Members of Baylor University’s Presidential Search Committee Announced

September 8, 2016
Pat Neff

Media contact: Tonya B. Lewis, office: (254) 710-4656
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WACO, Texas (Sept. 8, 2016) – Baylor University Board of Regents Chair Ronald D. Murff, B.B.A. '75, today announced the appointment of a Presidential Search Committee that will lead the effort to select the University's 15th president.
Representing faculty, staff/administration, students, alumni and the Board of Regents, the search committee has begun its work, led by chair Bob Brewton, B.B.A. '74, of Houston, president and principal owner of Brewton Investment Corp., and 2011 Baylor Distinguished Alumnus, and vice chair Andrea L. Dixon, Ph.D., The Frank M. and Floy Smith Holloway Endowed Professor in Marketing and executive director of the Center for Professional Selling and Keller Center for Research in Baylor's Hankamer School of Business. The committee will be selecting a search firm to assist with the national search for Baylor's next president.
Search committee members are:
• Drayton McLane Jr. (Alumnus), B.B.A. '58, of Temple, Chairman of the McLane Group
• Richard B. Welday (Alumnus), B.B.A. '90, of Dallas, president of AT&T AdWorks, the advertising sales division of AT&T
• Kathy Wills Wright (Alumna), B.S.Ed. '85, M.S.Ed. '88, of Arlington, Virginia
• Bill Neilson, M.D. (Faculty), of Waco, associate dean of the Honors College at Baylor and senior lecturer and clinical professor in the Honors Program
• Kevin P. Jackson, Ph.D. (Staff/Administration), of Waco, vice president for student life
• Marjorie Ellis (Staff/Administration) of Waco, executive director of Career and Professional Development at Baylor
• Jonathan Siktberg (Student) of Nashville, Tennessee, senior Baylor Business Fellow
• Robert E. Beauchamp (Current Regent) of Houston, chairman and chief executive officer of BMC Software
• William S. Simon (Current Regent) of Rogers, Arkansas, former president and CEO of Walmart U.S.
• Dennis R. Wiles, Ph.D. (Current Regent), of Arlington, pastor, First Baptist Church Arlington, Texas

"We are grateful to these thoughtful and devoted servant leaders who represent each of the major constituencies of the University. They have agreed to give of their time to oversee the important responsibility of identifying and recommending our next president," Murff said. "The search committee will benefit greatly from its leadership, chair Bob Brewton and vice chair Dr. Andrea Dixon, both of whom are extraordinary people of faith and leaders in their respective fields. We have a strong vision for the University in Pro Futuris, and we ask for the prayers of the entire Baylor family as we embark on this important search to identify the 15th president of Baylor University who will lead us forward."

Interim President David Garland, Ph.D., former dean of Baylor's George W. Truett Theological Seminary and professor of Christian Scriptures, took the helm of Baylor University in June of this year. Garland will continue to actively lead the University throughout the search process and until a new president is installed.

"As we commence this presidential search, we extend our deepest appreciation to our interim president, Dr. David Garland. The board and our Baylor family are thankful he answered the call to lead the University in this interim period, and we have full confidence in his exceptional leadership and faithful stewardship of Baylor University," Murff said.

ABOUT BAYLOR UNIVERSITY

Baylor University is a private Christian University and a nationally ranked research institution. The University provides a vibrant campus community for more than 16,000 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 12 nationally recognized academic divisions.