juan Alejandro Jr., Ed.D., has been appointed Interim Vice President of Governance and Risk and Chief Compliance Officer. Both currently serve on the President’s Executive Council. The appointments are effective immediately.

“Tommye Lou Davis and Juan Alejandro bring to these new appointments years of experience and a deep appreciation of Baylor University, its history and its mission,” President Starr said. “Having served in the president’s office previously, Tommye Lou Davis brings to her new position a profound understanding of the priorities and responsibilities of the Office of the President and the management of its many functions. Dr. Juan Alejandro has done outstanding work as director of internal audit and management, and he is well suited to now occupy a larger role in the increasingly critical areas of risk assessment and compliance at the University.”

Davis will manage the day to-day operations of the Office of the President and oversee other areas that report to the office, such as governmental relations and Baylor Event Services.

“It is an honor to serve President Starr and Baylor University in this capacity,” Davis said. “President Starr is a gifted and inspirational leader of our University, and I look forward to assisting him in his service to Baylor in the years ahead.”

Davis earned her bachelor’s degree from Baylor in 1966 and a master’s degree in educational psychology in 1968. She has taught Latin to Baylor students since joining the faculty in 1966, and has been honored with several outstanding teaching awards. She was appointed assistant professor with tenure in 1972 and was designated Master Teacher and associate professor in 1993.

Davis has served as a member of the Faculty Senate and on the Faculty Athletics Council for 12 years and as chair for three years. Actively involved in student life, Davis has served for 22 years as faculty adviser for Kappa Kappa Gamma sorority and as the adviser for Alpha Chi Honor Society.

From 2000-2003, Davis served on the Bush Presidential Library Committee, chairing the Museum Planning Committee. In 2003, she was appointed Chief of Staff to the President while assuming overall responsibility as chair of Baylor’s presidential library efforts. Before returning to the department of classics and the Honors College as associate dean in 2007, Davis served as Chief of Staff to the Chancellor.

In 2010, President Starr appointed Davis as Vice President for Constituent Engagement. Since then, she has led a comprehensive University-based alumni relations program that engages and serves Baylor alumni worldwide through the Baylor Alumni Network and other outreach programs for alumni, current students, parents and friends of the University.

In his role, Dr. Alejandro will manage and coordinate Board and university policies and procedures, ensure processes are in place to evaluate business and regularity risks, and, as compliance officer, ensure that Baylor has the necessary policies and processes in place to comply with the many policies, procedures, laws and regulations to which the University is subject as an institution, including Title IX.

“I am honored to serve President Starr and to help guide the University in these important areas of governance, risk and compliance as we move forward under the strategic vision of Pro Futuris to attend to matters of growing importance to the institution,” Dr. Alejandro said.

Dr. Alejandro joined Baylor as director of internal audit and management in June 1994 to direct a comprehensive program of internal auditing at the University. He previously served as director of internal audit at the University of Iowa and the University of Texas at San Antonio.

He is a graduate of Texas State University, where he earned a B.B.A. with a concentration in accounting in 1979 and his M.B.A. in 1981. In 2000, he received his doctorate in education from Baylor in administration. He is licensed as a Certified Public Accountant.

Dr. Alejandro has served as an adjunct professor at Baylor’s Hankamer School of Business, where he taught auditing and assurance services and business and professional ethics for accountants. He is a member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants, Texas Society of Certified Public Accountants, Institute of Internal Auditors, Association of College and University Auditors and the Big 12 Conference Internal Auditor Organization.

ABOUT BAYLOR UNIVERSITY

Baylor University is a private Christian University and a nationally ranked research institution, characterized as having “high research activity” by the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching. The University provides a vibrant campus community for approximately 15,000 students by blending interdisciplinary research with an international reputation for educational excellence and a faculty commitment to teaching and scholarship. Chartered in 1845 by the Republic of Texas through the efforts of Baptist pioneers, Baylor is the oldest continually operating University in Texas. Located in Waco, Baylor welcomes students from all 50 states and more than 80 countries to study a broad range of degrees among its 11 nationally recognized academic divisions. Baylor sponsors 19 varsity athletic teams and is a founding member of the Big 12 Conference.